Mafia Romance
The nexus of innocence, danger, and high-stakes steam—only she can make his heart beat.
Mafia Romance
🔥🔥🔥
Read-&-Rated Favorites (⭐ 3.5+)
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Be With Me by Gabrielle Sands
⭐ 4.5
MEDIUM, HEA
“So good. The friction between Mia and Romolo is coming from all angles. That ending was not one I saw coming.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers, MMC/FMC has a Medical Condition, Forbidden Love Interest
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Beautiful Beast by Neva Altaj
⭐ 4.25
HOT, HEA
“I loved everything about this book. Loved, loved, loved.” - Penelope Black
“Heart emojis everywhere. They angry-banged a lot.” - Cardigan B
25+ FMC, Arranged Marriage, Mafia, Tortured MMC, Touch Her and Die Vibes, Forced Proximity, Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, Age Gap, Kidnapping, Russian FMC, Italian MMC, Secret Identity, Forbidden Love Interest, Witty Banter, Slow Burn
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Broken Whispers by Neva Altaj
⭐ 4.25
MEDIUM, HEA
“I loved the physical language barrier that existed (even if it was pretend) so they got into a rhythm of paying attention to each other and finding a new way to exist.”- Cardigan B
Ballerina, Age Gap, Sign Language, Scarred MMC, Touch her and die, Mafia, Russian MMC, Bratva, Beauty & The Beast, Arranged Marriage, Doesn't Speak
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Where Dark Hearts Devour (Book 1) by Victoria Holiday
⭐ 4.25
MEDIUM, HEA
“The tension between Castiano and Trilby is tangible. Really well done. The first honest virgin "first time" I've heard described. "It felt like razor blades." Yeah, it hurts. Never seen a tail bone called a ‘sit bone’ before.” - Cardigan B
Age 20+ FMC, Age Gap Romance, Italian FMC, Italian MMC, MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Loss of Parent (Death), Arranged Marriage, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity, Bodyguard
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Where Wild Hearts Dance (Book 2) by Victoria Holliday
⭐ 4.0
HOT, HEA
“Ooo Victoria got creative with this one. Benny is hard not to love. He burned down his own house for her! That scene on the car at the beach was sooooomething.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Age Gap Romance, Tattoos, Loss of Parent (Death), Possessive MMC, Overcoming Past Trauma, Older Woman/Younger Man, Kidnapping
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Hunted By a Shadow by Michelle Heard
⭐ 4.0
HOT, HEA
“Ooooo this was dark. It was uncomfortable. It was just what I wanted. Skylar needs a kidney. Her dad stops at nothing to get one. He accidentally commissions one from organ farmers and they kill Renzo's next in line to get it.” - Cardigan B
Mafia/Organized Crime, Organ Trafficking, Kidnapping, Loss of Sibling, Touch her and die, Age Gap, Morally Grey MMC, Chef
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Kingdom Fall by A. Zavarelli
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“I like this one. Just could have saved each other a lot of trouble with some simple communication. But hey, what do I know. I'm just the reader.” - Penelope Black
Boss/Nanny, Nanny, Enemies to Lovers, MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, MC is a Single Parent, Virgin MMC, Age Gap Romance, Revenge, Forced Proximity, Secret Pregnancy, Doesn't Speak, Arranged Marriage, Slow Burn, Rape
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The Monster by L.J. Shen
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“They could have been doing way more dark corner banging this whole time, as I was led to believe from the book jacket.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Grumpy/Sunshine, Age Gap Romance, Brother's Best Friend, Touch Her and Die Vibes, Secret Relationship, Unrequited Love
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Nero by S.J. Tilly
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“I liked this one the best out of the series. It was a little wild given he just walked into her apartment to hide from the cops.” - Penelope Black
“Really liked this. FUCK HANS. There, I said it.” - Cardigan B
Mafia/Organized Crime, Shy FMC, Overcoming Past Trauma, Morally Grey (MMC), Childhood Trauma, Curvier FMC, Tall MMC
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Precious Hazard by Neva Altaj
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“Tara knows the definition of ‘malicious compliance’ and uses it with gusto. Her spirit is infectious.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Arranged Marriage, FMC & MMC Enter Into A Contract, Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend's Older Brother, Overcoming Past Trauma, Slow Burn
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The Predator by RuNyx
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“I still don't understand what the hell the codes have to do with anything, but I absolutely LOVE Tristan - years of being a super tough villain has hardened him, but it's fun to watch him become a human with feelings.” - Penelope Black
AntiMMC, Enemies to LoversForced Proximity, Revenge, MMC rides a motorcycle, Touch her and die, Slow Burn
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The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori
⭐ 4.0
HOT, HEA
“Dear god, the angst with these two. Pretty hilarious though with the sister getting knocked up by the pool boy, gardener?” - Penelope Black
