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Vendetta

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What can you give to a man who brings you back from the depths of hell, who raises you from your own damnation? And what could the head of a ruthless mafia family want with you in the first place?


HIM

They tried to destroy her. They thought they could defile her, cut her, obliterate her beauty. And for a while she let them win. But I knew what was inside her. I knew she was stronger than that, fiercer than that. And I’m going to bring that out, I’m going to reincarnate her and turn her into the woman she was born to be. My woman. My queen.

By the time I’m done I will make this entire city crawl on their knees before her.


HER

They attacked me. They destroyed me. Brutalised me because I rejected them. For a while I became nothing. I was nothing. And then he looked at me. He saw me. The man everyone else fears. He says he will kill for me but what he doesn’t realise is that I will kill for him too.

He owns this entire city and rules it like a king. And everyone knows a strong king needs a strong queen.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 22, 2022

393 people are currently reading
726 people want to read

About the author

Ellie Sanders

26 books531 followers
International bestselling author of Pitch Black Romance.


Ellie Sanders lives in rural Hampshire, in the U.K. with her partner and two troublesome dogs.

She has a BA Hons degree in English and American Literature with Creative Writing and enjoys spending her time, when not endlessly writing, exploring the countryside around her home.



Hit her up on her the following accounts.....

FB Group: The Hot Steamy Writer
Instagram: @hotsteamywriter
TikTok: @hotsteamywriter
Twitter: @hotsteamywriter

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5 stars
171 (23%)
4 stars
162 (22%)
3 stars
230 (31%)
2 stars
114 (15%)
1 star
58 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
Profile Image for Natalia.
1,180 reviews94 followers
June 2, 2024
Felt like chunks of story were missing!!
80% sex and little story (The sex felt cringy at times, the h goes from not having sex drive for 2 years to having sex in the middle of a crowded nightclub, and everywhere they went)

The H kept saying he knew she was "amazing and strong" I was hoping that we got to see why... but it was just a case of instalust and stalker behavior, the fact she resembles his dead ex-girlfriend was also creepy!
(1000x times a better story if he had watched from the shadows her, getting her own revenge over the men that abuse her, and had, after being with her, together killed the last one)

The author also firstly described the h as truly disfigured face, blind from one eye (this of violence that happened out of spite and the fact they had acid just at hand was just *over drama*)... but has the story evolves she's actually "not that bad"
Profile Image for TheReaderVert .
808 reviews29 followers
November 11, 2024
I like when it hurts. I like when you hurt me

This book just had too many good gems to be anything other than the perfect "I'm not a hero. I will burn the world down for you" dark romance

Ohhhkkaayy....🤌🏾👆🏾 come through Ellie Sanders! A medusa retelling with a FMC who is...

"My little fighter. My own personal warrior"

☺️thicker than a snicker
☺️has a fattie
☺️ah so fat the MMC said he wants to bury his head in her cheeks...(means it's big and fluffy like a pillow)
☺️thick thighs saves lives
☺️heavy b00bs
☺️big nips
☺️ vulnerable but smart
☺️ scarred beauty trope. She was attacked with acid for rejecting a man's offer. No cute scar either. A part of her face is melted and she has one eye.

But the MMC is not to be slept on bc he has perfected

🤌🏾 the hair pull
🤌🏾 fingerlicking good in front of his soldiers
🤌🏾grade-A st@lker & voyeur
🤌🏾MINE growls
🤌🏾fingering no matter who's around
🤌🏾and "my greedy little sl♡t" talk is flung around
🤌🏾KittyCatLicking in public
🤌🏾it's his mission to make her 💦
🤌🏾he is a bad guy who stays bad. He is looking for his Queen who will accept his dark empire.

"My avenging angel. My perfect fucking queen"

What I loved about the world building, setting, characters and story is how bold but different it feels. Eleri is a wonderful FMC. Vulnerable but yet with an inner strength...of the "only for you" variety. She's patient, she's smart. She knows when to react and when to let it slide. Most of all we don't get silly insecure thoughts about Nico. Nope! It's full steam and I am so grateful for it.

"She will be reborn in the blood of the men who tried to ruin her"

Nico, Nico o.mmm.gggee is that man the epitome of a dark romance anti-hero. He's perfect for this tale. He's a voyeur, stalker, and king of crime bosses. He makes smart moves. He's playing chess to their tic-tac-toe and you feel his effortless power. Most of all, he saw Eleri for what she was, and he yearned for it. His Queen, his whore for only him. He believes she was crafted just for him and he means it. He means what he says and says what he means. He's a stand on business type guy.
Profile Image for april ♡ probably reading smut - safety reviews.
1,475 reviews2,592 followers
July 22, 2022
"She is no ordinary girl. The scars, the trauma attests to that. But she’s not a victim either. She’s a fighter. My fighter. And I want to see how much damage she can do."

