Book Review | The Sweetest Oblivion

Had a bit of a mood change with my reading over the weekend and decided on a mafia romance.

The Sweetest Oblivion
Danielle Lori

She’s a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds . . .

Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.

Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint.

They say first impressions are everything . . .

In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome.

She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.

And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.

Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?

Amazon | Goodreads

Sometimes I am suddenly in the mood for some perfectly dramatic escapism and my go-to for that is usually the darker side of romance but I have to say there is something about mafia romances that always hits the spot for me. On a bit of a whim, I picked a book at random without really reading too much into it and managed to get pretty lucky because this book had everything I was looking for.

This book is forbidden romance and enemies-to-lovers mixed into one, when I read the blurb I wasn’t sure if or how that mix would work, but it does and it was exactly the dramatic tension that I was needing. I think what I really enjoyed was that I was constantly kept guessing, little things here and there that came up in the story definitely kept me on my toes so I was never sure exactly where the story would go next.

The chemistry was intense, I felt like the sparks were flying anytime Nico and Elena were near each other and I liked that he was the only person that she didn’t have to live up to this preconceived notion with and that that is what he found attractive in her. I maybe would have liked to hear more from his perspective because it was hard not to find him fascinating but also it kind of adds to his mysteriousness which I won’t complain about.

Surprisingly, because a lot of the time there isn’t much space for anyone interesting except the main characters in this type of book, I really enjoyed the glimpses we got of Elena’s family, her sister and Nonna especially. They were very individual characters and often added a bit of unexpected humour which helped to break up the intensity a little.

I think it’s safe to say that I am already looking forward to reading the next books in this series.