3.75 stars- THE BUTCHER’S WIFE by Sam Crescent is a contemporary, adult, Mafia romance novella focusing on forty year old Giovanni ‘The Butcher’ Romano, and twenty-one year old, Mafia princess Valentine Berlusconi -Romano.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Giovanni and Valentina) THE BUTCHER’S WIFE follows in the aftermath of the arranged marriage between forty year old Giovanni ‘The Butcher’ Romano, and twenty-one year old, Mafia princess Valentina Berlusconi -Romano. Approximately three years earlier Valentina Berlusconi was the victim of torture and a brutal kidnapping, a kidnapping from which she barely survived. Refusing to marry a ‘damaged’ princess, Valentina’s fiance Leonardo Rossi, walked away without looking back. Fast forward to present day wherein her rescuer Giovanni ‘The Butcher’ Romano has asked for Valentina’s hand in marriage, a marriage Valentina believes will be brutal and swift but to our heroine’s surprise Giovanni Romano has a soft spot for the young woman he rescued, a woman who has unknowingly stolen his heart and his soul. In an effort to secure the woman he loves, Giovanni trains our heroine so she is able to protect herself but Valentina will discover that no amount of protection can guarantee her safety from the one person determined to reclaim her for himself. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Giovanni and Valentina, and the potential fall-out as the past targets our story line heroine.

The relationship between Valentina and Giovanni begins as a rescue, a rescue that will see Giovanni struggling with what happened and why. As a capo in the Rossi family, Giovanni has opted for the one woman who is believed to be damaged beyond repair but Giovanni sees a strong woman who is capable of loving a man who himself believes is incapable of love. Working for the Rossi family finds Giovanni away from the woman with whom he is falling in love, time that will threaten the relationship and their own happily ever after. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and provocative.

We are introduced to Valentina’s parents; Valentina’s ex-fiance Leonardo Rossi, his new wife Victoria, and the head of the Rossi family Thomas Rossi.

THE BUTCHER’S WIFE is a fast paced, quick read. A Mafia style wedding but a marriage predicated upon mutual respect and love. The premise is engaging and exciting; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are impassioned, charismatic and determined.



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this is my second book buy this author and so enjoyed the characters you will so fall in love with Valentina Berlusconi. is being married off to Giovanni Romano they call him the Butcher her father is one of the Capos in the Rossi line. A few years before Valentina was kidnapped and tortured it was Giovanni that rescued her she was going to marry Leonardo but it was called off becuse of her kidnapping but the day of her wedding he now has eyes on her. they honeymoon on Giovanni private island where he trains her to protect herself the scenes are so good very intense will they learn to love

Valentina and Giovanni make a beautiful couple. Valentina was picked as Giovanni (The Butcher)'s wife. She believes she is damaged and incapable of love. He also believed he is damaged. Will they fall in love? CAN they fall in love?

I found their love story to be so sweet! I was expecting a dark romance but what I got instead was a romance that filled me with butterflies. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I will be reading more from Sam Crescent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read about a mafia enforcer getting to marry his boss’s youngest daughter. I would have liked more relationship building between Valentina and Giovanni as most scenes between them involved them having (hawt and steamy) sex. Both were strong characters who I liked and was interested in. I felt the style of writing was somewhat choppy. I liked the story even though I felt it needed more fleshing out and a more thorough edit. I'm swooning over the cover!

Good fast paced read
Love a good mafia read.
The synopsis doesn’t do the book justice.

I liked it a lot

Her ex fiancé rejected her, his family was the reason behind her torture, her family and the mafia world considered her a pariah but Giovanni saved her, loved her and protected her. This was a steamy, quick novella (I wish there was more) that I really enjoyed.

While dark romance is not my usual go to, I can definitely get behind the dark and twisty from time to time! It's been awhile since I've read a romance with a little edge so I snagged this off of NetGalley when I saw that it's a shorter read.
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This was the perfect way to dip my toe back into the dark and gritty. Giovanni is exactly the kind of MC I want in my dark romances. Give me every bit of the quiet and brooding badass who isn't afraid to kill you for touching his wife. This is STEAMY and perfect for those night you need a little one handed reading inspo. 😅🤣😜

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for a review

I really enjoyed this mafia novella, it left me wanting more. Giovanni is not your typical mafia man. They call him the Butcher and with good reason but there is another side of him that only Valentina gets to see. I was invested in their story and loved how much Giovanni planned and pined for a future with Valentina. There was also plenty of steam and chemistry between the couple. I would definitely read more from Sam Crescent.

I really like Sam Cresent books. i know what i am going to get and in one sitting i can go with my imagination and read the book. Go and read this. I am always waiting for more from her.

