Chicago Ruthless · 2023
DanteSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 9 trigger warnings flagged
Sadie Kincaid published Dante in 2023. It is book 1 of Chicago Ruthless. The pull here is mafia, captive, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers and morally grey. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, violence, murder. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2023. Book 1 of Chicago Ruthless.
Dante tropes
On this shelf, Dante is filed under Mafia dark romance, Captive romance, Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers and Morally grey heroes. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Dante spice level
Is Dante dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Dante scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Dante trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 140 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: pregnancy, sexual content, trafficking, gun violence, death of parent, cancer. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (8) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Chicago Ruthless reading order
Dante is book 1 of 4 in Sadie Kincaid's Chicago Ruthless series. Start here.
Order checked against the StoryGraph Chicago Ruthless series page on 13 October 2026. The Chicago Ruthless series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Dante
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- North of the Stars
North of the Stars
Monica James
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Passion & Venom
Passion & Venom
Shanora Williams, S. Williams
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Captive romance, Arranged marriage
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Heavy
Heavy
M.L. Burns
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
- Anastasia
Anastasia
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Bloody Heart
Bloody Heart
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- King's Ransom
King's Ransom
Jane Henry
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
- Corrupted Queen
Corrupted Queen
Nicole Fox
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
Books like Dante, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Dante?
Dante spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Dante trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Torture, Death, Abuse, Blood. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: Taboo. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 140 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Dante dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Dante scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Dante?
On this shelf Dante is filed under Mafia dark romance, Captive romance, Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers and Morally grey heroes.
Who is Dante for?
For readers hunting mafia and captive with explicit spice. Check the trigger warnings before you start.
What are some books like Dante?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: North of the Stars by Monica James; Passion & Venom by Shanora Williams, S. Williams; Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole; Heavy by M.L. Burns; Anastasia by Sophie Lark; Bloody Heart by Sophie Lark. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/dante-sadie-kincaid.
Is Dante a standalone?
No. Dante is book 1 of 4 in the Chicago Ruthless series by Sadie Kincaid.
What order should I read the Chicago Ruthless series in?
1. Dante; 2. Joey; 3. Lorenzo; 4. Keres.
How many books are in the Chicago Ruthless series?
The Chicago Ruthless series by Sadie Kincaid has 4 main books.
What is the Dante age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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