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Arranged Marriage, Morally Grey MMC, Dirty Talker, Enemies to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, Age Gap Romance, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity, Grumpy/Sunshine, Touch Her and Die Vibes, Bad Boy/Good Girl, Possessive MMC, Opposites Attract
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Vows of a Mobster by Eva Winners
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“I was ready to call Penelope all kinds of names for this one. I read it because she had a good rating on it in Storygraph. But I was wrong - the twists and turns were great and the story got so much better than I was expecting. The part of the book where it was the "video" of the murder was the best.” - Cardigan B
Mafia/Organized Crime, Age Gap, Touch her and die, Sick Child, Secretary/Boss, Hidden Past, Hidden Identity, Ballerina
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Bratva Lullaby by Penny Dee
⭐ 3.75
HOT, TO BE CONTINUED
“She was kidnapped because her ex owed him money. And she’s been targeted three times for assassination. He promised to protect her…he didn’t.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Engagement, Forced Proximity, Grumpy/Sunshine, Touch Her and Die Vibes, Cliffhanger Ending, Billionaire
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Dante by Sadie Kincaid
⭐ 3.75
MEDIUM, HEA
“Dante was a prick who grew on me.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Kidnapping, Possessive MMC, Accidental/Surprise Pregnancy, Touch Her and Die Vibes
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Rebound by Sadie Kincaid
⭐ 3.75
HOT, HEA
“The ultimate second chance romance. A man puts his wife second at every turn. She finally has enough and demands separation. This story is their way back. Honestly? She shouldn’t have stayed.” - Cardigan B
Separated/Divorcing/Divorced, Reunited after Divorce, Loss of Parent (Death), MC has Interfering Family, MC is Shunned by Family, FMC previous abused (not by MMC), First Love
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Staying in Vegas by Sam Mariano
⭐ 3.75
HOT, TO BE CONTINUED
“Same universe as Accidental Witness. It’s messy. She's supposed to be with Rafe, but she mouth-bangs his enforcer and falls in love in 4 days. She’s pregnant, but she acts like she's not pregnant a lot so it's easy to forget. Sin's house sounded like a shanty.” - Cardigan B
Age Gap, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Cliffhanger Ending, Possessive MMC, Morally Grey MMC, Bodyguard, Mafia/Organized Crime, Strong Sister Bond, Submissive FMC
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Terrible Beauty by Anna Zaires
⭐ 3.75
MILD, TO BE CONTINUED
“First time I have ever heard, ‘I have to drain the lady lizard’” - Penelope Black
“No way he waited 10 years. No. Way.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Russian MMC, Age 20+ FMC, Age 30+ FMC, Arranged Marriage, Loss of Parent (Death), Abusive Parent(s), Stalker/Stalking, Virgin FMC
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Accidental Witness by Sam Mariano
⭐ 3.5 & ⭐ 1.5
MEDIUM, TO BE CONTINUED
“BUCKLE. UP. You’re going to hate Mia. She’s too pliant and empathetic toward MAFIA MEN. She doesn’t listen. But I, Cardigan B, was hooked by this series. Try Accidental Witness and go from there.” - Cardigan B
Mafia/Organized Crime, Witness to a crime, Young, Innocent, Naive FMC, Age Gap Kidnapping, Rape, High School, Interfering Family, Villain Becomes MMC, Captive Falls for Captor, Love Triangle, Boyfriend's Uncle
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The Hermit by Michelle Heard
⭐ 3.5
HOT, HEA
“I’m a huge Michelle Heard fan. This isn’t her best book, but it’s alright. I couldn't get a handle on Grace - she was ferocious when it came to protecting her sister, but she deflated like a balloon when her sister wasn't in danger. It was short and ended in an HEA which is what I wanted. Loved Santiago. I'll read his book.” - Cardigan B
FMC previous abused (not by MMC), Rape, Arranged Marriage, Age 30+ FMC, Rescue, Sign Language, MC has Strained Relationship with Parent, MC has a Tragic Past, MC has a Missing Sibling, Widow, Assassin
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Marriage and Malice by Trisha Wolfe
⭐ 3.5
HOT, HEA
“She’s sold to him to pay her father’s debts. He doesn’t want a wife and plans to make her life hell. But they fall for each other. Hard. Twist at the end is actual twist.” - Cardigan B
MC is involved in Mafia/Organized Crime, Ballerina, Arranged Marriage, Virgin FMC, Slow Burn, Family Rivalry, Obsessive MMC, Touch Her and Die, Dark
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The Perfect Fit by Sadie Kincaid
⭐ 3.5
HOT, HEA
“This shouldn't have been good. Three billionaires living in a loft together who run a train on a delivery girl with a beat up bike? It doesn't work. But for some unholy reason the characters and writing actually made it fun. I don't know what to do anymore. “ - Cardigan B
Organized crime, billionaires, why choose, age gap, grumpy/sunshine
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Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark
⭐ 3.5
MEDIUM, HEA
“I did like this, but there wasn't enough story to give it a higher rating. It says it's a stand-alone, but I think you have to read book 1 "Brutal Prince" to care more about these characters.“ - Cardigan B
Italian FMC, Russian MMC, Mafia/Organized Crime, Kidnapping, Ballerina, Age Gap Romance
@35CARDIGANS @BLACKCAT100
Find us on The StoryGraph
Join The StoryGraph, our romance book tracking app of choice. Scope out our TBRs, see which titles we’ve read, and watch us rate in real time. Just more proof that we’re humans.
