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Emerge
I built my new life on caffeine and denial. A cozy coffee shop, an apartment upstairs, and not a trace of the drug-running chaos I grew up in years ago.
Peace, finally, until he walked in.
Sebastian Arsenio.
Dark suit. Cocky smile. Eyes that see too much.
He rents the apartment above my shop, pays in cash, and treats me like a challenge he intends to win. I tell myself he’s just another arrogant customer with too much money and not enough manners. But there’s something dangerous about him, something I can’t stop wanting.
He doesn’t know I’ve already survived one criminal empire. And I don’t know he’s hiding from his own.
Because Sebastian isn’t just my tenant. He’s a mafia king in exile... And when his past comes knocking, I’ll have to decide whether to lock the door—or let the devil in for one more night.
Emerge, a Fortuna Nera novel, is an enemies-to-lovers, dark mafia romance coming April 2026
316 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 4, 2026
What can I say about Nessa that we don't already know! She is the perfect amount of sass and attitude to deal with Sebastian and ground him. I loved the character arcs, and watching the frustrated chemistry between them was delicious. Nessa has got a phenomenal arm on her, and I found myself chuckling and rooting for her the entire book.
Cannot wait for the next one!
Cannot wait for the next one!
Review of advance copy received from Author
HOLY GODS WHERE DO I EVEN START???
From the very start, something is always happening! This book had me hooked and I love that so much in a book!
Now lets talk about our main characters - Venessa THE curvy queen who takes no shit was perfect, and gave Sebastian a run for his money from the get go! I was obsessed with her immediately. And Sebastian?!?! THE MAFIA DADDY HE IS! The dynamic between them, was *chefs kiss* The tension was amazing between them and again, seeing Venessa give Sebastian a run for his money the entire time was everything I didn’t know I needed because I was literally giggling at her giving him shit. I loved it!! ALSO - special shout out to Doug, he's the best.
age gap
touch her and die
forced proximity
mafia romance
enemies to loverssssss (SAY LESS - IM SAT)
I was fully invested the whole book, kicking my feet, stressed, nearly CRYING!! This is one of those books where you finish and immediately want to tell everyone you know to read it so you can have someone to talk to about it.
Easy 5 stars - Sage St Claire, I need book 2 like yesterday please and thank you!
From the very start, something is always happening! This book had me hooked and I love that so much in a book!
Now lets talk about our main characters - Venessa THE curvy queen who takes no shit was perfect, and gave Sebastian a run for his money from the get go! I was obsessed with her immediately. And Sebastian?!?! THE MAFIA DADDY HE IS! The dynamic between them, was *chefs kiss* The tension was amazing between them and again, seeing Venessa give Sebastian a run for his money the entire time was everything I didn’t know I needed because I was literally giggling at her giving him shit. I loved it!! ALSO - special shout out to Doug, he's the best.
age gap
touch her and die
forced proximity
mafia romance
enemies to loverssssss (SAY LESS - IM SAT)
I was fully invested the whole book, kicking my feet, stressed, nearly CRYING!! This is one of those books where you finish and immediately want to tell everyone you know to read it so you can have someone to talk to about it.
Easy 5 stars - Sage St Claire, I need book 2 like yesterday please and thank you!
April 29, 2026
OH EMM GEEE!!!!
Listen, I already LOVE Sage St. Claire for her Grovewood Ink series, but this book has made me LOVE her even more!!! Her writing style is phenomenal!!
Age Gap... SWOON!!
Mafia Romance... YUMMY!!
Touch her and DIE... BE STILL MY HEART!!
Enemies to Lovers!!! I AM ALL FOR THIS!!
I didn't put this book down, AT ALL. From the very moment I started reading until the last sentence there was NO walking away! I HAD to know what was next. I HAD to know where this was going!
Sebastian and Vanessa are, in my eyes ROYALTY!!! The PERFECT mix together!! She's spicy, sweet and takes NO crap from ANYONE!!! He's quiet, reserved, private and lemme just say, the BEST MAFIA DADDY!!!
Watching Bash and Vanessa was beautiful to me. The way they banter and the crap she gives him is perfect!! They made me laugh, cry, scream and even throw my kindle across the couch LOL
Sage ST. Claire has nailed it AGAIN!! Her books are hitting it straight outta the park!!! She has easily become one of my TOP 3 Indie Authors coasting into spot 1 with ease and determination!
Emerge is definitely a 5 STAR read!!! Now, where the heck is book 2!?!?!?!
Listen, I already LOVE Sage St. Claire for her Grovewood Ink series, but this book has made me LOVE her even more!!! Her writing style is phenomenal!!
Age Gap... SWOON!!
Mafia Romance... YUMMY!!
Touch her and DIE... BE STILL MY HEART!!
Enemies to Lovers!!! I AM ALL FOR THIS!!
I didn't put this book down, AT ALL. From the very moment I started reading until the last sentence there was NO walking away! I HAD to know what was next. I HAD to know where this was going!
Sebastian and Vanessa are, in my eyes ROYALTY!!! The PERFECT mix together!! She's spicy, sweet and takes NO crap from ANYONE!!! He's quiet, reserved, private and lemme just say, the BEST MAFIA DADDY!!!
