T
Tacie
March 10, 2026
The Queen of sapphic mafia romance is back at it again
I need you to stop whatever you are doing right now and listen to me very carefully.
Persephone Black is the undisputed queen of sapphic mafia romance and The Devil's Plaything series is, I am prepared to argue, her absolute masterpiece. I was in a reading rut — the kind where nothing lands, nothing sticks, nothing makes you feel anything — and then Eva Novak walked into my life and absolutely demolished me. In the best possible way.
Let me set the scene. A desperate auction. Thirty days. One million dollars. And the most dangerously beautiful arms dealer you have ever encountered in fiction, standing on the other side of that deal. Her Cruel Empire hits the ground running and does not stop. A castle that belongs to nightmares. Villagers crossing themselves in the streets. A morally grey woman who wants not just your body but your secrets, your smiles, your stubborn unbreakable hope. I was not okay from approximately page three and I never recovered.
And the audiobook? BABES. Allie Shea and Quinn Riley brought this world to life in a way that made me genuinely emotional about the quality of human talent. Two narrators, two voices, one absolutely phenomenal performance that made Eva and Robin feel utterly, devastatingly real. I received an ALC from Podium and finished it in a state of complete obsession — and then immediately stopped everything I was doing to grab book two. No hesitation. No shame.
Her Cruel Empire gives you the beginning of the thaw. Eva — cold,…