Twisted Ambitions

by Ana Silva

In the glittering world of the Mancini family, Chiara is expected to be the perfect princess, but behind the facade of luxury lies a girl yearning for freedom. As she navigates the complexities of family dynamics, friendships, and her own ambitions, Chiara discovers that true happiness may lie in breaking free from the constraints of her privileged life. 'Twisted Ambitions' is a captivating tale of love, loss, and self-discovery, where Chiara must confront her past and embrace her future with courage and determination. Join her on a journey of transformation as she learns to follow her heart and forge her own path in a world filled with secrets and hidden desires. Will Chiara find the strength to defy expectations and pursue her twisted ambitions, or will she be forever trapped in a gilded cage of her own making? Discover the power of choice and the resilience of the human spirit in this gripping novel by Ana Silva.

324 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2025

About the author

Born in 1997 in a small town in the north of Portugal, she was a curious girl who always wanted to know what was coming next when she heard a story. As a teenager, she fell in love with literature, completely enchanted by getting to know new places and people through the pages of books. Over the years, she tried several times to write books that would delight and help people like the books she read. It took a few years, but at the age of twenty-five, Twisted Ambitions was finally born.

Reviews

[Joana Aguiar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para uma autora portuguesa a escrever inglês, está bastante bom.

A evolução da escrita é notável dos primeiros capítulos para os últimos. Não quero dar spoilers, mas todo o conceito do livro é interessante com a venda/fabrico de armas e todo o mundo do crime que envolve a máfia.

As personagens também crescem ao longo da história, mas gostava que o romance fosse mais explorado para ser mais credível, achei que as personagens passaram pouco tempo juntas. O final foi mais que satisfatório.

Recomendo a autora a traduzir isto para português e lançar o isco às editoras portuguesas.

[Zoë Nira · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5 stars)

Right from the start, I was hooked! The first 15% completely drew me in, and I honestly couldn’t imagine how it would turn into an arranged marriage story, but when that twist arrived, it clicked perfectly.

For a debut, Twisted Ambitions is impressive. The plot kept me intrigued, and I read it in less than 24 hours because I simply couldn’t put it down. The first half was a solid 4 stars for me, the pacing was great, it was engaging and full of tension.

One thing I especially enjoyed was Chiara’s character growth. Seeing her evolve and come into her own was really satisfying, and it added a nice emotional layer to the story.

Where it dipped slightly for me was in the second half. Around the 50% mark, Chiara suddenly falls in love and because she and Luca hardly knew each other, it didn’t feel entirely realistic. Without his POV, I struggled to understand his feelings or see the connection develop from his side. I think having Luca’s perspective would have made the romance feel more believable and emotionally grounded.

You can tell English isn’t the author’s first language and the writing also uses quite a lot of exclamation marks. As a non-native speaker myself, the language quirks didn’t bother me too much, but the abundance of exclamation points stood out.

Overall, this was a refreshing and enjoyable read, and I see a lot of potential in Ana Silva’s writing. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her next release!

[Katie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a mafia romance girlie, it is by far my most read genre. I definitely feel that if you are new to the genre this book is perfect to introduce you to it.

This book follows Chiara on her journey of her navigating through life and also her journey of self discovery. In other words she just wanted to find her place in this world and find someone to share her life with and I think this is a feeling that majority of readers can relate to. Chiara does suffer with major anxiety but we see Chiara build her confidence as the book develops. She proves that she is not a woman that you can just walk all over on.

Let’s just say that Chiara’s first interaction with our MMC Luca most certainly is a cold one. He had certain assumptions that Chiara was a spoiled princess but when he got to know her a bit better he realised this certainly wasn’t the case. Luca’s father proposes a marriage between the pair to strengthen their families business arrangement. What I quite liked about book which differs to quite a few mafia romances I had read is that the decision was entirely down to Chiara whether she wanted to marry Luca or not. She had a great relationship with her parents and her siblings and they wouldn’t dare to force her into an arrangement that she didn’t feel was right for her.

It took me quite a bit to warm up to Luca, in the beginning he was distant towards Chiara and I get it the pair didn’t know each other well and he was busy with his family business. Of course Chiara calls Luca out on this and we see the pair start to open up towards one another and work on their relationship.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. A few minor critiques I would say the book was choppy in some places but this didn’t spoil my reading experience.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate the author on her debut book and for reaching out and providing an e-copy of her book for my honest thoughts. 💭

[Clara Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely incredible, I can't even put into words how much I loved it. When I found out that the author is Portuguese and that English isn’t her first language, my admiration for her talent grew even more. I can’t wait to see what she publishes next. I’ll be the first to buy it, and probably devour it just as quickly as I did this one.

