Review: Scorned Beauty by Victoria Paige

SCORNED BEAUTY
Series: Scorned Fate #5
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: Victoria Paige
Release Date:
September 26, 2025

She can never be seen on his arm in public because she’s the hired help.

Sloane Scott has a reputation.
She’s the go-to cleaner for the New York mafia.
Discretion is unspoken if not written in blood.
No sleeping with my clients is her unwritten rule, so why the hell does the arrogant boss of the De Lucci crime family play a starring role in her steamy dreams.

Dominic “Dom” De Lucci has a reputation.
He’s the scion of two prominent crime families and New York’s most eligible villain.
Sought after for alliances, he has his pick in an arranged marriage.
But no one makes his blood simmer more than the off-limits beautiful cleaner for the mob with a voice made for seduction and a body made for sin.

When their attraction sparks to explosive levels, they give in and agree to certain rules.
What they have isn’t a relationship.
No dating. No giving gifts. No drama.
And, especially, no falling in love.
Just sex exclusively with each other.

So when Dom takes another woman as his “fake” date to formal events, Sloane understands because it helps cover their affair.
And their arrangement works for a while, until the most important rule is broken.

AMAZON 

I wanted to fight her demons, even if one of her demons was me.

When a grovel is listed as one of the tropes, you best believe I will be all over it. And all over it I was. I binge read this story in one sitting!

Debating what to do with you,” I murmured. “Debating what to call you. Girlfriend sounds so immature.”
“And what have you decided?”
“Wife sounds better.”

Sloane is a nurse student by day and a cleaner for the mafia by night. Her troubled brother inadvertently ensuring that she continues to stay in the crosshairs of the Russian Bratva, while her friendship with Bianca kept her in close proximity with the Italian mafia.

Dominic is Bianca’s cousin and a man who’s been obsessed with Sloane. I loved his single minded intention with her even though I wanted to throttle him for always keeping her at arm’s length. Sloane is not exactly looking for the complications of a relationship herself, so when Dom offers her a mutually satisfying arrangement that centers around multiple orgasms, she agrees. Though she keeps him at arm’s length herself.

But then Dom screws up and he does so epically. And as the dominoes of his mistake begin to fall, they unravel the man he knows himself to be. To say that he’s tortured by what happens is an understatement. I loved the way the author chipped away at his human side with the regret of his choices. But I will say, it made his grovel so much more satisfying.

I would call this mafia light. It touches on some dark undertones but doesn’t fully get immersed in the dark depths of it all. There is a sassy dialogue and witty banter with humor that adds another lighter layer which helps offset some of the darker themes and topics that are touched on in this story.

I loved Dom’s grovel to his HEA with Sloane and I loved the way that Sloane made him work for it. If you’re looking for a sexy mafia romance with a possessive MMC who messes up big but grovels bigger, definitely give this one a shot!

Review: Scorned Vows by Victoria Paige

SCORNED VOWS
Series: Scorned Fate #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: Victoria Paige
Release Date:
January 16, 2024

He was the perfect husband until she got pregnant.

An arranged marriage was always in Natalya Conte’s future.
Luca Moretti is charming and considerate.
Handsome like the devil, he dotes on her and spoils her.
But when two pink lines should have brought them unbridled joy, her husband ices her out.

An arranged marriage gives Luca great power.
To cement that power, he needs an heir.
The quickest way to do it is to make Natalya fall madly in love with him.
He will have her loyalty without risking his heart because love to him means weakness.

Natalya needs Luca to love her.
Because she has secrets that will put them all in jeopardy.
Her heart shatters when Luca shows her exactly how little she means to him.
But it isn’t until she sees evidence of the unforgivable that she loses all hope for a happily ever after.

AMAZON 

You’re mine, and I’m done pretending that you’re not.”

As a self proclaimed alphahole addict, the second I read this blurb, I knew I’d be all over it. Arranged marriage, ruthless mafia antihero? Sign me up I say!

You’re mine, and I’m done pretending that you’re not.”Up here, I wasn’t the boss of the Chicago crime family. Up here, I was merely a mortal man falling in love with his family.

An arranged marriage doesn’t sound like one paved in love. But young Natalya is instantly enraptured with her future husband. He may be a ruthless in everything that he does, but he’s soft and attentive with her. But what Natalya doesn’t know, is Luca is not above playing the romantic to get to what he needs from her; an heir. And when Natalya gets pregnant, things take a turn in a direction she never saw coming.

This was a quick paced page turner and I was instantly hooked with Luca. Natalya, admittedly, did take me a minute to warm up to. She’s not at all what she seems, but she sure hides it well. I definitely did myself a disservice by not reading book one first, because there’s some backstory to her that makes it feel like you start this book already partially through her development. But then it didn’t take me long to connect to her and her very many layers. She’s a fascinating mix of fierce and vulnerable. The second half of this book, we get an entirely different side to her and I loved it.

There’s a little bit of everything here; suspense, action, mafia, betrayal, revenge. The chemistry was delicious and the grit was the perfect addition. I’m definitely hooked on this series and will immediately be reading the first book.

Review: Reclaiming Izabel by Victoria Paige

RECLAIMING IZABEL
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Special Forces: Operation Alpha
Author: Victoria Paige
Release Date: November 13, 2018

Three years ago Izabel Maddox lost the love of her life.
Not long after, a cruel twist of fate ripped away the last part she had of him.
Grief and devastating loss almost broke her, but she survived.
Focusing on building her childhood dream was her lifeline.
But just when she thought her heart could move on, her past came barreling back, making her question if the struggles of the past were all for nothing.

Three years ago Drake Maddox made the toughest decision of his life.
To protect his wife and avenge his brothers, the Navy SEAL faked his death.
Injuries and the loss of his team marked his soul, but it was losing Izabel and their unborn child that nearly broke him.
Focusing all his time and skills on finding the enemy was his lifeline.
Returning to his wife had always been his dream, but reclaiming Izabel might prove to be his ultimate nightmare.
Because his wife may never forgive him for betraying their vows.

AMAZON

Three years … I fought my way back to you, Izabel, but I’m drowning here. I want my wife back.”

The second I read the blurb to this book, I was all over it. And I mean ALL over it. It reminded me of one of my favorite books with a similar situation, Wild Card by Lora Leigh. A wife that believes her military husband dead until he comes back to reclaim her three years later. YES, PLEASE!

This had several delicious elements that I absolutely love in my books; an OTT alpha that loves and loves hard being the main one. I love me a good alpha, and Drake was one hot alpha. This is a man that’s utterly obsessed and devoted to his wife. When a mission gone wrong forces him to fake his own death and let his wife believe it too, it completely breaks him. Coming back to her is the only thing that drives him during the three years it takes to complete the mission. And when he comes back to a shell shocked Izabel, he’s not beyond groveling to get back into her heart.

I really enjoyed the book and the story. The characters were great and I was completely invested. The only thing that kept me from rating a little higher was the slight detachment I couldn’t help but feel in the writing. It was such a strange combination to be invested in the characters but at the same time feeling like I’m being told about them rather than experiencing them. There was this choppiness to the story telling that made it slightly cold.

On the flip side, I loved the set up and Drake so much that it was pretty easy to look past that particular quibble. I love that Izabel really made him work for it. And I loved even more seeing this tough as nails alpha male turn to absolutely putty for his beloved wife.

The added element of suspense was great but I also couldn’t help but wish for a little more. It wrapped up pretty quickly and felt somewhat sudden. I wished it was more fleshed out.

As a whole, I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it for fans of romantic suspense and intense alpha males. This was my first book from this author but definitely won’t be my last!

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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