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Solace
After a nasty divorce from her mayor husband, Emily wants to disappear and start over. She didn’t quite mean with the mafia, though…
Naïve and sheltered Emily was carefully raised to be the perfect wife. Now thrown into a world of violence and dark desires, her experience as a kindergarten teacher and housewife leaves her unprepared for her new life. The sweater vest wearing men of her suburban hometown didn’t prepare her for the three powerful and wicked men she now lives and works with.
Follow along as Emily navigates her new life as a member of the mafia, roommate to three delicious men, and a woman with her own sinful desires.
Solace is the first installment of an adult only romance series. Solace features Dual POV with Emily and Sterling, one of her men.
Naïve and sheltered Emily was carefully raised to be the perfect wife. Now thrown into a world of violence and dark desires, her experience as a kindergarten teacher and housewife leaves her unprepared for her new life. The sweater vest wearing men of her suburban hometown didn’t prepare her for the three powerful and wicked men she now lives and works with.
Follow along as Emily navigates her new life as a member of the mafia, roommate to three delicious men, and a woman with her own sinful desires.
Solace is the first installment of an adult only romance series. Solace features Dual POV with Emily and Sterling, one of her men.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2023
104 people are currently reading
765 people want to read
About the author
Cat Austen
8 books23 followersCat is a mom of two little boys in Ohio and writes dirty stories after bedtime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 20, 2024
1st read Aug, 2023: 4.25
2nd read Nov 2023: 4.25
I saw a TikTok that called this “Den of Vipers meets New Girl” and honestly it’s such an accurate description. The book isn’t perfect, but it’s so much fun. Imagine a suburban kindergarten teacher being thrown into the world of organized crime, using her “teacher voice” to force manners on 3 broody mafia men. It’s an easy read, low angst, medium steam, tons of banter, and plenty of humor. Emily, Sterling, Milo, and Devon remind me a tiny bit of Rogue, JJ, Chase, and Fox from Sinners Playground (without Maverick).
I do wish that everyone had addressed the absolute weirdness of Emily being brought into the “family” much earlier on. No one really openly speculated about it until the end, and it kept taking me out of the story because I kept thinking to myself how her being there made no sense. In no world would have any of them put up with her and give immediately give her work like they did under normal circumstances.
Side note…Emily is really out here living every BookTok dark romance girlies dream.
2nd read Nov 2023: 4.25
I saw a TikTok that called this “Den of Vipers meets New Girl” and honestly it’s such an accurate description. The book isn’t perfect, but it’s so much fun. Imagine a suburban kindergarten teacher being thrown into the world of organized crime, using her “teacher voice” to force manners on 3 broody mafia men. It’s an easy read, low angst, medium steam, tons of banter, and plenty of humor. Emily, Sterling, Milo, and Devon remind me a tiny bit of Rogue, JJ, Chase, and Fox from Sinners Playground (without Maverick).
I do wish that everyone had addressed the absolute weirdness of Emily being brought into the “family” much earlier on. No one really openly speculated about it until the end, and it kept taking me out of the story because I kept thinking to myself how her being there made no sense. In no world would have any of them put up with her and give immediately give her work like they did under normal circumstances.
Side note…Emily is really out here living every BookTok dark romance girlies dream.
July 22, 2023
Had the pleasure of reading this as an ARC before it releases on August 1st!
This is an emotional, and suspenseful why choose mafia romance and it was every bit of thrilling, hot and binge worthy!
If you like stories where the female main character reclaims her badassery and strength after being belittled and cheated on by a sorry excuse of a man? You’ll love this.
They say the best way to get over a man is to get under one… but Emily puts that to a next level when she gets over her ex with the help of 3 mafia underbosses🔥
This is an emotional, and suspenseful why choose mafia romance and it was every bit of thrilling, hot and binge worthy!
If you like stories where the female main character reclaims her badassery and strength after being belittled and cheated on by a sorry excuse of a man? You’ll love this.
They say the best way to get over a man is to get under one… but Emily puts that to a next level when she gets over her ex with the help of 3 mafia underbosses🔥
July 30, 2024
I read till the beginning of chapter 7 (26% of the book on Kindle) and then I got impatient and scrolled through every remaining chapter. There are 3 men and it's supposed to be a reverse harem, which means all of the guys are supposed to end up with her -- then why is the whole book only in Emily and Sterling's POV? In chapter 7, Sterling said it was Devon who was determined to keep Emily on as their housekeeper & cook, so I wanted Devon's POV to see what was going on in his mind.
The whole scenario doesn't make sense. Emily obviously didn't know what she was getting into when she made the phone call asking for help. So why are the guys adamant that she continue to stay with them once they realise there was a misunderstanding? It's very clear that she's being forced to stay with them in their house against her will, which I would have thought makes her more trouble than she's worth -- now one of the men has to be watching her every single moment to make sure she's not going to make a run for it. What are they getting out of this? A housekeeper and cook? Paying someone to do the work or blackmailing someone they had dirt on would probably be a thousand times easier to manage.
The author wants us to believe that the three guys work for the mafia, but the way they snatch Emily is so amateurish. And, like I said earlier, they don't even have a good reason for doing it. If they are helping her to "disappear" at her request, as they insist they are doing, then why didn't they explain that in the beginning rather than acting so heavy-handed and menacing? And why are they so condescending and cold to her, someone they supposedly wanted to "help"? Not caring that she's afraid, or even revelling in her fear? In fact, they make her wear a demeaning maid costume with miniskirt, fishnet stockings, and a low-cut top that exposes cleavage, telling her that's her new "uniform". It's just so juvenile and silly, and also needlessly mean. I can't understand their motivations at all.
I feel that I was misled into thinking the men were going to be her protectors, that they were going to help her get her revenge against her ex, the smarmy mayor. Yes, I expected them to be cold and brutal in carrying out the responsibilities and duties of "the family", but I expected that since she essentially called them for protection, they would at least act with decency towards her, rather than try to intimidate and humiliate her.
I would understand their coldness towards Emily if they felt like they had no choice but to keep her -- like if someone had twisted their arm and told them that they had to do it, and they felt like she had been dumped on them. But since Devon (the de facto leader) wanted Emily to stay, I can't understand why they would treat her poorly... they had no prior beef with her or her family and were not trying to use her to exact revenge on her smarmy ex or anything like that.
The failure to provide clear motivations driving the men's actions is what causes this book to fail for me. I just can't get a grasp of their characters. It's worse because we only have Sterling's POV. So we know that he's contemptuous of Emily because he feels she is "useless":
Emily also blows hot and cold. She is sometimes defiant and sometimes not. Sometimes she uses her "teacher voice" (she is a kindergarten teacher) and tries to school the men in manners, at other times she cowers and gives in. Like, in the matter of the uniform. She says she won't wear it but Sterling just tells her to do it and... she doesn't argue with him further! He didn't even need to threaten her or cut up her other clothes or anything. Then Devon sees her in it and she says she doesn't want to wear it and asks, "Would one like to call off his dogs?" and he says no and walks out of the room, and that is that. I mean, the way she spoke to him was teasing and joking, it didn't even sound like she was serious about wanting to ditch the uniform. She is not believable as a character.
I also agree with Emily that it is creepy for the guys to have a surveillance camera in the bathroom. She has zero privacy. Honestly if this is supposed to be considered a "rescue" it is poorly conceived. I don't know what the author was going for, but I didn't sign up to watch a woman being bullied by grown men... especially men who are supposed to later turn into her love interests. DNF at 26%. This book was free, but I regret buying book 2 even though it was only $0.99. I have zero interest in reading the rest of the story.
