Accidental Witness

Morelli Family #1

by Sam Mariano

"It's not an easy thing, loving a Morelli."

Vince Morelli.

The closest I ever wanted to get to him was several rows away in English class. We’d never spoken, but of course I heard the stories about his family. I know they’re dangerous. I know he’s dangerous. Vince never had a reason to notice me, anyway—until I inadvertently witnessed his first mob hit.

His family doesn’t believe in leaving witnesses alive, but Vince seems different. He knows the best thing he can do for me is stay away, but something keeps drawing us together. Despite knowing the risks of getting mixed up with him, I can’t resist. Only problem is, Vince is a package deal—you don’t get him without getting swept up in his family’s dark games.

Now entangled with a notorious Chicago crime family, will my life ever be mine again?


**Obligatory trigger warning: While not wholly dark, this is a mafia romance with elements of DARK ROMANCE. There are no knights in shining armor to be found here.
Sensitive content not recommended for those under 18, or those who loathe the dark romance genre. **
This is a continuing story series. The story continues and evolves in each book until you get to the end.

Genres: Dark, Dark Romance, Romance, Mafia Romance, High School, Contemporary, New Adult

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2017

About the author

Follow Sam Mariano on Facebook, Instagram (@sammarianobooks), or check out her Blog! If you need to email her, she can be reached at sammarianoauthor@gmail.com (but she is sometimes tardy about checking email. Mateo is very demanding).

Sign up for Sam's mailing list (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)

All of Sam's books are available on Amazon! (And don't forget to follow Sam's Amazon Author page to get notified about the newest releases.)

Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!

Reviews

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidental Witness is the first book of Sam Mariano’s that I've read, and as you know, reading a book by an author that’s new to you is always a gamble. The stakes seemed a lot higher to me for this one, because I am friends with the author on Instagram. I crossed my fingers and hoped to God that I liked it or things might get really awkward! I am not the type of person that will say I enjoyed a book if I didn’t. I might feel bad about it, but in the end, I’m going to give my honest opinion no matter what.

So what’s the verdict? Sam, you and I can still be friends, because I enjoyed the hell out of this one! LOL A crime family, morally challenged characters, bad boys, an innocent girl being dragged into their world, lust, sex, danger, twists, and turns?! Yes, please, and give me some more!

Mia is outside her house one night when she witnesses a crime taking place. While trying to record what is going on with her phone, she realizes one of the perpetrators is a guy from her high school rumored to be a part of a notorious Chicago crime family, Vince Morelli. That might not have been too bad except for the fact that he sees her, too. Mia freaks out and halls ass inside her house dropping her phone along the way.

As you might guess, when she goes back to get her phone the next day, it’s gone. Vince knows where she lives and where she goes to school. What she saw isn’t something a family like his can let her just walk away from. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it’s going to change her life forever.

First, I want to say that I was intrigued the entire time I was reading this. I only put it down once and that was to sleep. Second, I love the author's writing style, and it makes it really easy to fly through the book in no time. The third thing I want to talk about is the most surprising to me. In about 98 percent of the books I read, if I don’t like the heroine, I can’t love the story. If there is not at least one character that is perfection to me, I won’t want to continue with the book. Basically, characters make or break a book for me. That was not the case here. Maybe it’s because I started out loving all of the characters, or maybe it’s just the author’s ability to tell an awesome story! Either way, I have issues with all of the main characters, but I am still dying to read the next book!

What is my problem with the characters? Mia drove me crazy at times with her rationale and behavior, Vince pissed me off with some of the decisions he made and the actions that followed them, and the villain/second love interest, Mateo, made me want to beat him in the face! Now, I know what you’re thinking…shouldn’t you want to beat the villain in the face? You probably should, but in books like this, I tend to fall in love with the villain. Mateo had me in the beginning, but now I just want him to go away and never come back. Who knows? That might change in the next book, but for now, I’m done with his ass! Vince is my favorite character, because despite his mistakes, I feel for him. He doesn’t want the life he was given, but there is no way for him to get out of it. His asshole cousin wants his girl and has gone to great lengths to break them up. His whole life is being controlled, and he is forced to do things that will haunt him forever. Even the ending wasn’t really a happy one, because Mateo had a hand in it.

All in all, Accidental Witness is engaging and twisted with surprising revelations and characters that make you FEEL! I’m going to try to get to the next book as fast as I possibly can, because I can’t wait to see where the characters go from here! If you decide to read this, I recommend having the next book on standby, because you are probably going to want to dive right into the next one, too! Mafia romance fans, I recommend this one to you!

