Celebrate Lit / May 20, 2026

VINNY

About the Book VINNY

Book: VINNY

Author: MaryAnn Diorio

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Release Date: April 15, 2026

VINNY by MaryAnn Diorio
Book 1 in The South Philly Italians Romantic Suspense Series

Vinny Morello is on track for a promising career in the fine arts. But when tragedy suddenly hurls him headlong into a life-altering crisis, he faces a frightening fork in the road.

Which one will he take?

The road that leads to life or the road that leads to death?

VINNY is an edge-of-your-seat, romantic suspense story where tragedy and triumph merge into transformation. Don’t miss it!

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts on VINNY

VINNY is the first book in a new series focusing on Italians in the South Philly area. You’re going to enjoy this one. This was a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed learning more about her and how she chose to write this novel about Italians. I feel we’re now forever connected as my gran was a WWII war bride, only from England, not Italy.

Vinny is the oldest of his siblings. He’s also been off getting a college degree in Art, something he’s been passionate about since he was 5. However, after college, he’s back in his family’s deli waiting for his big break.

Family tradition is big for the Morelli family. Vinny should be taking over the family deli. He’s the oldest son, and that is what tradition dictates. But Vinny doesn’t want to do that. His younger brother says he will take over the business to keep the peace.

But then Louie gets into a side business of diamonds, and we’re not talking an innocent let’s go dig for diamonds event. We’re talking transporting millions of dollars worth for a shady jeweller.

Louie’s first night on the job is also his last.

And here’s where the story really starts trucking as Vinny and his new friend Rosalie. Vinny questions what happens after death when his brother dies, and Rosalie (who is a Christian) invites him to attend church with her. They grow closer, and Rosalie begins getting threatening calls.

You’re gonna have to read the book to figure out the rest!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of VINNY

MaryAnn Diorio writes award-winning fiction from a quaint small town in New Jersey where neighbors still chat while walking their dogs, families and friends gather on wide, wrap-around porches, and the charming downtown finds kids licking lollipops and old married folks holding hands. A Jersey girl at heart, MaryAnn is a huge fan of Jersey diners, Jersey tomatoes, and the Jersey shore.

More from MaryAnn

All Things Italian

by MaryAnn Dorio

I grew up in a home where Italian was my mother tongue. My late mother, one of the first war brides of World War II, was an immigrant from the romantic city of Naples, Italy. When I was born, she knew no English. So, we communicated in Italian. Although my mother eventually learned English, she and I always spoke in Italian until she passed away.

When I went off to college, I majored in French and minored in Italian.

After I graduated, I spent a year studying at the University of Florence in Italy, earning my Master’s degree in Italian Language and Literature. Afterwards, I taught Italian at the university level here in the States.

From my earliest days, Italy was a big part of my culture and of my heart. And it still is. It is no wonder then that I gravitate to writing fiction with an Italian flair. This is the milieu I know and understand best. It is the milieu I love. And I want to share it with you through my stories.

But my fiction is far more than Italian.

It is universal. In other words, it deals with issues that pertain to all of us humans. Issues of pride, rebellion, lust, and greed. Issues of deception, betrayal, hatred, and fear. Issues that result from our failure to love.

When you read my stories, you will travel to the deepest places of the human heart. Places you might not want to go to because they are places of pain, of confrontation, of facing our past and our sin. But they are also places of truth where you will find the freedom from the past and from sin that only truth brings. My stories not only explore the deepest issues of the human heart, but they also show you how to overcome them through Jesus Christ.

Won’t you join me on this entertaining journey of exploration and transformation? If you do, I have a feeling that at the end of my stories, you will discover that you have become a far better person than you were at the beginning.