Verdict: A dark mafia sapphic romance with a legal-world hook — the title leans into courtroom language and an instant, dangerous attraction between two women on opposite sides of the law and the underworld.
Best for: Readers who want a dark mafia romance with a lawyer/legal-thriller flavor and a love-at-first-sight spark, and who don’t mind being an early reader of a brand-new series.
Heat 🌶🌶🌶 | Tropes: Dark mafia · Legal/forbidden · Love at first sight · Power imbalance
PRIMA FACIE: At First Sight by Remy Marino opens the In Contempt series, and it plants itself in the sapphic mafia romance world with a legal twist. Its full billing is “A Dark Mafia Lesbian Romance,” and the title itself — prima facie is a legal term meaning “at first sight” or “on its face” — signals a story where the courtroom and the crime family collide.
If you love the dark end of the mafia genre but want something with a professional, legal-thriller edge — think lawyers, contempt, and a woman drawn into a dangerous orbit — the framing here is built for exactly that. It’s the first book in a planned series, so it’s designed to open a larger story.
What Is PRIMA FACIE: At First Sight About?
A quick sourcing note: at the time of writing, this brand-new release doesn’t yet have a published synopsis or reader reviews on Goodreads, so this write-up sticks to what the book and its official billing actually tell us rather than inventing plot specifics.
What’s clear from the packaging: this is a dark mafia lesbian romance that wraps its danger in legal-world imagery. The series name (In Contempt) and the title (Prima Facie, “at first sight”) point to a story where law and organized crime intersect, and where an immediate, powerful attraction between two women complicates everything.
At around 217 pages, it’s a focused, novel-length read rather than a sprawling saga, and as In Contempt Book 1 it’s built to set up the world and the central relationship. Expect the “at first sight” instant-spark energy the title promises, played against dark-mafia stakes.
What Makes This Dark Mafia Romance Work
- ✓ A legal-world twist. The courtroom framing (prima facie, in contempt) sets it apart from standard mafia fare and adds a professional, high-stakes flavor to the sapphic mafia formula.
- ✓ Instant-attraction energy. “At First Sight” promises the immediate, magnetic pull that love-at-first-sight and enemies-to-lovers fans love.
- ✓ Dark stakes. Billed as a dark mafia romance, it promises the danger, power dynamics, and morally grey characters that define the darker WLW subgenre.
- ✓ Novel-length story. At ~217 pages it has room to develop both the romance and the crime plot, rather than rushing a novella.
- ✓ Series opener. As In Contempt Book 1, it’s designed to launch a larger world with more to come.
Tropes & Themes at a Glance
| Element | What to Expect |
|---|---|
| Subgenre | Dark sapphic mafia romance |
| Distinctive hook | Legal / courtroom world meets the mafia |
| Romance | Love at first sight, forbidden pull |
| Themes | Power, danger, law vs. crime |
| Length | ~217 pages (Kindle) |
| Series | In Contempt, Book 1 |
| Tone | Dark, tense, glamorous |
How Spicy Is PRIMA FACIE?
Heat level: 🌶🌶🌶 (moderate–high, based on genre and billing)
As a dark mafia romance with an “at first sight” instant-attraction hook, this reads as a spicier title where the chemistry lands early and the danger keeps the tension high. There’s no published synopsis to confirm exact on-page detail, so treat this as an expectation set by the subgenre and framing rather than a documented heat rating.
⚠️ A Content Note
This is billed as a dark mafia romance, so expect the usual darker territory of the subgenre: organized crime and violence, danger, power imbalances, and morally grey characters. The legal framing may also involve coercion or ethically fraught situations. Because the book has no detailed synopsis or reviews yet, specific content warnings aren’t documented — if you’re sensitive to particular themes, it’s worth sampling the opening before committing.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll love it if…
- ✓ You want a dark sapphic mafia read with a fresh legal/courtroom angle.
- ✓ Love-at-first-sight and instant-magnetism romances are your thing.
- ✓ You enjoy glamorous, high-stakes danger and power dynamics.
- ✓ You like starting a series from Book 1.
You might skip it if…
- ✗ You want an established title with lots of reviews — this one is brand-new with just a single rating so far.
- ✗ Dark themes, crime, and violence aren’t your thing.
- ✗ You prefer a slow burn — the “at first sight” framing suggests fast chemistry, so try an ice-queen or forced-proximity slow burn instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PRIMA FACIE: At First Sight a standalone or part of a series?
It’s Book 1 of the In Contempt series by Remy Marino, so it’s a series opener rather than a self-contained standalone.
Is it actually a sapphic (WLW) romance?
Yes — it’s explicitly billed as “A Dark Mafia Lesbian Romance,” so the central love story is between two women.
What’s with the legal-sounding title?
“Prima facie” is a legal term meaning “at first sight” or “on its face,” and the series name is In Contempt — so the book leans into a legal/courtroom flavor layered over its mafia romance.
How long is the book?
It’s a novel-length read at around 217 pages in the Kindle edition, published in early 2026.
Are there ratings or reviews to go on?
Barely — at the time of writing it has a single rating and no written reviews on Goodreads, so there’s no real consensus yet. Approach it as an early-reader pick based on premise rather than a proven favorite.
If You Loved PRIMA FACIE, Read These Next
- ✓ Her Ruthless Heart by Persephone Black — a darker, plot-dense mafia romance with a documented track record.
- ✓ Cruel Princess by Jenna Kent — obsessive, possessive dark mafia energy.
- ✓ La Viuda’s Underworld by Asael Assail — another brand-new dark sapphic mafia read.
- ✓ Her Own Prisoner by Sabine Cortese — a dark slow-burn captor-captive mafia story.
- ✓ The full Sapphic Mafia Romance collection — 25 dark WLW reads, all in one place.
The Bottom Line: PRIMA FACIE: At First Sight is a dark sapphic mafia opener with a distinctive legal-world hook — courtroom language, an instant attraction, and dangerous stakes between two women. It’s brand-new with just one rating so far, so it’s a leap of faith, but if the “lawyer meets the mafia, sparks fly at first sight” premise grabs you, it’s a fresh, low-commitment gamble — and a chance to get in on the ground floor of a new series.