ARC generously provided for an honest review.

[TJ ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*violently throws gauntlet down* i dare sam mariano to write (1) heroine that isn't a complete dumbass 🤣🤣

it's not possible pls-



i think this was a 2 star book (bc it's low quality and the main romance is an absolute joke LMAO) but it's getting 4 stars cause the beginning was weirdly cute, past the 60% mark was a whole delectable trainwreck, and also.... ✨mateo.✨ the fact that i'm saying that mans name in such a complimentary, bordering on fangirl manner should honestly end w me in jail, but we'll get to that later.

the actual hero, vince, (it's such a joke calling him that, i've never in my life read a hero get dragged through the mud in their own book the way this irrelevant man did 💀💀💀). compared to other SM heroes he was inexplicably quiet and chill to the point that i wasn't completely sure how i was supposed to feel towards him (mmm actually, i did know, i just don't wanna admit that shit out loud 💀) bc when he asked permission to kiss her??? askjbswujs *carter mahoney evil-laughs somewhere in the distance*



basically vince was there for mateo (older cousin and mob boss) to wipe his shoes on, and we thank him for that sacrifice 😌🙏🏽 shiiii if i thought carter was a shameless bastard, i was still playing in the kiddie pool. this book was much more fucked up than untouchable or boy on the bridge. mateo was pretty much the main character and thank the lord for that, this would've been nothing without him. what a fantastic, manipulative, disgusting ass villain 👀 sir--



i was gonna explain his actions in a spoiler tag but honestly a bigger part of me doesn't want you to know so you can't judge me to the full extent i deserve when i conclude this review by saying book 2 me and him gon end up like this::

[Danny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disgusting

I loved this book and was loving the main relationship and then all of the sudden Mia is being raped left and right. She stays with her rapist (Matteo) and continues to let him rape her whenever he wants. Then the man she loves (Vince) rapes her, while she screams and cries and bleeds everywhere. Then she decides she likes having sex with Matteo and they do it again while she's still dating Vince. Then her and Vince ride off into the sunset together while she harbors a secret longing for Matteo. This book was disgusting and complete trash. It makes rape seem like it's okay by having the victim enjoy it. Rape is not enjoyed by the victim! And they don't come back for more! I was completely repulsed and will never read this author again. I can't believe this trash was published.

[Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 "Mateo" stars

Fuckin shit, this book made me pissed most of the time, It was so NOT what i expected...

well in a way it surprised me...

I disliked the female character...like, really

Mia accidentally witnesses a set up fire in the house next door. The strange combination of curiousity and stupidity she doesn't call 911 at First but she wants to come close and see the situation. And then she sees more than she was ever supposed to. She sees two men coming out of the back door, and she recognizes one of them as Vincent Morelli, the guy from her school. The guy whose family name proceedes him in shady and bad reputation. She slips, drops her phone (which she used to film a video of the mentioned action) and she flees.

The next few days she's on the edge, not knowing what would happen to her, would he finds her, would he punish her for what she saw, would he kill her?

and than Vince strikes - he scares her, then follows her, then gets even close to her, gets to Know her schedule and then they start this weird relationship?! (which I did not feel, at all) but she's attracted to Vince, to his dangerous posture, to his bad rep, and then she sees smth more hidden behind his eyes and she voluntarily lets him in, both methaphorically and literaly.

I felt bad for the mob guy, who didn't wanted to be that...

cause even if he didn't wanted this life for himself, he wanted it even less for Mia. He tries to keep her in the dark, and away from the most dangerous, cunning Morelli man, his boss and cousin - Mateo Morelli.

but it's too late, Mia is pulled into the whirlpool of dark, devious, conniving, demanding, controlling and untrusting asshole's rule in the Morelli family.

then I felt smth more for the character I was not supposed to care for at all, which only pissed me off more...



Mateo Morelli plays a controlling game in the most cunning way possible only to prove and enforce the power he has.

Morelli men take what they want.

and he obviously wants her. But it's a test. It's a power show off and he has no remorse in doing so. testing her loyalty is the most vile and disgusting orchestrated action that I got chills all over.

"You're young, fragile; I never thought you'd hold up under the pressure. I had to trap you. I had to ruin your life, betray you - I had to make you despise me, make you want to see me behind bars more than you wanted anything."

so, you see, goddammit, how I have totally mixed feelings about this...i can't even start to dwell upon those...



