Natalia Mazzone has grown up knowing she is promised to a made man. As the only daughter of one of New York’s most powerful mafia dons, she knows she can’t refuse. It’s her duty, and she would never dishonor her beloved father.
But the man she’s promised to is a monster. And there is nothing but torture, pain, and heartache lying in wait.
So, she grabs happiness when she finds it—in the somewhat reluctant arms of Leonardo Messina.
Leo is her brother’s best friend. A soldato for the Mazzone famiglia. A man with strong ambition and an even stronger resolve. He won’t allow them to give in to temptation, so Natalia is forced to love him from afar.
Until one forbidden night changes everything, and she readily hands Leo the key to her heart.
Leo risked everything for the one woman he can never have. He doesn’t regret it. It saved Natalia from a life of hell, but his actions set her on a different course.
One that doesn’t involve him.
Years have passed, and his feelings remain the same. Yet he keeps his distance, dedicating himself to his new role as underboss to Bennett Mazzone, while the love of his life is married to another man.
Until a twist of fate puts Natalia in his path again, and this time, he is powerless to resist.
This is a full-length STAND-ALONE 120k-word novel with NO cliff-hanger and an HEA. For readers who enjoy brother’s best friend, second chance, dark mafia, forbidden romance.
This is a standalone written in the Mazzone Mafia world, which is one of my absolute favorites, so I couldn’t wait for this release and it did not disappoint. Natalia and Leo’s story was even more tragic than expected but wow, did they blow me away. The only daughter of the Mazzone don, Natalia was promised to a stranger as a child and nothing she did could free her from this promise, until Leo took action. He risked everything to keep her safe and beg her father for her hand, but their world is too cold and cruel for the young lovers to live happily.
They both struggle as the years pass, Natalia in a loveless marriage and Leo alone because the only woman he wants is off-limits. Natalia was so strong and determined and never gave up on their love even as she went through hell. Leo lost hope but he never tried to replace her because he’d never share his life or himself with anyone but Natalia. These characters were both so badass but only got better as the story went on. Natalia is a force to be reckoned with and I love the fact that Ben lets his sister run the op when they finally decide to take action against their enemies. Leo is so devoted and so in love, even when he can’t have her, she’s the center of his world.
I was desperate to know what happens next and couldn’t put this book down. It was everything I wanted for Leo and Natalia’s story, plus more.
Mazzone Mafia series
- Condemned To Love book 1
- Forbidden To Love book 2
- Scared To Love book 3
- Vengeance of a Mafia Queen – standalone set in the Mazzone Mafia world