Watching Bash and Vanessa was beautiful to me. The way they banter and the crap she gives him is perfect!! They made me laugh, cry, scream and even throw my kindle across the couch LOL
Sage ST. Claire has nailed it AGAIN!! Her books are hitting it straight outta the park!!! She has easily become one of my TOP 3 Indie Authors coasting into spot 1 with ease and determination!
Emerge is definitely a 5 STAR read!!! Now, where the heck is book 2!?!?!?!
June 18, 2026
Can I give 100 ⭐️s? Because I absolutely loved Emerge.
Seb + Ness was everything I didn’t know I needed! ❤️
Vanessa was strong, sassy, stubborn, and hardheaded, basically all the qualities that make someone impossible not to root for. What I loved most, though, was how fiercely she loved and protected the people she cared about the most. The way she was able to soften even the hardest parts of Sebastian absolutely melted me page after page.
The story kept me hooked, the characters pulled me in, and I found myself constantly wanting “just one more chapter.”
As a bonus, Sage named the female main character after me (and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that), which is something I’ll treasure forever.
Watching my best friend accomplish her dreams, book after book, has been an incredible journey to be a part of. I’m unbelievably proud of you, Sage, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Fortuna Nera.
P.S. Extra love for Dougy, the real hero in this book! ❤️🐶
Seb + Ness was everything I didn’t know I needed! ❤️
Vanessa was strong, sassy, stubborn, and hardheaded, basically all the qualities that make someone impossible not to root for. What I loved most, though, was how fiercely she loved and protected the people she cared about the most. The way she was able to soften even the hardest parts of Sebastian absolutely melted me page after page.
The story kept me hooked, the characters pulled me in, and I found myself constantly wanting “just one more chapter.”
As a bonus, Sage named the female main character after me (and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that), which is something I’ll treasure forever.
Watching my best friend accomplish her dreams, book after book, has been an incredible journey to be a part of. I’m unbelievably proud of you, Sage, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Fortuna Nera.
P.S. Extra love for Dougy, the real hero in this book! ❤️🐶
May 10, 2026
First off, I love the incorporated references to the band that helped shape this book!
Secondly, what is there not to like about this book! It has spice, banter, snarky comments, touch of suspense, an obsessed MMC, and of course an independent FMC!!
Lastly, Sage never disappoints!!! This book checked all the boxes for me. It is a bit darker I think than the books in the Grovewood Ink Series but oh so good!
This is a standalone read, but I would recommend reading the Grovewood Ink Series first. There are cameos of some of the characters and if you don’t want to ruin something’s of those characters it will be better reading them first.
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Mafia, touch her and ☠️, obsessed MMC, trauma bonding.
Secondly, what is there not to like about this book! It has spice, banter, snarky comments, touch of suspense, an obsessed MMC, and of course an independent FMC!!
Lastly, Sage never disappoints!!! This book checked all the boxes for me. It is a bit darker I think than the books in the Grovewood Ink Series but oh so good!
This is a standalone read, but I would recommend reading the Grovewood Ink Series first. There are cameos of some of the characters and if you don’t want to ruin something’s of those characters it will be better reading them first.
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Mafia, touch her and ☠️, obsessed MMC, trauma bonding.
June 9, 2026
Chefs freaking kiss. So good! I love how this ever so slightly ties into the Grovewood ink series! Who doesn’t look a good age gap, touch her and die, with a strongggg baddie of a FMC. I absolutely loved the witty back and forth banter between Seb and Vanessa…. And don’t forget the MVP of the book… Doug 🥹🥹🥹 I am so glad that I fell into the world of Fortuna Nera. Full force. There was not a single point that I wanted to put this book down. Sage St. Claire does it again ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 18, 2026
Sebastian and Vanessa…
Had me kicking my feet and giggling.
The banter. The spice. The chemistry. It was all there, and we were being fed by Sage St. Claire. I genuinely could not put this book down, I read the entire thing in less than 24 hours and it pulled me out of a three week reading slump. Please read this book, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Had me kicking my feet and giggling.
The banter. The spice. The chemistry. It was all there, and we were being fed by Sage St. Claire. I genuinely could not put this book down, I read the entire thing in less than 24 hours and it pulled me out of a three week reading slump. Please read this book, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
May 17, 2026
I loved this book. So well written. MMC had control issues, but FMC was sassy enough to hold her ground. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. If you’ve not read the Grovewood Ink series, I highly recommend reading it, as some of the characters overlap.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Mafia, enemies to lovers, masked man and my personal favorite.. An age gap 🔥
This book caught and had my full attention from the first page.
Sebastian and Vanessa had me laughing, in shock and in tears.
Vanessa is a curvy, bada** who made it very clear she wasn’t taking sh** from anyone.
And Seb, ohhhh seb.. THE Mafia daddy. We love a man in control and in a suit 🥵
This book was chefs kiss and will live rent free in my head permanently.
This book caught and had my full attention from the first page.
Sebastian and Vanessa had me laughing, in shock and in tears.
Vanessa is a curvy, bada** who made it very clear she wasn’t taking sh** from anyone.
And Seb, ohhhh seb.. THE Mafia daddy. We love a man in control and in a suit 🥵
This book was chefs kiss and will live rent free in my head permanently.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews