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Small Town Brute: A Dark Mafia Romance
Am I his prisoner or his prize possession?
I moved to this small town hoping to find an ending for my book.
Instead I found him across the fence.
Dante, my grumpy, powerful neighbor, suspects me.
The mafia knows my name and now… I know too much.
Kidnapped.
Trapped.
And forced to play the role of girlfriend?
Knowing now that my captor might very well be my savior.
Can I forgive his treachery against me?
Can I live amongst enemies for him?
He once was my captor, now he's my protector.
Yet he's still a beautifully terrifying nightmare.
Can love blossom amidst darkness?
Dive into the shadows to find out.
I moved to this small town hoping to find an ending for my book.
Instead I found him across the fence.
Dante, my grumpy, powerful neighbor, suspects me.
The mafia knows my name and now… I know too much.
Kidnapped.
Trapped.
And forced to play the role of girlfriend?
Knowing now that my captor might very well be my savior.
Can I forgive his treachery against me?
Can I live amongst enemies for him?
He once was my captor, now he's my protector.
Yet he's still a beautifully terrifying nightmare.
Can love blossom amidst darkness?
Dive into the shadows to find out.
99 pages, Paperback
Published November 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 17, 2026
Seemed like a great story/plot although I enjoyed most parts some left me confused as it would jump from one time to another without explanation I think it was a rushed story and could of benefited with being in more detail/longer first Scarlett moves into a new neighbour hood looking for a fresh quiet start she Doesn’t get it as she overhears the make neighbour on the phone he then goes in her house without permission to shut her up then he kidnaps her he is the mafia kingpin weirdly they fall in love then happily ever after??!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2026
The description of this book initially caught my attention. It made it sound intriguing and full of potential. However, once I started reading, my expectations were shot down. This story is really short and can be read in less then 3hrs maybe shorter with no interruptiins. It does lack the depth and detail I was really hoping for.
You will feel that the story will scattered and the scenes are cut short and tend to move too quickly. This made it difficult to stay engaged but I pushed through. I think the book could have been much stronger if more time had been spent developing the characters’ backstories and the situations they’re in. She was a writer but nothing more was developed on it. I was hoping for more on that.
One of my biggest issues was with how the “mafia” aspect was handled. The use of phrases like “mafia this” or “mafia that” felt unnatural and took me out of the story and didn't feel authentic, even for fiction.
The book didn’t deliver much of the dark, intense tone you’d expect from a mafia romance. Aside from a traumatic past, which itself didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been, there wasn’t much depth to the darkness besides the use of a uhm well weapon. If it was truly dark where are the trigger warnings? It won't be needed for this book....
The story felt less like a mafia romance and more like it was centered around a businessman. The romance was okay but it was not till the end.
I really enjoyed the two points of view of the characters Scarlett and Dante! That's a big thing for me. The writing style was good and I still plan to try another book from the author to see if I just landed on a bust due to my reading slump.
You will feel that the story will scattered and the scenes are cut short and tend to move too quickly. This made it difficult to stay engaged but I pushed through. I think the book could have been much stronger if more time had been spent developing the characters’ backstories and the situations they’re in. She was a writer but nothing more was developed on it. I was hoping for more on that.
One of my biggest issues was with how the “mafia” aspect was handled. The use of phrases like “mafia this” or “mafia that” felt unnatural and took me out of the story and didn't feel authentic, even for fiction.
The book didn’t deliver much of the dark, intense tone you’d expect from a mafia romance. Aside from a traumatic past, which itself didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been, there wasn’t much depth to the darkness besides the use of a uhm well weapon. If it was truly dark where are the trigger warnings? It won't be needed for this book....
The story felt less like a mafia romance and more like it was centered around a businessman. The romance was okay but it was not till the end.
I really enjoyed the two points of view of the characters Scarlett and Dante! That's a big thing for me. The writing style was good and I still plan to try another book from the author to see if I just landed on a bust due to my reading slump.
February 7, 2026
Scarlet moves in to her own place and meets her new neighbor, Dante, who happens to be a mafia Don. He kidnapped her for her own safety and from there the story just continues to go way too fast.
I think the concept for the plot is pretty good and I think the author as a solid base for a story, but this needs to be developed so much more into a cohesive book versus the fragments of thoughts that we get as readers.
I think the concept for the plot is pretty good and I think the author as a solid base for a story, but this needs to be developed so much more into a cohesive book versus the fragments of thoughts that we get as readers.
March 6, 2026
I enjoyed the overall plotline for this book and it would have been amazing as a full length novel rather than just a novella but the biggest issue I had was that one minute they were dancing and the next a car was driving at them. I couldn't figure out if they were still dancing or in a car themselves as they seemed to drive away a moment later. It was all very confused and jumped around so much it was difficult to follow. My second peeve with this book was character development, the FMC has a martial artist who could over power at least two grown man in a fight at the same time... I mean not completely unbelievable but then when she has precise aim with a gun the first time she shoots one... I started to loose the will with the whole thing to be honest.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews