House of Ferraro #1 | Dark Mafia Romance | 2025
By Gabrielle Sands
About This Book
She’s the mayor-to-be’s perfect daughter. He’s the ruthless villain set to ruin her.
I’ve spent my life putting others first. So when my father runs for New York City mayor — on a promise to take down the city’s most notorious crime family — I do what I always do: push my own dreams aside to help him win.
Until I wind up at the wrong party. Trapped in a bedroom with Romolo Ferraro — the dangerous, merciless youngest son of the man my father has sworn to destroy.
He terrifies me. He fascinates me. Six foot four and covered in tattoos, he’s everything I should avoid.
When he starts pursuing me, I know I’m just a pawn in his game. A means to an end. And yet… part of me wants to play along.
I tell myself it’s to protect my father’s campaign. But I’m not thinking about politics when Romolo’s rough hands slide over my skin, teaching me how good it feels to burn.
They say good girls don’t fall for the villain.
But maybe, I’m tired of being good.
Be With Me is book 1 in House of Ferraro, a series of interconnected standalones following the Ferraro brothers, where dark and sensual romance plays out against a backdrop of family secrets and mafia intrigue.
Content Warnings
Explicit sexual content, violence, on-page SA (flashback, not to the heroine).
Reader Reviews
Amazon Reviews · Goodreads Reviews
Quick Facts
| Author | Gabrielle Sands |
| Series | House of Ferraro #1 |
| Genre | Dark Romance, Mafia Romance |
| Tropes | Mafia romance, Forbidden romance, Enemies to lovers, Obsessed/possessive hero, Good girl/bad boy, Yearning, He falls first, Mystery & suspense |
| Spice | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4 out of 5 |
| Format | Ebook, Paperback, KU |
| Published | 2025 |
Series Reading Order
| # | Book | Couple | Key Tropes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | When She Unravels | Valentina & Damiano | Enemies to lovers, forced marriage, revenge |
| 2 | When She Tempts | Martina & Giorgio | Bodyguard, age gap, slow burn |
| 3 | When She Falls | Gemma & Ras | Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, abused heroine |
| 4 | When She Loves | Cleo & Rafaele | Arranged marriage, virgin heroine, slow burn |
| 5 | When He Desires | Nero & Blake | Fake dating, hidden identity, slow burn (Part 1 of duet) |
| 6 | When He Takes | Nero & Blake | Forced marriage, possessive hero (Part 2 of duet, cliffhanger resolved) |
| 7 | Be With Me (this book) | Romolo & Mia | Forbidden romance, he falls first, good girl/bad boy |
| 8 | Marry Me Not | Cosimo & Fabi | Arranged marriage, forced proximity, morally gray hero, slow burn |
Meet the Characters
Romolo Ferraro
The Ferraro family’s intelligence operative, Romolo is a master manipulator who uses seduction, blackmail, and charm to extract information for his powerful mafia family. Emotionally armored to the point of numbness by a cold, controlling mother, he views relationships as extraction opportunities and feelings as a malfunction. Beneath the layers of masks — charming with his aunts, defiant with his mother, calculating with his targets — is a deeply wounded man who doesn’t know who he actually is.
Mia Morales
A personal stylist and the daughter of a prominent politician, Mia is a chronic people-pleaser who has organized her entire life around meeting others’ needs. She campaigns for her father instead of building her business, cares for her stepmother after a stroke, and automatically blames herself whenever anything goes wrong. Beneath her warmth and empathy is a woman starved for unconditional love — something she hasn’t experienced since her mother died when she was nine.
Readers Who Loved This Also Loved
- The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori — A mafia romance with a powerful, morally grey hero and a good-hearted heroine navigating a dangerous family, capturing the same forbidden dynamic that makes Romolo and Mia’s story irresistible.
- Sinners Anonymous by Somme Sketcher — A dark romance with a villain hero who falls hard, echoing Romolo’s journey from treating Mia as a target to declaring her off-limits forever.
- Bound by Honor by Cora Reilly — A mafia romance where family loyalty, duty, and forbidden feelings collide, delivering the same tension between the world the characters were born into and the love that changes everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Be With Me a standalone?
Yes. Be With Me is the first book in the House of Ferraro series, which follows a new mafia family. It can be read without having read The Fallen or the Fallen God Duet. However, the Ferraro family appeared in the earlier books, and readers who know the full backstory will catch additional connections and Easter eggs.
What tropes are in Be With Me?
The main tropes are forbidden romance, he falls first, and good girl/bad boy. You’ll also find a villain-coded hero, a sunshine heroine, forced proximity through a styling arrangement, and a hero who discovers his conscience through the heroine.
What is the spice level of Be With Me?
Be With Me is rated 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4 out of 5 on the spice scale.
Do I need to read The Fallen series before Be With Me?
No, but it enriches the experience. Be With Me introduces the Ferraro family and works as a standalone entry point into Gabrielle Sands’ world. The Ferraros appeared in the earlier series, and readers familiar with The Fallen and the Fallen God Duet will recognize connections, but no prior knowledge is required to enjoy Romolo and Mia’s story.
Is Be With Me part of a duet or series?
Be With Me is Book 1 in the House of Ferraro series. It is a complete standalone romance with a happily ever after — no cliffhanger. The next book in the series, Marry Me Not, released July 30, 2026 and follows a different couple.
About the Author: Gabrielle Sands is an Amazon Top 25 bestselling dark romance author with 148,000+ Goodreads ratings across 8 published books.
More from Gabrielle Sands
- Complete Reading Order — All 8 books across 3 series, with personalized “start here” recommendations
- All Books — Browse the full catalog
- About Gabrielle Sands — The story behind the stories
- FAQ — Spice levels, content warnings, reading order questions, and more
- Special Editions — Sprayed edge editions and exclusive collectibles