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In my world, power is taken not given.
In my world, women are a pastime and nothing more.
In my world, emotions are dangerous and need to be locked down.

Maya was born into this, but she doesn’t understand it. It makes her vulnerable, and now she’s been promised to a man I wouldn’t let my worst enemy marry. She needs help – my help.

I step in and take her as my bride in order to save her skin.
Our marriage might be fake, but our passion is real.
My ring on her finger is the tie that binds us.

Maya thinks she can walk away once the danger has passed. She believes our passion is fleeting. She hopes I will simply let her go.
She’s wrong.
On. Every. Single. Count.

We’re playing a dangerous game. One where the lines are so blurred, we can’t see them.
I’m going to take her and make her mine, and in this game, she’ll play by my rules.
But someone wants Maya out of the game completely, and our world is about to implode.

***Please note this is a romantic suspense with dark themes and as such trigger warnings apply.
Reading order of the series is:
The contract. A Mafia Vows prequel
The Debt: Mafia Vows One
The Promise: Mafia Vows Two. ***

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2019

1231 people are currently reading
1019 people want to read

About the author

S.R. Jones

84 books739 followers
Redeeming dark and dangerous heroes one book at a time.
Skye Jones is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling Author.
She writes dark mafia and contemporary romance as SR Jones, and angsty paranormal romance as Skye.

When not writing Skye can be found reading, dog herding, or watching gritty dramas on Netflix with her husband. She lives in the grey, windswept north of England, which fuels her taste for the dramatic and the gothic.

For a free read sign up for her reader club here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ca20ewxx71

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5 stars
692 (50%)
4 stars
395 (28%)
3 stars
202 (14%)
2 stars
46 (3%)
1 star
29 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews132 followers
October 27, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this book. The storyline is intriguing and the writing style is good. The dialogue flows nicely and the pacing is just right. There was plenty going on which kept me engaged with the story. Maya and Damen are interesting characters, well-developed and have chemistry in spades. I can't wait to dive into the next installment.
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,522 reviews321 followers
July 31, 2019
This was book 1 in the " Mafia Vows" series. The book picks up where the prequel left off Maya who is a mafia daughter is promised to another man one who likes to beat and torture woman. We learn a lot about Maya and Damen like Damen comes from a rich family and his father use to beat him and his mother. Maya who is not as spoiled as he thought likes to volunteer helping the homeless. These two have a quick wedding and go to Paris for their honeymoon where Damen finds out she is not that innocent she maybe a virgin but she likes having backdoor sex. Damen knows that he shouldn't be with Maya but he likes her more than he is willing to admit. Maya also knows that she shouldn't let her feelings get to deep for Damen. Alesso who is like a brother to Damen knows that he shouldn't be messing around with her and he tries to warn him about getting involved with the bosses daughter. This was a pretty good read her uncle who turns out to be her father is the head of "The Greek mob" . These two have some hot chemistry between them Maya who just wants to be loved. Damen who thinks that he can never love another because of what happened to his mother. When Maya is kidnapped we find out who has been sending her threatening notes and how crazy and Damen will do anything to get her back. This was a good read this book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book.
Profile Image for 🦉Maggie Whitworth.
3,254 reviews113 followers
February 16, 2022
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋💋

So addictive these books and this author has a brilliant style of writing.
Every book is full of tension, romance (be it rough love or sweet), and steamy moments.
Excellent characters that fill out the books with chemistry.
I’m totally hooked.
Profile Image for Tai Nelson-Barnes.
2,833 reviews76 followers
September 20, 2019
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After reading the first book, we got a feeling that Maya is stubborn, in need of love, and very strong. However, will she be able to hand what is to come? Maya has now learned that her family is not what it seems and that she is to marry a man she knows nothing about. Which to be honest was always going to happen, but this time it is with a man that her uncle has chosen.

Damen has no need or want to get married, but when he steps up to marry Maya for a year as a fake marriage, he does it to protect her and his place in the mafia. Although he doesn't need the money or the prestige it would get him; he just loves the rush. However, when Maya is threatened and taken from him, he will have to wonder if he has more feelings for Maya, then he thought.

God, I loved this story. I could NOT put it down. Maya doesn't take any crap from Damen even when she probably should back down. Moreover, Damen well he is such an a$$ sometimes you just want to smack him. However, then he turns into such a sweetheart when you least expect it. The Debt is a must-read.
Profile Image for Maria (Ri).
5,141 reviews15 followers
October 30, 2019
3 stars

I had such high hopes for this series. Especially, as I was drawn in from the first chapter. However, that quickly changed. The characters, especially Maya, seemed very immature. I struggled with reading this but wanted to trudge through because the reviews spoke so highly of it. Alas, it wasn't for me. The parts that I did like were exceptional. Sadly, the parts that I didn't like made it nearly impossible to get past those moments.

While this book was not for me, I still appreciate this author and her hardwork. My suggestion would be to read this for yourself and determine if it works for you or not.
Profile Image for Maria11.
2,001 reviews44 followers
July 28, 2019
Cliffhanger

Well I read this fast and it was very good, but now I have to wait to see what will happen. 😡😞😪. As always lots of hotness, drama, mob stuff, and complications. Maya turned out way better then the prequel made her out to be, which was very good because I didn’t think I would like this story.

Can’t wait to see what is going to happen and I so want Alesso and Markos’ stories!
Profile Image for Nate.
24k reviews19 followers
July 21, 2019
Couldn't get enough of Damen & Maya's story. Great characters. And loved how this was written from Damen's POV. Loving this series!! Wow!! I'm voluntarily leaving an honest review for a copy of the book via an arc program.
Profile Image for Misty Schott.
4,225 reviews34 followers
June 28, 2020
Maya and Damen are perfect for each other!!

Maya's father has arranged a marriage for her to a psycho who likes to hurt women. She needs a way out, so her mother and her go to her uncle in order to get her out of the marriage contract. Her uncle decides to help her and has her marry one of his top guys, Damen. It is a fake marriage and Damen is really only meant to protect Maya, nothing else. This story has some twists and turns and does end on a cliffhanger so be prepared. I'm looking forward to reading The Promise which is the continuation of Maya and Damen's story.
Profile Image for Julie Sherman.
1,464 reviews23 followers
February 1, 2021
Great story

This is a great mafia story by Miss S R Jones. Its length is great and the characters are well defined. Looking forward to next book.
Profile Image for Marissa Chavez.
1,373 reviews4 followers
April 16, 2023
Damen and Maya were absolutely amazing! They both definitely knew how to push each others buttons! All the back and forth was so good! I can’t wait to see more of them! ❤️
Profile Image for Collette.
799 reviews10 followers
February 12, 2024
Found this quite boring and ended up skimming a lot of it.
Profile Image for Tranese.
1,791 reviews7 followers
April 10, 2020
Damen and Maya

First book to be read by SR Jones. I enjoyed this, the tension and the anger, the mafia life it was good, but i feel like synopisis was misleading. I guess i was expecting it to.be dark and for damen to be teasing and toturing her, it wasn't any of that. Just Damen being hot and cold. Looking forward to the conclusion
1,698 reviews15 followers
December 4, 2019
I like this Mafia story by SR Jones. Maya is suppose to be given in marriage to this other family so that the her father can solidify his standing in the family and also get money but Maya finds out that the guy she is given in marriage to is a freak and she decides to let her mother know that she does not want to marry him. Damen, Alesso and Marko are Maya's Uncle Stamatis is head of the family right hand men. He decides that one of his right hand men have to marry his niece because is sister in law asks him to stop the marriage to Yannis the psycho path. He aks Alesso but Damen says he will because he know that is best friend brother like someone else. They do get married and then the craziness begins with someone out to kidnap his niece and get rid of the three friends but they consdier theirselves brothers and so the story begins. Damen calls his friend Andrius to ask for his help. This is an exciting story filled with angst, drama and love both familial and eros love.
Profile Image for Madame Smarty.
549 reviews
May 9, 2021
Oh man, absolutely dreadful. This author’s writing style is shocking and absolutely cringeworthy 😑. I couldn’t take it any more, I had to stop. I lasted until about 52%.

I read the prequel and it was kind of cute, The story has some real potential. But if you’re going to write a mafia series, then you’d better do your research and you’d better damnwell know how to instil fear into your audience. Unfortunately that is NOT not what has happened here.

The Author’s use of language and sentence structure were dreadful and it’s disappointing her Editor did not pick up on many of the issues. For example (and this applies no matter what part of the world you’re from) “I am going to give him it.” WTF.

No more to say, except I will be removing all of the other books I have on my Want to Read list by this author. 😕

713 reviews4 followers
July 20, 2019
It doesn’t get any hotter or steamier than this. It’s a sexy, intense, nail biting drama with a WOW twist that will have you on the edge of your seat!
Damen finally loses control and gives into what he truly desires. He can no longer fight the pull and the chemistry he feels for Maya. He just didn’t realize he would lose his heart in the process. Now he’s determined to make her his.
When Maya is kidnapped by her stalker Damen may just be in the biggest fight of his life to save the love he never knew he was looking for. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
“I voluntarily received this arc book from Bad Boy Update for an honest review”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Yoneidis.
2,149 reviews12 followers
January 23, 2020
Maya y Damen se casan para evitar que ésta se case con un loco maltratador,pero el matrimonio se supone que es una farsa aunque la irresistible atracción que sienten el uno por el otro los llevará a acostarse juntos (cosa que tenían expresamente prohibida por el tío de Maya) y ambos empiezan a desarrollar sentimientos el uno por el otro,hasta que por culpa de un malentendido,Maya se escapa de casa y es secuestrada,junto con su madre,por su primo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
1,574 reviews18 followers
September 22, 2019
Wow!! What a great start to this mafia story!! Full of suspense, intrigue and steaminess. I need to know what happen next ASAP because that cliffhanger was enormous!
Profile Image for Julie.
2,003 reviews31 followers
January 4, 2020
The story tells us of the Contract Maya’s greedy father had signed promising Maya as the bride to a family he wished to be apart of even though the son was an unsavoury psychopath, until her uncle finds out Maya is in fact his daughter and not his niece, he then puts a stop to that by insisting she marry one of her bodyguards and Damon stepped forward. And I think we’re up to date from the first book.