[Diana Sampaio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que livro bom! Mistura máfia, famílias ricas, pessoas com problemas reais, ansiedade, etc. Adorei! Uma leitura muito fluída, uauuuu

[sónia gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4/5 estrelas

"Twisted Ambitions" foi uma excelente surpresa no género de romance de máfia, ainda mais sendo escrito por uma autora portuguesa. 🇵🇹📚 A história mergulha no mundo sombrio da máfia italiana, seguindo Chiara Mancini, herdeira de um império de armamento, e Luca di Santi, o futuro Capo da Camorra. 💰💣 Apesar de um início marcado por preconceitos, a relação entre os dois desenvolve-se de forma cativante e bem estruturada. 💖✨

Um dos pontos que mais apreciei foi a força da Chiara nas suas decisões, principalmente no casamento de conveniência, algo que, neste tipo de histórias, nem sempre é uma escolha da protagonista. 👏🏻💪🏻 A escrita é fluida e prende-nos até ao final, com reviravoltas bem conseguidas e personagens que nos fazem querer saber mais. 🔥📖

Um romance envolvente e muito bem conseguido, que vale a pena descobrir. ✨❤️

[Ana Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review de Twisted Ambitions (Ana Silva)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)

Gostei bastante de Twisted Ambitions! A história é envolvente e rapidamente me prendeu. Sendo um enemies to lovers no universo da máfia, tem aquele equilíbrio certo entre tensão, emoção e romance. A escrita da Ana Silva flui muito bem, especialmente para um primeiro livro.
O protagonista, Luca, é simplesmente incrível – adorei a sua complexidade e intensidade ao longo da trama.
Apesar de alguns pequenos detalhes que poderiam ter sido mais explorados, no geral foi uma leitura muito satisfatória e já estou curiosa para ler mais da autora. Gostava muito de ver algo escrito em português por ela, acho que seria igualmente fantástico.
Recomendo a quem gosta de romances de máfia cheios de paixão e reviravoltas!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisted Ambitions by
I gave the book 5/5 stars
.
Chiara's 18th birthday is just around the corner. A big party has been organized by her parents. Her parents are divorced. Chiara's mother and grandmother are role models for her. Both are real powerhouses. On her birthday, Chiara goes swimming with her best friends. She hates big parties like that.
Her dream is to study in London. Beforehand, she wants to complete a list of activities. Her brothers Vincenzo and Lorenzo are accompanying her. Both are always there for their sister. Then the time comes when she goes to London with her best friends.
But everything turns out differently.
Chiara is supposed to marry Luca. He is the son of a mafia boss. Chiara always wanted to marry for love (like her parents) and not be forced.
She agrees to the wedding anyway. What she doesn't realize, however, is that Luca is controlling her around the clock. She is assigned two bodyguards, Paolo and Francesco. From now on, they will always accompany Chiara. But she rebels. Chiara secretly meets another man. But she has no feelings for him.
Luca has already turned her head. She does have feelings for him. But his life is dangerous.
A fight ensues. Luca is shot and ends up in the hospital.
Chiara is so worried. She is in love with Luca.
Will they get married?
Will Chiara want to immerse herself in the world of the mafia?
Will she get her love story?
.
I really liked the book. It was very exciting. I devoured it in a few hours. The story was simply captivating. I definitely recommend it.

[Ells Handley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of

mafia romance ✅️
self discovery ✅️
emotional depth ✅️
slow burns ✅️
arranged marriages ✅️

Then this one is for you.
I read this one thinking it was going to be your typical mafia romance however, it suprised me in a good way! The FMC was different to other main characters in these types of books. She was on her own journey with her families support - there was no pressure from anyone for her to do anything.
She meets the mmc and at first I didn't quite get their relationship - it's a slow burn but when they get to the peak it's really good.

I have to give full credit to the author - her first language isn't English but to write and publish a book not in her first language is amazing! There was some parts of the book that felt choppy but it didn't put me off at all. The pace after about 50% was a lot better than the beginning. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the writting style and to connect with the characters.

Overall i did really enjoy this book and i thought the author did a really good job in portraying the relationship and the story. Like i said previously, it's different to other mafia romances but this is why i enjoyed it more. It was unqiue and different to others which will make this book stand out.

it was a fun little read and i'm looking forward to seeing what else the author brings out. 💗

[Maria Miguel Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first mafia romance I read, i liked it but for me, the romance was a little slow!

[Antoniya Hristanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry, giggle, smile, laugh and every possible emotion that you could imagine! 100000/5, totally recommend to read it!