The whole scenario doesn't make sense. Emily obviously didn't know what she was getting into when she made the phone call asking for help. So why are the guys adamant that she continue to stay with them once they realise there was a misunderstanding? It's very clear that she's being forced to stay with them in their house against her will, which I would have thought makes her more trouble than she's worth -- now one of the men has to be watching her every single moment to make sure she's not going to make a run for it. What are they getting out of this? A housekeeper and cook? Paying someone to do the work or blackmailing someone they had dirt on would probably be a thousand times easier to manage.
The author wants us to believe that the three guys work for the mafia, but the way they snatch Emily is so amateurish. And, like I said earlier, they don't even have a good reason for doing it. If they are helping her to "disappear" at her request, as they insist they are doing, then why didn't they explain that in the beginning rather than acting so heavy-handed and menacing? And why are they so condescending and cold to her, someone they supposedly wanted to "help"? Not caring that she's afraid, or even revelling in her fear? In fact, they make her wear a demeaning maid costume with miniskirt, fishnet stockings, and a low-cut top that exposes cleavage, telling her that's her new "uniform". It's just so juvenile and silly, and also needlessly mean. I can't understand their motivations at all.
I feel that I was misled into thinking the men were going to be her protectors, that they were going to help her get her revenge against her ex, the smarmy mayor. Yes, I expected them to be cold and brutal in carrying out the responsibilities and duties of "the family", but I expected that since she essentially called them for protection, they would at least act with decency towards her, rather than try to intimidate and humiliate her.
I would understand their coldness towards Emily if they felt like they had no choice but to keep her -- like if someone had twisted their arm and told them that they had to do it, and they felt like she had been dumped on them. But since Devon (the de facto leader) wanted Emily to stay, I can't understand why they would treat her poorly... they had no prior beef with her or her family and were not trying to use her to exact revenge on her smarmy ex or anything like that.
The failure to provide clear motivations driving the men's actions is what causes this book to fail for me. I just can't get a grasp of their characters. It's worse because we only have Sterling's POV. So we know that he's contemptuous of Emily because he feels she is "useless":
Emily probably wanted an easy life where her husband made all the decisions and all she had to do was raise babies and cook and... grow flowers or some shit. I had yet to see the value in her working for us other than to replace our cleaning and cooking staff.No value even though he admits that she cooks well! And it's so ironic that he says she probably wants a life where her husband makes all the decisions -- when he and his friends keep dictating to her and making all the decisions. The question arises again: if Sterling thinks that Emily doesn't bring value to them, then why is he determined to force her to stay anyway??? He says Devon is the one pushing the issue, but I don't see him arguing with Devon about it.
Emily also blows hot and cold. She is sometimes defiant and sometimes not. Sometimes she uses her "teacher voice" (she is a kindergarten teacher) and tries to school the men in manners, at other times she cowers and gives in. Like, in the matter of the uniform. She says she won't wear it but Sterling just tells her to do it and... she doesn't argue with him further! He didn't even need to threaten her or cut up her other clothes or anything. Then Devon sees her in it and she says she doesn't want to wear it and asks, "Would one like to call off his dogs?" and he says no and walks out of the room, and that is that. I mean, the way she spoke to him was teasing and joking, it didn't even sound like she was serious about wanting to ditch the uniform. She is not believable as a character.
I also agree with Emily that it is creepy for the guys to have a surveillance camera in the bathroom. She has zero privacy. Honestly if this is supposed to be considered a "rescue" it is poorly conceived. I don't know what the author was going for, but I didn't sign up to watch a woman being bullied by grown men... especially men who are supposed to later turn into her love interests. DNF at 26%. This book was free, but I regret buying book 2 even though it was only $0.99. I have zero interest in reading the rest of the story.
March 23, 2024
my first mafia romance. i feel like if i keep reading the series itll make more sense but unsure if i will continue
May 3, 2025
The emotions this book creates is insane. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
July 16, 2023
I loved the characters and plot for this book! 😍
I was lucky enough to receive and ARC and couldn't wait to read it!
