The Sweetest Oblivion

The Sweetest Oblivion is a contemporary romance novel by Danielle Lori. Originally self-published in 2018, the novel also falls under the dark romance and mafia romance subgenres. The Sweetest Oblivion is the first installment in Lori’s Made Series, and followed by the titles The Maddest Obsession and The Darkest Temptation. Told from main characters Elena Abelli’s and Nicolas (Nico) Russo’s alternating first-person points of view, The Sweetest Oblivion traces Elena and Nico’s attempts to rationalize their desire for each other amidst the volatile world of the Cosa Nostra. The more barriers they find between them, the more Elena and Nico want to be together. Elena and Nico’s forbidden, enemies-to-lovers romance explores themes including Passion and Desire in Forbidden Romances, the Impact of Family on Personal Choices, and the Quest for Autonomy and Self-Possession.

This guide is based on the 2018 self-published paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of sexual content, cursing, sexual violence and abuse, rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, imbalanced power dynamics in intimate relationships, graphic violence, gun violence, death, substance use, and misogyny and sexism.

Plot Summary

Twenty-one-year-old Elena Abelli is reluctant to meet her sister Adriana Abelli’s new fiancé Nicolas (Nico) Russo. Elena’s father, Salvatore Abelli, is a mafia boss and has arranged Adriana’s marriage to Nicolas to secure an arms deal. Elena has never formally met Nicolas, but she knows he’s the youngest don in the history of the Cosa Nostra and took the position after his father died. She also knows that he’s arrogant and volatile.

One Sunday after church, Nicolas and his family come over to the Abellis’ Long Island home for lunch. Elena is irritated by Nicolas’s arrogance but can’t deny that he’s attractive, and she feels an inexplicable heat pass between them. An argument breaks out between members of the Abelli family and members of the Russo family. Nicolas’s cousin Stefan holds a gun to Elena’s head, threatening to kill her to avenge his other relative’s recent death at the hands of Tony Abelli, Elena’s brother. Afraid that Stefan will hurt Elena, Nicolas shoots and kills his own cousin.

Elena retreats to her room and takes a shower to calm down after witnessing Stefan’s murder. The incident reminds her of when her father killed her ex-lover six months prior. Feeling trapped at home and tired of Salvatore’s controlling behavior, Elena ran away. She stayed with a friendly mall security guard, with whom she had her first sexual relationship. When Salvatore found them together, he killed the lover in front of Elena and dragged her home. Ever since, Elena has worn a plastic ring the lover gave her to remind her of her debt to his family.

Over the following days, Elena starts running into Nicolas more and more often. She knows that everyone calls him Nico but refuses to shorten his name, because she doesn’t want to form a connection with him. Despite her resolve, Elena continues to feel aroused in Nicolas’s presence. Nicolas is interested in Elena, too. Everyone in the Cosa Nostra talks about Elena’s beauty, and Nicolas is irritated that he finds her attractive, too. He’s also annoyed that Salvatore set him up with Adriana instead of Elena.

Elena and Nicolas start to find themselves in compromising situations together. At a party at Nicolas’s penthouse celebrating his and Adriana’s upcoming marriage, they steal into dark corners and touch each other suggestively. Elena feels guilty but she also can’t dismiss her feelings for Nicolas. She’s so overwhelmed by desire for him that she starts thinking of and referring to him as Nico.

Another day, the Abellis and Russos congregate at a family restaurant for another gathering. During the tense meal, an unknown perpetrator shoots up the restaurant. In the aftermath, Adriana stands up and announces that she’s pregnant—she is in love with the family gardener, with whom she’s had a hard time parting since her and Nico’s engagement.

Salvatore and Nico meet about the marital situation. Salvatore says Nico can’t marry Adriana anymore and that he can’t be with Elena either; he is going to marry her to Oscar Perez. Nico hates Oscar (a member of another crime family) and dislikes how he’s seen Oscar treat Elena in the past. The next day, Nico shoots and kills Oscar. Shortly thereafter, Salvatore agrees to let Nico marry Elena. He demands that Elena go and live with him until the wedding.

After Elena moves in with Nico, they start to have sex. Elena worries that Nico won’t want to marry her now that he’s gotten what he wanted. She is falling in love with him but isn’t convinced that Nico reciprocates her feelings. Meanwhile, Nico is falling in love with Elena but thinks she’s still in love with the person who gave her the plastic ring. Determined to make Elena his, Nico demands that they get married at the courthouse before their family wedding. The next morning, Elena sneaks out after Nico goes to work, taking Nico’s bank information with her. She transfers $2 million from his account to hers, withdraws the money, and brings it to her late lover’s mother. Nico discovers the transfer and thinks Elena is leaving him to run away with her ex. He finds her outside her late lover’s mother’s house. Without letting her explain, he takes her to the penthouse and leaves her there.

Elena wakes up to find Nico sitting on the penthouse bed. She tells him everything about her past and what happened with her late lover. She apologizes for lying to him and stealing from him, swearing to repay him. Nico scolds her for disobeying him and going behind his back but assures her they’re okay. They make amends and have sex.

Elena and Nico get married again—this time at the church just the way Elena always dreamed. Elena is overcome with happiness. Outside the church, she and Nico kiss and profess their love to each other for the first time.