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The Morelli Brothers #1
His Little Muse
We call it a family curse.
Obsession. Fixation. Possession.
For thirty-four years, I thought I was safe from it.
Then I met her—the ballerina who ruined everything.
She hates me. She works for me.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to have her.
Intimidation. Threats. Blackmail.
She’ll be mine, no matter the cost.
Having her was easy.
Keeping her? That’s where the madness begins.
A standalone dark romance novella in the Morelli Brothers series. Each brother more dangerous, more possessive, and more obsessed than the one before.
Obsession. Fixation. Possession.
For thirty-four years, I thought I was safe from it.
Then I met her—the ballerina who ruined everything.
She hates me. She works for me.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to have her.
Intimidation. Threats. Blackmail.
She’ll be mine, no matter the cost.
Having her was easy.
Keeping her? That’s where the madness begins.
A standalone dark romance novella in the Morelli Brothers series. Each brother more dangerous, more possessive, and more obsessed than the one before.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2025
281 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
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December 22, 2025didn't care much for the story. the power imbalance wasn't just for me. but i liked the epilogue, though, and seeing them as a happy family. 😄
December 1, 2025
A nice little palate cleanser.
This one is obsession at first sight for Lucian when he sees Aurora dancing ballet at the company he owns
I didn’t like Lucian at first. He basically blackmails Aurora into a sexual relationship since he’s her boss and I’m glad she fought back against him at first.
I do wish we would have gotten more interactions and scenes of them together because we really only see them together a few times and somehow they fall in love?
There’s some OW drama. After they have sex for the first time some woman comes into his office and he basically dismisses Aurora like the sex meant nothing. He also lets the woman touch his arm and whisper something in his ear. He later tells Aurora that she tried to sleep with him but he immediately rejected her and kicked her out of his office. She causes some problems later when Aurora gets pictures of them kissing at his brother’s club. He clarifies that it was unwanted and he pushes her away and kicks her out of the club. He also handles her in a way I wasn’t expecting but loved because he’s not letting anyone get away with hurting his girl. I did think this was too much OW drama for such a short book though and would have rather had more scenes with the MCs.
After the FMC leaves his office she decides to use a male dancer at the company to piss Lucian off which I loved. Lucian gave her strict instructions that no one is allowed to touch her so that male dancer no longer has hands once Lucian was done with him lol.
There’s a third act break up, she runs back to France where she is from, rightfully so. He follows her and apologizes and shows her he made a mistake approaching their relationship the way he did. He wants to make it up to her and he does. Man was super obsessed though!! I also love that she was his first kiss ever and he’s 34.
Anyway I was going to read the next one but the FMC is a stripper and I personally don’t like to read those but we will see.
No cheating (he gets an unwanted kiss)
OW and OM drama (see above)
Third act break up
Age gap 24/34
Celibate MMC (3 years celibate and has never kissed anyone)
Murder off page
HEA (married with a child)
This one is obsession at first sight for Lucian when he sees Aurora dancing ballet at the company he owns
I didn’t like Lucian at first. He basically blackmails Aurora into a sexual relationship since he’s her boss and I’m glad she fought back against him at first.
I do wish we would have gotten more interactions and scenes of them together because we really only see them together a few times and somehow they fall in love?
There’s some OW drama. After they have sex for the first time some woman comes into his office and he basically dismisses Aurora like the sex meant nothing. He also lets the woman touch his arm and whisper something in his ear. He later tells Aurora that she tried to sleep with him but he immediately rejected her and kicked her out of his office. She causes some problems later when Aurora gets pictures of them kissing at his brother’s club. He clarifies that it was unwanted and he pushes her away and kicks her out of the club. He also handles her in a way I wasn’t expecting but loved because he’s not letting anyone get away with hurting his girl. I did think this was too much OW drama for such a short book though and would have rather had more scenes with the MCs.
After the FMC leaves his office she decides to use a male dancer at the company to piss Lucian off which I loved. Lucian gave her strict instructions that no one is allowed to touch her so that male dancer no longer has hands once Lucian was done with him lol.
There’s a third act break up, she runs back to France where she is from, rightfully so. He follows her and apologizes and shows her he made a mistake approaching their relationship the way he did. He wants to make it up to her and he does. Man was super obsessed though!! I also love that she was his first kiss ever and he’s 34.
Anyway I was going to read the next one but the FMC is a stripper and I personally don’t like to read those but we will see.
No cheating (he gets an unwanted kiss)
OW and OM drama (see above)
Third act break up
Age gap 24/34
Celibate MMC (3 years celibate and has never kissed anyone)
Murder off page
HEA (married with a child)
December 16, 2025
“His Little Muse” is the story of Aurora and Lucian.
Obsessed, manipulative hero; talented destitute heroine, a forced contract, lots of hot sex, drama, angst and HEA.
