It’s that time of the month again, dirty birds! You know, the time where I bring you a brand, spanking new Ultimate List with a category of your choosing. Oh yeah. By the way, I post the category choices at the beginning of each month in my Facebook group HERE. So if you haven’t yet, make sure you join the inappropriate fun 😉
But I digress…
With all the craziness of last month, I totally missed doing my list and I’m so sorry! I’ve been a bad girl and deserve a spanking (preferably from one of the heroes in the books I’m about to list here…uhem…) But no worries, this will not be repeating itself. I post these lists monthly, and monthly you shall get them.
This month you guys wanted to see Mafia Romance, and since this happens to tickle my particular fancy as well, I was beyond happy to deliver. Now keep in mind, this will be kept specifically to mafia only. I passed over some books that had a similar vibe but weren’t “organized crime” centered in order to stay as true to the category as possible. As always I’ll give you guys my recs of the books I’ve personally read and loved, and I’ll follow that with a list of recs that I’ve received and have purchased the books for.
And if you’re new to my blog, this a monthly feature I do on the last Saturday of each month! Check out the previous features here:
★ULTIMATE LIST OF DIRTY TALKERS★
★ULTIMATE LIST OF ANTI-HEROES★
★ULTIMATE LIST OF HATE TO LOVE ROMANCE★
★ULTIMATE LIST OF SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE★
Now without further ado, let’s do this thing.
THE PROFESSIONAL by Kresley Cole
“When a woman singles me out”—he leaned down to murmur at my ear—“it’s because she wants to get fucked. She looks at the scars and tattoos and knows she’ll get fucked hard.”
I’ve been a HUGE Kresley Cole fan for years. I have her entire IAD series in paperback. I’m slightly obsessed, I admit. The woman is the queen of sassy heroines and uber alphas. I love her PNR.
When I saw that she was coming out with a new erotic romance that just happens to feature some mafia baddies, suffice it to say I was all over it like a stripper on a pole. True story. Now I’ll admit, the first book didn’t quite blow me away, but it’s deliciously dirty and if you’re looking for a super sexy dirty talker, Mafiya enforcer Aleksei “The Siberian” Sevastyan will be RIGHT UP your pervy little alley. Originally released as a 3 part series, THE PROFESSIONAL is now a full novel in a series of 3. Each book is a different couple and may be enjoyed as a standalone though I recommend reading in order 😉
GAME MAKER SERIES ORDER
THE PROFESSIONAL | THE MASTER | THE PLAYER
EVAN ARDEN by Shay Savage
How did I get here? I wasn’t stupid. I also wasn’t so far gone to not remember the basics of what happened. After serving my tour of duty as a Marine sniper in the Middle East coupled with eighteen months as a prisoner of war, being exiled to Arizona for screwing up a hit for my mob-boss, spending too much time thinking about the girl I met there, and killing my favorite hooker for betraying me, I’d finally lost it and started shooting up the neighborhood.
Got your attention now, didn’t I? Don’t lie, you’re intrigued. Well you should be! A former Marine suffering from PTSD and battling his inner demons throughout his life as a hit man for the top Chicago mafia boss, Rinaldo Moretti? It’s as delicious as it sounds. This box set has all 5 books in the series. The first 3 is what I read and has a HEA at the end of book 3. The author later released a novella and a novel which I didn’t read for personal taste reasons, but I hear it was just as good as the first 3. And all of these are in this fantastic box set!
COMPLETE CORRUPTION by CD Reiss
“I tried to stay away,” he said. “I’ve never wanted a woman this much in my life. I’d burn cities to have you. I’d fight armies. I’d commit murder to take you right now.”
Originally released as a series of 3, this is the full set. Hurrah for no waiting! I was a HUGE fan of CD’s Songs of Submission series. If you haven’t read that, I can’t recommend it enough.
Songs of Corruption focuses on the story of Theresa Drazen (who’s the sister of Jonathan from SoS). But you don’t need to read SoS in order to enjoy SoC. And of course the hero here is the sinfully sexy Mafia capo, Antonio Spinelli.
MONSTER IN HER EYES by JM Darhower
GOODREADS | AMAZON
He’s a whirlpool of darkness, and I feel myself getting sucked deeper and deeper into the depths of his abyss. I’m drowning in him.
Gah. GAH! This book! This series!! I can’t even. First of all, no one writes mafia romance quite like JM Darhower. I’ve loved each and every book I’ve read by her.
Monster In His Eyes is book 1 of 3, and follows the story of Karissa and Naz. Monster in his Eyes is told in Karissa’s POV, Torture To Her Soul follows that with Naz’s POV. The amazing conclusion is Target on Our Backs.
MONSTER IN HIS EYES series order
MONSTER IN HIS EYES | TORTURE TO HER SOUL | TARGET ON OUR BACKS
RUTHLESS PEOPLE by JJ McAvoy
She would never convert to what I needed her to be. She was a ruthless savage, and if you cannot break a ruthless savage, you need to figure out how to tame them.
What happens when an arranged marriage puts the head of the Irish mob with the head of the Italian mob? A whole lot of crazy fuckery! Holy fuck, this series is crazy! There is no good guys to be found. Both the hero and heroine are absolutely batshit and bad to their bone, and I freaking loved it! This is a trilogy that must be read in order since the story isn’t complete until the final book.
RUTHLESS PEOPLE Series order
RUTHLESS PEOPLE | THE UNTOUCHABLES |AMERICAN SAVAGES
REAP by Tillie Cole
Our desperate gazes met.
He took a deep breath.
Then he whispered, “You are…for me?”
While I didn’t quite love the first book in this series, I have to say I really enjoyed this one. The set up is darkly intriguing; you have ‘slaves’ who are imprisoned and conditioned in captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, known only by their numbers. Reap focuses on prisoner818 who raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221. He cannot act or think for himself. Knows only death and bloodshed. The heroine happens to be a mafia princess and the daughter of the Russian Bratva boss.
Reap is book 2 in Tillie Cole’s Scarred Souls series, and while you may read it as a standalone since it focuses on a different main couple and their HEA, I highly recommend you start with book 1. Because while Reap tells the story of Zaal and Talia, it also gives the readers a continuation of Luka through his POV. It builds up on what has begun in Raze and it would connect you to the story that much more having previously read that.
SCARRED SOULS SERIES
RAZE | REAP | RAVAGE (releasing Aug 16, 2016)
FLAWED by Francette Phal
Have you ever looked at something so beautiful, so utterly alluring that you just wanted to destroy it? That’s what you are to me. You are this beautiful thing I want to destroy.
Hmmm…how would I describe this book? Basically his it’s like the love child that would result if Seduced In The Dark and Dexter ever had wild monkey sex and then had a baby that was seriously fucked in the head. Like SERIOUSLY fucked in the head.
The hero is utterly fucked up. If you want rainbows and unicorns, fuck right off with that. I’m not even kidding here. The man is basically a hit man. A sociopath on a good day. He gets off on pain and death… and yet I absolutely loved this book. What the fuck does that say about me? Don’t even answer that right now! Flawed is a cliffhanger and book two (CARNAGE) is hopefully coming out end of August this year.
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT by Katee Robert
Whatever she’d expected from this kiss, it certainly hadn’t been desire. Though DESIRE was too tame a word. She’d felt desire before, and this wasn’t it. This was…need. All-consuming need that devoured everything in its path, leaving only destruction in its wake.
As far as grit and darkness, The Marriage Contract is a bit on the lighter side. This one had a case of the insta-love and yet it was still a fabulous read. The series focuses on the O’Malley family; a powerful Irish Boston mafia family. The head of the O’Malley family is intent on marrying off his children in order to solidify powerful mafia alliances with other families, and the result is one intriguing story. I’ve read both The Marriage Contract and The Wedding Pact, and enjoyed both thoroughly. Though I did love the set up of book 2 a bit more with the forbidden romance of two warring families element being the major focus.
THE ENFORCER by Kele Moon
I fucking love you, Brianna…
I wouldn’t just bleed for you… I’d bleed motherfuckers out for you.”
If you were to ask me what my all time favorite mafia romance book was, this book would be it. Bar none. Nothing ever touched me on such a visceral level as this one did. Brutal, powerful, emotional, gut wrenching, all consuming, gritty, and so raw it’ll make your heart bleed.