At times I wanted to scream, how stupid and naive Mia was, and as an 18 year old, it was surprisingly to me, that she was in that way, i thought she's be more credible and Vince just got over shadowed by Mateo, in every aspect. so the lack of the "emotional" connection between Mia and Vince missed to emphisize the "betrayal" Mateo pulled, cause you Know, I didn't feel none to be betrayed in the First place.

what I got flustered about is the stirring comotion the character of Mateo Morelli made me feel..I condone his actions...and yet I went against my better judgement...*bows her head*



but goddamit...

Mateo Morelli is a black hole, and no matter how I feel, no matter what I want, I can't escape from being sucked into him.

yeah, but still I have to take my primal reaction to this book into account cause in the end that means smth too...and yeah, my feelings got stirred, flushed, i got angry and then angry some more..

and God help me, book 2 is about Mateo Morelli, and I still wanna see what's behind the dark of this man.



***ARC kindely provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***

[moretomary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever was in this book—crack cocaine, amphetamines, I don’t fkn know BUT give me MORE. Woah. One sitting read, absolutely bonkers. Dark and toxic af. Again, give me MORE! Saddle up, bitches. This is going to be a ride

[Elfina Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, first time amazing read by Sam Mariano.

This author doesn’t disappoint and has earned my five bullets casing stars! I’m still blown away with all the mind fuckery, especially towards the middle and ending.

I went into Accidental Witness with the same amount of naivety as Mia did with the Morelli Family and was quickly disabuse of the notion. There were no hearts and flowers, everything wasn’t what it seemed. Even if the novel starts off with two pre-adult teens attending high school. No there is an air of something more... dark and sinister, lurking above the surface.

I think what I liked most was the fresh perspective Vince Morelli brings. His youthful voice, raw, resentful and bitterness towards his predetermined fate. All he craves is normalcy, having a life of his own but those nails have been hammered away by Mateo, his uncle slash boss.

Mia was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Only problem is this game hasn’t finished playing out yet and I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series.

Sam Mariano, I’m hooked, like an addict jonesing for their next fix. Thank you so much for gifting me with this ARC. Pulled an all nighter reading through the material in one sitting. So you know I loved it!!!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t anything like I expected it to be. I assumed I’d be getting a romance between Vince and Mia but that’s not what I got from this.
I didn’t feel anything for these two at all. It didn’t help that I didn’t particularly like either of them. And I didn’t buy their relationship or romance for a minute.

I really tried to like Mia but I failed miserably. Same for Vince.
The main problem for me was the whole book was overshadowed by Mateo. He’s a ruthless man who plays with people because he can. And both Mia and Vince were far too weak as characters to put up any kind of fight or even make it interesting.

I’m curious about Mateo and want to read his book but wondered if it would be more of the same. So I’ve checked ahead and read several reviews and apparently general consensus is it’s better. Meg is said to be a great female character and so I feel much happier moving onto the next book.

[Lisa the book CREEP · Rating 3 out of 5]

DIS-FUCKING-GUSTING

Why i read and love Mafia Romance? Because its about violence, guns, knives, fights, mayhem with all the gory-graphic details and more importantly a alpha-dangerous-hole with the motive "YOU TOUCH HER, YOU DIE" along with a good story, a great plot and an amazing plot twist.


This book? Is all about the hero and his older cousin taking their turns in raping the really annoying as fuck heroine while she bled and cried 🤢🤮

And still they get a freaking HEA because its a mafia book right? *shaking my head*

3 stars because i like the writing, it got me hooked.

[Jena]

Self note
Avoid this series.
The h from book 1, ultimately ends up with the om from this book, and then shares him with another ow. Yes, they become sister wives. 😂


Vince and the h from this book doesn’t get their HEA.
In book 7, Vince falls in love with another girl.🙄

I mean wtf…

[Malene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Accidental Witness is a dark mafia romance and the first book of the Morelli Family series. It was book 1 of a long series and it showed cause there was many characters introduced throughout. I liked the introduction of Mia and Vince Morelli and them slowly starting a relationship.
When Vince’s cousin Mateo, who’s the boss, was introduced things started going crazy and made me dislike everyone except Adrian. Mateo did everything to show his power over Mia and Vince. Raping and manipulating. Maybe if Mia and Vince had showed a backbone the story could have improved a bit but it didn’t. Mia especially turned out to confuse me even more with her actions towards Mateo and Vince.
Yes, this is fiction and supposedly entertaining but this just didn’t work for me.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a book is so good you finish at 4am...

... and you want to stop life so you can keep reading! I finally understand the hype around this series!