The wedding was planned to be for show and a fake marriage which they could amicably separate later, but as they get closer, feelings grew and things begin to get complicated. Maya is pretty sure of how she feels, Damon however admits he cares but is finding it difficult to commit completely to her.

A thrilling addition to the story. There’s some intense suspense, kidnapping, dark violence and super steamy love action. And Really Really bad relatives, it’s tough to figure who to trust in Maya’s family, but some awesome good guys even if they are a bit scary. The intense story had me riveted to the pages and I was truly invested in the characters and their interactions with the plot.
And I’m now eagerly moving onto the next book.
I highly recommend this story!
69 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2019
Meh

This was an ok story. It had the potential to be better, but the repetition of thoughts kind of got on my nerves. I think it mentioned Maya lips around Damen’s c**k at least five times in the first chapter. Ok we get it... there a few missing words too, making it distracting. I also new who the bad guy was as soon as he made the appearance in the book. Although I did think that maybe the bad guy and the arranged ex maybe had something going on together...maybe they do, I guess you’d have to find that out in book 2 since this one story is split in to two books. Which is also annoying, just to get people to spend more. Thank goodness for KU. Although I may not read the next installment, too many other good books to find to pass my time with! This ones ok, but I’ve read better.
668 reviews3 followers
July 28, 2020
This follows on from from the contract and it's every bit as exciting and enthralling. It took me a while to realise this was from the Konstantin and Cassie series. That was based in London, Konstantin's contact in Greece was mentioned Damen. Andrius (who got with Violet) also knows Konstantin and Damen was also in this book. It's all interlinked, but here we get to learn more about Greece in particular Damen and Maya's story. Alesso and Mario's are Damen's close brothers in arms so I think their story is to come. But Damen and Maya's explosive story will continue after this instalment. This is an absolutely fantastic story, can't wait to read what happens to these two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
575 reviews1 follower
June 25, 2025
The Debt

Damen choose to work as an enforcer to help his bestfriend. It wasn't his debt but he feels he owes him for being the family Damen doesn't have. Currently they are protecting the bosses niece. Maya isn't the spoiled brat everyone thinks. She just has very few choices she can make, Including her marriage. But when truths come out about her fiance plans are arranged to free her. Damen is both intrigued and attracted to Maya so agrees to marry her to avoid the contracts. Both should avoid eachother but find themselves drawn into a strange love connection that includes danger.
Profile Image for Sharon Eikenberry-Deary.
732 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2020
It can't be love

Maya is going to her mom for help of not marrying Yannis. She and her mother will go to uncle. Damen will stand up and say he'll take marry Maya. They go to Paris and when in Athens they stay in his yayas house. She gets another note but when she overhears what is being said she forgets to tell Damen about it. Then is kidnapped. Will the men find her and mother before it's to late.
781 reviews7 followers
March 5, 2020
Declare Bankruptcy!

The prequel to "The Debt" was promising, so I quickly read it and it was on to the nitty gritty. Well, the story started out as a bit of reiteration of the prequel then it kind of fizzled out for me. I found myself wishing Maya a happy kidnapping because she'd become a shallow character I could not empathize with, especially when she told Damen he could guard her while she had sex with some random man. Save her, Damen!
Profile Image for Sharon Ryder Roberts.
1,080 reviews17 followers
April 3, 2021
Delicious dark read into the world of the Greek Mafia men (Godfathers of the night) where woman are not valued as anything other than an offering to another to gain power. Love the plot and love interest. Can not wait to see where this all ends, even though its a stand alone its also a cliff hanger.
So many pages with the same number, might be an issue with the author uploading or amazon itself.
8,772 reviews63 followers
July 17, 2021
To save Maya, Damen steps up and marries her to keep her safe, bit their fake marriage isnonly the start of their problems, its not just her ex fiancee they have to wpry about it someone's closer to home. Maya grows up ignorant to the criminal world she's in but being with Damen it brings that life to the front. But soon their fake marriage comes with real feelings well written steamy read, filled with suspense, desires, action and more
Profile Image for Carolyn Norman.
768 reviews8 followers
July 11, 2025
The first book in the series and Damen & Maya marry. The book is about their first few months together. The challenge comes when Maya overhears a conversation that plays into her fears so she attempts to run. Of course the enemies that are waiting for her capture her and the book ends in a cliffhanger.

Rated this book 3.5⭐️ because it tells a good story and establishes the next layer of the story.
101 reviews4 followers
December 25, 2025
Emotional Suspense Rollercoaster Ride

Read the prequel, The Contract, yesterday and had to step into the series. No choice! Could not put this story down! Wow!

Love the writing style. Well developed characters.

The cliffhanger is a twist I did not see coming.👀

Damien is gonna burn the world down!! Book 2 is shaping up to be epic!

This is the first time reading any of Ms. Jones’ work, but if this book is any indication, then it most definitely won’t be my last series.

Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews

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