Declan: An Irish Mafia Romance

by Laura Holly

An arranged marriage was never meant to be kind.
It was meant to be binding.

Declan O’Connell is heir to the O’Connell bloodline—cold, calculating, and ruthless enough to keep an empire standing on fear alone. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in loyalty, legacy, and control.

So when a marriage is arranged to lock in power, he expects obedience.

He doesn’t expect Genevieve.

She isn’t soft.
She isn’t pliable.
And she refuses to bow.

From the moment she steps into his world, Declan knows one thing with brutal she will either break his rule… or become the one weakness he can’t afford.

What starts as a contract turns into a war of wills.
Distance becomes possession.
And what was never meant to be love turns dark, consuming, and dangerous.

Because once Declan O’Connell claims what is his, there is no escape.
Only surrender.

arranged marriage · Irish mafia heir · possessive morally gray hero · enemies-to-lovers tension · touch her and die · HEA, no cheating

Declan is Book 1 of The O’Connell Bloodline. Reads as a standalone love story. Next is Ronan.

Content violence, arranged marriage, dark themes, explicit scenes. 18+.

301 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2026

About the author

Laura Holly writes dark romance with sharp edges and hard-earned HEAs — motorcycle clubs, Irish mafia, and the kind of found family that will burn the world for you.

Series (start anywhere, binge in order if you want the full war):

• Wilde Steel MC — Savage → Diesel → Viper → Ghost → Reaper (holiday novella after Reaper)
• Ashen Crow — James → Hex → Roman
• The O'Sullivan Empire — Callum → Rory → Niall → Grave → Scar → Liam (Scar crosses into Wilde Steel)
• The O'Connell Bloodline — Declan → Ronan → Patrick → Eamon → Slate → Tommy → Finn

Expect possessive heroes, fierce heroines, spice, violence, and no cheating. 18+.

Free ARCs & team: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/7...