[Rafaela Abreu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, Italian mafia, not so cool business, family problems. It's a book that reads very quickly.😉🥰

[Alberte · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐️

It took me a while to get into the story, because the first many chapters were describing her life up until the time where the story actually begins. And of course it's important to know her story, but I feel like it could have been done in a more captivating way and maybe a bit shorter too.

And while there were a few things I didn't really enjoy in the book, I will say my absolute favorit thing was the relationship between Chiara and her two brothers. I adored how close they were to each other and how protective they were.
And even though Chiara might not be my favorite FMC ever, I will say; she definitely grew on me through the book. Luca was great. He was supposed to be very tough and icy, but honestly I fell like we saw his soft side from the beginning.

I saw this marketed as an enemies to lovers, and I must say I do have a har time seeing when they were enemies. Other that that, I rather enjoyed their relationship. I think they complimented each other rather nicely. I will say it felt a little out of nowhere to me when she just all of a sudden found out she was in love with Luca. And he took a long time to realise that he loved her, even if he acted like it long before he told her.
I liked that it was an arranged marriage / marriage of convenience but that Chiara was still given a choice and that it was made very clear that it was not being forced on them.

Normally I love a good bucket list, but in this instance it felt a little unnecessary. Personally I would have loved it a lot better if she just told her family that she wanteded to do stuff with them. This felt like she was just naming a lot of wild stuff rich people could do. That just added to tha fact that I didn't love the way their wealth was portrayed. It came a cross as a bit superficial when she just name dropped a lot of expensive brands and things.

I really liked the mafia vibes, and the fact that she was not really in the mafia before. The way that it was a new world for her, even if her father had been in business with the mafia for a long time.

I was not overwhelmed by the overall finish of the book. Sadly.
I was having a hard time getting into a good reading flow, because it did have quite a bit of spelling errors and places where I think words were missing from sentences. Also I did feel like it had some weird time-jumps that distracted me from the story.

I did like the characters quite a lot. I was not blown away by the plot, which I feel like could have been a wee bit more dramatic without any problems.

That said, this can be read rater fast, and I do feel like their lovestory was pretty great.

[bookreviewsbyz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my first impression of mafia romance and I wouldn’t have had it otherwise. I usually read YA fantasy books but when the author reached out to me so I decided to try my luck with this genre and I’m really happy I did.
The story itself is well put together. The plot made sense and I loved how I could experience both a more romantic and an exciting storyline.
Furthermore the book is a great introduction to the genre; it explains the whole hierarchy of the mafia and shows the overall vibes of similar books, while not dripping from spicy scenes.
I’m giving it 4 stars because I personally couldn’t relate to the main character, oftentimes I even found her to be annoying honestly. There were also a few grammatical errors or sentences that I would’ve phrased differently, but considering that the author’s first language isn’t English I don’t think it’s that big of an issue.
Overall I think it was a great read and I would definitely recommend it to people that want to get into mafia romance books.

[Sofia Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most exciting book I've ever read!!!

[Shama (thor.oughlyfantasy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐

[Sofia Moreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisted Ambitions" is a book that surprised me in several ways. The author does an excellent job of crafting a plot full of mysteries and twists that keep the reader hooked from beginning to end. The story is rich in internal conflicts, especially with the main characters, who are well-developed and bring a rare emotional complexity.

The plot revolves around characters whose personal ambitions and choices shape their destinies in intense ways. The development of the story is smart, with moments of tension and suspense placed perfectly, making you want to turn the pages quickly to find out what will happen next.

The book also raises issues of power, loyalty, and morality, creating dilemmas that often make us question what we would do in the same situations. The author’s writing is engaging, with a pace that, although sometimes uneven, always regains its strength during the key moments of the narrative.

However, there are a few aspects that could be improved. The pacing can feel a bit slow in certain chapters, which may break immersion at times. Additionally, some situations seem to unfold predictably, which may disappoint readers looking for complete originality in the plot.

Despite these minor points, "Twisted Ambitions" is a worthwhile read, especially for those who enjoy psychological stories full of dilemmas and moral ambiguity. If you’re looking for a book that challenges your emotions and thoughts, this is an excellent choice.

[Sara Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝙏𝙒𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝘼𝙈𝘽𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙣𝙖 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙖

𝐞𝐧 🇬🇧

This book was so entertaining! A story about italian mafia, old money families, but also very real problems such as anxiety. It’s a book with fast pace, overall, but full of action.

It was really interesting to follow Chiara on her journey through life. And what a journey it was! She went through so much, especially in the years that we were able to follow on this book it was nice to see her evolution and see her get over her fears. I also really liked Luca, I liked how protective he was of Chiara and how he supported her on every decision.