Yeah. This book is just that good. I’ve been a huge fan of all things Kele Moon for many years now, but she absolutely blew me away with Tino’s story. I’d highly recommend starting this series in order so you can truly appreciate all the character’s backstories. Keep in mind Enforcer is part 1 of a 2 part story. On that note, it ends in a very satisfying place that I wouldn’t quite consider to be a cliffhanger. If you read any book from my list, this one should be at the very top. I simply can’t recommend it enough.
UNTAMED HEARTS SERIES
THE VIPER | THE SLAYER | THE ENFORCER
That’s it for books that I’ve read an loved, but I have recommendations galore from fellow readers and I’ll include those below. I have all of these books on my kindle already, since you guys know I won’t recommend anything that I wouldn’t personally be interested in reading myself. So here we go…
MADE by JM Darhower
This is easily the most recommended book I have on my list. Everyone and I mean everyone that read it absolutely loved it!
Corrado Moretti.
The world knows the notorious Kevlar Killer, but few have ever seen what lies beneath his armor. The abused child. The neglected teenager. The broken man. He always did whatever he had to do in order to survive.
It’s kill or be killed.
Throughout his life, he has been there in the shadows, a witness to everything from beginning to end. Bound by loyalty and honor, there’s only one thing he would sacrifice it all for: family.
Never get close. Never get attached. It’s a lesson that has been brutally pounded into him since childhood, but they’re words the DeMarcos make it difficult for him to follow. Through them he finds love and grieves loss, realizing the world isn’t quite as black and white as it’s made out to be.
A LOVE OF VENGEANCE (Wanted Men #1) by Nancy Haviland
Once the most feared member of an Italian Mafia crime family, Gabriel Moretti returns to New York at the request of his mentor, Russian crime boss Vasily Tarasov. Vasily needs someone he can trust in Seattle to protect his estranged daughter, Eva Jacobs, while he avenges the murder of the young woman’s mother. Gabriel is unstoppable in a fight, whether he’s using fists, blades, or bullets; but innocent, onyx-haired Eva may just be the most dangerous—and beautiful—thing he’s come up against.
Intense sparks fly between the two, tempting Gabriel to mix business with pleasure while in the Emerald City. But once word gets around that Gabriel has shown up in New York, Stefano—his vengeful brother and the de facto head of the family—decides that Eva is the key to ending the feud between them…permanently.
In this pulse-pounding romantic thriller set against the backdrop of New York City’s storied underworld, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be told, and mob justice will be served.
WANTED MEN series
A LOVE OF VENGEANCE | THE SALVATION OF VENGEANCE | AN OBSESSION WITH VENGEANCE
LUCIAN (Filthy Marcellos #1) by Bethany-Kris
Lucian Marcello is aware of the expectations following him as the oldest son of one of North America’s most infamous Cosa Nostra Dons. Family in his world is more than blood and sharing a last name. It’s the honor, respect, business, and the life. Being a Capo is just a stepping stone until it’s time for him to take on the role of underboss but a chance meeting with her could be the one thing he’d risk it all for.
She is exactly what he didn’t know he was looking for.
Jordyn Reese spends her time trying to stay under the radar of a man who wouldn’t think twice about killing her. Unwillingly affiliated with a dangerous MC gang, her life is dominated by the men surrounding her and her future rests solely in how useful she can be for them. The last thing she needs is some Mafioso gaining her more unwanted attention from the club.
He is everything she should stay away from but can’t.
Notoriously violent when it comes to getting what he wants, Lucian will stop at nothing to make the target on Jordyn’s back disappear. But sometimes the worst threats are the ones you can’t see until it’s too late. The truth behind Lucian’s history is about to take center stage in more ways than one, and it’ll either save him … or kill him.
This world leaves everyone a little filthy.
Filthy Marcellos, Book One
FILTHY MARCELLOS series
CROW (Boston Underworld #1) by A. Zaverelli
He’s a killer. A mobster.
The last man on earth I’d ever want to be with. I won’t lose my head just because he’s hot, Irish, and has a wicked accent to boot.
