4.5⭐2🌶️

This book was hilarious and soooo much fun. I had the best of time listening all about Vanessa and Nate. They both found someone who actually understands each others . Their relationship is adorable and swoon-worthy, heart-warming and passionate.

I've read so many mafia books where either he's the one in the mafia or both of them are, but never about HER only being part of that world. And it's so interesting to see the reverse, because now we have a guy who is scared, frighten, and doesn't know what to think. Nate was thrusted into a world where there is blood, fighting, danger everywhere and he's just a math teacher who dresses awkwardly and loves his dog. It's so exciting to see him get to know the Morelli family and how nice they all are and how easy it is for him to become part of them. I loved loved this book so much.i can't wait to read mary's book.

The audiobook was perfection. Kelsy Navarro and tim paige as Vanessa and Nate nailed it😘😘.

"Big thanks to netgallery and Rb media for audiobooks alc."

This book was hilarious and sucked me right in!
Who doesn’t love a female mob boss - because I sure do! I feel like that is underwritten in romance, and Kath Richards knocked it out of the park. She flipped the script and had me yearning for more! Vanessa is a strong, badass FMC with a beautiful heart and love to give, albeit sometimes in her own way. Nate is the goofball math teacher of my dreams - he is a character I love to love. And them together? It was just too much for my heart - it was a great build-up to what we all knew was going to happen!
The narrators on this audiobook brought these characters and their personalities to life. It was a great listening experience.
I’m already on the lookout for the next books in the series because the stories of the other characters in the book NEED to be told!

A Love Most Fatal by Kath Richards
Narrators, Tim Paige, Kelsey Navarro Foster
Morelli Family Series
Not gonna lie, I came for the narrators because I really like them both. Mafia romances are not really my favorite. This was a reverse mafia head/school teacher story since she was the mafia family head and he was the middle school teacher. Kinda cute idea but I lost count of the dead bodies. Best to just skim over that part and concentrate on the family relationships which are great and the romance which is a little hard to believe.
The traitor stuck out by a mile and the lead up to the ending was kind of ridiculous but I have to admit that I’m going to give the next book a try and hope the narrators are the same. As I said I really like them both from many previous audiobooks. Tim Paige especially. My only gripe is that someone needs to explain to narrators the difference between the words demur and demure. They aren’t the same and the pronunciation is different. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced correctly. Griping done.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley.

A Love Most Fatal was so much fun to read! I loved the play on traditional mafia romances where the FMC was the mafia boss and the MMC was the unassuming love interest.

The banter between Vanessa & Nate was entertaining from the beginning! Him hitting her Range Rover with his Prius, her trying to bribe him into giving her godson a better grade- hilarious! And then quite literally on their first date, Nate is exposed to the woman she is and now needs her protection.

With added pressure from the mafia community calling into question Vanessa's ability to be the head of a crime family, she knows she must do the right thing and find a husband and produce an heir. Because this is nothing more to her than a business transaction, she allows Nate to vet the candidates. All of this happens while they continue to grow closer and try to fight whatever chemistry they have between each other until it all comes to a head.

The antagonist felt a bit easy to call, but the plot didn't suffer as a result. I don't know that I would ever put Mafia and Rom-Com in the same description, but this book captured it all. I was entertained!

I'm super impressed with the narration that was done by Tim Paige & Kelsey Navarro Foster. They gave character and color to Nate & Vanessa, which of course, the author does beautifully, but they truly brought them to life! It felt like I was in the room with them at times.

Thank you for the ARC!

Five stars. Just putting that out there right away. I'm convinced Kath Richards sprinkled something extra special into the pages because I am completely, utterly, and shamelessly obsessed. Seriously, where has this book been all my life?

From the beginning, I was hooked. Vanessa Morelli is a force of nature. She's strong, smart, and takes no nonsense…a total boss. She reminded me so much of Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, which automatically made me love her. She's got that same kind of fierce protectiveness and underlying vulnerability that makes her so compelling. She’s running a construction empire, and the family business (if you catch my drift!).

Then enters Nate. In a world of alpha male heroes, he's a breath of fresh air. He's the kind of guy who teaches math, owns a dog, and is definitely not expecting to get caught up in the mafia world. He reminded me so much of Barry Allen – goofy, kindhearted, and completely out of his depth.

What really blew my mind was the way the author flipped the role on the "damsel in distress" trope. Nate, the seemingly ordinary math teacher, genuinely needs Vanessa's protection. It's rare to see the male lead in that kind of vulnerable position, and Kath handled it perfectly. It added such a unique and refreshing dynamic to their relationship. I ate it up! I need more books like this in my life.

