His Tesoro

Rossi (A Pack for Winter, written as Emilia Emerson) delivers a smoldering dark romance, the first in the Empire of Royals series, originally self-published in 2024. After 13 years as Don of the Italian mafia in New York City, Matteo Rossi, 38, is dealing with encroachment from rival mobsters and decides to settle the matter with a marriage alliance. Cruel Chicago crime boss Rustik Ivanov offers up one of his sheltered daughters, 21-year-old Sofiya, as a candidate, with a photo that entrances Matteo against his will. What he doesn’t learn until their wedding day is that Sofiya has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that often leaves her unable to walk. Gentle yet strong, Sofiya has always dreamed of a love match, but steels herself to accept what Matteo offers, as he is unwilling to derail his life with romance. Sofiya’s chronic illness sets her apart from most dark romance heroines and, though she encounters a lot of ableism over the course of the novel, her disability is sensitively handled. Meanwhile, Rossi keeps the drama coming at a fast pace, with plenty of threats, violence (including the satisfying dispatches of several ruthless enemies), and spicy, if eventually repetitive, sex scenes. Mafia romance fans will eat this up. (Mar.)