Ruthless Saint

by Jo Preston

Dante
I have a secret.
One that waltzed back into my life, threatening to ruin everything I've built. She should have been dead.
She should have stayed away.
But she did neither of those things.
Instead, she came back hoping for answers she shouldn't seek.
And now I'm stuck, playing the role of her protector when I'm the nightmare everyone is afraid of.
I saved her once, but I was just a kid then.
Now, I have an empire to run. One that is crumbling because of her.
Will I find it in me to save her again? Or will I give in to my wicked desires and make her pay for the sins she doesn't know she's committing?

Alessa
I need to unravel a secret.
I’ve lived all my life not knowing who I am or where I came from.
Now, there’s a thread I can follow, and nothing will stop me from finding the truth.
Except there’s a man who’s determined to get in my way.
He’s angry.
He’s beautiful.
He’s ruthless.
They call him Saint, but he’s dripping with sin.

Genres: Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Mafia Romance, Dark, Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary Romance

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Jo Preston writes sexy romance books. Sometimes funny, sometimes dark, and sometimes both, whichever way the ADHD wind blows.
She lives with her husband, son and a dog (that doubles as a teddy bear) in the UK, where she wraps up in warm clothes and hang out under umbrellas, dreaming of warm destinations.
When she's not writing, she enjoys a glass of wine (or two) with a good book or a favourite Netflix show.

Reviews

[Dora Koutsoukou]

2 🤔🤔⭐️s

The premise was very intriguing and caught my interest.
However, there were plenty of inner thoughts, and some dragging parts after the first third of the story, and I had a hard time keep reading.
I also didn’t like the flow of the storyline. Some parts were unnecessarily longwinded and others rushed.

[Bri]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[morganinpages]

DNF
I can’t even get into this! This book is so boring and just weird. Like you’re telling me in the prologue this man saves her, but then leaves her basically for dead with some foster family who is terrible to her and doesn’t even check up on her? No thank you.

[Teresa]

I am a huge fan of Jo Preston's books!! The steam and the story are always a hit with me!
This is the first book in her new series and it is very different from all of her previous books. This is a dark mafia romance.
The story introduces us to the "Saint" crime family. These brothers are HOT!!!!
Dante is the oldest and has a connection to Alessa from the very beginning!
There are so many twists and turns to this story and I LOVED every one!
The banter between these two is so entertaining!
If you like your books steamy with a side of darkness, I recommend this one for sure!

[Zoe-Amelia]

I'm gonna start this off by saying nobody has me clutching my sides, laughing so much it hurts and I must have abs now, hysterical, crying, laughing the way Jo does with her books

Alessa and Dante's story is full of secrets, twists, banter, pissing off the mafia boss to see how far we can push him until he shoots us between the eyes moments and I was here for every second of it!

And let's not forget the flawless writing style that Jo has, she is able to suck me in from the first word, the world building and character development kept me on my toes, and as the secrets started to unfold I just couldn't put this book down!

If you love mafia and you love romcom then this book is mixed to the absolute perfection!

I can't wait for more from the brothers (because believe me they are so delicious at one point I was rooting for RH) and to see more of Dante and Alessa together 🖤

[Bellas.bookworld]

Secrets scerets are no fun until they are found out by everyone. Dante head of the Santoro mafia family has his a secret that just came barreling in back in to his life after 19 years.
Alessa Jones comes to Blackwood looking for answers and finds her self at the center of everything that can unravel Dante.
Can La Famiglia survive everything that comes to light ?

Their story has me on edge the whole way through. Dante is deliciously angry and Alessa had me laughing out loud multiple times. Both characters were well written. I loved the connections Alessa makes with Dante’s people and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to see the story continue!!

[Kaity]

Alessa, what a little firecracker and Dante was the flame, together they were hot as hell!