I actually reread the book while I listened to the audiobook, and that just deepened my obsession even more. The narration by Tim Paige and Kelsey Navarro Foster was absolutely phenomenal. They brought so much heart, personality, and emotional nuance to the story. Tim nailed Nate's earnest charm and low key panic in the most endearing way, while Kelsey perfectly captured Vanessa’s strength, wit, and layers of emotion. Their performances made me fall in love with the characters all over again.

The plot itself is exciting, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing.
The romance? Don't even get me started. The chemistry between Vanessa and Nate is electric, and I was rooting for them from the moment they met.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Mafia romance, mafia boss fmc/math teacher mmc, forced proximity, opposites attract.

I'm not usually a mafia romance reader, but this book was a joy! I loved how Nate, a middle-school math teacher, gets involved with the head of the mafia head Vanessa 😅 There are believable situations and sufficient time for them to fall in love. I was rooting for them the whole time!

The side characters added to the world and some of them were absolutely adorable (kids and dog included)! If you are looking for a great romance with the mafia vibes, pick this up! 5/5 would absolutely recommend!

ALC review

4.5 stars

"A Love Most Fatal" by Kath Richards is a mafia rom-com.

Thank you Tantor Audio for the advance listener copy.
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

I have to admit that the audio sample and the description of the book convinced me to request it on Netgalley.
The book is already available in kindle unlimited, so I was able to read it while listening to the audiobook.

Vanessa is the CEO of Morelli Construction but also, the head of the Morelli Crime Family.
Nate is very sweet math teacher that gets entangled with the mafia and needs protection.

The audiobook is narrated by Tim Paige and Kelsey Navarro Foster in dual narration style.
They manage to bring out the personalities of the characters very well.
Nate is such a cute guy that falls for Vanessa fast and Tim Page did a great job narrating the chapters from his POV.

I loved this story because it also has a found family part and Vanessa's family has a lot of strong women.
Even it is have a lighter tone and rom-com vibes, this is still a dark romance so please check the content warnings before reading.

I am glad that I found this book look forward to reading the next one in the series.

And just like that I'm adding another author to my favorites list.

This arc was ✨️amazing✨️ The femcore was everything I have been shouting into the void for. Kath made her point right from the start and took no prisoners with this female lead. Of course I ate it up like the starved woman I am.

If you're in your mafia lovers era like I am, and you want a narrative where she's the boss and he's just walked into more than he can handle, this is the read. The power dynamic, the denial, I couldn't put it down and wouldn't want to.

Finally!!! Screaming with my whole chest, finally a woman who doesn't have to prove herself to get ahead, because she is already in charge. More of this please.

I absolutely adored this when I read the book and the audiobook did not disappoint. The narrators were perfect for these characters. They were exactly the voice I had in my head when I read this book when it first came out. If you haven’t already, go ahead and add this to your never ending TBR! I’m always a sucker for a good mafia romance, but this mafia romcom had me cracking up and completely hooked from the start. We always see mafia stories centered around a male boss, but this one flips the script in the best way with Vanessa as the most badass female mafia boss I’ve ever read.

And if someone had told me this was Kath’s debut? I would’ve sworn they were lying. The writing, the pacing, the humor everything was so well done. I seriously can’t wait to read whatever she writes next!

4-4.5⭐️ rounded up

This was such a fun read with a spin on who the mafia boss is. Loved having rolls reversed and the 🎧narrators were PERFECT casting.

I loved how Kath Richards was able to take the usual tropes and spin them a bit - but didn't make it a trope book, it was such a fun story and an enjoyable listen. It was definitely giving Rom-Com vibes, and while it had mafia themes, I don't think I'd shelve it as a dark romance (you just need to be good with morally complex situations).

I can't wait until book 2 is out (hoping for an audiobook version too!).


🎧Tim Paige & Kelsey Navarro-Foster

I love how this book takes what would be a dark romance and makes it lighthearted. The audio does exceptionally well with making the comic relief noticeable throughout the book. I’m excited to read the next part in the series!

This was one of my favorite books of 2024, so I was super excited to get the audiobook! I love the story and the narrators really did a great job and enhanced the story in ways I did not think possible. I'm not a huge fan of mafia books, but this one was amazing! I had a really good time reading this, and it's such a departure from other mafia books because the mafia mob boss in this book is a woman. Vanessa is the head of the Morelli Crime Family, but also runs her family business, which is a construction company. She has a meet cute with Nate, who is her nephew's teacher, but they really dislike each other off the bat. However, Vanessa decides to accompany Nate to a wedding, which is abnormal for her because she doesn't date due to her status as a mob boss. Well, Nate quickly becomes embroiled in her world, and it makes for a really funny (and hot) book. I really loved how Nate was tasked with finding Vanessa a husband, but was hung up on her the entire time. This book had everything and I highly recommend! I'm so looking forward to the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kath Richards, and Tantor Audio for the ALC of this book.

