My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Title: Make Me
Author: Natasha K. Lauren
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 11/17/26
Publisher: Dell
Categories: Dark Romance, Mafia Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Dell for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
He’s sworn to protect her. He thinks he’s the one in charge. She thinks . . . that’s cute.
By day, Gia Loren is a beloved Brooklyn trauma nurse with a coffee addiction and pink scrubs. By blood, she’s Giovanna Marcelli—daughter of one of the most powerful Italian mafia families in New York. And even if she walked away from that life years ago . . . the mob never forgets. . . and never lets you go.
When a rival boss is murdered and the city’s criminal underworld teeters on the edge of war, Gia is dragged back into the shadows and placed under lock-and-key protection, trapped in a safe house with a man who drives her crazy—in more ways than one. Nico Vitali, the Marcellis’ lethal, brooding enforcer and the one man completely off limits. Too bad Gia’s never been good at playing by the rules.
Ex-Marine. Combat-trained. Emotionless—at least on the outside. Nico’s life depends on his ability to control himself and his surroundings, and protecting Gia should be just another assignment. Except she refuses to behave. Fiery, flirty, and furious at her family and the situation, Gia turns captivity into a challenge, determined to rattle Nico’s unshakable discipline with every tease, every glance, every slow, dangerous smile.
Giving in would mean death. But resisting her just might be worse.
As sparks turn into a wildfire and the mafia war explodes around them, Gia must confront the truth about who she is and what she’s willing to claim. And Nico must choose where his loyalty lies—with the family he serves or their daughter he is sworn to protect.
Because in this city, love isn’t safe. It’s a liability.
And it might cost them everything.
Content Warning: torture, death, violence, kidnapping
+ Gia is a Mafia daughter who broke away from the violent life. She’s a nurse and is living on her own when a hit is put on her and her family swoops in to protect her. The person protecting her 24/7 is Nico Vitali, the bodyguard she wants literally guarding her body, and then some – but he’s resisted her for many years. Nico and her brother and cousin are also trying to find out who is trying to come after Gia. Gia even suspects her parents which tells you how messed up her upbringing was as a daughter of the Mafia.
+ The forbidden romance between Gia and Nico is great. There is tension and restraint but when the damn breaks, the spice is hot between them. Gia is constantly doing things to get under Nico’s skin and usually he’s so good at keeping his distance but living with her is new territory and eventually he cannot resist her. I loved the two of them together and glad they get their happy ending.
+~ Most of the story is Gia stuck in one place because she’s being protected but that means we don’t get to see much of her outside. We eventually learn who is trying to put the hit on Gia and I liked how that played out.
Final Thoughts:
This was a quick and easy read which had everything I expected in a mafia romance – it had tension, danger, and a spicy romance. I enjoyed this one!
Read if you like:
- mafia romance
Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