Wow, this book was a roller coaster ride! I absolutely loved it from beginning to end. I like that Eleri was a broken, damaged heroine in the beginning and Nico loved her despite all of that. Eleri's character development is amazing.

"I love everything about him. I love that he’s dangerous, I love that he’s toxic. I love that he does what he wants to me and he doesn’t apologise, I love the way he makes me feel, but most of all, I love the fact that he’s mine."

The chemistry between the main characters is beautiful and erotic. The story was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are triggers so be aware!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for destiny.
529 reviews161 followers
January 4, 2025
i liked it !! i just wish there was more to it because some parts just felt rushed. nico and eleri are literally modern day bonnie and clyde and that was one of the main reasons why i enjoyed this book 🖤

this is a dark mafia romance, stalker mmc, scarred fmc, smut filled, gore, peens getting cut off, not to heavy on the plot, quick, and easy to read.

after what happened to eleri, she hides within herself and doesn’t want to be noticed. she loses her confidence and when no job would hire her, she ends up working for nico. eleri builds up a wall to protect herself but when nico finally had enough of hiding in the shadows, this man literally snatched her right up and said “you’re mine.” he is so obsessed with her. he was always watching, even before that tragic night. he became her guardian angel and secretly helped her through recovery 🥹

this was a honestly a 2/5 dark in my opinion. only because i’ve read much darker and there were dark scenes but not as dark as i felt. like when eleri cut off the men who assaulted her peens off scene, it felt so rushed. and again with the spice scenes too. it was so hot and the mouth on nico was jaw dropping, but it was so quick.

but this is a great book as a dark romance palette cleanser. and i would definitely recommend it for a quick read !!

🌶️🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Sabrina ✨.
7 reviews25 followers
August 25, 2024
The grammatical errors were so bad, and the story wasn’t good enough to make up for it.
Profile Image for Joanna.
1,064 reviews11 followers
February 26, 2023
I got curious to read this book after reading another one from Ellie but this one. . . I don't know but I guess I was expecting more.

It wasn't bad but it also wasn't good 🤷‍♀️ the story was kind of a mess and I didn't connect with the characters at all.

▬ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: dark romance, mafia, stalker, obsessed boy
▬ 𝐭𝐰: abuse, rape, disability, violence
Profile Image for Lea.
25 reviews3 followers
March 22, 2024
You can’t come in the last 15-20pages of the book with writing solely based on the plot line and try to redeem the book from the previous 200+ pages.
There’s no balance of plot line to spicy content. It felt like the author was in a hurry to write out her “wet dreams” and then went “oh yeah- there’s supposed to be an underlying story here”.
Profile Image for Selma Pearl.
2 reviews
July 22, 2022
I really enjoyed reading Vendetta. It was outside of my comfort zone at first due to some quite explicit rape & violence scenarios, but the novelty of his and hers perspectives in each chapter motivated me to read through to the end. I would've preferred a few more descriptive intimate scenes with slightly less mob scenes. It is a good solid erotic romance overall. Well worth a read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Sara.
22 reviews
July 29, 2024
Lmao if want a cringey smut book this is it😭
Least the cringey bits were funny though
Profile Image for Dee.
979 reviews2 followers
July 25, 2022
I have read a lot of mafia and a lot of dark romance, I don't see how this book falls into either category. It feels more like a dark/gory fairytale retelling.
The "vendetta" that the h seeks from the trauma she is subject to is hardly a plot; she wants vengeance, asks H for it in exchange for being his, and then he delivers the men to her, easy peasy. This happens very early in the book.
The mafia storyline doesn't start until almost 70% into the book. It isn't clear what the storyline is or where it is going. I kept waiting for something to happen, and it didn't, not until the second to last chapter. By then, I was so glad it was over and so ridiculous that I was laughing. Not usually what you are looking for in a dark mafia read.
The rest of the book is just filled with sex scenes. This is fine if incorporated into the story, but some of these seemed unnecessary.
Then the book abruptly ends.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Zoe.
Author 35 books37 followers
July 22, 2022
This mafia romance is full of adult content and explicit sex, and I loved it!

