The Vendetti Empire

Capo dei capi - Ruthless Matteo Vendetti (Part 1)

By: Sapphire Knight

Narrated by: Rachel Woods, Luke Parker

Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

They’re the Vendetti crime familia, the most powerful mafia name in New York.... Matteo Vendetti is a man who gets what he wants. As heir to the Vendetti Empire and the capo dei capi’s throne, he’s only required to do one thing. He must get married to prove that he’s matured and is stable enough to take over. The stipulation doesn’t sound like much of a challenge until he realizes who his betrothed is. Violet’s the Bottaro Princessa, not just a random woman he met by chance in another country. She’s young - too young by his standards. She’s headstrong - a problem for a dominant man like Matteo. She’s desirable - the biggest issue of all. Before long, Matteo’s questioning himself, wondering if Violet’s really such a burden, or if just maybe, he’s falling in love with something other than the Empire.

©2018, 2019, 2020 Sapphire Knight (P)2021 Sapphire Knight

Critic reviews

"If you have ever met Sapphire Knight she is the sweetest little thing...but man does she write twisted and hot men! I hated the Vendettis and then I loved them!" (P. Marie, author)

"Holy heck in a hamper! GIRL! For one, I think I may now have hypertension. For two, you have absolutely knocked this one out of the MF Park. Hot AF! Sweet Jesus. Someone get me some dang ice water, open a window, something!" (Kristine Allen, author)

"I read the entire thing last night, obsessively, and holy wow. That has to be dirtiest, yet hottest book I’ve ever read. I was not expecting that level of heat. Dang girl. Dannnng! Sapphire Knight you’re a dirty bird and I love it!" (Jaci J, author)

Really digging this Author

What a great beginning to the series. Definitely not mainstream, keeps you engaged and interested. Steamy with lots of chemistry, love the taboo side of these books. Can’t wait for the next one! This is a new author for me, the first of hers I listened to was Vendetti seven, they don’t have to be listened to in order.

Can I be the Vendetti Queen?

Wow! Hot, Hot, Hot x7 When I started listening Matteo was not my favorite at all.. But as the book went on he has redeemed himself. Having the full attention of 7 alpha males Violet isn't sure what to think at first, but as she learns why they have this ritual in place she begins to take comfort in it and all the brothers.

Need more

I love, love, love Matteo. I am a sucker for sexy, dangerous, strong, alpha males and that’s exactly what Matteo is. This book kept my attention the entire time. Looking forward to more books in this series.

Steamy and Mafia what more could I want!!!

I absolutely loved hearing this book come to life and Matteo is the perfect example of a dangerous, sexy, alpha male that I love reading about and getting to know in this story. I couldn't stop listening to this book until I hit the very end and I can't wait to see more from this world of character's.

The book is great!!

I dislike that I can’t seam to find the next book in the series so I hope I am looking in the right place

Love this book !!

I loved hearing the characters come to life . This book keeps you at the edge your seat and is full of hot sexy times.

Narration

Loved the dual narration!! They really made this story come to life. The story was wonderful cannot wait for the next part!!

The book is highly sexual and a little far-fetxhed

The book was overall pretty good, but the female narrator has a strong accent that's from Illinois or maybe Minnesota. This accent is totally annoying and is like listening to my cousin from Minnesota try to be sexy. She needs to dump the accent and get some more acting lessons. The male narrator is OK, a little overdone with the macho mafia Guido accent. it's also repetitive with the dialog. Maybe worth a credit if you like Chicago-style dirty talk.

Building of a Empire

I completely enjoyed hearing this book & characters come to life along with the dual narration. The narrator done Ruthless/Matteo so much justice in expressing the raspy, dangerous Alpha-hole male that I loved reading in book 1. There is so much spice that will have you questioning your self if you might need one of the Vendetti brothers!! LOL. Violet has a sharp tongue/backbone is and not afraid to use it towards Matteo, which has her learning that she will definitely need it if since she will be Queen of the empire. I was just as much glued to the audio as the book itself – This is true must read and listen to!!!

A reverse harem story, with hints of mafia

I'll be honest, it took me almost 50% of the book to get into the story. I guess the biggest issue I had was the initial misconception of what this story was: a mafia plot with a marriage of convenience. In reality, it's a reverse harem and it revolves solely around the Vendetti family tradition that Matteo and Violet must follow within their wedding night.

There are hints to "mafia" situations, but they are too little. I'm hoping the mafia storyline picks up with the second book. There are numerous steamy scenes and many borderline situations. I wouldn't have minded them have they played a role in the bigger picture. I was expecting more out of this book. Let's see what happens next.

Sapphire Knight's effort into incorporating Italian words and sentences to make the Vendetti's more real deserves a mention. It reads super well in the book but fell a bit short on the audiobook. I wasn't completely sold on the narration, especially when it came to Matteo.