His to Keep: A Dark Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance

by Sassa Daniels

He's not just going to protect me. He's going to keep me.

I slapped Gio Volante when he told me he'd be making me his bride today. But he just yanked my panties down, spanked me with his belt, then bound my hands with it and made me come hard.

When he was done, this ruthlessly sexy crime boss sent me off red-assed and wet to put on the wedding dress he had waiting for me.

Because when he threw me over his shoulder and carried me away from a brutal mob kingpin's estate, he wasn't just rescuing me.

He was claiming me.

Publisher's  His to Keep is a stand-alone romance which is the sixth book of the Reluctant Vows series. It includes spankings and rough, intense sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.

Genres: Dark Romance

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2025

Reviews

[Savanna Golden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked both characters to be aged up a bit. 19 and 23 feels young.

[Laura Wolff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading anything by this author, and I really enjoyed this story from start to finish. This is a dark romance, mafia romance, arranged, marriage, age gap story.

I really liked the characters in the story and the author pulled me in right from the beginning with the slaughtering of the MFC’s family. Gotta love a good mafia hit.

Are female character is Eilidh, (which I don’t even begin to understand how to pronounce so I just called her Ellie). Her family is from Scotland and her father was the Don of a high ranking mafia family. He was trying to put the past behind them and create an alliance with a rival family via a family dinner. Little did he know that was the end of his family line as he knew it. Ellie was the only one to survive, and the rival family held her hostage to be sold off at a later time.

Geo is our MMC and oh boy is he something else. He is everything a morally gray book boyfriend that you could want all wrapped up in a super hot package. From an Italian mafia family, he learns of Ellie‘s whereabouts, and decides to steal her out from underneath her captors. This is where our story begins.

This story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I read it. I have never read anything by this author before and this is book 6 of the series. I can’t wait to go back and read books one through five to meet the rest of the families.

This book had all of the great mafia drama that one could want. Betrayal, murder, family, war, kidnapping, forced marriage, revenge, super spicy scenes. I loved everything about this book except the ending.

I really wish that this book had ended a different way. I wanted to see more of the future planned out for Geo and Ellie. It would’ve been nice to know through an epilogue where they ended up whether it was in New York or Scotland or a combination of both and did he take the job he was offered at the end of the book. I don’t wanna say too much because I don’t wanna give spoilers away.

This was a quick read right around right around 240 pages. If you love, dark romance or mafia romance, I highly recommend this author and to give them a chance. I definitely will be looking into the other five books in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lenna Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finally get to meet Giovanni Volante, the youngest of the Volante brothers, older brother to Olivia. Very, very tame in the mafia stance nor any gun fight, like .5 out of 5 but the steamy, well its a 3.5 out of 5 in my opinion.

Gio, 23, not the harden mafia man like his brothers with a kill count of 2, he thinks his brothers keep him away from the hard things since he's inexperienced and after his near death he branched out well started to live and do what he wanted to do. Until his brother gave him a mission about the missing Cameron female, Eilidh.

Eilidh (sounded like Ailey , not Hailey on translate) Cameron, 19, held hostage when she was 15 and watched her family being slaughter by her dad's rivals. Her second oldest brother, she knew was shot and dropped from a cliff, so she's holding out hope that he somehow survived and will come and take her away from her jailers, but until than she'll pretend to be docile for her jailers. Well until she learns the old Russian Bratva, brought her for 3 years before she will be taken and forced to marry her jailer, for her inheritance.

[Shelly Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Gio and Eilidh's story. It was ok but not up to the prior book. Gio was good and you felt his feeling that his brothers thought he was less than and his cousins brought up the mistakes. However, events more seemed to fall into his lap than because of his own actions. Eilidh was taken hostage when a rival family attacked and destroyed her family. It seemed she just accepted rather than retained her emotions. While Gio did mention that she was in survival mode and it did seem she sort of broke when her brother showed up, the author didn't delve into those emotions and what she went thought. It seemed rushed and those years and the event are what made her who she was. Because of that it seemed there was an emotional wall between the two which needed to be broken down. Because it wasn't, the reader felt cheated as to what could have been. She also was sassy so her telling off his family would have been wonderful. Unfortunately, while there were bright spots, the story seemed to gloss over the best parts & connections were missed. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eilidh lost her whole family in one night. Being used by her capturers as barter, she makes a run for it and falls into the arms of a Volante. Gio had a plan to rescue Eilidh but plans changed when she fell into his arms. Now he has her and will protect her with his name. Eilidh wants nothing but revenge on those that took the lives of her family. She will push Gio to his limit till he has to redden her butt. We finally find out why Gio left to go to Scotland. I am glad to read that he was making a recovery from his shooting. It was touch and go with him. The chemistry between Gio and El is perfect. These two are trying to get through so much. The incident on the train was funny and sexy. I was a bit worried during one part with Gio. Thank goodness El was able to calm him. We get a shock during their wedding. I don’t know if I am happy or mad. And what is going on with Cara Drummond? I would like to know. Revenge isn’t she hoped it would be. They both found peace and got a second chance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[ltfrom bc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gio was the last of the Volante siblings to find his forever after albeit in an bit of an unconventional way (but also the way most of the Volante siblings found theirs). Eilidh has spent the last few years as a prisoner to the person who murdered her whole family. Her jailer planned to "rent" her out to someone for a few years, while he cemented power. But other players were working in the background to make sure that did not happen. And Gio was the main character. Just as Eilidh attempted to escape, he rescued her. But soon she found out his plan to marry her. Their story is quite a beautiful story. They both come into this marriage with baggage, but with time and patience, they are both able to unpack that baggage and move on with a life together. It was a very good story full of some violence, vengeance, family lost and found and all under a spicy, steamy romance.