*Triggers for hints of rape, murder, torture, and violence*

This follows Eleri, a curvaceous young woman, who finds herself linked to the deadly and sexy mafia leader, Nico Morelli. Nico is a man possessed - he must have Eleri! Eleri, however, has her own issues to deal with, but can she let down the walls around herself and let herself feel again?

I didn’t expect this to be a modern twist on the myth of Medusa, and I personally would have preferred more of a connection to the myth. This being said, the book has representation for plus size characters, and disability, which I think is handled really well. The sex scenes are well written, and I couldn’t put this book down!

I do have my issues with this though, but this feels really nit picky. I think this would benefit from another proof read in order to catch the punctuation and grammatical errors I found, which, for me, did detract from the overall enjoyment of an otherwise steamy, sexy read, which is perfect for summer and for those new to mafia romance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for D.
55 reviews
August 6, 2022
I really, really wanted to love this book. I don’t hate it but I don’t like it either. The premise of a dark mob boss stealing away his non-traditionally beautiful but strong bride was right up my alley and I was salivating for it. However, the love story just was lacking for me. It was too rushed and surface level for it to be believable so it left me feeling constantly annoyed. The plot was also strangely rushed and it felt like it wasn’t planned out very well. Also, the amount of typos and misused words (things like the difference between affected vs. effected, etc) were so numerous that it became distracting. I feel like with another edit and re-write, this book could have been amazing. I would honestly totally be up for reading a revised version.

On a positive note, the spice was very nice…especially, the coffee table scene.
Profile Image for Rebecca Weaver.
66 reviews13 followers
June 19, 2024
I dont usually like to write a review for 3 stars and below but sadly something really irked me about this book. Things moved WAY to fast ans idk for someone so traumatised to suddenly love someone they way it was portrayed in such short time frame is just really unrealistic and i struggled to finish. The intimacy scene again are just really unrealistic. especially the dance floor scene..... "Suddenly hes Ramming it into my A**" I'm all for a bit of fantasy and pushing boundaries in books but this would be completely unsafe and really ruined the whole thing for me. Annoyingly i was going to read the Twisted Love series first but decided i would do this one and now i don't know whether or not i'm going to be disappointing again at the books are going to be written in the dame style. Just not for me i'm afraid.
12 reviews
January 21, 2025
DNF!!!!
WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!!
honestly was so excited for this book. i love spicy mafia romance novels and the plot sounded so good. HOWEVER the books im used to are spice=plot and there is usually a good balance between the two.THIS BOOK HOWEVER was JUST sex. i’m talking literally the prologue and chapter 1 were plot and made the book sound like it would be good, but from chapter 2 to 17 was just sex. like every single chapter was just sex and i just can’t get past it. keep in mind i LOVE spicy books BUT not when there is absolutely no plot whatsoever. i’m also a very chill rater, like it’s easy to get 4 or 5 stars from me and this is the first book i’ve ever given 1⭐️ but i just cannot recommend or even try to give it a better rating because it doesn’t deserve it!!!!
317 reviews
December 17, 2024
WTF did I just read. 10 inches, can't fit her manhood around her hand! And he's plunging away, no lube, really tearing her up. lol no thank you!!!

Zero plot, zero character development, zero sanity on the pages. Lol!!

But I just kept reading.
The book is just over 200 pages by page 20 she's sucking him off. lol!!!
We are just dropped into the story, like preface happens then it feels like we're missing 3 years worth of plot then chapter 1 starts.
Insta lust on steroids!! This book is all lust, like I don't know what the point or plot was!!!
Profile Image for Veronica Finigan.
17 reviews
June 1, 2024
If all you want is smut then read this book. I was really hoping for more story. The prologue really caught my attention and that’s where it ended. It was hard to finish especially with the grammatical errors!
Profile Image for Firefighterwife_reads.
115 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2024
Don't judge a book by its cover

I judged this book by its cover. The cover is beautiful. However, I regret it! It has lots and lots of spice scenes, but the grammatical errors were horrible. I honestly do not know how it made it through publishing.
Profile Image for Tierra Nichols.
9 reviews
September 16, 2024
I hated this book. It was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into it and I could get past the grammar in this book! It was just awful!
Profile Image for Dee.
5,039 reviews56 followers
July 22, 2022
Buckle up this is a wild ride, dangerous men, alpha personified, possessive, oh, so gorgeous, brooding all the makings of a deliciously dark story 😊. All the makings of a great a mafia story because there will be suspense, betrayal, sleepless nights, bad judgement or not, secrets, violence, hope, and maybe love.
By the time you’ve figured out who is who and what is what, you’re already hooked, and you may as well give up the fight and prepare yourself for an all-nighter!
Can’t say I didn’t warn you.
Eleri is broken, strong curvy girl who has been through so much yet she doesn’t allow her to define who or what she should be or do, so to keep herself safe building walls around herself each incident allows her to build the wall thicker, and after being attacked leaving her with scares it is hard for her to find a job except one place Nicos Bar. Nico sexy as all get out Morelli he gets who/what he wants when he wants them, watching her from afar, after they tried breaking his girl, her not allowing them to take her strength in fact everything they did only made her stronger and he she was his to make her happy, to keep her safe, and to love her past all her walls but he has to first get her to see him what better way then to give her a job in his bar. The attraction is instant, intense, and the magnetic pull is strong between them but trust is something she hasn’t learned to give yet but he will make sure whoever attacked his girl will pay revenge is something they both want and need but will they find the guy, will he pay for hurting her, will he pay for the scars he inflected upon her, and can they find happiness if anyone needs it its this girl with everything she has been through and she needs him by her side?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Alison turton.
163 reviews1 follower
August 12, 2025
I so wanted to like this book. The idea of a deeply traumatised woman taking back her life and eventually her sexuality with a side of morally grey, alpha/possessive guy who’s completely devoted to her thrown in, sounds like a story that I want to read. Unfortunately this wasn’t it.

Instead we get a woman whose entire existence is dependent on a man never mind the fact that her personality switches up quite literally the second she meets him (seriously don’t blink, you WILL miss it). Plus I love a possessive guy who’s obsessed and devoted to the woman he loves as much as the next gal, but tbh this didn’t really hit the mark. I mean he waits, stalking her for 2 years before deciding he needed her in his life but then frequently admitted his mafia buddies come first.

The thing that bothered me the most though was the speed with which she went from meek and mousey hiding behind her hair and baggy clothes, to wanton confident nympho who is begging for … and walking around naked. It just made no sense. There’s literally no world in which it tracks that a woman who couldn’t even touch herself for years due to the trauma would be sucking …. In the car ride to his house less than 5 mins after he spoke to her for the first time. Never mind the fact that she got in the car in the first place with practically no persuasion it was almost like,
“You’re mine you’re coming with me”
“Oh erm sure why not, I totally trust you now”

Make it make sense, no really make it make sense because I gave up trying to gel the 2 completely different personalities never mind the fact that her entire self worth was wrapped up in the MMC frequently telling him she’s ugly one minute and then as soon as he says she’s not she’s suddenly this sexual goddess.

Nope just no!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kristen Jackson.
165 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2024
"I will burn this world,rip it to pieces,annihilate everyone that gets in my way if i have to."

rating: 3.5/5

I had mixed feelings about this book. It was a quick read. This story is based on Medusa, but it is not a retelling. Eleri was assaulted years ago and had acid thrown on her and to society that made her "ugly." This story follows Eleri and Nico's lives. Nico is also the head of the mafia. When the world sees the scars of Eleri's attack, they are replused, but to Nico, she is the most beautiful thing he has ever laid on eyes. The two end up stricking a deal. She gets her vengence for her attack, and he gets her. What Nico wants Nico gets, and even that can end in bloodshed.

While I did enjoy this book, it just wasn't fully doing it for me. There was so much smut, and sometimes the smut was alitte cringy. Do not get me wrong, I love smutty books. However, I felt like smut overtook the plot. When I saw Mafia romance, I was so excited. Mafia romances are my favorite because they are dark. It just felt like the whole mafia plot was overshadowed by the smut. It was like every chapter had smut, and the plot got lost. I did enjoy that this book proved that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There were so many parts that were so good, but felt rushed. If you are looking for smut, this is your book. If you are looking for that mafia theme, I would recommend something else.
87 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2022
Vendetta - A Mafia Romance by Ellie Sanders was thrilling, exotic, and beautiful. She was broken but beautiful and left with scars, worked in his club under his vision for two years, and he waited to worship her. He made her strong and feel beautiful again. He gave her what she most desired and in return, he made her his Queen♛by his side. I don't want to give out the story but HEA guaranteed also a page-turner is a promise. It's a bit of a short read, but don't miss it out.

**Warning - If you are not a fan of attempted rape, Hot sex, broken woman, tortuous murders, family betrayal, and luxury mansions then this book is not yours to read!!


SOME OF MY FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM THE BOOK!

Chapter 2- Location 188

“You are a queen. My queen. And I will make this entire city crawl on their knees before you.”

