The Sweetest Oblivion (Made) Paperback – June 20, 2018

The Sweetest Oblivion is a captivating blend of romance, danger, and emotional intensity that pulls you in from the very first page. Danielle Lori masterfully brings the world of the mafia to life, with richly drawn characters and a story that’s equal parts dark and passionate.Elena and Nico's chemistry is undeniable, and their slow-burn relationship is filled with tension, longing, and forbidden desire. Lori doesn’t shy away from the complexities of their personalities—Elena is strong-willed and deeply layered, while Nico is brooding, powerful, and unexpectedly tender beneath his intimidating exterior.The writing is engaging and lyrical, with moments of sharp wit and heartfelt vulnerability. What sets this book apart is how it balances the gritty backdrop of organized crime with a deeply emotional and romantic core. Fans of enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance tropes will find a lot to love here.Overall, The Sweetest Oblivion is a compelling start to the Made series, leaving you eager for more. It's a must-read for those who enjoy dark romance with well-developed characters and an irresistible love story.

Mafia romanceForbidden romanceArranged marriageForced proximityTensionPiningSister’s fiancéMiscommunication/lack of whole storySprinkle of OW/OM drama (sort of)No cheatingMorally gray MMCTouch her and dieMineReformed playboy MMCAlmost a virgin FMCSprinkle of PraiseSprinkle of BeggingStandalone in a seriesDual POV (mostly FMC)HEANo EpilogueTW: violenceSpice: 3/5FMC: ElenaMMC: Nicolas/NicoDid I enjoy the book? YesWould I read the book again? MaybeWill I continue the series? At some pointWill I read from this author again? YesSooo much internal monologue, and telling of the story, not a lot of doing so lots of skimming. I don’t mind so much because the plot is good and the tension is hot. The mysterious “him” is driving me crazy. Just tell me what happened instead of these little snippets through the story.Elena is an idiot. At this point, her and Nico are in the kitchen and she’s trying to get out of the arranged marriage to him, but she made a deal with him to take her clothes off whenever he wanted in exchange to protect her sister’s baby daddy and she is miscommunicating everything and it makes her look like a hoe who also cheats on her man. And she’s not correcting the assumptions Nico is making about her, which in turn is making Nico hate her. The way Elena is portrayed to Nico, I wouldn’t want her if I was him.If I read “heat pools between my legs” one more time this book is losing a star…yep, star lost. The language is very repetitive in this book. Like copied a paragraph and then edited it to sound slightly different, but words still ended up the same in a different order.As I have finished the book, I stand by my original opinion. Elena is an idiot. Nico would have given her anything. All she had to do was tell him what happened, ask for the money, and he would have given the money to that man’s family. Which, by the way, feels like a plot point not fully fleshed out. But she stole from him and made him think the worst of her. She deserved everything Nico did in anger and so much worse. Really all he did was drop her off at the penthouse he was going to home her sister in when they were going to marry and leave her there for less than a day. He loved her so much he couldn’t go a whole day without her. She does not deserve Nico at all. Not once did he ever convey that he was not trustworthy or that he was not honest with her from the very beginning. There was no reason for her deception.Nico was a total book boyfriend. Soft when he needed to be, rough when he needed to be, always defending and saving Elena (mostly from her stupidity), treated her with respect and care. Even when Elena was like “I want you to disrespect me,” I was like here we go down degradation avenue (huge eye roll), but he never went there and I appreciate that about him and that the author did not go that route. A lot of mafia books can go that way easily, but the author didn’t do that and it made me love Nico even more.This book needed an epilogue. It needed one more chapter of Elena and Nico down the road a bit to really close it out.

From beginning to end I was hooked. A desire to have what she couldn't. The tension was perfect. Not too much or too little. What she could have was a mouth and an attitude. He assumed he wouldn't like her. The infamous sweet one. When he saw her he knew he wanted her. He had already signed the contract. He fought himself. Taking her would start a war. If she gave in it would cause trouble for her family and she lived her sister she couldn't do that to her even if her sister wanted nothing to do with him. This was the perfect amount of tension. I was up too late waiting for them to give in. Ugh it didn't happen. The characters kept me engaged. Several characters but we're more than a name. I didn't get lost trying to remember who each one was as they appeared throughout the story. Their personalities were conveyed and the dialogue was consistent and personal to each character. I love when a character remains the same in their speech and mannerisms. They stay in "character". Oh then it gets better. Game on there is nothing holding them back. Ugh this would be where the story goes flat and slow until I get bored and DNF. I can see how it will end and I don't have any interest in wasting anymore time. Not this time. What helped was Nico. In his world he would never be hers. List isn't love and they had lust, she didn't want to be stuck in a penthouse with a bodyguard to wait until he was interested. He was Nico, he could have anyone and he probably would. So instead of circumstances in their way it's now her heart. She won't let him hurt her. Also this little thing of a fifty cent ring. Intrigued still because she won't take it off. She actually let's him believe it's because she lives someone else. Ugh. Dumb. Now I'm up again because I have to know. He thinks she's in love with someone else and she thinks he is incapable of living her. These two! They hook up. Well I saw that coming but it surprised me because I thought it would be drawn out in a dramatic slow event. Nope, ok that's too easy. It was too easy. She put the ring back on! Now I'm really in. Like all in. He wants her. He is a killer. He will kill for her he has already. He's trying to leave her past in the past. She won't let it go. Now what? His temper won't let that ring stay on, and she isn't going down quietly. Now all this time the hilarious relationship between her mother and nonna have me trying to refrain from laughing out loud and waking my hubby. There's overprotective male relatives. There's power on both sides that she can't run away either side would find her. So she has to go through the fire. Now I know it's going to be an immediate gratification. No matter what's about to happen it's going to be good. Not boring and I have no idea what's about to happen. When she walks out that front door with Nico happy and unsuspecting I hate her. But I don't hate her. This isn't the Elana I know to leave after having the most perfect week. I wait I don't judge. I feel horrible for Nico because I know this is going to suck for him. No matter what they're stuck with each other. I really don't want it to be miserable for her being one of many girls and for him to have a wife he cannot trust and who at the first chance will stab him in the back. I'm waiting and what happens? Sebastian. Duh duh duh dun. Congrats now you have to go one more chapter. Nico will flip his shit. Will Sebastian hurt her to get back at Nico. Well now it makes sense as they sit outside the house waiting. I knew I didn't hate her. Uh oh. Nico is on the way. I can't stand it, I'm on the edge and all I want to do is yell he loves you it's okay to fall he's there to catch you. I'm hoping after everything he will still be there. Like I said all the boxes. Just enough to keep me turning. A perfect recipe for a sleepless night. It has to have every ingredient or it won't work. One of those ingredients is a good writer. I've read great stories and I've read great authors. It's not often the two go together. With you find one of the two which c'mon also kind of hard to find, you could be happy and hand out a five star easy. But it's when the two collide that you realize you've been handing out fives willy nilly. I love her guts and as soon as I stop this review i'll be diving into another one of hers! The only suck in the who situation is when it ends. Ugh.