“Did you think, for a minute, I might want to be awake for the proposal?” I ask, fluttering my fingers so the huge princess cut diamond on my hand catches the light.
His eyes go soft and warm. “I couldn’t risk you running again.
There’s a tracking device in there.”
“Tracking device?” I squeak, when I find my voice.
“Oh yes,” he murmurs. “You will not escape me again.”
***
Revenge is Sweet was previously published as “Taken by the Mafia Prince” in the Darkly Ever After Boxset.
***
She’s gonna bake him a muffin he can’t refuse…
When a mafia prince sweeps into Leah's bakery and decides she belong to him, all's she can do is can hang on until the happily ever after.
Author's Note: It's a heart-warming spicy mafia romance. It has some sort-of-dark themes but not really. This is what happens when my brain wants to write both a dark romance and rom com. You're welcome.
4.5 stars - This is not your typical dark mafia story. It's funny to go along with some of the usual mafia themes of violence, intimidation, and overly possessive men. Royal is... something... who seems to love ripping clothing off. 🔥🔥
"I'm good at fixing things." -- Royal Regis
Yeah, that's an understatement and full of many meanings.
Even though it's completely over-the-top, I was entertained by Leah and Royal's story. My original plan to listen to about an hour before doing other things was thwarted. So much so, that I couldn't put it down and finished it in one go.
I received an author's copy of the audio book, which I listened to while reading along from the Darkly Ever After anthology. The narrators are Blaire LeBlanc and Jasper Woodcock. I love what they bring to the characters, including accents. Mmm, I do love a man with an accent. I also love duet narration! 🎧💋🎉
Baby you know we love a sexy stalker man. This guy is a big sexy beast who could have me for a goddamn 💵 dollar. Omg,😳 a plus size baker who is not a crazy lovestruck virgin. When she was being all indecisive I wanted to shake her. Girl if you don’t take this mafioso we will all pick days and share him!! If you didn’t want to have his babies you shouldn’t have let him hit it RAW! But let me stop being spicy this was so cute.
Short and sweet mafia romance novella! She’s a baker, he’s a possessive mafia hero, it has insta love, he calls her “principessa” and loves to spoil her. Described as a heartwarming, spicy mafia read!
very VERY fast paced overly pushy male MC all in all scenes were pretty well written weekend away of spicy time and forced engagement kinda all felt like a fever dream.
A short mafia with rom-com vibes? Sign me up Revenge Is Sweet was a cute & steamy contemporary romance with a little bit of obsessed MMC and mafia sprinkled in. This book is good when you don't know what to read but don't want to commit to a long book.
Leah works at a bakery owned by Mr. & Mrs. Rossi; they took her in after she entered the foster system and cared for her. Mrs. Rossi has fallen ill, leaving Leah and Mr. Rossi to run the bakery.
Mr. Rossi wants more customers and money and buys an espresso machine. The machine makes it all, but they don’t know how to use it. A tall, handsome stranger enters the bakery one day, wanting only an espresso. Leah doesn’t know how to use the machine, so he offers to help fix it and show her how it works. Royal leaves her his card and tells her if she needs anything, don’t hesitate to call him.
Royal is obsessed with Leah. He has watched her for over a year, and he’s done waiting. He’s ready to claim Leah forever, and no one’s getting in his way, not even his family.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.
I want a man like Royal… ✅Watches over her ✅Protective ✅Helps her fix the espresso machine ✅Takes her to his house and won’t let her leave, lol ✅Buys her the most luxurious wardrobe money can buy ✅Experiences a first with him 😈 ✅Buys her baking supplies for the house ✅Tracking device in her engagement ring ✅Helps protect Mr. & Mrs. Rossi ✅Aftercare ✅Wants to br33d her 😏 (read the bonus chapter) ✅He wants to give her the world ✅She’s self-conscious about her weight, and he reminds her that she is the most beautiful woman in the world and reminds her daily. ✅Treats her like the Queen she is 💕
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.
I’m excited to read Lula’s book, Vengeance is mine.
I received a free audio code from the author to listen to and review this novelette. I am a fan of Lee Savino, so I was hesitant to hear this dark rom-com from the queen of the werewolves.
Royal Regis is an Italian-born and raised mafioso that has come to the United States to take his birthright from his father. The father turned his back on Royal as a child and has tried to ensure that Royal never takes over as the rightful heir of his territory. Leah is a lonely foster kid that is paying for college by working at the local Italian bakery. After a chance meeting, Royal decides Leah is the key to his plan to take his father’s territory. When another mafia boss demands protection money from Leah’s elderly employer, she turns to Royal for help. Royal sees the opening he has needed to stake his claim within La Familia and with Leah.
This was an audiobook, so I listened to it while working and getting things done. I need to listen to more audiobooks. My one complaint is that the male voice was okay. Sometimes it was low, grumbly, and sexy and other times it seemed wrong. Also, it sounded like the male narrator moved in and out of an Italian accent. The female voice was pleasant. The steamy moments started off like a romantic candle and ended like an explosion. The way Ms. Savino slowly introduced the naughtiness into this relationship was titillating. Although the relationship developed quickly, the levels of naughtiness as the story progressed seemed appropriate. I really enjoyed the open flirtation between Royal and Leah. Everyone could see how smitten with each other they were. I loved Leah’s diabolical plan for her father-in-law. With that plan, she let Royal, La Familia, and Royal’s family know that she was not a wilting flower, and that she could hold her own with them. Overall, I loved this story, and I have had a difficult time writing this review without giving away spoilers. I am anxiously looking forward to book two—will it be cousin Enzo or cousin Lulu? Either way, I can’t wait to hear or read the next installment in this series.