Chapter 4- Location 283

He takes my hand, places it on his crotch and I gasp as I feel how fucking hard he is right
now. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

Location 284

“I will treat you like my queen. Worship you as my only god.”

Chapter 6- Location 469

He did this. He fixed me.


Chapter 29 - Location 1906

My jezebel. My wanton queen.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Debleena.
317 reviews138 followers
July 22, 2025
It's bad, like seriously so bad. The premise pulls you in, because it's good, but then boom, the story slaps you with cringey, gross lines.
The author wanted to show that the FMC is a survivor and fighter, but the way she always bent backwards for the MC, without him earning none of her trust, and respect makes her look sad and pathetic. The MC was tried to be shown as someone who falls for inner beauty, and it worked for a chapter or two, before you start getting the feeling that this MC selected Eleri for her curves, with how the descriptions of her "assets" went.... It was gross, and frankly degrading in a bad perverse way. Nico, our MC is controlling and I don't how the FMC wasn't suffocating with how he controlled and ordered her around. The last few chapters , only further prove my thoughts of Nico being a manipulative shit with using sex as his tool correct. His first lover came as a surprise and if he had truly loved his girl in a obsessive manner , he would have never ever gone with his asinine plan.
Honestly the book made it look like the FMC fell for the MC only because she believed that no one else would have her, and would rather settle for a controlling, manipulative jerk, than remain single and independent.
204 reviews4 followers
February 23, 2023
I think this book is pretty dark, graphically violent and gruesome, but it's also full of love and a very devoted king wanting to take care of his queen, I loved it. I was horrified at the things that had happened to Eleri. Right at the beginning of the story you are hit in the face with how cruel people can be, but then you are also given how wonderful love can be too. Nico is so dedicated to Eleri I couldn't help but love him, he looks past the surface and see the real her and finds it beautiful. He helps her to come out of the protective shell she's put herself in and I loved it. This story definitely has violence and action. A lot of very descriptive scenes of violence so be ware if it bothers you. I think the care and devotion he shows to her balanced it out for me. Then there are the steamy scenes, my, oh my. There are plenty of steamy scenes that are descriptive and as hot as lava in a volcano. There is also a twist or two to the story that just added to the already full package this story had to offer. Great reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Emma.
2,864 reviews39 followers
June 12, 2023
Nico and Eleri: They are modern day mobsters Bonnie and Clyde. Vendetta is the perfect name for this book. I may not agree with how the justice was dealt but I felt for Eleri it was necessary she felt vindicated, freed from the past and those who tried to destroy her. I was impressed with Nico that he was interested in Eleri before the tragedy happened. He secretly was her guardian angel throughout her recovery and beyond. Nothing would change the way Nico felt about Eleri. It took her some time to blossom under his care. And blossom she did. At the same time Nico was dealing out his brand of justice for those in his organization who were betraying him. This is a wonderful twist on the mafia trope blended with the medusa myth.

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

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed
Easy-to-read
Original
Page-turner
Steamy
Tragic
Twisted
Unpredictable.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Leisel.
750 reviews4 followers
July 24, 2022
First off this is quite a dark Mafia romance but I would image if you read the plot's synopsis you would easily be able to sense that from the background of the beautiful female character of Eliri (beautiful name btw). In saying that, most Mafia romance stories seem to contain a degree of "rough play" within them and I'm not sure if this is more or less.
I loved the character of Eliri she portrayed a true sense of strength and resiliency for her physical, mental and emotional survival. Nico was portrayed as the typical alpha male combined Mafia kingpin, what he wants he gets scenario but I found he had a 'warmer' side to his strong demanding character when required.
If you like the genres of Mafia romance, erotic moments, deception and revenge Mafia style then you won't be disappointed. But more than anything a couple that finds their HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Michelle.
568 reviews10 followers
March 14, 2023
This is my 2nd time reading an Ellie Sanders book and I loved both (this and Good Girl)! This book had me drawn in from the first sentence and didn't let go until the final words!! Nico is boyfriend goals!! The way he worships Eleri 😊. Even though she doesn't believe she's beautiful because of her size and scars on her face. She begins to believe him and her confidence goes through the roof. The love and chemistry they have never wavers or crumbles even though others try to come between them. Even though this book has a great storyline there is TONS of smexy times! 🔥🥵🔥

"I need her with me, beside me, a part of me, because now that I’ve claimed her, tasted her, let her into my life, if I lose her now the world will hold nothing for me." 🥰

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

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