Things to know:
- mafia romance
- early 3o's mfc and mmc
- spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶
- mmf and mm
- bdsm elements
- kidnapping and forced proximity
- enemies to lovers
- RH/ why choose
- check trigger warnings⚠️
I laughed, I cringed, I teared up, I couldn't put it down... if the tropes are your cup of tea then definitely add to your tbr asap!!! 🥰
I was lucky enough to receive and ARC and couldn't wait to read it!
Things to know:
- mafia romance
- early 3o's mfc and mmc
- spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶
- mmf and mm
- bdsm elements
- kidnapping and forced proximity
- enemies to lovers
- RH/ why choose
- check trigger warnings⚠️
I laughed, I cringed, I teared up, I couldn't put it down... if the tropes are your cup of tea then definitely add to your tbr asap!!! 🥰
May 19, 2024
I may have binge read this entire series over the course of a week and a half so forgive me if the reviews blend into each other a bit. It's hard to keep everything separated.
Solace, the first book in this series, sets the stage for Emily to find her place with her new family of hot mafia men. When Emily discovers her politician husband cheating on her, she takes matters into her own hands and leaves him. In the course of this she takes a woman she met in a salon up on her offer of helping Emily disappear.
Cue a mafia kidnapping by 3 objectively hot men, and this doesn't get a resolution right away. This is a series that takes a little while to get to the plot resolutions and reveals. Emily adjusts to this new life but also finds herself changing in both good and potentially dangerous ways.
The first book does get very spicy but it is a bit of a slower-burn on couple/polyamory spice as Emily comes to trust and love her men. Each book has Emily's POV and the POV of one of the men. Book 1 is Emily and Sterling's POV.
The author is fantastic about providing content guidance for every book and a nice summary in the beginnings of book 2 and 3 to catch readers up on previous events.
There's quite a bit of mafia shenanigans but I did find this book (and series) focuses heavily on the characters journeys and the building of their relationship with the mafia stuff as the tension and danger aspect in the plot. I enjoy character driven books and felt there was good balance between the fast paced sections and slower builds.
Solace, the first book in this series, sets the stage for Emily to find her place with her new family of hot mafia men. When Emily discovers her politician husband cheating on her, she takes matters into her own hands and leaves him. In the course of this she takes a woman she met in a salon up on her offer of helping Emily disappear.
Cue a mafia kidnapping by 3 objectively hot men, and this doesn't get a resolution right away. This is a series that takes a little while to get to the plot resolutions and reveals. Emily adjusts to this new life but also finds herself changing in both good and potentially dangerous ways.
The first book does get very spicy but it is a bit of a slower-burn on couple/polyamory spice as Emily comes to trust and love her men. Each book has Emily's POV and the POV of one of the men. Book 1 is Emily and Sterling's POV.
The author is fantastic about providing content guidance for every book and a nice summary in the beginnings of book 2 and 3 to catch readers up on previous events.
There's quite a bit of mafia shenanigans but I did find this book (and series) focuses heavily on the characters journeys and the building of their relationship with the mafia stuff as the tension and danger aspect in the plot. I enjoy character driven books and felt there was good balance between the fast paced sections and slower builds.
August 27, 2023
Another tik tok recommendation for the win! I instantly downloaded this book after reading a small blurb. Kindergarten teacher recently cheated on by her husband, who now works for three beefy dangerous mafia men? Sign me up!
First the plot is pretty good. We have a scorned FMC looking to restart her life and escape her past. We have three pretty broken mafia men trying to survive in their world. The book starts with her being slightly taken unwillingly and kept somewhat of a hostage, but then she grows, trust is made, and she becomes a part of the family. I liked it.
The characters are all likeable and funny. Our FMC is equal parts innocent and inexperienced in a mafia world, but also she is fierce and sassy and those kindergarten teach skills come in handy with those mafia boys. I was cackling when she used her teacher skills on them. The guys are all pretty good. Differing personalities and all with their own histories and issues.
The spice is slow burning but great. We do get MM crossover and it's great as well. I'm pretty sure I now only ever want my why choose's to have MM crossover.