He’s one of the only leads in my best friend’s disappearance, and I don’t trust him.
So I’ve got a few rules in mind when it comes to dealing with Lachlan Crow.
1. Keep a clear head and don’t get distracted.
2. Do what’s necessary and never forget why you’re there.
3. Never, and I mean never, fall for him.Fourth and final rule?
Throw out the book altogether. Because the rules don’t apply when it comes to the Irish mafia.
It was only supposed to be temporary, but now Lachlan thinks he owns me. He says he’s not letting me go.
And I believe him.
***
Lachlan.I don’t know who she is. I don’t know why she’s here.
But if it’s my attention she wants, she has it.
The Russians want her dead, and now it’s up to me to look out for her. This girl is trouble. A distraction I can’t afford.
So why have I already decided she’s mine?
I’ve claimed her and there’s no going back now.
This is a full-length standalone novel full of hot Irish bad boys with accents. Steamy and dark mafia themes throughout. HEA included.
BOSTON UNDERGROUND series
HIGH STAKES (Vittorio Crime Family #1) by Vanessa Waltz
There are a million reasons why I should stay away from Vincent Cesare.
This was supposed to be temporary. I was supposed to deal for his illegal card games and get some quick cash. That was it. I wasn’t supposed to fall for him.
Little by little, I see the monster grinning at me through the cracks in his pretty suit. He won’t tell me what he does, and I’m not sure I want to know. The darkness in his eyes terrifies me. He’s seduced me into his web of lies with his charm, and now I’m trapped in his life. He’s taken control over me without me even realizing…or resisting.
I’m in way over my head.
He promised that nothing would ever happen to me. The Vittorio family wants me dead and there’s only one person I can turn to. But what scares me is what I’ll have to do.
I’ll need to become his.
VITTORIO CRIME FAMILY series
HIGH STAKES | DOUBLE BLIND | END GAME | HIS WITNESS
FOOTSTEPS (The Pagano Family #1) by Susan Fanetti
Carlo Pagano Jr. is the eldest son of a large Italian-American family in Quiet Cove, Rhode Island. He’s a disappointment to his father but a hero to the young son he is raising alone, after his wife abandoned them.
Sabina Alonzo-Auberon is a beautiful Argentine native married to one of the most powerful and wealthy men in New England. Though James Auberon is highly esteemed, the power and glamour the world sees hide a darker reality that exists within the walls of their home. Sabina is trapped in a life of control and abasement, living with a man too powerful and vengeful to escape.
Sabina doesn’t wish to be rescued and whisked away on a white horse. She’s not looking for a fairy tale hero; she knows the fairy tale is a lie. She’s waiting for the chance to save herself. But she won’t turn down help if it comes.
A fateful meeting with Carlo brings Sabina the chance to break free and make a life on her own terms. If any name demands respect and strikes fear more than Auberon, it’s Pagano. Carlo’s uncles head one of the most powerful ‘families’ in the Northeast, and they will offer their help—for a price.
What begins as an offer of assistance deepens into an intense bond, but before Carlo and Sabina can be together, they must overcome the obstacles in their path.
Together Carlo and Sabina seek true and honest love, and freedom from the demons of their pasts, but no quest was ever without its trials.
THE PAGANO FAMILY SERIES
FOOTSTEPS | TOUCH | ROOTED | DEEP | PRAYER
MAFIA CAPTIVE by Kitty Thomas
Faith Jacobson was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After witnessing a mob hit, she’s only moments from death when Angelo Raspallo decides to give his brother an unlikely gift. Leo has avoided involvement with the family business, but it doesn’t make him a saint. He’s troubled and ashamed by his darker sexual desires, one of which is to own a slave. But when his brother throws Faith at his feet, repainting the scenario to make Leo the hero rescuing her from certain death, his moral fortitude will be tested. If Faith were kinky, it would be easy to live out his fantasy, but she’s not. Not even a little bit. Even the mildest spanking sparks terror in her that Leo can’t bear. The gift soon becomes a burden as he fights with himself over how to handle the addition to his home. He could release her, but his brother doesn’t do loose ends. The only thing keeping her out of the bottom of the harbor is Leo’s mercy. She’s like a beautiful piece of art he keeps in a glass case but can never touch. Is possessing her enough?
ROUGH (Chicago Underground #1) by Skye Warren
GOODREADS | AMAZON (Currently FREE on Amazon)
I’m a cautionary tale. A statistic. A victim. A single teenage mother from the poor part of town. Most of the time I’m too busy working and struggling to care what people think. Survival doesn’t come easy.
I have a dark secret, a pressure valve, a rare moment just for myself. On these nights I visit a club. There I find men who give me what I need. Men who aren’t afraid to take what they want.
Men like Colin.
But he takes more than a few stolen hours. He demands more than my body. He wants my heart and soul–my happily ever after. I never thought I’d be Cinderella. I never thought a man that rough could be my prince.
THE CHICAGO UNDERGROUND SERIES
ROUGH | HARD | FIERCE | WILD | DIRTY | SECRET | DEEP
BOUND BY HONOR (Born In Blood Mafia Chronicles #1) by Cora Reilly
GOODREADS | AMAZON (Currently FREE on Amazon)
Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families.
Now with eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca.
Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.
In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.
The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.
Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.
Born In Blood Mafia Chronicles series
BOUND BY HONOR | BOUND BY DUTY | BOUND BY HATRED | BOUND BY TEMPTATION
HOLD YOU AGAINST ME (Stripped #4) by Skye Warren
Once upon a time the daughter of a mafia king fell in love with a foot soldier.
This fairy tale didn’t have a happy ending.
My sister and I barely managed to escape alive, and we’ve lived in relative hiding ever since. I’m safe now, but I can never forget the boy who gave his life to save mine.
Except there’s a chance that he’s still alive. And he’s fighting a war.
Even knowing the risks, I have to find him. I have to find some way to protect him, the way he protected me. But he isn’t the boy I left behind. He’s a violent man. A criminal. And he’s been waiting for me—the final pawn in a dark game of survival and love.
Recently, I’ve found myself wishing for a lot of things. Things I have no right to wish for. But the heart can be a selfish and foolish thing. And mine is certainly both.
I have been sitting here for days trying to figure out how to rate this book. I adore Samantha Towle’s books. 
Alright, tell the truth, are you like me and you looked at that cover and blurb and thought to yourself, ‘ah yes, another deliciously irreverent manwhore falls for his best friend sister, fluffy and smutty read. Adding!’
Mister O was a hilarious and deliciously sexy romp from beginning to finish. The characters are perfectly imperfect. The story is addictingly good. It kept me smiling from cover to epilogue. It really doesn’t get much better than this with a rom com! I can’t recommend it enough to any reader that enjoys a good laugh with their steam, because the combination of it here? Perfection!
You know that moment when you pick exactly the right book at exactly the right time? You know what I’m talking about here; when all the planets aline and you pick the book that’s guaranteed to be the perfect one for your mood and taste. Well this book was that for me! And what perfect timing too because I’ll be going into my weekend with a perma-grin on my face. Dirty was laugh out loud funny, with a cast of secondary characters that you’re guaranteed to fall for right away. It’s filled with amazing banter, swoony moments, and make-your-ovaries-happy-sort-of-sexy times.
As for Vaughan? Well, let’s just say the man lives up to his promise. I fell for him when I first met him in the Stage Dive series, and I loved him even more here. He’s just the right amount of alpha and yet he’s funny at all the right times and even sweet at others, without ever losing any of his edge.
Truth be told, I struggled with my rating for this book for days now. I’ve been marinating and marinating over what to rate it. Do I rate it as a part of the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series which it didn’t seem to fit at all? Or do I rate it as a standalone I felt it should have been? After much deliberation, I’ve decided to go with something in the middle of the two. Because here’s the thing, while I did truly enjoy Brave Enough, I didn’t find it fit the series. Aside from Tag being a hero that was first introduced early in the series, there is really no other connection. The story felt different, the romance felt different, and the entire feel of it was just different.
Let’s talk about things that trigger my one-clicker for a second here, shall we?
As for that ending? Well let’s just say I may or may not be rocking myself in a corner as we speak while I wait for July 25 to finally get here