2024 reread: just certain parts… this review is old

Mia is pretty poor, lives with her single-mother and two younger siblings. In the middle of the night, she goes outside to call her crush (the walls are too thin in her house) and she notices something strange. The house next door, where two druggies live, is going up in flames. As she approaches, she sees two figures come out and she immediately hides. She starts recording but then she makes a noise and one of the men looks right at her. She drops the phone and runs inside, scared for her life. She recognizes him from school- Vince Morelli.

At school, Mia is scared of her own shadow. She keeps looking behind her back, thinking Vince is there or will terrorize her (or even worse, kill her or her family). He starts sitting next to her in their English class and starts appearing in random places, always approaching her, which scares her s#!tless. She assures him she won’t say anything and that he can trust her. Little by little, she finds she’s incredibly attracted to him, thinking of him day and night. They finally succumb to their attraction and she loses her v to him. He wants to keep her a secret and to never have Mateo find out who she is and what she knows. Mateo is their leader and the scariest most ruthless of them all, so he’s right in keeping her away from his family and especially Mateo. And then... Mateo finds out.

Meeting Mateo was an event in itself. I felt her nervousness, her hesitation, her reluctance. Even when Mateo appeared nice, I was questioning his motives. It all seems as if he’s not as bad as he is rumored to me. It doesn’t matter that everyone warns Mia to stay away from him and not to trust him, because she doesn’t believe that there really isn’t anything bad in him. Until... she does....

This book. Oh man, this book was everything. Angst, tension, lust, boundaries being crossed and recrossed. I cannot wait to continue this series. Yes, the connection between Mia and Vince is there but then the spark between her and Mateo appears and I found myself conflicted.

I am loving this series and am anxious to continue and read to see what happens!

⚠️safety squad⚠️ (based on my memory from last year)
-no sharing/owd
-noncon/dubcon
-OMD/cheating- the h is unknowingly smexxed by OM (who ends up being her H later on). When she figures it out, he basically r@p€s her (noncon). Later on, the h makes a decision and cheats on the H (Vince) with OM (Mateo) in order to get him to live her life with the H (dubcon ish)
-violence/threats
-HFN (which ends up changing as the series progresses)

[ReadMeAStory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish you could read the notes I made all over this book. Holy f*ck.



First of all, I knew I was in trouble right here:

"Well, see, Vince told me his version of events in the car. So this really works both ways - if you lie to me, you die. If he lied to me and you tell the truth, you die. Either way, we all learn not to lie to me."

And in the interests of full disclosure: I fell in love with Vince from the first moment he stalked her. As you do.



Sure, he's an up-and-coming mafioso.

Bracing one arm against the pillar and leaning in, he asks, "Want to say that a little louder?"

*thud* RAWR.

But we don't care about that, do we? NOPE. NO, WE DO NOT.


And I learned that I can live with the fact that mobsters come home covered in blood sometimes. I don't care.


What I wasn't prepared for was... Mateo.

This man...




Mariano WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME????!!!! I don't know whether to lick him or light him on fire



What I *do* know though?

I NEED BOOK TWO!!!!

[*The Angry Reader* · Rating 5 out of 5]

****Updated****
I cannot stop thinking about Mateo and/or the next book. Therefore I'm giving this 5 stars. Bc a book that's put me on my ass like this deserves it.


Gahhhhhh. MotherFUCK! No review til I read the next one. But I loved/hated the shit out of that book. And I'm so confused about that thing. The THING about which I am never confused bc I have RULES. Serious serious serious concerns about what's going to happen in the next book. HEA?

[hugsandcookies · Rating 2 out of 5]

omg WTF did I just read. Let me say that I clearly am tired of having naive female MC that can't even kick a bad ass bad boy right in the nuts for treating her that way or better yet shoot me lol but okay there were moments that I squeeeeee and blushed like a school girl when said villain Mateo didn't give a shit. But Vince omg Vince my heart melted for him but then he should have been man enough to shoot Mateo *rolls eyes* and Mia arrggghh what do I say but I think I need a change of genre something that will not have me venting like a looney ( I know crazy) so I'm going to pass on Mateo not even his book will get me to like his character *shrugs*

[Shelby P · Rating 1 out of 5]

I lost sleep staying up to read this and it makes me kinda angry.....




There was no plot...none at all. I kept pushing through reading all while thinking to myself "there has to be a plot SOMEWHERE?! Right?!" No. Just no. None.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've no idea what to make of this. I despise Mateo (who is not even the main character, but took over the whole frigging book much to my disgust). I don't like how both Mia and Vince were played and I LOATHE what Mateo did to Mia. This left me heartsore and I really don't think they will survive as a couple, I know if I was Vince I could never ever trust either of them.