Liked that the hero was celibate, did not enjoy the ow drama or the fact that she kissed him.
Safe
3/5
Obsessed, manipulative hero; talented destitute heroine, a forced contract, lots of hot sex, drama, angst and HEA.
Liked that the hero was celibate, did not enjoy the ow drama or the fact that she kissed him.
Safe
3/5
December 21, 2025
i wasn't a fan of this, Lucien was unnecessarily a dick to Aurora, not to mention how he let that OW around him a little too much, first time she showed up and caused issues and Lucien played right along by letting her touch him and staying in the office alone with her, then had the nerve to be mad at Aurora for being jealous after he practically threw her out while being nice to OW, then why the fuck would he let ow near him again enough for her to kiss him? and he had the audacity to hurt the man that touched Aurora with her consent.
his lack of pov made it 10000x worst. we saw everything from Aurora's pov then when she confronts him he gets madd and says he didn't touch ow and bam all is forgiven.
THEN WHAT DOES THIS MAN DO???? HE KILLS THE OW, and defends his actions by saying that she " hurt " Aurora. and i know he mainly meant the spreading the rumors and exposing their relationship to the press but that was also HIS fault, he gave her too much freedom.
Aurora was super annoying and had 0 backbone. and was bordering on dumb ngl😂😂
i also didn't feel any chemistry between him and Aurora, he just felt like a slimey older man abusing power over an ambitious girl.
his only saving grace was his 3 year celibacy
safety:
no cheating
owd : he let OW touch him, and she kissed him, but apparently he drew the line when she propositioned him for sex as if he wasn't the one who didn't draw clear boundaries from the start.
- he's been celibate for 3 years
his lack of pov made it 10000x worst. we saw everything from Aurora's pov then when she confronts him he gets madd and says he didn't touch ow and bam all is forgiven.
THEN WHAT DOES THIS MAN DO???? HE KILLS THE OW, and defends his actions by saying that she " hurt " Aurora. and i know he mainly meant the spreading the rumors and exposing their relationship to the press but that was also HIS fault, he gave her too much freedom.
Aurora was super annoying and had 0 backbone. and was bordering on dumb ngl😂😂
i also didn't feel any chemistry between him and Aurora, he just felt like a slimey older man abusing power over an ambitious girl.
his only saving grace was his 3 year celibacy
safety:
no cheating
owd : he let OW touch him, and she kissed him, but apparently he drew the line when she propositioned him for sex as if he wasn't the one who didn't draw clear boundaries from the start.
- he's been celibate for 3 years
December 22, 2025
I'm on my Christmas break. I went on Tiktok and this was all over my FYP - took me about 2 days before I finallt downloaded it.
Rating it high cause even though it's short and doesn't have enough structure to the story, the writing isn't horrible compared to some full-length romance books I've read.
Quick and to the point. Sometimes, it's needed. I'll let my imagination fill out the gaps.
Rating it high cause even though it's short and doesn't have enough structure to the story, the writing isn't horrible compared to some full-length romance books I've read.
Quick and to the point. Sometimes, it's needed. I'll let my imagination fill out the gaps.
December 25, 2025
the writer needs therapy
January 11, 2026
As much as I usually love a morally grey/red flag mmc I fear Lucian was not it. The start to their relationship was not my favorite and made it kind of hard to root for them. I would recommend if you do want to read a quick and easy dark romance read. It was a novella so the plot is fast and to the point. I will say he does grovel a bit so at least there was that.
Side note: I am kind of intrigued on the brothers story so might read those in the future.
Side note: I am kind of intrigued on the brothers story so might read those in the future.
November 17, 2025
Obsession turned to Love
I seen a short snippet on a TikTok and was intrigued.
It didn't fail. It is a short read, around 100 pages but was a good, quick read and a break from what I normally read.
Obsession turned love for Lucian who fell hard for Aurora and showed him that love can't be bought with a contract and power.
A quick but enjoyable read and written well.
I seen a short snippet on a TikTok and was intrigued.
It didn't fail. It is a short read, around 100 pages but was a good, quick read and a break from what I normally read.
Obsession turned love for Lucian who fell hard for Aurora and showed him that love can't be bought with a contract and power.
A quick but enjoyable read and written well.
November 18, 2025
short and sweet
I found this during a book slump and it was just what I needed. Well written and a strong FMC. Who doesn’t love an obsession?
I found this during a book slump and it was just what I needed. Well written and a strong FMC. Who doesn’t love an obsession?
November 20, 2025
quick story
This was a fast story that covered all the bases of love story without building up the characters a too much or dragging out the drama before the happy ending. I love reading but sometimes the books that drag out stories just turn me off. Books like this help balance those out!
Only suggestion I could make if the author has future stories like this, is just edit the chapters a little differently if story changes the location or the timeline.