First, let me say this … Lee Savino is one of my one-click authors whom I adore. When I was selected and asked to read this ARC not only was I honored but excited beyond belief! "Revenge is Sweet" has all the feels you could ask for. There's a villain, a good vs evil plot, strong characters, one hot, sexy, mafia Alpha who is sensitive and caring, and a sassy, insecure, and humble heroine. It's a breath of fresh air. It's sigh-worthy. It's romantic. It's wonderful.
4.5 ⭐️. Wow, this story was relatively short, but packed a punch! It had everything I love in a story: a super alpha H, a strong, independent h, a damsel in distress situation, spicy heat, instalove, obsession, possession and sweet romance. Royal was delish in his pursuit of Leah. Really enjoyable read!
Holy creeper, Batman. This male MC will be voted “Most likely to turn fem MC into a fashionable coat”. He just gave off those vibes. And what was kinda funny in a horrified way was how low key the fem MC was about it all. Man has wedding dress and a shit ton of other women’s clothing in your exact size and he says it’s all for you even though you “just met”? Oo, there’s Prada! Man casually puts wedding ring on your finger WHILE YOU’RE SLEEPING and it just so happens to also have a tracking device? So sparkly. If the book was much longer, the fem MC’s attitude about it all would have quickly worn on my nerves, but it was just long enough for me to cringe and kind of laugh at their ridiculousness, then let it go.
I will say the climax where the fem MC escaped the antagonist’s clutches was the single coolest “damsel in distress my ass” moment of any movie/book I’ve come across in a very very long time, possibly forever. So bad ass. Why aren’t there more scenes like that one in other books/movies?
I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either, and it was morbidly funny in a way that made me wonder if it really was funny. So I’ll give it 3 conflicted stars.
This is the first book in this series. It features Leah a baker of sweet and savory goodies. She is trying to work and go to college at the same time. One day Royal, a gorgeous, supermodel of a man, walks into the bakery. And she is flustered. But he fixes the complicated, ancient espresso machine. She falls hard. But he falls harder. Within a few days he comes to her rescue with the local mob boss. He whisks her away to his mansion in the hills. Somewhere between rescue and a snowstorm she becomes his fiancé. And then she finds out who he is and what his plans are. Then his father gets in the mix and the tension raises doubts in Leah’s mind. Can she get over being a mafia bride? Will Royal’s father’s predictions come true? Can Royal rescue her a second time? Who will eat all the goodies that Leah Bakes? This is a fast paced read with lots of passion and humor and a touch of dangerous suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Revenge is Sweet, an Audiobook by Lee Savino, is book 1 in the Mafia Brides series. It’s the story of Royal and Leah. Leah works making deliciously tempting baked sweets!!! One day, Royal, a mafia prince, enters the bakery and orders an espresso….that she has difficulty preparing. Nevertheless, he is completely enamored. He has secrets and plans afoot that she could never conceive of!!!
Loved the story and the bakery as a background. The story line is sweet and I was totally enamored with it!!!
This Audiobook was narrated by Jasper Woodcock and Blaire LeBlanc. Blaire LeBlanc was INCREDIBLE!!! I felt every emotion, every nuance, every miniscule thing she was performing. Jasper Woodcock did a good job, but his performance seemed a little stiff and wooden to me, at times.
I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.
Leah is a poor student who bakes in a bakery and barely makes ends meet. One day Royal comes into her shop and seems interested in her. Out of the blue he shows up when she's in trouble and literally sweeps her off her feet and to his home. He's overbearing and secretive and acts like she should just trust him. She's wary but attracted and easily gives up when he won't explain things. This was fast moving with Royal bull dozing over Leah and her concerns. More communication would have made this sweeter.
Leah was a bit naive but all that Royal needed and was looking for. He put his plan in motion and waited for a whole year to until he was able to have her, and she was able to prove she was more than baking cakes. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this Audiobook in AuthorsDirect.
Leah was a plus sized girl down on her luck in life, not knowing the mafia boss was watching her. Waiting for the right time to follow through with his plan , Royal couldn't wait any longer to be with leah and make her his bride. It was a quick read. OK for a lighter mafia romance.
Well, the only good thing I can say about this book is that it helped me break my 20 book/month streak (this puts me at 21 for the month of July. The writing wasn’t great and the audio narration wasn’t either.
Fate steps into Leah’s life in the shape of a gorgeous man. She doesn’t realize he’s been planning this meeting for a year. Will she succumb to Royal and his delicious ways or will others try to tear them apart?
Was a great read from beginning to end. Emotionally thrilling, action packed and engaging adventure filled with exciting charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and undeniable passion. Highly entertaining reading!
This book made me laugh really hard. It is also the right amount of spicy and the story line is great. You will love the female lead as she takes on the mafia men. Need a treat…read this book.