Updated on October 9, 2026
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Verdict: A short, sweet second-chance mafia romance about a woman who spent nine years searching for the girl who vanished the night her father was killed, with a devoted lead readers adore and a happy ending, held back by a length that leaves most of the story underdeveloped.
Best for: Readers who want a quick, warm sapphic mafia romance with Black leads, a lost-love reunion and a heroine who never stopped looking, and who do not need much suspense or depth.
Heat level: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 — our estimate; not listed on romance.io, and readers disagree on how spicy it is)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.4/5 — a 4.00 Goodreads average across 440 ratings, discounted because twelve of the 30 most-read reviews sit at three stars or lower, most of them asking for more depth)
Tropes: Second chance, childhood friends to lovers, mafia family, possessive and protective heroine, separated lovers, family secrets, novella-length standalone.
Soft On Her is a standalone sapphic mafia romance by Lakia, published by Lakia Presents in May 2026, in which Sneaux, who rose to the top of her family’s organisation, finally finds Milani, the childhood friend and first love who disappeared nine years earlier on the night of an attack that killed Milani’s father.
It is a short book that most readers enjoy and many wish were longer. Goodreads shows a 4.00 average across 440 ratings, with 71% of them at four or five stars, and Amazon carries 4.2 stars from 384 ratings. Very few readers dislike it; the typical reservation is a three-star “I wanted more.” That pattern is worth understanding before you start.
What Is Soft On Her About?
This is second-chance romance with mafia stakes. Sneaux and Milani grew up together and were starting to fall for each other as they neared graduation, planning to leave their families’ expectations behind. Then Sneaux’s graduation party ended in violence, Milani’s father was murdered, and by morning Milani was gone. The book picks up nine years later, when Sneaux finds her again and has no intention of letting her go.
The romance is the engine and the mafia is the backdrop. Readers enjoy Sneaux as a woman at the head of a family empire who is soft only for Milani, and the reunion brings secrets, distrust and family complications with it. At 176 pages, though, the book moves quickly, and twelve of the 30 most-read Goodreads reviews mention the length, the pace or the speed of the ending.
What Makes This Sapphic Mafia Romance Work
- Sneaux’s devotion: Readers love a heroine who searched for nine years and never stopped, and one sums up her energy toward Milani as “it’s always been you”.
- The reunion: One three-star reader says the tension between them still felt strong from the start despite the years apart.
- A woman at the head of the family: One reader loved the idea of a woman leading the mafia, and another lists a Black family empire among the book’s pleasures.
- Sweetness under the danger: Readers find a sweet romance beneath the violence and family politics, as the title promises.
- A happy ending: Readers confirm that Sneaux and Milani end up together after nine years apart.
Book Synopsis
Sneaux and Milani were inseparable for most of their childhood, and as graduation approached, friendship was turning into something more. They had a plan: leave the fear and the family expectations behind and finally live openly. They never got the chance. An attack on their families turned Sneaux’s celebration into a tragedy, Milani’s father was killed, and Milani disappeared without a word.
For nine years Sneaux searched. She rose through her family’s world until she stood at the top of it, and through all of it she never stopped looking for the only woman she ever wanted to love out loud. When she finally finds Milani, her first love has built a life without her, and the reasons she left are still buried.
Sneaux is not interested in letting her slip away again. The question the book sets up is whether two women who lost each other to violence can trust each other enough to try again, and what it will cost to uncover why Milani stayed gone so long.
My Review
Sneaux is the best thing here, and readers say so in the most enthusiastic terms. A heroine who runs a criminal empire and is soft only for one woman is the book’s whole appeal, and Lakia delivers it with conviction. One four-star reader says plainly that she needs a Sneaux of her own.
The second strength is warmth. For a mafia book, this is gentle. Readers who rate it three stars still describe it as cute and sweet, and one is clear that the happy ending left her smiling.
Where it struggles is the length, and the complaint is consistent enough to call it the book’s defining weakness. Readers repeatedly say they wanted more depth: one three-star reviewer says the end wrapped up so quickly that it could have been a full-length novel, another says the plot moved so fast there was little suspense, and a third simply wanted more build-up. The sharper critics go further. One three-star reader finds a lot of telling rather than showing and notes that a nine-year gap left the two women no time to learn who the other had become, and the one two-star review says the story moved too fast and out of order to feel real.
The expectation to reset is the scale. The premise, nine years of searching and a murdered father, suggests a sweeping mafia saga. What you get is a novella-length romance that resolves quickly. If you want a satisfying evening read about a love that waited, relax. If you want suspense and layered family politics, calibrate.
It is also worth knowing that the evidence is clean but quiet. None of the 30 most-read reviews mention an advance or review copy, and the visible reviews are more mixed than the overall 4.00 suggests, with ten at three stars.
My honest note: A four-star heroine in a three-star length. If you want a short, warm second-chance romance with a devoted mafia lead, it is a pleasant read; if you want the story its premise promises, you will finish wanting more.
| Element | In Soft On Her |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Sneaux & Milani — childhood friends and first loves, separated for nine years after an attack on their families |
| Core tropes | Second chance, childhood friends to lovers, mafia family, possessive and protective heroine, family secrets |
| Setting | A Black mafia family’s world, nine years after the night that split the couple |
| Heat level | 3/5 — our estimate; readers describe it anywhere from mild to high |
| Series | Standalone, about 176 pages |
| Content notes | Murder of a parent, gang violence, revenge |
How Spicy Is Soft On Her?