[vixen ‹𝟹 reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖘/𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖜 ↴
(𝔪𝔞𝔶 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔯𝔶)‼️

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢
𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘: Reluctant Vows #6
𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞 𝖙𝖞𝖕𝖊: interconnected
𝖍𝖊𝖆/𝖈𝖑𝖎𝖋𝖋𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗: hea ღ
𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: dark mafia romance
𝖕𝖔𝖛: dual

𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖕𝖑𝖊: Gio & Eilidh
𝖕𝖊𝖙 𝖓𝖆𝖒𝖊: “kitten”

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘
→ Gio Volante
→ Eilidh Cameron (19)

📕 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊 → each book is connected by family ties, set to be read in order, but can be read as a standalone

♥️ 𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖘 - save & rescue, arranged marriage, fmc bites back, mafia families, size difference

🧨 𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖊 - spänking, belt play, böndage, rough play, dominance, role swap, 🍑

🚩 𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖋𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖘 - reluctant bride, jealous/possessive

⛔️ 𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖗𝖘 - flashback family mässäcre/sole survivor, imprïsoned (not by mmc) + themes, triggers and content in line with dark mafia romance genre.

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢
⇉ 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥.

[Nickie Sale · Rating 4 out of 5]

His to Keep is a dark mafia romance with a resilient FMC, Eilidh who was kidnapped by a rival family when they killed all her family and a brooding, powerful mafia heir MMC, Geo. 3 years after she was kidnapped Eilidh is about to be sold into a marriage. Geo, finds out where Eilidh is and sets out to rescue her from her captors and make her his.

Eilidh is no push over, she’s strong, wary, and unwilling to bow easily, but that spark of defiance is exactly what draws Geo in. Geo is as dangerous as he is magnetic, he expects obedience, but what he gets from Eilidh is resistance and fire. The chemistry between them is intense, and Geo is now both her protector and captor, which keeps the tension high, and Eilidh’s struggle between fear and desire makes for a good read.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, you’ll never experience such anguish and redemption in a book again!
There are no words to describe the anguish Eilidh experiences as such a young age, and continues to suffer. Yet when given the chance to make her escape from her future nightmare, she runs right in to Gio, the man who caught her attention from across the room. Gio’s highhandedness is kind of hot, but Eilidh wants to be free of all entrapment. Gio won’t let Eilidh go, as she brought him back to life from a past he didn’t know what to do with. Yet, Eilidh’s safety is of upmost importance from her former and paid captors. When a few plot twists roll out, it is all the more intriguing to see how Sassa will play out their future!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this story. It’s well written and very entertaining. There is danger that interrupted Eilidh’s life for a period of time. Then Gio rescued her but she did not realize Gio was what she really needed but it became obvious in a very short time. I loved how protective Gio was of Eilidh and that made her feel safe. It’s a great story that is definitely worth reading. I hope there is another book in this series and I would love to read Alexander’s story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and are voluntarily leaving a review.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eilidh's family is murdered in front of her and she is kept a prisoner for four years. Now her family's murderer is going to lease her to a creepy old man for three years, retrieve her, then marry her to claim her missing brother's estate, then kill her. She tries to run and is caught by Gio Volante. He was planning to rescue her but he decides the best way to keep her safe is to marry her.

There are some interesting twists and turns in this story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brenda A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost potential

It started out so good. Until page 17 the the is likable but weak. He took her from a bad situation and the first thing she does is strip off and straddles him. No Romance just like a dog in heat she also screwed one of the guards when she was 18 have no respect for the MMC. After that situation I lost interest in the book. The sex should have been in the middle or towards the end there was nothing to look forward to and hold your interest I just quit reading. Too bad it had great potential.

[Rose J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gio, the youngest among the brothers, not well tested in battles. However, when the circumstances forced his hand, he showed up to the task, fierce, loyal & protective. Eili was exactly the type of woman who clicked with him and for all the horrific times she had seen, it was worth it in the end. Recommended!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lisa A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gio and Eilidh take a chance..
Eilidh survived the brutal attack on her family but everything she knew was gone. Until Gio Volante showed up one day when her life was at a low point. Suddenly, it seemed there was hope for the future after all… I received a free copy of this book. This review was posted voluntarily.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eilidh was the last survivor of her family after a rival took them out at a peace meal, hostage to her rivals until Gio comes. The youngest of his brothers an not as in to the criminal life his brothers seem to have sheltered him from but that all changes when hes sent to marry Eilidh, well written steamy fast paced, engaging, twists and more.

[Brina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book. It was easy to get lost in the story and so easy to read I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I fell in love with Gio and Eilidh from the beginning. They both had strong and likable personalities it was easy to do so. I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sam Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

I really enjoyed this, book 6 in the series but absolutely works as stand alone. Decent premise & fab characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Gaynor Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rough starts

Eilidh has a history of blood, death, and being a hostage. Gio is the last to find his mate, but a conventional courtship is not in their cards!
A kidnapping/rescue, discipline, danger, desire, sex, enemies, and more will make their journey difficult but worth it.

[Karen Lovvorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

horrifying yet sweet

There is a difficult beginning that turns into a love story. Give it a whirl. Pain can become soft and sweet.

[Mafia Queen]

DNF - This series was decent up until the last book it just wasn’t holding my attention any longer

[Milliesbookcorner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked it and thought both story wise and writing wise was well done. I did however think that the blurb did not fully describe it as the story felt quite short and how she quickly accepted everything. So good but a bit more fast paced and insta love than expected.