This was a fast story that covered all the bases of love story without building up the characters a too much or dragging out the drama before the happy ending. I love reading but sometimes the books that drag out stories just turn me off. Books like this help balance those out!
Only suggestion I could make if the author has future stories like this, is just edit the chapters a little differently if story changes the location or the timeline.
November 20, 2025
His Little Muse, Book 1 of The Morelli Brothers series, was about 34-year-old Lucian Morelli, the owner of a theater and eldest of the Morelli siblings, and 24-year-old Aurora Laurent, a French ballerina.
This story was all over the place. It was difficult to decipher if it was a dark romance, a suspenseful novel, or something uncharted. There was no background information on either of the main characters, and there was no world-building by the author. Life revolved around five places: the studio/stage/Lucian's office, Aurora's apartment, Lucian's villa, the club owned by one of Lucian's brothers, and the bakery in France that belonged to her aunt, none of which had scenes that lasted more than a page or two.
There also wasn't any time for character building or growth for either of the main characters. Everything was rushed, and then it was over. For a book that had over 400 pages (but only 19 chapters), it lacked a lot of cohesive content.
I couldn't give this more than a one-star rating because it just didn't make sense. Not only was it confusing, but the author also tried to make it sound like a mafia-style story, and also tried to incorporate other styles that didn't fit together.
For this to be Book 1 of a series, it was not a very good beginning.
This story was all over the place. It was difficult to decipher if it was a dark romance, a suspenseful novel, or something uncharted. There was no background information on either of the main characters, and there was no world-building by the author. Life revolved around five places: the studio/stage/Lucian's office, Aurora's apartment, Lucian's villa, the club owned by one of Lucian's brothers, and the bakery in France that belonged to her aunt, none of which had scenes that lasted more than a page or two.
There also wasn't any time for character building or growth for either of the main characters. Everything was rushed, and then it was over. For a book that had over 400 pages (but only 19 chapters), it lacked a lot of cohesive content.
I couldn't give this more than a one-star rating because it just didn't make sense. Not only was it confusing, but the author also tried to make it sound like a mafia-style story, and also tried to incorporate other styles that didn't fit together.
For this to be Book 1 of a series, it was not a very good beginning.
January 11, 2026
6-7. The Morelli Brothers. His Little Muse. His Little Doll. His Little Angel by Tati Hayes (104, 95, 137)
genres: dark romance mafia romance
ranking: solidly good, nothing more, a dependable read 6.5/10
main emotion: Ridiculous
the first line:
6. “Light. Too bright. Too white. It makes the stage shimmer like water, and I’m in the middle of it, dancing to stop myself from drowning.”
sum-up in one sentence: a nice palate cleanser
I am grateful to this series for ... proof that people can change only if they want and only a tad.
this book has taught me ... love is hiding in small details, like the coffee made in the morning.
notes: this is a ridiculous enough series, too obsessed, too extreme
I love Aurora's feelings while dancing ballet, Anya's thoughts on stripping, and Mila's work ethic. Each girl is unique and intelligent. The men are driven, passionate and ready to beg and kill, not cute at all.
quotes
“I groan. “Little muse, you know I don’t dance.”
“You do when I ask nicely.”
genres: dark romance mafia romance
ranking: solidly good, nothing more, a dependable read 6.5/10
main emotion: Ridiculous
the first line:
6. “Light. Too bright. Too white. It makes the stage shimmer like water, and I’m in the middle of it, dancing to stop myself from drowning.”
sum-up in one sentence: a nice palate cleanser
I am grateful to this series for ... proof that people can change only if they want and only a tad.
this book has taught me ... love is hiding in small details, like the coffee made in the morning.
notes: this is a ridiculous enough series, too obsessed, too extreme
I love Aurora's feelings while dancing ballet, Anya's thoughts on stripping, and Mila's work ethic. Each girl is unique and intelligent. The men are driven, passionate and ready to beg and kill, not cute at all.
quotes
“I groan. “Little muse, you know I don’t dance.”
“You do when I ask nicely.”
January 9, 2026
This book was exactly what I was in the mood for. Fast-paced, dark, and completely unhinged—with a possessive, obsessed MMC and a sweet FMC. I loved how quick everything was. The story is rushed, and honestly? That was perfect for me.
If you’re looking for a slow burn or a deeply layered plot, this one won’t be for you. The villain gets the girl, and they fall for each other very quickly. I’m pointing that out because I know it can be a dealbreaker for a lot of readers—and that’s totally understandable.
This novella is the kind of book you pick up when you just want to read something quick, intense, and effortless, without overthinking or theorizing. I wanted my brain to rest today, and this book delivered exactly that.
If you’re looking for a slow burn or a deeply layered plot, this one won’t be for you. The villain gets the girl, and they fall for each other very quickly. I’m pointing that out because I know it can be a dealbreaker for a lot of readers—and that’s totally understandable.
