The Ruler

Roman Republic, Book 1

De: Penelope Sky

Narrado por: Michael Ferraiuolo, Andi Eloise

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Sky, an unforgettable golden retriever mafia romance set in modern-day Italy, bursting with violence, dripping with blood, and crackling with desire.

We spent weeks planning this trip to Sicily together. And I was damn sure going to enjoy it, even if my lying, cheating boyfriend just abandoned me.

I push aside self-pity to venture out and take photographs. Later, I lock eyes with a stranger at a bar. This tattooed god, Constantine, is way out of my league, but to my surprise, he’s all in—every inch. And up in his hotel suite, he claims me for his own. Over and over again.

Constantine’s touch helps take away the pain, and he possesses me like I’ve never known. I fall hard. But beneath his kindness to me, to his family, to his dog, I sense danger. How could I know that to the city of Rome, he’s a brutal enforcer?

When I trust the wrong man, I discover just how dangerous Constantine can be. He may call me sweetheart, but the Roman Republic calls him Emperor—and trembles at his feet.

©2026 by Penelope Sky. (P)2026 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Can’t wait for the next book!

Immediately I fell in love with both the FMC and the MMC. I didn’t think Constantine would top Bastien from The Fifth Republic but he did. His overall character is well rounded and down to earth. The FMC is definitely like most of us with her thoughts and feelings and emotions. I’m sooo ready for the next book!

Constantine & Aurelia

Decent story, very mild in terms of dark romance & mafia . Super easy read & no hard triggers. For an Italian setting, it would have been nice for some Italian wording, but it wasn’t an issue big enough to detract from the story. I purchased the audio version and while he handled pronunciations well, I always struggle with the tone of Michael Ferraiuolo’z voice & cadence. He just doesn’t sound like the images portrayed of the characters he narrates. But too, it didn’t detract too much from the story. I still prefer the audio version.

Very good story

Good Dialogue. Well developed characters. Storyline well thought out. Narrators did a great job. Just a personal preference, I think a male narrator with a deeper voice would have matched Constantine better. And even though it's a great story.... got much better as the book went on.... the first part of the book was like it had been written by a different author.

Good start

While I didn't love the MMC narrator I did enjoy the story and can't wait for the next in the series.

Performance disappointing

If the characters live in Italy please use narrators that are able to read in the accent. It takes away the enjoyment of listening to the book. Wasted credit. I wish the preview of the books were longer because this happens frequently.