That said, the story grabbed me from word one, left me reeling in places, having palpitations in other, wanting to commit blue bloody murder on several occasions and just wanting all things good for Vince. I couldn't put it down despite my strong aversion for the chain of events that Mateo set off and manipulated, and I initially rated it 4.5 stars. But have lowered this to 3 because I at least need to LIKE the characters, and but for Vince I really didn't.

Although they're left with a HFN, I've reconciled myself to the fact they won't last, and I hate finishing a book feeling like that. I need my guaran-damn-teed HEA.

I don't know if I'm brave enough to read Mateo's book. I hope the heroine crucifies him .... big time!

[• Island Queen Reads • Ofa • · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidental Witness by Sam Mariano. Honestly. Two words. Bloody brilliant! A mafia romance like you've never seen before. It literally consumes you from the first page and it doesn't slow down from there. There are absolutely no words. I consumed this book in one sitting, in under 4 hours. I couldn't put it down. This book messed with my head. I am a huge fan of Mafia Romances but this one had it's own special twist. This is the kinda of book that will manipulate you, that will mould you to do its bidding. It's evilly written just to mess with your head.

I absolutely love Mia and Vince. These two don't have the best start. They didn't like each other or get that instant attraction. Something major happens that puts Mia in Vince's line of sight and once he's on her, he'll never let her go. Things go worse from there, but it also gets hotter. This book had me feeling so many different emotions, I had to sit there and take a minute to process. For one, while I loved Mia, I wanted to slap her. Like ALL THE TIME. She's so naive and stupid, stubborn and careless & she's always trying to find the good in people, no matter what anyone else says. It gets her into trouble and to be honest, I didn't one bit feel sorry for her. Vince. He's the ultimate bad boy, trapped in a life he never wanted, with no way out. And now somehow Mia's been dragged into that life and he's helpless. Some times I wanted to slap him too, for being a coward and for not putting his foot down about certain things with Mia or even trying to protect her. I get that he's helpless against his cousin, but come on! Man up. There was so much trouble and heartache in this book I felt like my heart was literally torn in two. Some of the events that happened I will never get over, like I can't believe it actually happened. I don't know whether to applaud or slap the characters for their stupidity.

You know how books are supposed to make you root for the hero and the heroine. The two characters the book is focused on, the two characters meant to fall in love, overcome obstacles and have their happy ever after? Yeah, this book will have you falling in love with the villain of the story. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, no matter how hard I tried to resist, I wasn't immune to Mateo's evil charms and manipulation. There's just something about a villain with a dirty mouth and a take charge attitude that gets you going. The worst thing? It comes out of nowhere. One minute you're hating him and then the next thing you know, you want to mount him like horse and ride him til he needs a new saddle. It's frustrating and I hate that Sam Mariano made us love such an evil character. He is DEFINITELY MY FAVOURITE VILLAIN. But I hate him and I just want him to disappear off the face of the earth and leave Vince and Mia in peace.

All in all, I cannot wait for the next book! I'm hooked on this series and I am obsessed with this author. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mafia/mob romance. It's addictive!

[Sam]

A twisted mafia love story, NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

An incredible reader in my Mateo's Sweethearts Facebook spoiler group/recovery room made these, and they are AMAZING, so I'm putting them here!

[Kelly Merie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Trainwreck Stars.
This review is for the whole series - not just book one.



*May contain Spoilers*
I've read books 1-6 (well I skimmed 6 in hopes Girl B kills Girl A) out of the 8 books of the series and I just have to say - I absolutely hated them. WHY was there so many books!! By the time the story takes a turn (book 4) you are already so invested you feel obligated to continue just to find out how it ends. When I got to book 5 is when I started to really hate it, so I skimmed book 6 and by the time I got to the "plot twist" I called my mom (who is a glutton for punishment and already read it) to just tell me if ____ died and how it ended because I was just done!

I'm rating 2 stars for uniqueness and writing, but as far as the actual story goes I hated it. I'm a huge believer in not giving a book 1 star just because it goes against your morals (cheating, love triangles, triggers, or in this case JUST AN ABSOLUTE TRAIN WRECK OF A STORYLINE) especially if the writing and editing were good - therefore 2 stars.