This novella is the kind of book you pick up when you just want to read something quick, intense, and effortless, without overthinking or theorizing. I wanted my brain to rest today, and this book delivered exactly that.
January 1, 2026
Started the new year, 2026, with this unhinged-sugary-sweet novella. Actual rating is 3,5 stars but since Goodreads still hasn't half-star rating and I enjoyed reading this silly-not-make-sense-at-all novella, rounded-up to 4 stars it is.
Lucian, the MMC, was so obsessed with Aurora without any reason. Just saw her dance and he obsessed. Aurora, while wasn't fully doormat FMC, was so fast to love Lucian back.
For me, this novella was so light, silly, and amusing to read. Easily done reading in one sitting. Perfect for my New Year's vibe which was laziness in the air.
Lucian, the MMC, was so obsessed with Aurora without any reason. Just saw her dance and he obsessed. Aurora, while wasn't fully doormat FMC, was so fast to love Lucian back.
For me, this novella was so light, silly, and amusing to read. Easily done reading in one sitting. Perfect for my New Year's vibe which was laziness in the air.
January 11, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (2,5)
O livro é muito curto, então tudo acontece rápido demais. Senti que faltaram mais cenas narradas pelo MMC, o que teria deixado a história mais completa.
Tem OWD(nada demais), tem final feliz (HEA) e não tem traição.
-
The book is very short, so everything happens way too fast. I felt like we needed more scenes narrated by the MMC to make the story feel more complete.
It has OWD (nothing too heavy), a happy ending (HEA), and no cheating.
O livro é muito curto, então tudo acontece rápido demais. Senti que faltaram mais cenas narradas pelo MMC, o que teria deixado a história mais completa.
Tem OWD(nada demais), tem final feliz (HEA) e não tem traição.
-
The book is very short, so everything happens way too fast. I felt like we needed more scenes narrated by the MMC to make the story feel more complete.
It has OWD (nothing too heavy), a happy ending (HEA), and no cheating.
December 27, 2025
I read all three books, and they are a good quick short read. My biggest qualm besides the unhinged delusional romance, is that so much of the story could be expanded upon.
Literally one chapter the FMC is talking about how she wants nothing to do with this guy and then the next freaking chapter she’s in love?!
Literally one chapter the FMC is talking about how she wants nothing to do with this guy and then the next freaking chapter she’s in love?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2025
Could be better
This has a good storyline but it played out in about 10 pages, didn’t really make sense how they fell in love in literally 4 pages in, I was left confused unsatisfied with the story plot
This has a good storyline but it played out in about 10 pages, didn’t really make sense how they fell in love in literally 4 pages in, I was left confused unsatisfied with the story plot
December 22, 2025
1.75⭐️’s
“𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓶𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷. 𝓘 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓾𝓻𝓸𝓻𝓪. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓹 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓮𝓻.”
𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚜:
🩰Forced Contract
🩰OTT Hero X Ballerina
🩰Novella
𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 🌶️.5
𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛: Yes
*𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍*
“𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓶𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷. 𝓘 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓾𝓻𝓸𝓻𝓪. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓹 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓮𝓻.”
𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚜:
🩰Forced Contract
🩰OTT Hero X Ballerina
🩰Novella
𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 🌶️.5
𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛: Yes
*𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍*
January 11, 2026
DNF at 16%
He sounded like an entitled rapist with zero regard for her wants and feelings who wanted her as his whore.
"silence will be taken for consent. Hesitation will be fixed."
The power imbalance was too much and there was no chemistry at all.
He sounded like an entitled rapist with zero regard for her wants and feelings who wanted her as his whore.
"silence will be taken for consent. Hesitation will be fixed."
The power imbalance was too much and there was no chemistry at all.
January 11, 2026
hated Lucian 😩 he kind of redeems himself but this is also only 104 pages so not really? idk it was silly and easy to get through but not my fav
-dark novella
-ballerina FMC
-boy obsessed
-workplace
-hate to love
-dark novella
-ballerina FMC
-boy obsessed
-workplace
-hate to love
November 20, 2025
Started off pretty dark and rough then he switched to a simp. It was jarring when it’s only a short novella.
December 12, 2025
Very short story, good quick read
December 27, 2025
found this during a slump - thx tik tok
wasnt necesarily good, but it was easy to read, entertaining
The dude was obsessive and had some grovelling - onto the next
wasnt necesarily good, but it was easy to read, entertaining
The dude was obsessive and had some grovelling - onto the next
December 30, 2025
I just thought everything was going by so fast, not much time plot, “love” seemed false.
It was too fast for me, he acted far too much like she was something to own. Not for me.
It was too fast for me, he acted far too much like she was something to own. Not for me.
January 11, 2026
need to know what the author was in when writing this 😭
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