(Yea, we also use goodreads…but so do our families. Who we’re connected to).
Sizzle Scale
HOT
(Blazing & Explicit): This is the full five-alarm fire. Bedroom doors are flung wide open, and the scenes are DETAILED, EXPLICIT, and SCORCHING HOT. No fading to black here.
MEDIUM
(Simmering & Steamy): Expect passionate kisses that don't always fade to black. Could be graphic, but probably one scene that goes full throttle. Things get steamy, and the chemistry is sparking. You’ll blush, but you won’t need a fire extinguisher... yet.
MILD
(Sweet & Tender): Expect sweet sighs, maybe a stolen, chaste kiss or two, and plenty of heartwarming moments that make you go "awww." If things get more intimate, the bedroom door gently clicks shut (fade-to-black).
FLOUR
(Platonic, if anything): Rare to find around here. This is a book that has…no romance at all. We probably read this by accident.
FAQs
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A guide to romance novels of all heats and sizes. We’re recommending books we’ve read (we’ve read 1,000s) and telling you what to expect. We’ll help you do your research - your time and money will be happy.
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‘Happily Ever After’ - nearly every book you find on The Velvet Pages has an ‘HEA’. It means that the story reached a satisfying conclusion. It might say “To Be Continued” which means there’s probably an HEA in the series, but that particular title didn’t resolve the relationship.
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This is how sexual or sexy a book is. There’s a range: Hot, Medium, Mild, and Flour.
Hot is ‘“holy Hell I’m sweating.”
Medium is steamy.
Mild is tender and sweet.
Flour means there’s nothing romantic here.
We label each book so you know what to expect and you can choose what you’re comfortable reading.
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We rate each book out of 5. Cardigan B and Penelope Black can rate a book the same score on occasion, but usually the rating you see is an average of their scores.
The ratings are pretty subjective, but include things like:
Did the story make sense?
How did the characters measure up?
Was the writing literate?
Was the premise or were the plot points memorable?
Were the mysteries solved? Did the questions get answered? Did you leave me on ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, ONYX STORM?
Did the book make us feel something?
Was there a cute cat?
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We recommend starting with Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance, or Sports Romance. They’re the most popular and you’ll find recognizable tropes.
Start with Mild to Medium heat and definitely choose an HEA.
If you’re still stuck, email us and we can give you some recs!
Heyyyvelvetpages@gmail.com
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We’ll read pretty much anything. Each month, Penelope and Cardigan select a list of about 20 books to read together. There’s at least one book from each genre and some popular titles that have been recently released.
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We sure do! It’s called ‘The Velvet Edit’. You can sign up at the top or on the ‘Contact Us’ page. We send out a themed list of recommendations each month and a ‘Quickie’ (a single title spotlight) two weeks later. We won’t spam you.
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That’s the section of the site where we share what we’re reading this month for our book club. You can check out our other reading lists from the past few months of 2025, too.
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Nope, not even close. The books on the site are generally the ones we enjoyed the most. Or hit on different trends we see coming up.
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They are! If you buy from a button click on the site, we might earn a commission. You’re not paying more for the product, though. We’re all about ‘pay less for smut’ around here.
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We use Storygraph. It has a friendly app interface and has every book we’ve read. It also shows your reading stats, which is unique.
We have separate Goodreads accounts, but they’re connected to our friends and family and…I don’t want them to see that I read the first and second book in a series about a merman with two dicks.
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MMC is Male Main Character. FMC is female main character.
There are typically one of each, but there can be multiple in genres like Omegaverse or Reverse Harem.
Or, like in the case of Court of Thorns and Roses, the MMC could be one person in one book and another person in another book.
Don’t come at me about ‘spoilers’ - these books were published in 2015.
Email us
Looking for a book recommendation? Want to give us a recommendation you’ve read? Need to yell into the void?