I'm not sure why this is even classified as a Mafia Romance - the Morelli's are supposed to be a crime family that is the head of the mafia, and yet it was just about sex with a teenage chick, paranoia and manipulation. Sure books 1 - 4 gives the "feeling" of mafia family (some people get shot) and when you get to books 5+ it's pretty much about an unfaithful teenage heroine (In my opinion was too immature to be a "mafia boss wife") and a sex addict Hero who treats his incubator "fiance" like a piece of trash for a materialistic brat of a heroine. All the Hero and heroine did was have sex with each other .. like that's it - there was no communication between them outside of their sex life. So, I had a hard time understanding why the Hero wanted the heroine besides the fact he liked to screw her. This series just wasn't for me and I won't be recommending it to anyone. I may even warn people against it to save them some time.

[Erika P · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I wish we could stay like this forever. I know we can't, but looking into his eyes, I vow to enjoy every second I can. Maybe it won't be normal, but whatever it is, it'll be ours. Right now, that seems like enough."

I thought I knew what I was getting into....seemed pretty simple...at first. Mia accidentally sees something, insert Vince, from a mafia family and an unlikely relationship ensues. Not even close to your everyday read, nope. The mind twist that comes next had me re-thinking my sanity and falling in love with this series. Vince gave me the warm, fluttery feels, even with his connection to darker things. Mateo? He was the darker thing, and I fell head over heels with his evil manipulation and tornado-like charisma. This isn't a bad boy, this might be THE bad boy. The Author wasn't lying about the dark content, and I ate it up with a spoon. Still trying to understand how the Author caused me to root for the monster, to want him to win, and I'll tell you why. Mateo is just that hot, wrong, forbidden, and just his pull is something you can't fight, even as a reader. I will not miss a word of this series, and you shouldn't either. I thank my lucky stars the Author allowed me to voluntarily review, although this whole series will be bought and hoarded.

~~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Mia's life was in danger because she witnessed a mob hit. One of the guys who did it was her classmate Vince. He threatened her. In his attempts to keep her on edge, they grew closer. For a while this seemed like a normal teen romance except he happened to be in the mafia. Eventually others were alerted about Mia. Shit got crazy after that.

Mateo controlled their lives. He was a devious, manipulative bastard. At times I liked him. He could be very charming, but some things he did were unforgivable. Once Mateo came into the story, it had somewhat of a love triangle vibe. Mia never truly seemed interested in him, but they had chemistry.

Mia was aggravating because she was incredibly naive. People kept telling her that the mafia life and Mateo were bad, but apparently she was one of those people who had to see it to believe it. She didn't deserve what she got though.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the ending. Mia ended up with the right guy, but their story didn't feel complete. They'd been through a lot of shit and didn't have the time to work it out.

[ViZz · Rating 1 out of 5]

the plot was okay-ish. hell i’d probably give it a three star review. i’m used to stupid & naive female leads so i’d survive mia. however the author lost me when mia got raped repeatedly and was okay with it?? i’m supposed to read more books about this rapist? yeah no thank you. the way the author jumped over the rape and acted like it wasn’t a big deal pissed me off. also i had absolutely no emotional attachment to mia and vince as a couple. like zero. considering this was my first read by this author and the fact i was blinded by all those five stars reviews, to say i’m disappointed is an understatement.

[D.D. Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was fan-fucking-tastic.
So excited to find a new mafia series with lots of books to sink my teeth into.
At first I was like...oh... high school kids? Meh.
No.
Wrong.
It didn't take long to completely HOOK me.
The good guy was hot.
The bad guy?
HOTTER.

[Alexandraa XX]

The heroine cheat wtf

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread in 2024.

Well, Mateo Morelli, we meet again.

It's been a long time. I'm revisiting my faves. And by faves, I mean characters. Not necessarily the books themselves.

3.5 stars
2.5 on the spice scale

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Mafia Stars

I picked up this book because of a five-star review. I was curious to why this reviewer gave five stars to most of the books.

I love Kindle Unlimited because I love finding new authors. Accidental Witness wasn’t anything I expected, but I enjoyed it. There are some parts that need tweaking, but overall, it was an entertaining read.

The book starts with Mia. She’s a high school student and she witnesses something she shouldn’t have. It’s something Vince did and he comes from a powerful family.

The first part of the book was kind of cute and sweet. Vince makes sure Mia doesn’t talk and I like their awkward relationship. And yes, some of it was awkward. I felt like the dialogue didn’t flow as well, but I was curious to see where it would go.

The relationship gets hot and heavy fast and again I was curious to see where the relationship would go because it was so quick, but I rather have it quick then with a bunch of filler pages.

The second half of the book is more involved with Vince and his family, especially his 12-year older ruthless cousin, Mateo. Now, we have heard of this guy and how evil he is, but we haven’t experienced him and now we do.

