Quick Info
A dark, soapy mafia romance packed with obsession, forced marriage, banter, spice, and the kind of drama that had me saying “oh, this is ridiculous” while immediately turning the page.
Book Name: In the Dark
Author: Shain Rose
⭐️ Rating: 3.75/5
🌶️ Spice: 3.5/5
📱 Format: e-book
💞 Tropes: Secret Society, Touch Her & Die, Morally Gray Hero, Black Cat Heroine, Enemies to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, OTT/Obsessed Hero, Banter
💭 Best for: Readers who love over-the-top mafia romance, obsessed heroes, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a whole LOT of drama
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🤝 Fake Dating
💞 Friends with Benefits
❤️🔥 Slow Burn
🩶 Emotional Damage
🫶 He Falls First
🛡️ Protective / Loyal Hero
🖤 Mental Health Representation -
Sammie needs a date for her sister's wedding after a recent breakup, and the last person she expects to step in is Nate Wells—her best friend Adrian's brother.
Adrian is supposed to be Sammy's date, but an appendectomy puts him out of commission, so he offers up Nate instead. What starts as a fake dating arrangement quickly becomes much more complicated when the chemistry between Sammie and Nate proves impossible to ignore.
But this isn't just a cute fake-dating romance. Both Sammie and Nate are carrying some pretty significant emotional baggage, and as their relationship develops, they have to confront the ways their pasts have shaped how they see themselves, love, and relationships.
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The Characters
This is such a character-driven romance, and I think that's ultimately what made it work so well for me.
Nate is quiet, reserved, sweet, and a little melancholy. He struggles with depression and has for most of his adult life, and I thought Julia Wolf handled his mental health journey incredibly well. His depression isn't treated as a personality trait or something that magically disappears because he falls in love. It's a real part of his life, and I appreciated the depth given to his journey.
Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading, though, because his depression is explored in some depth.
Sammie is almost the opposite of Nate on the surface, but she has just as much going on underneath. She's the black sheep of her family and has spent years feeling like she's on the outside looking in. Her family consistently makes her feel like she's less than, and that has had a huge impact on her confidence and self-worth.
I loved watching both of these characters work through their individual issues while also learning how to be there for each other.
The Romance
I went into this expecting a cute fake-dating romance, and I was absolutely not prepared for how much I would love Sammie and Nate together.
Their relationship starts with fake dating and eventually turns into a friends-with-benefits arrangement before becoming something much deeper. And I really loved how naturally their relationship progressed.
Nothing about their trajectory felt forced. It felt messy and complicated and honest, but also incredibly romantic.
Their relationship wasn't just about falling in love. It was about two people learning to trust someone else, work through their own insecurities, and believe that they actually deserve to be loved.
The Mental Health Representation
This was probably one of my favorite aspects of the book.
There is a lot of focus on mental health, trauma, healing, and the ways our relationships with our families can shape how we see ourselves.
I thought both characters' journeys were handled with so much care, and I especially appreciated that healing wasn't portrayed as something that happens overnight.
The Spice
Okay, this was SPICY.
I gave this one 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5, and there are plenty of open-door scenes throughout the book.
And for such a quiet, reserved hero, Nate definitely knows how to take control when things heat up. So if that's your thing... you're going to enjoy this one.
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💘 Romance ████████░░ 4/5
🧲 Chemistry ██████████ 5/5
👀 Tension ████████░░ 4/5
🫶 Characters ███████░░░ 3.5/5
📖 Story ███████░░░ 3.5/5
🍿 Drama ████████░░ 4/5
🌶️ Spice ███████░░░ 3.5/5
Final Thoughts
This was a gripping, addictive, very soapy romance with a LOT of drama, front-loaded spice, and an OTT hero who kept me turning the pages. I did predict the outcome of the mystery that was revealed in the third act, but it was still enjoyable to watch everything come to life!
Overall, the chemistry, banter, obsession, and sheer soapiness made this a really fun guilty-pleasure read. It was ridiculous in exactly the way I wanted it to be.
If you love dark mafia romance, obsessed heroes, marriage of convenience, enemies-to-lovers tension, and books that fully embrace the drama, In the Dark is definitely one to check out.
Ready to read? Shop In the Dark by Shain Rose on Amazon. If you love a special edition, make sure to grab the Deluxe Limited Edition paperback (limited quantities available!)
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