Just a fun Sam Crescent book, and it's everything you expect. The Butcher's Wife features a marriage of Valentina (who had been through an extremely traumatic event that made her previous fiancee bow out of their marriage) and Giovanni (seen as a monster of the mafia). The two of them complement each other very well. Be prepared for steamy romance tropes (fun!), and an enjoyable plot.

First time for me to read a book from this author. Both characters were good and gritty, but they are also very rough around the edges even Valentina. The reader knows from the beginning that this a book about a mafia family and how painful it can be to be raised a woman in this environment. I can't say I loved the book but also didn't hate it. It pulls you into Valentina's heart ache and wish to be loved but also be able to be strong and stand up for herself. "The Butcher aka Giovanni is alot more than you expect in a good way.

Not going to lie, Tik Tok is showing me nothing but dark romance; mafia men, unalivers, ruthless men and now all I want to do is read this genre. Even though I don’t like when it’s too dark. So… when The Butcher's Wife came across my radar I couldn’t resist. I was intrigued by the blurb, and I decided to take a leap on a new author. I was not disappointed. This book is a great tip toe into the dark mafia romance world. Giovanni may be a ruthless killer, the literal scary muscle of the “family” but he has a good heart, and he loves his wife, Valentina. For years he watched her, after she survived a brutal kidnapping and the moment, he was granted the chance to choose his bride he chose her instantly.

The Butcher’s Wife is a quick read, but it does not feel incomplete. I would consider this more of a novella. Sam Crescent packs a lot into this small book. My only note would be to make it longer. I would love to see more of these two and this world. There is a lot that could be dug into here and I would enjoy seeing more. Definitely worth the read, I really enjoyed this book, and I would happily read more by the author.
-Mackenzie Bibliophile

4🌟
2.5🌶

TROPES: age gap, mafia, arranged marriage, characters in peril

This was such a good read! Short, sexy, has some mafia goodness but still moments that were so cute they made me smile. The Hero was so good & gentle with Valentina… I loved it. I also really liked how the Hero was pretty obsessed with Valentina, even before they were set to be married. He protects her, he’s soooooo possessive i was salivating & he just wanted her to know how dang special she was to him.

I was so happy to see their HEA & was cheering them on from the beginning. If you’re looking for a good book to help get you out of a slump or just a quick solid read that will make you hot & swoon then I recommend picking this one up!

Thanks to Netgalley and Sam Crescent for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a short Novella detailing the start of Valentina and Giovanni's life together. Not your typical Mafia story, most of it is taken up with sex scenes and Giovanni promising to keep Valentina safe. It was an enjoyable read but not 5* for me.

I loved this one! A fantastic mafia story with a not so traditional “Butcher” Giovanni. He’s definitely brutal but for his new bride he’s everything good. There’s plenty of chemistry and a healthy dose of mafia violence but this is a total HEA read.

THE BUTCHER’S WIFE by Sam Crescent is a contemporary, adult, Mafia romance novella focusing on forty year old Giovanni ‘The Butcher’ Romano, and twenty-one year old, Mafia princess Valentine Berlusconi -Romano.


This is my first book by author Sam Crescent and it was a fast paced, quick read. The characters were likeable and had a definite connection. I did find that something was missing or that I needed more from the story and characters.

ARC provided by netgalley for my honest review.

Uh, where to start.

Likes - Writing style is decent and easy to follow.

Dislikes - hero/heroine, characters aren’t fleshed out.
Overall story was very much tell, not show. Any major relationship or character development happened off page. When the author should’ve been taking the time to develop their relationship and build trust/love, they just wrote a sex scene. It was completely unnecessary.
And pretty much every character had the same personality. Their dialogue could be interchangeable.

Do I recommend? Sorry but not really. Go read Run Posy Run instead.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for a review.*

This was so adorable. I know that's a weird thing to say for a mafia novella but it's the truth. These two made me smile and swoon and I was so invested in their HEA. I wish I had 100 pages more of them but the author did such a great job of getting me invested in such a short time.

I thought it was romantic and steamy while still being moving and ending with a bang. Literally... haha!

I will absolutely read more of Sam Cresent after this.

5 stars
3 on the spice scale

TW: mentions of abuse (past), characters in peril

Valentina is just a means to an end for her father. Raised in the mafia, Valentina understands the role of women and isn't looking forward to her marriage.

Giavanni only wants Valentina and has long since before he rescued her after being kidnapped. Being discarded by her fiance gives him the opportunity to claim her as his own when the chance arrives.

He has no intention of his marriage being like typical mafia marriages and Valentina quickly learns that he will love her and always take care of her.

Giovanni may be a monster in the eyes of others, but for Valentina, he is a good guy. He doesn't feel the need to abuse or subjugate her.

Valentina is shy and hesitant. It takes her a bit to see that Giavonni isn't like any of the men she has seen before. He helps her grow into a more confident woman.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.