The mafia is a focal point of the book and, for me, that was great. It brought some action to the story which I enjoyed a lot. The only thing, story related, that I would have preferred was if the start wasn’t as slow as it ended up being. It was very focused on Chiara, which is fine for me, but it took quite a while for the mafia and Luca to appear and I would have preferred if it happened a bit sooner.

I also would have loved for the side characters to have a little bit more depth and be more involved with the story, but Bella and Chiaras brothers definitely left a mark on me.

Overall, this is a very nice book with a lot of action and romance to keep us entertained.

[Rogério · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Twisted Ambitions exceeded all my expectations.”

From the very first pages, I was completely drawn into Chiara’s journey — a complex, strong, yet deeply vulnerable protagonist. Ana Silva’s writing is captivating, striking the perfect balance between emotion, tension, and introspection.

This is not just a romance — it’s a story of personal liberation, tough choices, and raw passion. The author explores the darker side of relationships with both boldness and sensitivity, keeping me hooked until the very last page. The chemistry between the characters is tangible and real.

I loved how the narrative touches on powerful themes like the weight of family expectations, the longing for freedom, and the strength it takes to reinvent oneself. It’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you finish it.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved her writing and the humanity she gave the main character, it makes it so easy to connect with her and truly feel everything she’s going through. While the romance takes a while to appear, I believe the slower start is intentional, allowing us to understand the character’s world and the reasons behind the choices she makes later on, which makes perfect sense to me. The reading experience was smooth, quick, and thoroughly enjoyable. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future works, especially because I feel like she’s building a universe, and I really hope she is, because I need more. I loved it. It was time very well spent.

[Stacey Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana Silva’s Twisted Ambitions is a masterclass in emotional storytelling. This book cracked me open in the best way. It’s fierce, poetic, and unflinchingly raw. Silva explores the psychological scars we carry with such honesty and grace that I often found myself underlining entire pages. The prose is lush, yet razor-sharp, just like the blade on the cover. And the butterflies? A perfect metaphor for transformation through pain.

This isn't just a book—it's an emotional experience. One I’ll revisit again and again. Ana Silva is a name to watch. She’s already writing like a seasoned literary force.

[Lunavera Casen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisted Ambitions drew me in from the very first page. Chiara’s struggle between privilege and freedom felt so real and relatable. I loved how the author showed the glittering surface of wealth while peeling back the loneliness and pressure behind it. The friendships, family drama, and Chiara’s inner growth made the story captivating. It’s an emotional, inspiring journey about courage, love, and finding your own voice.

[Sarah Noffke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana Silva has created something beautiful with Twisted Ambitions. Chiara is a complex character caught between her family’s expectations and her personal dreams. The story is filled with emotional highs and lows love, betrayal, self-discovery, and hope. I loved watching her evolve from a trapped princess into a determined young woman ready to forge her path. This book is heartfelt, empowering, and impossible to put down.

[Ariana Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book! Chiara’s journey felt so raw and human. Even though she lives in wealth and glamour, her struggles with identity, freedom, and love made her incredibly relatable. The writing flows beautifully, and the themes of resilience and courage shine through. Twisted Ambitions is a moving story about breaking free, following your heart, and learning that true happiness comes from within. A must-read!

[Brain Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an emotional rollercoaster! Twisted Ambitions takes readers deep into the life of Chiara, who seems to have everything yet feels trapped by expectations. I loved how the author captured the contrast between outward perfection and inner conflict. The themes of self-discovery and breaking away from toxic pressures really spoke to me. It’s inspiring, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once. A beautifully written and unforgettable story.

[Adel Lavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisted Ambitions is the kind of book that stays with you long after you finish it. Chiara’s struggle between duty and desire is so relatable, even in her world of luxury. I loved the emotional depth, the romantic twists, and the empowering message. The writing is elegant yet powerful, and Chiara’s transformation felt authentic. It’s a gripping, heartfelt tale of courage and self-discovery. Absolutely wonderful!

[Pedro Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book simply because the author is Portuguese and is publishing internationally. I always like to support Portuguese writers. I have to admit, she is an excellent writer. I hope her book will be translated into Portuguese soon, she truly deserves to have it published in her native language.

[João Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, I highly recommend reading it. I have to admit that it's impressive how a first-time author manages to involve you so well in the story, making you fall in love with the protagonists. A story that you can associate with real themes and stories, which makes it even more exciting!!!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

is a masterclass in storytelling — elegantly written, emotionally resonant, and thematically profound. With razor-sharp prose and characters that linger long after the final page, it doesn’t just tell a story — it holds up a mirror to the reader’s soul. A haunting, beautiful triumph.

[Conceição Moreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book, super interesting and captivating right from the start. I highly recommend it and look forward to the next one!