This was a cute romance book!! It’s… very predictable, but sometimes that’s a good thing? I wish they made it less obvious about what a scumbag what’s his name is lol. *Also, the Ronaldo Dinner? I just love their family dynamic lol!!

I loved so many parts of this though, esp Nate!! Just him doing the interviews, the way he cares for her niece & nephew, JUST FOR TONIGHT 💔
Oh, my heart lol!!

I also love the emphasis on the color “Green”. It being Nate’s new fave color, the meaning of new beginnings, I love it. Mary was def a fave though, but I hate how the moment we see her in action, it did not live up to this reputation we built for her.
Overall, this was a lovely read!! Tim Paige & Kelsey Navarro Foster were such a great duo 🤍

Obsessed with these narrators. They brought the book to life in such a charming way, I LOVED IT! Especially loved every scene with the sisters together. Seriously so good.

3.5 stars!
thank you to netgalley and the author for sharing the audiobook with me.
really enjoyable! the characters are funny, the romance is sweet, and the plot is fun. i definitely want to see further romances in this world and really had fun with this one.

I haven't said this in a while: bring back fun books! A Love Most Fatal was such a genuinely fun time! Even though it's been on my TBR for months, I am so glad I ended up getting my hands on an advanced copy of the audiobook because the narrators were absolutely perfect and brought so much life to this already lively story.

Vanessa, a female mob boss who is in charge of most of the area around her and Nate, a middle school teacher, cross paths and are immediately drawn to one another. After a not-so-meet-cute, Nate asks Vanessa to be his date to a wedding in the family, and they both start feeling each other soon after. However, some events pop off that result in Nate having to temporarily move into Vanessa's home so she can protect him. As much as they try to resist one another, love and angst wins and I won!

This book is filled with intense action, genuine LOL moments, touching family dynamics, betrayal, decent communication, a strong yet soft FMC and a perfectly nerdy but ready to be on that timing if he needed to be MMC. I loved how the dynamics in typical mafia romance novels were flipped: Vanessa was in charge, Vanessa was the tough one who didn't flinch when blood splattered, Nate was the one who was clutching his pearls and having to fight to see the humanity in a woman who busts guns in stilettos. The side characters were so dynamic and fun and interesting and unique, I honestly hope the entire family gets their own books but in the meantime I will be seated for Maxim and Mary's book this fall!

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC!

4.5 ⭐️s
2 🌶️
🚨 Audiobook Pub Date: 07/08/25—this title is currently available to read on Paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

A favorite book of 2025 for me with an audio?? So excited.

I am absolutely in love with both narrators for this one. It was an absolute delight to revisit the story via audio.

I continue to seek the high I got from this story and having a chance to reread it via audio was everything.

A Love Most Fatal is easily one of my top five rom-com reads of this year and hearing it come to life is so amazing!!!

The characters are all so relatable, despite their not so relatable lifestyles, and I was rooting for their happy ending the whole time.

Vanessa is a badass mafia boss and Nate is a cinnamon roll/golden retriever boy, what’s NOT to love about this pairing? Slow-burn, amazing spice, and an emotional twist all going on with a little sub-plot leading into book two following Vanessa’s younger sister Marry and her almost husband Maxim, the Russian mob boss.

Thank you so much for allowing me to experience this story as an ARC reader and I can’t wait to see more of the Morelli family! I absolutely recommend this book to everyone and anyone looking to support more romance indie authors and their original works.

The vibes were just right with this one! So much chemistry and fizzy sparks in a place I'd never thought to look: a mafia romcom. Mafia romances (and really most dark romances) are usually not my speed, but Kath Richards pulled it off with such finesse. We get a taste of just how brutal Vanessa's world is without it ever becoming too much.

I, much like Nate, was endlessly enamored by Vanessa and her family. She cares so much about taking care of everyone else, but Nate is her one indulgence. And from the first moment you meet him, it's obvious why: Nate is an absolute gem. He’s just Ken, and we love him for it. The story would not have been the same without his lofty sense of humor and patience for a woman who is clearly trying her best to keep everything together.

There was absolute magic in this book, and I'm so very impatiently waiting for the next one to get more of the Morelli family. Is it September yet?

I loved the physical book but my GOD. The narrators really brought the characters personalities even more to life and it was everything. Nate and Vanessa are my angel babies and I think everyone should listen to this audiobook and fall in love with them!