I enjoyed the second half of the book more because it talks more about the dangers of Vince’s family and his crazy cousin, Mateo. You will hate and love Meteo at the same time. To my surprise he plays a big role in the book too.

I’m not sure where the author will go with the book because a lot of events happen, but I’m 100% curious and ready for the ride. The book is kind of dark and it will push your buttons a little and I didn’t have a problem with that at all. I kind of liked it.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

First review for me in 1295 books i’ve read so far, but for this one I had to

I started great for me, girl meets guy and guy by witnissing a murder by Fire and he is not a good guy (mob). Girl and guy fall I love against better judgement. Girl knows he’s a bad guy doensn’t want her in his world

The mob boss finds out there was a witness and girl is promptly introduced in the mob world.

The mob boss starts in on the relationship between boy and girl. I’m still OK with this, because it wouldn’t be a mob nobel without the boss causing trouble

What made me give this 1 star? The point that the mob boss first RAPES (she was asleep and didn’t See him), then forces her by using fear to have sex again. But to top it of, she bargains sex for her and the boy’s freedom and liked the sex. And she didn’t tell the guy she suppossedly loves.

One of the most horrible books i’ve read. The writing is amazing, but the plot is horrible and frankly disgusting

[Breana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate is a strong word

I dont wanna say i hate this book. But there comes a time in your like when you read a book and youre just awestricken by stupidity and wanna slap the s*** out of someone. If you were hoping for a girl whos smart and determined, strong and loyal, do not read this book. If i keep going with this review, id spoil the book unless thats what you want...

[Anushka Malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ★★★★☆

By now I'm well versed with Sam Mariano's dark heroes and even darker villains. But this book really threw me for a big loop.
The first guy we encounter, 𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞, is a mobster for sure. But he's not a monster. He does threaten the FMC - 𝙈𝙞𝙖 so that she'd keep her "𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴" involvement a secret. All that's to be expected and in line with the kind of mafia stories I've read.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, we meet 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙤 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞.
Actually, initially, we only hear of him and just how much everyone fears him. He's the real boogeyman in this world of mafia guys and criminals.
Who would ever have thought he'd become the personification of everything Mia could come to fear, only to end up being her 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣?
Certainly not me.




𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 : Adult Mafia 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 Romance



𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 : Mafia world, violence, arson, murder, sexist behavior, anti-feminism, brainwash, gaslighting, non-con




𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚 : She's at the wrong place at the wrong time and once she's in, there's no out!

(On a side note, this book kind of, very slightly, reminded me of ACOTAR. In the sense that the first guy, Mia falls for is very sweet, considerate, but with a strong dose of stubborn. The guy knows that he's bringing her in a world of danger and he still does it, i.e. Vince.
And then later, she meets the seemingly far, far more dangerous one, i.e. Mateo. But where in ACOTAR, Rhys 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 gave Feyre a choice; in this series, Mateo kind of took away all of Mia's choices and forced her hand and her loyalty.
But that's on par with Sam Mariano's books and characters.)




𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 : ★★★★☆

The writing was good. Taking into consideration the delicate themes that Sam Mariano usually includes in her books, she does handle it all very tastefully.
If anyone can write bully romance and borderline non-con without making you faint, she can.

And I do have a toxic soft corner for her dark heroes and darker villains.




𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 --

Mia and Vince were good. The beginning was great, the middle was alright, but the end was 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨!
I didn't think Vince had it in him to stand up to Mateo but boy! He sure surprised us all!

These two did overcome some things that are probably only possible in a fictional setting. Real life couples would probably crumble in far less.

And, despite everything, despite the doubts I had sometimes as to whether these two really fit together the way they should, this explanation of Mia's in Book 2 sheds some light on her conflicted feelings.



"𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙤. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚...𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙚. 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙚." ♡


Mateo truly is the hurricane.





𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 --

Mia and Mateo were... 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. The beginning was scary. The guy held a gun to her head, so yeah.
But the middle was strangely fun. They formed a bond...a friendship of sorts. Despite all the warnings everyone gave Mia.
The end... was shocking, then traumatizing and then strangely ambiguous.
I'm still not sure how I feel about it all, except that I don't hate Mateo.

Like the last card he left for Mia, he did end up becoming hers (and mine) "favorite villain" a.k.a. the guy we love to hate and yet would never really, seriously consider harming in a permanent sort of way.

Yeah he deserves a serious smackdown. But nothing he wouldn't recover from.




𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨 (𝙞𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮) ---

I don't know if the ending was flawed but it did seem slightly out of character for Mateo.
Or maybe not.
After all the gaslighting, brain washing done by our arrogant, borderline psychotic villain Mateo, I don't know what to think.




𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 --

Definitely the scene where Mia thanks Vince (profusely and publically) for the shoes that Mateo bought for her!!
Hahahahahah. That was hilarious. Awkward for Vince, yes. But still hilarious.

Mateo does have great taste in shoes. And really luxurious gifts of all kinds --dresses, shoes, vintage graphic novels, jewelry, you name it. The guy's got it.




𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡 --

If you've already read something by Sam Mariano and didn't hate it, you'll like this one too.

If you're not overly feministic in your fictional tastes, you'll like it.

If you have no triggers and a taste for pain and darkness, you'll like it.

♡

[Lidia's Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series Review Update:
The heroine chose the villain over the hero! Wow, a girl after my own heart 🖤

My thoughts? What doesn't kill you fucks you up mentally *LOL* Sam Mariano is an evil genius. I just finished the conclusion of this series and I can't even begin to describe the epic mind-fuckery. I can't; it's too much. Mia and Mateo were EVERYTHING. I could not get enough of them. I became crazy obsessed. I hope my favorite couples in my shelves don't hear this, but I think Mia and Mateo are my #1. And the angst, dear lord, the angst. Just when I felt I was being emotionally annihilated, the author would build me up again. The twists and turns in Mia and Mateo's story were absolutely insane, and brilliant! Though I have to say, I can understand why some readers were upset that Mia and Mateo were a couple given that in books 1 and 2 they had HFN endings with other people 😱 However, the author did state the following:
"This is a continuing story series. The story continues and evolves in each book until you get to the end."

Books 1 and 2 were not the end of the line for these characters. At all. Just because the books don't end in cliffhangers doesn't mean you should interpret it as a HEA (I made that mistake in book 5). You have to read til the end of the series for Mia and Mateo's HEA. Also know that there's a love triangle of sorts between Mia, Mateo, and Vince . Basically, two cousins fighting over the same girl.

Based on the reviews, I tried to prepare myself mentally for what I expected would be a non-conventional romance. Yeah, no, I wasn't all that prepared for what I actually got. When it came to Mia and Mateo, not all was as it seemed. Bit by bit, with every book, their relationship evolved, and in ways I never imagined. In book 6, Coming Home, there were revelations that obliterated any conclusions I had already made, and I was so relived! On multiple occasions, I found myself saying out loud, THANK FUCKING GOD. The more I read, any issues or burning questions I had would be addressed, leaving me feeling comforted, like the author was answering my prayers, especially where Mateo was concerned. All his decisions and motives were explained and only made me love him more. Books 6 and 7 were PERFECTION, worth all the angst. Worth EVERYTHING. I want to live in them with Mia and Mateo forever. 😭 Fact: Mateo Morelli is my book husband for the foreseeable future.

Confession: I'm going to be completely honest and admit that I didn't pay close attention to the other couples in the series. I only wanted to follow Mia and Mateo's story, and that's exactly what I did. I skimmed through the parts that focused on the development of the secondary characters (mainly in books 3 and 4). It's important to note that Mia and Mateo are the main protagonists of the series as a whole. Even when we got the PoV of another character, we still got to see a whole lot of Mia and Mateo through their eyes. So if some readers still had no love for them by book 4, how in the hell did they make it to book 7? 😂 People are funny.

I read books 1-7 and reviewing them separately. I also highly enjoyed the deleted scenes in Entrapment (short novel).

*****Initial Review for Book 1*****
4 Stars
I was in the mood for something darkish.

This is my second Sam Mariano book, and so far, I haven't been disappointed. Accidental Witness has reeled me into the Morelli Family series. I must warn that these books are not intended for sensitive readers due to the disturbingly kinky/sexual content and psychotic male characters. This is not for the fainties. Personally, I've always enjoyed dark reads, and I appreciate fictional authors who are not afraid to push boundaries in the dark romance genre. Sam Mariano delivers.

Was book 1 perfect? No, but it was entertaining enough. It felt fast-paced even in moments when not much was happening. The story flowed smoothly. I'm enjoying the author's writing and will be continuing the series to see where it leads. I'm excited!

HEA? I considered it a HFN ending. It still left me fully content.
The couple, Mia and Vince, are happy together at the end and about to live together in their own place. They overcame their obstacle--Mateo. Mateo was the villain in the story but despite his horrid behavior, I didn't hate him, which is a good thing because he's not going away. It's not surprising I was intrigued with the villain. Indeed, I was more taken by him than the hero. Yikes! It's okay, it's fiction; my morals are still intact.