[maddie]

i had no idea what was going on but also she was very childish and annoying but also wdym ur a millionaire who owns a town and runs a crime syndicate and you don’t have bulletproof glass in your house, and not only that you don’t have double glazing so you can just run through it ??? stupid behaviour

[Antrea Ahha]

Too shallow

[Krishika ( Dramatic Booknerd )]

I DEVOURED THIS BOOK 😍😍

I love myself a good dark mafia Romance and this was just too good!! It hit all the right spots and DELIVERED 🤌

Dante did not believe in love. As the head of the mafia, he never envisioned a family for himself and had to be cold, ruthless and unforgiving! But that all changed when the Spitfire Alessa came into his life again. He had saved her once, and now it was time he protected her again.

I loved how in the start Alessa just wanted to find a place for herself and Dante was hell bent on sending her away, the banter that occured due to this was just awesome 🤭😂 They were both made for each other and were just waiting for the right person to barge into their lives and give them all the love they need. Dante said he didn't believe in love but his gestures said the complete opposite!! He was absolutely whipped and so so possesive for his girl 🤌🥰

This book had intrigue, had spice, had romance and was just everything I want and need in a good mafia romance. The author's writing never disappoints and I am absolutely in love with each and everything about this book.

[ash]

DNF @ 36% and there really isn't much going on. Dante kills Alessa's dad for revenge and finds her tied up in a closet when she's believed to be dead. To protect her he leaves her with his mum's old friend. Fast forward 19 years and Alessa returns to Blackwood to find answers about her biological parents. She runs into Dante and off the bat he's rude to her. He ensures she can't get a job and gets her kicked out of her hotel in the middle of the night which results in her almost getting killed. It just does not make any sense as to why he doesn't just explain to Alessa why she can't be in Blackwood instead of being all secretive and making her life harder than it has to be and putting her in more danger. He treats her like the enemy when all she wants to do is find her parents and she's not even aware of any connections she could have to the mafia. There is also no chemistry between Alessa and Dante whatsoever.

[Dee]

I was in the mood for a good mafia romance and this definitely delivered.

It was a good mix of violence, snarky banter and squishy feelings.

I really enjoyed the FMC. She had a spine of steel and an amazing sense of humour which really shines through in her banter.

The one thing that I was disappointed about is that her eidetic memory and abilities weren't used more to bolster the story. It also felt like as soon as she gave in to Dante she lost her "muchness". I could understand having to deal with that amount of trauma would be a relief to hand your burdens on to someone who proves that they can keep you safe. Even though secrets drive me crazy.

Can't wait for the next book!

Spice level: 3.5🌶

[Cheryl]

Ruthless Saint by Jo Preston is the captivating, mesmerizing story of Dante and Alessa. She wants to find out the truth about her past. She has one small lead to everything…so, she heads to Blackwood. There, she meets the mean, brutal Dante, who wants nothing but to make her leave. Little does she know the secrets he possesses, the lies she’s been told, and the very real danger she is now in because she chose to come back.

This story was unputdownable!!! I loved it!!! Loved Dante and how much he struggled with his demons and the past. Love Alessa and how determined she was to discover the truth…though, she was soooooooooo reckless!!!! Excellent read!!

[Kristina]

I was so excited when I heard that Jo Preston was writing a mafia-esque dark romance, and she did not disappoint. Our FMC, Alessa just wants answers and no isn’t the one she wants to hear. She’s sassy and goes toe to toe with our MC, Dante, and loves to mess with him. I adored this story, it made me laugh, scream and well let’s say ruined some underwear. Jo Preston is a gifted storyteller, and I love the world she has created here. If you love dark romance, spicy reads and females who love to cause mischief then this is perfect for you. But fyi, I’ve totally claimed Angelo, he’s licked, bit and totally mine.

[paige olivia]

this was my first book by jo preston and it certainly won’t be the last !! the romance between the protagonists was a slow burn to begin with but once the heat came it delivered. the storyline was captivating, i’ve read a lot of mafia romance books and i find that often they can become repetitive - this wasn’t the case with preston’s novel. the balance of romance and darker elements was done well. i am a sucker for a morally grey mmc and this book certainly delivered.
i’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series !!

[Romance & Coffee ☕]

This was honestly such an entertaining read. A Mafia dark romance with a Hollywood movie storyline.
The evil, the glamour and the raw.
I particularly enjoyed the lead protagonist Alessa's character. Sharp as a tack and self reliant with a beautiful resilience and quick witted humour that won most that met her.

[Catherine Dimmock]

This is the first time reading from this author, and I loved every minute of it. I've been reading a lot of mafia books lately and all been great. But I have never come across one so good yet so funny. I was hooked on dante and alessa's book from start to finish. Alessa had me laughing out loud throughout.

A must read book. And definitely will read more from this author.
5 * from me.

[Kristin]

Ruthless Saint was a really good enemies to lovers, mafia romance.

Alessa was a breath of fresh air with her quirky personality and quick wit. Dante was the perfect alphahole mafia boss who was completely obsessed with her. Their story was a slow burn but held my interest until the very end. The chemistry between them was intense and I enjoyed the supporting characters.

[Secret Smut Reader]

Ok so that was good. Fmc Alessa annoyed me slightly- was supposed to be a bad ass, but the pranks made her seem immature. Mmc Dante was typical alphahole, tried to keep fmc at arm's length, but once he gave in, he was OTT/P in the best of ways!

This was a slow burn but it got 🔥 once the spice hit. Looking forward to Angelo and Luca' stories.

[Kerry]

This is my first book by Jo Preston - it was a great start!

I really enjoyed the story and development of the characters. I would have liked to delve into the FMC backstory a bit more (her growing up and the characters going through this a bit more etc - still enjoyed how the MMC jumped into action!) but overall liked the book!

This follows Alessa and Dante, it is Mafia, age-gap, protective, fierce FMC. The story of the MMC follows him and his 2 brothers, the end of the book suggests the next book will follow one of the brothers!

[Aliaha Osborne]

Loved this read. Not overly spicy but some spice chapters. Kinda confused on how he just went from being an asshole to her to falling in love with her and same with her. Kinda insta love enemies to lovers. Overall good book. Read trigger warnings. Felt it lacked some explanation so can’t wait for book 2.

[Sam Thorne]

I’ve had the pleasure of reading this novel in the very early stages and the finished product is wonderful. Jo has a gift for banter, conflict and escalation and it’s all on display here, complete with a fantastic sense of humour.

Great fun, brilliant energy, strongly recommended!

[Liz (LoverOfBooks80)]

First and not last read of Jo’s.

I really enjoyed this and loved being in this world. I love how strong Alessa is, how she keeps fighting. Her sass and come backs were so good. Dante - well Damn! Where can I find him. He’s grumpy, ferocious but Alessa seems to be able to twist him around her little finger ❤️ I loved the banter, the connection and the spice. The story line is so good and has a few twists to keep you on your toes x


Addictive and amazing. Can’t wait for more from the Saints world x.

[Team Starlite]

A mafia story how I like it.
Grumpy, broody, scary and tattooed Don and a scareless young woman, who can stand up for herself.

The past bind those two together and after 19 years their paths cross again.
And then the action, drama and steam begins :)

[Rachel]

TikTok made me buy it!

Saw this being advertised by the author on TikTok and it pulled me in. Full of twists, and action the love story deals with some hard themes rather beautifully. Will read more from this author in the future!

[lilypie]

this was everything i needed it to be. Quenched my thirst for enemies to lovers/mafia/boss tropes. No like seriously loved it and i was so excited to read about the other brothers after that epilogue… can’t wait for the rest of this series (i hope it is a series).

[Tracy Langcake]

I loved the chemistry between the characters! Alessa is so sassy and mischievous constantly pushing Dante’s buttons 😏 The humour is fantastic, the plot riveting and the spice was just right! I can’t wait for the next in the series!!

[Melissa]

Great banter...tons of spice. Enjoyable read

[Carly Potter]

Loved this book, I read it in one sitting! Great story and strong characters

[Medina 🫶🏼]

DNF @ 55%