Renee Graziano, one of the stars of VH1’s hit reality show Mob Wives , is branching out beyond the confines of the reality TV world — and, not incidentally, of the Mafia. Not only is Graziano the author of a new novel — the tale is an erotic story about, what else, a mob wife and her steamy affair with a “handsome, sophisticated” Mafia hit man — she is also promoting her book in a surprising forum.
Brace yourself, because Graziano — whose sister Jennifer Graziano is the creator and executive producer of Mob Wives — is going all the way to promote the novel. The 44-year-old daughter of Bonnano Family consigliere Anthony Graziano appears in the pages of the July-August issue of venerable men’s magazine Penthouse .
But Mob Wives fans will find themselves either disappointed or relieved to learn that, though Penthouse is famous (or infamous) for its explicit nude photo spreads, Renee Graziano does not bare all for the magazine. Instead, she appears decked out in racy lingerie that suggests plenty but reveals nothing.
Renee Graziano shared photos from her Penthouse Magazine photo shoot on her Instagram account recently.
The novel, Playing With Fire , hit stores in April and is now ranked at #72,892 on the Amazon.com book sales charts. But that rating is likely to rise with the Renee Graziano Penthouse Magazine article and photos on the stands.
Graziano is the co-author of a previous book, How To Use A Meat Cleaver , a cookbook written with her sisters.
A sample of Renee Graziano prose from Playing With Fire reveals the steamy, breathless tone that according to OK Magazine will be “right up your alley” if you’re a fan of 50 Shades Of Grey .
“The plot is, frankly, just a nice way to propel the book forward in between sex scenes,” OK Magazine said in its review of the Renee Graziano novel.
Check out this sample from the book:
“This man was, hands down, a rule-breaker.
“The worst sort of man for her.
“But f***, she liked his smile. It was a really boyish mesmerizing curve of his lips, though cute would never apply to his sophisticated image. Maybe it would be better described as deliberate, and as a rule she was absolutely not susceptible to that. She could seduce, but she couldn’t be seduced.
“At least before this moment.”
The novel currently has a four-star (out of five) rating on Amazon, based on 21 customer reviews.
Renee Graziano is currently involved with filming season 5 of Mob Wives , but VH1 has not announced when the new season will premiere.