We estimate a 3 out of 5, and it is an estimate. The book is not listed on romance.io, and the readers who mention heat disagree: one calls it high heat with emotion underneath, another calls the spice level mild, a third calls it soft, and two others love the spicy scenes. Only six of the 30 most-read reviews discuss it at all.
The element worth knowing in advance is that the one detailed criticism of the heat is about how it is written rather than how much of it there is: a three-star reader found the scenes unconvincing as a portrait of sex between women. For comparisons, Her Mafia Bride is another sapphic mafia romance, and Broken Vows is far darker and far more explicit.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a heroine who never gave up on her first love, you enjoy mafia romance without much darkness, you want Black leads and a Black family empire, and you like a story you can finish in one sitting.
You may want to skip it if: you want a full-length romance with room to breathe, you dislike telling rather than showing, you want suspense from the mafia plot, or you need a reunion that takes its time.
In short: a sweet, devoted reunion romance, at the cost of the depth its premise promises.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (October 2026)
Soft On Her is a recent release that found its readers quickly. It came out in May 2026 and has built to 440 Goodreads ratings and 62 written reviews as of October 2026. I could not check Reddit or TikTok for this one, it is not listed on romance.io, and I found no audiobook edition on Libro.fm. Amazon’s review summary describes it as a fun quick read and highlights the love story between the two leads.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Sneaux, above everything. The second theme is the reunion and its “always been you” devotion. The third is the sweetness under the mafia setting. At least one reader hopes to see the couple again in future books.
What readers argue about and complain about: First, length and depth, which is the most repeated criticism by a wide margin and comes from readers who otherwise liked the book. Second, pace: the plot and the ending move fast enough that one reader felt there was little suspense. Third, craft, from a smaller group: telling rather than showing, and heat that did not convince one reader. Nobody in the most-read reviews dislikes the couple.
The standalone question worth asking first: Soft On Her is a complete standalone with a happy ending and no required reading. If you want more reunion romance, our sapphic second-chance romance list collects longer options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Soft On Her have a happy ending?
Yes. Readers confirm that Sneaux and Milani end up together after nine years apart.
How spicy is Soft On Her?
We estimate a 3 out of 5. It is not on romance.io, and readers describe the heat anywhere from mild to high.
How long is Soft On Her?
About 176 pages. The length is the most common complaint, with many readers saying they wanted more.
Is Soft On Her a dark romance?
Not really. It has mafia violence and a murdered parent in the backstory, but readers describe it as sweet and soft rather than dark.
Is Soft On Her a standalone?
Yes. It is a complete standalone, though at least one reader hopes the couple will return in later books.
If You Loved Soft On Her, Read These Next
For another sapphic romance set in a mafia family, try Her Mafia Bride. For a much darker gang romance with a runaway heir, go to Broken Vows. For more devoted, protective heroines, browse our possessive and obsessive sapphic romance list, our sapphic mafia romance list and the rest of our book reviews.
The Bottom Line
Soft On Her sets out to tell a short, sweet reunion story inside a mafia world, and it does. Sneaux is a lead readers fall for, the couple’s devotion is the point, and the ending is happy. The length leaves the plot, the suspense and the nine missing years underdeveloped, and the craft is uneven in places. If you want a warm second-chance romance you can read in an evening, it is worth it. Check Soft On Her on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Soft On Her ranks as a pleasant short sapphic mafia romance — devoted, sweet and easy to read, held back by a length that cannot hold its premise, and best approached as a one-sitting reunion story rather than as a mafia saga.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ 4.00 average across 440 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 4.2 stars from 384 Amazon ratings
- ✓ No advance-copy reviews in the top 30
- ✓ 12 of 30 top reviews at three stars or lower
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Nine years of searching pays off
- ✓ “Always been you” devotion praised
- ✓ Sweet beneath the danger
- ✓ No time to rediscover each other, one says
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Sneaux a reader favourite
- ✓ A woman at the head of the family
- ✓ Sneaux’s family enjoyed by one fan
- ✓ One critic did not care for anyone
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ Quick and easy to read
- ✓ Fun, per Amazon’s summary
- ✓ Telling rather than showing, one says
- ✓ Moves too fast and out of order, one says
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Murdered father raises the stakes
- ✓ Reunion tension felt from the start
- ✓ Little suspense in a fast plot
- ✓ Wanted more depth, many say
Heat Level ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ Our estimate; not on romance.io
- ✓ Called high heat by one reader
- ✓ Called mild or soft by others
- ✓ Unconvincing to one reader
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Happy ending confirmed by readers
- ✓ Complete standalone
- ✓ Couple finally together after nine years
- ✓ Wraps up too quickly for several
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ About 176 pages, easy to revisit
- ✓ Comfort-read sweetness
- ✓ No audiobook found on Libro.fm
- ✓ Thin plot offers less on a reread
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