About 6 h 45 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 14 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
Married into New York’s mafia world, Gianna hides panic attacks behind bright clothes and loud jokes. Christian Allister, a federal agent whose criminal dealings belie his public role, sees through her performance, while she resents his scrutiny and rigid self-control. Their encounters stretch across years of traded insults and growing attraction, complicated by her marriage and his increasingly possessive interest.
Reader notes
The romance develops slowly through barbed banter and prolonged sexual tension, followed by explicit sex. Obsession and control are part of the romantic appeal, and abuse, drug use, and violence are substantial subjects. This second Made novel is a contemporary dark mafia romance that can be read as a standalone.
How it reads
Writing style
Conversational · Dialogue-driven · Direct
Tone
Dark · Romantic · Suspenseful · Tense
Structure
Nonlinear
Driven by
Character · Relationships
Point of view
Multiple viewpoints
Setting
New York City
Reading complexity
Writing
2 / 5
Ideas
2 / 5
Structure
3 / 5
Background knowledge
1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
Writing
How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas
How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure
How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge
Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity
Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
No, the second Made novel can be read as a standalone. Gianna and Christian’s romance develops within New York’s mafia world.
How spicy is it?
Steamy: a few explicit scenes. The romance builds through prolonged sexual tension and barbed banter before moving into explicit sex as the relationship develops.
What strong content should I expect?
Strong abuse, drug use, and violence are substantial subjects, alongside explicit sex and strong language. Obsession and control are part of the romantic appeal, and Gianna hides panic attacks behind jokes and bright clothes.
Is it a slow-burn romance?
Yes, Gianna and Christian’s encounters stretch across years of traded insults and growing attraction. Her marriage and his increasingly possessive interest complicate the slow development of their romance.
Is it hard to read?
Not really, the prose is direct, conversational, and driven by dialogue. The nonlinear structure and multiple points of view add some complexity to following encounters that stretch across years.
How long is it?
332 pages in the Independently Published 2019 paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Independently Published · 2019 · paperback. ISBN 9781093765007.
How long does it take to read The Maddest Obsession?
About 6 hours 45 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 332-page Independently Published edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Danielle Lori
Danielle Lori writes dark mafia romances centered on attraction under pressure, with criminal hierarchies and family obligations narrowing her characters’ choices. Her prose is direct and conversational, often using charged dialogue and prolonged antagonism to develop relationships shaped by secrecy, obsession, and unequal power. In The Sweetest Oblivion, a forbidden attachment grows within a New York engagement arranged by family expectations. The Maddest Obsession extends its central pursuit across years, setting Gianna’s volatility against Christian’s compulsion to impose order. The Darkest Temptation moves from a search for family answers to captivity at a remote estate, where shifts between menace and intimacy keep control and autonomy in constant dispute.