This book ends on a slight cliffhanger. I'm excited for book two and to see how it all plays out.
First the plot is pretty good. We have a scorned FMC looking to restart her life and escape her past. We have three pretty broken mafia men trying to survive in their world. The book starts with her being slightly taken unwillingly and kept somewhat of a hostage, but then she grows, trust is made, and she becomes a part of the family. I liked it.
The characters are all likeable and funny. Our FMC is equal parts innocent and inexperienced in a mafia world, but also she is fierce and sassy and those kindergarten teach skills come in handy with those mafia boys. I was cackling when she used her teacher skills on them. The guys are all pretty good. Differing personalities and all with their own histories and issues.
The spice is slow burning but great. We do get MM crossover and it's great as well. I'm pretty sure I now only ever want my why choose's to have MM crossover.
This book ends on a slight cliffhanger. I'm excited for book two and to see how it all plays out.
July 20, 2023
✨SPOILERS✨
4/5⭐️
3.5/5🌶️
I’m obsessed with these characters!😍
I had the pleasure of arc reading this and let me just say holy crap I devoured this book. First thought is “I’m dying to read the second book!”
This mafia why choose romance has a perfect spice to plot ratio in my opinion. I love each character and how their different personalities all connect really well with each other.
The banter and tension between sterling and milo was hilarious. For a second I was not liking Devon but by the of it I was dying for more interaction between Devon and Emily.
Also her ex husband is a twat, plain and simple.👋
4/5⭐️
3.5/5🌶️
I’m obsessed with these characters!😍
I had the pleasure of arc reading this and let me just say holy crap I devoured this book. First thought is “I’m dying to read the second book!”
This mafia why choose romance has a perfect spice to plot ratio in my opinion. I love each character and how their different personalities all connect really well with each other.
The banter and tension between sterling and milo was hilarious. For a second I was not liking Devon but by the of it I was dying for more interaction between Devon and Emily.
Also her ex husband is a twat, plain and simple.👋
August 27, 2023
I actually laughed out loud at parts of this book. The banter between Devon and Emily was hilarious! Emily gives off Sagittarius vibes in this story - as a fellow Sagittarius it’s so fun to see. She gives as good as she gets, she loves fiercely, and even when life knocks her down she gets right back up and comes back even harder than before.
It was hard to put this book down. I’m rooting for the found family, the spice is off the charts, and I’m eager to see how the story plays out in the next book.
It was hard to put this book down. I’m rooting for the found family, the spice is off the charts, and I’m eager to see how the story plays out in the next book.
August 21, 2023
Great start to a new series. The characters are all interesting and very developed and unique in there own way. I can't wait to see how they further develop and grow together. The story is a different take on a typical mafia and I love it. I hope the next book gives us insight into another male POV.
Great story. Highly recommend.
Great story. Highly recommend.
November 22, 2023
Umm! Heck yes!
This book was spicy and entertaining. I love the relationship between Emily, Sterling and Milo. I want to see what happens with Devon. I’m interested to see how Emily and him connect later on in this series. Thank goodness that the next book will be out in last than a few days!
This book was spicy and entertaining. I love the relationship between Emily, Sterling and Milo. I want to see what happens with Devon. I’m interested to see how Emily and him connect later on in this series. Thank goodness that the next book will be out in last than a few days!
August 30, 2023
I normally really don’t like mafia romance, but I absolutely loved this book! Emily is such a sweetheart of a main character, and the boys are all absolutely brilliant in their own ways. I really hope the author does a second book in the series, because I so want to find out what happens next.
April 22, 2024
I think this is only the second mafia romance book I’ve read so I’m not an expert in this field yet 😂 However, I did really enjoy it and immediately downloaded book 2!! I loved the spice and the main female character gaining her confidence with the support of her men 😉
August 4, 2023
👍🏼
I’ve been on a DNF run and this book broke it! A great combo of dark and humorous, chilling and proud, spicy and cute.
I’ve been on a DNF run and this book broke it! A great combo of dark and humorous, chilling and proud, spicy and cute.
