Rome Beneventi is a walking, talking bad decision—six feet, five inches of tattoos, temptation, and trouble wrapped in a smirk and dipped in sin. This MMA champion should come with a warning label . . . or at the very least a disclaimer. I sell books, and he breaks bones. We are not on the same page.
At least not until he discovers my secret and instead of keeping it, blackmails me into fake dating him.
Now I’m living in his house. Lying to my family and friends. Playing nice for the cameras. And trying not to melt every time he calls me “baby” like it’s more than a show.
I told myself I’d never fall for him. That I was too smart to love the devil in designer clothes. But the thing about enemies? Sometimes they’re the only ones who see you clearly. And faking it with Rome Beneventi? Yeah . . . it stopped feeling fake a long time ago.
(ARC Review)
Welcome back to Kroydon Hills, friends… and all I have to say is: ROME. FREAKING. TITAN. BENEVENTI. Bella Matthews did not come to play with this man, and I devoured every word like it was my last meal.
Dillan and Rome have been dancing around each other for years—all sharp glares, snarky comebacks, and enough “I hate you” tension to make everyone around them deeply uncomfortable in the best, most delicious way. She’s the guarded, secretly brilliant bookstore owner/author hiding behind a pen name. He’s the tattooed MMA champion who breaks bones for a living and looks at her like she hung the damn moon. One night of wild, chemistry-soaked sex should’ve gotten them out of their system… except it only made things messier. And when one overheard conversation blows everything up? Dillan bolts. For two years.
“The tension between us thickens until it’s so thick it threatens to choke me, and I swear this man growls like a feral fucking dog.”
Fast forward and Rome finally uncovers her biggest secret—one she’s been protecting her entire life. And instead of being a normal human, he blackmails her into fake dating him. That’s right: blackmail → fake dating → living together → enemies who want to jump each other at every possible opportunity. My personal love language.
Their banter? A+
The tension? Elite.
The way he calls her baby like it’s a confession? Yeah… I melted. Fully melted.
“Need and desperation battle with the carefully crafted control I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting and protecting. Control that’s slipping…shattering to pieces…until there’s none left.”
But what cracks this book wide open is Dillan herself. She’s not just prickly—she’s wounded. Her entire life she’s been made to feel small, insignificant, inconvenient. She’s spent years shrinking herself so nobody could use her softness against her. Her insecurities aren’t cute quirks, they’re survival instincts. That emotional turmoil sits in her bones, shaping every choice she makes. The self-doubt. The fear of wanting too much. The conviction that she’s not worthy of love or being chosen first. And Bella writes that with such raw, honest accuracy that it hits deeper than expected.
“Protect her because she’s soft, not weak.”
Rome, though? Rome sees every messy, hidden, hurting part of her. He sees through her defenses, her jokes, her masks—straight to the parts she’s never shown another soul. Her beauty, her talent, her wild heart, her determination. He loves all the pieces she was taught to hate. And he doesn’t try to fix her—he just stays. Again and again. Patient, steady, unbelievably devoted. Slowly, his love starts filling in the cracks she’s been hiding for years. She begins trying, tentatively and painfully, to see herself the way he sees her. And that growth? God. It’s beautiful.
“You’re worth it, Dillan. We’re worth it. I see you. I will never stop looking for you and at you. I’ll never stop fighting for you. But you’ve got to let me in…I’m sorry I took away your choices. But I’m not fucking sorry about where it brought us…because you just walked into my arms like you finally fucking realized it’s where you belong.”
And the spice? Let me just… whew.
He kisses her to shut her up.
She walks in on him in the shower “handling things.”
He offers to help her research her sex scenes.
He reads them to her while she’s… occupied.
Bella said, “let’s give the girlies EVERYTHING,” and she delivered.
But what really grabbed me is how their emotional arcs snap together like puzzle pieces. Rome can’t heal her, but he supports her until she can breathe again. And when the tables turn—when he needs someone? Dillan doesn’t hesitate. She shows up for him with her whole chest because she’s finally strong enough to love without fear. Watching their devotion become mutual, steady, and earned? It’s everything.
“You and me.”
And the friend group? The group chat alone had me cackling. The Beneventis? Never missing. The interconnected couples and friendships? Pure found-family magic.
Rome may be a titan in the ring, but for Dillan? He’s soft, patient, filthy, loyal, obsessed, and on his knees, literally and emotionally. And Dillan? She’s his stellina—his little star, full of light and hope he’d burn down worlds to protect.
I’m in love. I’m ruined for all other Beneventi men. Sweet Addiction is an A+ knockout.
Release Date: December 4th, 2025
Thank you to Bella Matthews and Valentine PR & Literary Management for the ARC read!