August 6, 2023
I laughed and was entertained
The story was great. It was a nice"why choose" with a little humor. I love the dynamic of the men and the FMC was interesting.
The story was great. It was a nice"why choose" with a little humor. I love the dynamic of the men and the FMC was interesting.
September 3, 2023
3.5
i don’t actually have any issues with this book i just think it could’ve been a lot more interesting and a lot more could’ve happened
i don’t actually have any issues with this book i just think it could’ve been a lot more interesting and a lot more could’ve happened
September 25, 2023
WattPad vibes in a bad way. Too childish
dnf
October 5, 2023DNF at 11%
February 25, 2024
DNF @13%
May 17, 2024
Holy macaroni
Another find from threads.
Couldn't put it down. Fast pace towards the end but fit the storyline. Definitely worth it
Another find from threads.
Couldn't put it down. Fast pace towards the end but fit the storyline. Definitely worth it
August 21, 2024
I don’t even know what to say LMFAOOOO
August 24, 2024
pretty good
This was a pretty good and dramatic read. I enjoyed it and then characters for the most part. I’m looking forward to see how this all plays out.
This was a pretty good and dramatic read. I enjoyed it and then characters for the most part. I’m looking forward to see how this all plays out.
January 11, 2026
I…..don’t really know what I just read. It felt a bit cheap in the beginning, but when I got to around 50-60% of the book, it got interesting.
August 21, 2023
I loved this book!! It was a quick mafia read and was so hot. The spicy was well written🤭. I love all the boys and loved how they each had their own quirks and personalities. The only thing that I was disappointed about was that Devan and Emily never went anywhere, like I need more of Devan. I love how we saw all the boys slowly open up to Emily and the trust that grew between the four. I also really enjoyed Emily turning into a badass and saving her boys❤️.I can’t wait for the second book!!
September 6, 2023
I absolutely CANNOT wait to read the next book. I went into this with low expectations because of how I had presumed it to be. But then I was completely pulled- no, yanked in. This story was like being edged for an hour. I cannot wait for the next book to come out, it’s already in my TBR list!
August 25, 2025
This is just a ridiculous book and I love it. The plot is shaky at best and honestly, the guys aren't the greatest. They went from being absolute shits to being nice with little change. It seemed that Emily needed to just forget about the bullying and it all got better.
I don't like this for the groveling, because there is none. There are no apologies. There's just drunken fumbling between consenting adults and boys kissing boys. This is so far from a literary masterpiece but it's not trying to be that which is what makes Solace great. It's just a light-hearted, reverse harem, mafia romance. Lots of punching, kissing, bi awakening, shooting, and pawing. Someone compared this to Den of Vipers meets "New Girl" and I suppose I can see it, except I didn't hate all of the characters like I did in Den of Vipers.
Emily was a great foil to the men. Her strait laced teacher personality fit nicely alongside Devon, Milo, and Sterling. All of the characters were unique enough to set them apart but they didn't come across as caricatures which seems to be a problem with most other reverse harems. The relationship dynamics worked very well.
I just really enjoy this series. It's just a fun time all around.
I don't like this for the groveling, because there is none. There are no apologies. There's just drunken fumbling between consenting adults and boys kissing boys. This is so far from a literary masterpiece but it's not trying to be that which is what makes Solace great. It's just a light-hearted, reverse harem, mafia romance. Lots of punching, kissing, bi awakening, shooting, and pawing. Someone compared this to Den of Vipers meets "New Girl" and I suppose I can see it, except I didn't hate all of the characters like I did in Den of Vipers.
Emily was a great foil to the men. Her strait laced teacher personality fit nicely alongside Devon, Milo, and Sterling. All of the characters were unique enough to set them apart but they didn't come across as caricatures which seems to be a problem with most other reverse harems. The relationship dynamics worked very well.
I just really enjoy this series. It's just a fun time all around.
August 8, 2024
it was like New girl meets mafia.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews