| Title | : | Dark Russian Angel (Vancouver Mafia, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 362 |
| Publication | : | First published December 8, 2019 |
And I witnessed a crime.
The police are failing to protect me.
And my chance of survival isn't looking good.
Andrusha, is the cold and dangerous leader of the Vancouver Russian mafia,
He's also my best chance to make it to trial alive.
The only thing we have in common,
Is our shared enemy.
This man is everything your mom warned you about.
He's ruthless.
He's cold.
And he likes to be in control.
I should be afraid of him.
I should keep my distance.
So why is he the only one who makes me feel safe?
Who will protect me from my protector?
Dark Russian Angel (Vancouver Mafia, #1) Reviews
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Look, I don't wanna shit on this book because it had so much potential but it was really underdeveloped. We just did not know shit.
Why wasn't this man a monster? What his upbringing was like? What kind of business did he run? Why was Olivia the way she was? How did she go into dancing? Hwow did she injure herself? Why couldn't she find another job?
I mean, the romance was so lukewarm I could not believe that was main the focus of the story if the lives of the characters wasn't.
To put it simply, it needed more violence, sex and suffering. I cannot believe I just wrote that. -
Dark Russian Angel is a mafia spin-off of Stone’s Vancouver Wolves hockey series. Andrusha is the reluctant hero, and he is old friends with Mica the hero from the most recent hockey book (The Penalty Box). The heroine is Olivia. She is a new character to the series, but you will fall for her quickly. A forced into retirement dancer turned stripper who is the witness to a murder. She’s the star witness to put away a crime boss, and now they are out to get her. Andrusha doesn’t want to get wrapped up in the mess, but Olivia sort of falls right into his lap. This story is a wild ride. Of not knowing who to trust, who is truly a bad guy, and what the heck is actually going on in the Vancouver crime underground. I’d say that this one is more of a romantic suspense. The hockey books have all had a bit of suspense in them, but this one takes it to the next level. The mafia aspect isn’t too in depth, but it’s also done well. The romance is slow-burn, but once it heats up it is hot. All in all this was a great read, and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Stone gives us next!
AVAILABLE NOW! -
5+ Stars
re-read 10th Aug
Wow! Just mind-blowing.
This is a new to me author, and I absolutely loved this book and the characters.
Olivia works as a dancer at a strip club. One night after work, on her way home from work, she hears some ruckus in an alley and checks it out. What she sees is not what she expected; a man getting killed. And the killer sees her. Olivia calls the police and is put in Police Protection; only the police fail to protect her from the attacks of the killer.
Andrusha is the cold-hearted leader of the Vancouver Russian Mafia, and it's important to him that the woman who is in police protection testifies against Ivan Bunko. One night, Andrusha and Viktor decide to check up on the witness, and while they're surveilling the area, there's an attack on the victim.
Olivia is saved by Andrusha and taken to his warehouse. All she wants is to get back to police protection, and her wish is granted; only once again, she's attacked, and her only choice is Andrusha. No one except him can keep her safe and alive.“Please let me go. I won't tell anyone anything. I won't testify."
Annoyance crossed his face. "Sweetheart, if we survive the next ten minutes, you're going to testify."
I loved Andrusha but Olivia I absolutely adored. She was so strong and such a beautiful person that had such bad luck in her life. I appreciate that the author didn't change Olivia's personality as the story went on. I've read Mafia books where the heroine is a doormat in the beginning, and then out of nowhere, she's this sexy, mouthy woman that the hero can't resist. Olivia, however, was such a lovable character."He had told me that saving me was his atonement for living the life he did, but he didn't seem to realize that it was his love that had saved me, not his guns."
The chemistry between Andrusha and Olivia was off the charts! The pace was absolutely perfect, we got to see their relationship as friends and then how that developed into so much more.
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Whilst I did like the book I wished that the main male lead was a bit more alpha. I just found him a bit too placid and he let things go with people who hurt heroine. As an alpha I would have liked his character more if he dealt with the bad guys rather than leaving it with his men. Even the way he dealt with Detective Klassaan was too beta for me. Apart from that the story was good, the suspense was even better. I will try author’s other books for sure.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. -
Dark Russian Angel had a very promising beginning. The plot, the characters and the writting have me interested.
What surprise me is, Miss Stone suddenly lost her steam at the middle toward the end. There are a lot of repeating plot/ wording and the suspense mafia aspect just sounded very stupid and lame.
The chemistry is also turned cold.
I am still giving 3 stars credited to a very promising beginning.
3 stars -
"I don't need to be protected from you," I whispered my lie, wanting it to be the truth.
He bent down and gave me a long hard kiss, before he pushed the hair off my face. "Yes, you do."
I've been obsessed with Andrusha since
The Penalty Box so I was super excited to find that he had his own spin-off novel. Dark Russian Angel is nothing like I'd thought it would be, in the sense that it didn't have the darkness and angst of a typical mafia romance. But the steamy scenes definitely made up for it. 😂😂😂 Nonetheless, it was still a very compelling and fun read. I really hope his right hand man, Viktor, gets his own book.
Rating: 3.75/5 -
2.85 stars.
rtc
Quick review: This started out strong. The heroine was likable, and the MMC was the rare type of hero that's a gentleman to the heroine that I didn't get bored reading about (at least in the beginning). Towards the last 15% I just got bored with with the dangerous Russian enemy plot. The writing was fine. fine. fine. I was very impressed towards the beginning, but as I got further in the book the writing didn't have as much flow for me (I know this is subjective) and felt stilted. I highlighted some of the 'stilted paragraphs' I may come back later to try to further explain this. I think the author is talented and will be reading Mica's book next. (I think it's in the author's hockey series. Note to self: Yep, it's
The Penalty Box) I also hope Viktor has his own book.
This author is apparently from Canada. So I'm trusting the cultural stuff was accurate. I seriously doubt the Russian mafia in Canada was accurate so I just pretended I was reading an AU of Canada with Russian mobsters. -
3,5 puan aslında.
Yorum gelir.
Kızımız Olivia.
Geçmişte gönül verdiği bale ile başladığı dans kariyeri bir takım bahtsızlıklar sonunda striptizci olmaya evrilir. Bir gece mesai bitişi kulübün otoparkında bir cinayete tanıklık eder.
Polis tarafında koruma altına alınsa da tanık olduğu cinayet mafya Bunko'nun işi olduğundan Olivia'nın peşi bırakılmaz.
Oğlumuz Andrusha.
Rus mafya liderimiz en büyük düşmanlarından Bunko'nun karıştığı bu cinayeti Bunko'yu bitirmek için bir fırsat olarak görür. Gizli tanığın peşine Andrusha da düşer. Polisin koruyamayacağını anladığı anda da alır kızımız Olivia'yı loftuna götürür.
Hikaye böyle başlıyor ve oldukça klasik şekilde devam ediyor. Biraz mecburiyet, bolca seksüel çekim ikilimiz birbirine karışıyor.
Akarsız kokarsız mafya kitabı ama 3,5'tan 4'e değil 3'e yuvarladım.
Çünkü Andrusha oluşturduğu dominant, acımasız ve soğuk erkek beklentisini tam karşılamadı. Olivia'yı kendine layık görmediğini söyledi ama neden böyle hissettiğini anlatamadı. Geçmişi çok flu kaldı. Kitabın başında nam saldığı o sertliği ve kontrol manyaklığını okuyamadık.
Olivia'nın annesi ile olan hikayesi de bir şeye bağlanmadı. Onun da geçmişi irdelenmedi, iki karakterin de motivasyonu yarım yamalak kaldı.
Kitap sonu da apar topar bitirilmiş gibiydi. Ama serinin diğer kitabına da bakarım. -
2 Light Mafia DNF Stars
Well, this isn't exactly what I expected. Normally i have more patience when the book isn't terrible, but I just felt as if this book was pretty long, boring, and I was just wasting time after I got to the halfway point, so I finally decided to DNF.
This book is good for people who like mafia books on the lighter side, which sometimes I'm totally fine with, but I think this was a bit too soft for me, and there were also multiple things I didn't care for. The writing was definitely cheesy, and for a mafia romance, maybe if it had more grit and substance I would like it more, but everything was just too soft for me. Especially the characters were all too soft that it didn't make sense for any of them to be mob leaders, and the Hero is definitely more beta than alpha in my opinion. I also didn't like the heroine. She was waaay too naive for me, she almost just seemed dumb, I don't care how young she is. When shes been living not so great, you would think she would be a bit more worldly and street smarts. I also don't like her as a stripper in that aspect because she is so innocent and it didnt make sense.
I didn't like all the OW drama either. It didn't make me mad or anything, but I felt like it was nonstop, at least the first half of the book. It almost seemed as if the author didn't know how to create actual substance and tension without using OW drama. There were multiple times he got lap dances from strippers, even after him and the h were kind of together in my opinion. Then there was the detective who he led on so she would give him information. He flirted, he let her grope him for a bit, and kiss him a couple times, and the heroine saw the lipstick on his collar, and the glitter always on his suits from him getting lap dances. There was also his ex fiance that pops up and causes drama. Now I haven't read any of the previous books, and his engagement ended with her a long time ago, and he said he didn't love her anymore, but it was too much of a coincidence that this all of a sudden happened when him and the h were getting together, and felt way too forced. It is also obvious he has unresolved feelings for her, and at a couple points the author made it seem like he did care about her even though he said he didn't, and I know this is just to cause unnecessary drama since it added nothing to the story and to also cause jealousy and probably try to make the H less 2 dimensional.
Their feelings for each other happened too fast to be believable too, and i was so hoping it wouldn't because this story actually started out really good, but the insta just made the chemistry Eh.
Another thing i noticed was the similarity to Crow by A Zavarelli. Virgin stripper, mob boss, she ends up living with him, but I would definitely recommend Crow over this. Overall, not my favorite book, and if this is the standard for the rest of the authors books, I probably wont be reading those either. -
Audio...4.5
Story dnf @ 68% -
A Great Read
I am on a Mafia reading kick lately and I came across this author and my oh my am I happy I did.
The heroine witnessed a murder and was put unto witness protection but her safe house became compromised twice.
The hero is a shady Russian who saved her and put her under his protection.
This story was great,I really enjoyed this couple together and the hero ,even though he was a criminal,I loved how he was with the heroine,wanting to put her safter above all.
This story had everything I enjoy in my romances.I will definitely be checking put for more reads by this author.
Heroine a virgin stripper who used to be a professional ballerina,but got injured.Hero,not a manwhore,a criminal,part of the Russian mafia. -
Disclaimer - I’m on a mission at the moment to find new, amazing books to add to my bookshelves. So my tolerance for books I’m not immediately sucked into is pretty low. I’m looking for engaging writing, well-developed characters, and engrossing plot lines.
I’ve read a few books from this author, and really enjoyed them, so hoping for another win here.
Hmm... I feel like this was okay, but also didn’t really work for me. I didn’t really like the characters I don’t think... I didn’t really believe the romance. I don’t think there was enough depth there for me to really sink into the story or the world. It felt a little... all over the place. I was never rooting for them as a couple.
I got about halfway in and started skimming when I realised I didn’t care if they got together or not. -
This started out good and very promising and just went downhill from there. I’d say I really enjoyed the first half and then it was a little OTT, and I lost interest.
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odette stone just knows how to write a romance
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Odette Stone is a new author for me. I have been reading romance novels for a very long time. All the romances I have given a five star rating have the same thing in common.....Outstanding story line, characters that you like and care about, and because it is a romance novel I want hot sizzling passion that jumps right off the pages.....this author hit a home run for me... If you are into Alpha heroes with a very dark side and Heroines that never seem to get a break in life. This is your romance....I can not recommend it highly enough except to say I will be looking into more of this authors romances to buy. Please note this is not a romance novel you would pass on to a thirteen year old, this is a romance novel for us, the adult reader so the sensual level of this novel is a strong 7+++ .
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This is my first book by Odette and I am in love with Andrusha. Danger, dark, action, lies, deception, alpha male & hotness overload. Sexy mafia men galore. I'm so glad they were able to overcome their obstacles. Page turning good. Looking forward to more books by Odette.
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Let's talk about it.
So first, this is NOT a dark mafia romance. This is kinda like a fluffy, fairytale "mafia" romance. Did this put me off of the book? No, mainly because I'm not a fan of mafia romances anyways. I did however like the 'Vancouver Wolves Hockey' series and they tied together... so here I am lol.
I think what my problem of this book was being told how dangerous Andrusha was to then be the opposite? I don't know how to explain it but like there was gunfights and hand to hand combat but like it really didn't make him seem dangerous. This would be totally fine you know if it wasn't mentioned repeatedly throughout the book how dangerous Andrusha was.
Also Oliva... I don't really know how i felt about her. Because on one hand she was kinda a badass and then on the other hand she acted like she was stunted at age 10.
I'm also sick of the whole "she's a virgin and so she's stupid and so so innocent"... yeah um no. She's gone through so much that she's innocent in that the things that happened to her should have never happened but did because she had crap luck... but she not innocent in the way that because of everything she's been through she knows way too much to be so oblivious... and yet she is. Oliva is oblivious to pretty much everything and only realizes things after Andrusha has to demand and/or explain things to her.
Back to Andrusha: He is so super dangerous and scary or so we're told but he never acts like it. He is almost heroic throughout the book and it kinda pisses me off. Like dude had a couple of men who should have gotten more than what he did to them and just.. let them walk like tf? Also at the end of the book with the big "showdown" (if you can call it that) Andrusha again chooses to be a good guy???? Like um no?? And when you read the end of the book its just like too perfect I guess.
I did despite all of this enjoy this book lol. My favorite thing is how this book incorporated Mica and Charlie from 'The Penalty Box' into this story, that was cool. I think why some people didn't like this book is because when you see Mafi you're expecting Danger and IDK just more you know? But this book is not that and its portrayed as that. So if you go into this book knowing this is not gonna be a dark and dangerous edge of your seat type of book you'd enjoy it (like I did) but if you don't know that and go in expecting that you'll be disappointed for sure. -
I thought this started off really strong and got hooked immediately. It honestly didn't feel like Andrusha was a leader of a mafia, only because of how nice he was. The environments, his business, and associates all give the indications, but he didn't have the brutal ruthlessness that I guess I'm used to. Not that it was a bad thing. I loved how protective he and Viktor were of Olivia. This would be a great example of a decent H in a Mafia setting, if you're looking for such a read.
Olivia was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but really seemed to be down on her luck for quite a while. I liked her in that she wasn't a tstl character and did as was told in order to be safe. She had her moments of courage and being honest with Andrusha, which I appreciated, but she was definitely not a fierce character. I wish she had grown stronger or matured through her ordeal. I didn't really mind it in the beginning, because she truly really needed saving and had nothing/no one, but that's pretty much her character throughout the story. The power dynamic seemed one-sided with exception of how they felt about each other.
I don't really know how to rate this, as I thought it was well written, and enjoyed it well enough, but there were points that were quite repetitive and felt it could/should have been wrapped up better. The chemistry between Olivia and Andrusha was pretty hot, but I wish we got more in the end. -
Amazing
Andrusha and Olivia were perfection. This book had it all: action, suspense, romance, danger, fight scenes, love scenes, and even an adorable dog. Great book. Give me more Russian heroes, Odette. -
Meh. The cover and the plot made me think the hero was going to be the typical alpha male but he was beta.
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Another good one. This isn't a dark mafia romance but is a sweet story. I liked it.
I do recommend at least reading The Penalty Box before reading this one since they are a bit tied together. -
Very lukewarm. If you are gonna give me a dark mafia novel then I need the violence and the raw and gritty. I got half way through and gave up. This was so damn boring and all over the place with so many questions left unanswered. I listened this on audible and I kept comparing the male narrator voice to Count Dracula every time he talks. This wasn’t a win for me at all.
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REALLY liked this one. Thanks to reader friend Katy for the rec ;D.
This story was fast paced and I didn't want to put it down. I thought I'd lost interest in "the mob" type books, but this one was different. This story also had some brief character tie-ins with the authors hockey series (which l love). Andrusha, a crime boss, is a reluctant Hero, not wanting to get involved but can't help but protect an innocent witness, Olivia, from an enemy. Lots of suspense here and you're just sure there's a showdown coming but not sure when and how. And who, if anyone, including the police can be trusted. You're also left wondering how in this mess can Andrusha/Olivia ever find a real HEA. I liked that the HEA didn't come easy, but they eventually get there. Really liked Victor, Andrusha's right hand. Wondering if and when he might find his own HEA. -
I am so surprised how much I enjoyed this one.
Originally I was not sure if I was going to read it since many reviewers stated that Andrusha was weak and not an alpha as you would expect in a mafia story. However, even though he was not OTT alpha, he was VERY protective of the Olivia. I liked the hero. He was a strong leader, yet very sensitive to the heroine’s safety.
Andrusha did give a lot of orders to his right hand man, Viktor, to protect the heroine when he was busy working so much that one point I thought that there would be a love triangle but that never happened. Viktor cared for the heroine like a sister. Will there be a story with Viktor. If there is, please no pining over the OW he spoke about briefly. She can be mentioned, but NO PINING.
There is an ex-fiancé that comes back for some OW drama, but you know the entire time that the hero has no interest. I love OW drama so I welcomed it.
Olivia used to be a ballet dancer until she had an injury. To make money, she works as a stripper. One night after work, she sees a man being murdered. She goes to the police, they put her in protective custody when they find out that the killer is a wanted mobster. However, some of the members of the police are corrupt and there are numerous times that Olivia is almost harmed. Andrusha wants to find this man and when he discovers that Olivia is a witness to a murder that can put this man in jail, he offers to protect her and from there the story begins.
It was a nice suspenseful romance.
I was disappointed it ended. -
3.5 to 4
I loved the plot and the beginning, but the it just dragged on and on and I wanted it to get to the point! I mean I figured it all out, but the characters didn’t get it and it just kept going on and on. I would have given more stars, but darn get to the point! -
I'm torn about my rating. I loved it but I don't know I'd it merits 5 stars, probably closer to 4.5.
The things that bothered me were so miniscule:
If all the ways a gun sounds, you chose 'snap snap?'
And how does the Dr not realize she has a concussion?!
Otherwise I love the characters, their chemistry is off the charts.
Now all the ways I adore Andrusha:
I like how calm, cool and collected he is, even when he's totally pissed. The mix of hard and soft is delightful. And while I've always hated the name Andrew, Andrusha is sexy.
Quotes:
She was fighting to stay awake. “I can sleep here. If you let me.”
“You can have the bed.”
She looked damn cute as she opened her eyes and tried to focus on the bed. “It’s too far away.”
“You need some help?”
“Would you mind moving the bed a bit closer?”
“Will you protect me?” my voice cracked.
“If you’re mine, I’ll protect you.”
I worked to hide my smile. “It hurts that you don’t want your mom to meet me.”
“If you’re going to do any dance moves, you can be damn sure you’re going to do them for me.”
I sat up straight. “Sorry. I fell asleep.” He put his book down. “I need to work on my conversation skills.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes off her face. She looked so serene, so at peace, it made me ache. This was what love looked like. She loved dance with such a pure heart that it made me think I’d never seen love before.
I planted both hands on either side and got up in her face. “Why is nothing ever easy with you?”
Big eyes looked up at me. “Like you’re a walk in the park.”
I decided I had nothing to lose. I would put it all on the line. “I love you. Don’t you love me?”
His blue eyes held mine. “Why do you think I’m doing this?” -
One of the things I appreciate about Odette Stone is that she knows how to write about men who are alpha but not overbearing. Andrusha was tough and endearing. Olivia was, understandably, scared but resilient. I love the way this author writes a romance because there are elements of actual risk and doubt in her novels, I’m not always sure it’s going to be okay and that keeps me invested. This book kept me invested and I was happy I read it when I finished it. If you like protective alpha males this one is for you.
The only ‘issue’ I saw in this book was that there is an insistence that Andrusha is into controlling women in bed which never actually surfaces. It wasn’t missed by me, but if you are looking for that this may not be the book you want. If that’s not a dealbreaker, I highly recommend giving this book a try and then reading everything else Odette Stone writes :)
Also, Sasha features heavily in this book and I am a sucker for a misbehaved monster dog!
I received a free ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. -
This is my first book by Odette Sone, Dark Mafia is one of my favorite genres. I am very picky. So I wanted to wait 24 hours to write a fair review.
Let’s start off with I couldn’t put this book down from page one. I sometimes can figure out what is going to happen from the beginning. Not with this book, so many twists. Kept me on the edge. Love the main characters, Andrusha, Russian head of his Organization, alpha, Who you can’t help but fall in love with him. Olivia, A retired professional dancer turned stripper, witness a mob hit from one of Andrusha enemies.
In the begging Andrusha doesn’t want to get in involved, Olivia kind of falls in his lap and he makes a quick decision to help her. From there get ready for a wild ride, and told of page-turning, forgive our who to trust and what will happen next. This is now one of my top5 favorite Mafia romance. If you love Dark Romance, and suspense this book is for you. It will keep you on your toes. -
I love all things that have elements of a criminal undertone to them. So when I discovered that this author was building on a side character that had been introduced in The Penalty Box that had piqued my interest I was ecstatic. I wasn't sure how this was going to go considering that this is a very different direction and feel than her usual books go. I am more than pleasantly surprised because this book did have so many of the things that I look for when reading anything resembling Mafia. Was it perfect? No. Was it enjoyable and kept my attention? Absolutely.
I wasn't sure where the story was going when it first started out. I was intrigued from the first chapter but then had moments where I was confused as to what was happening and how it tied together. I was very curious to understand Andrusha. He was a very complex character. I had liked him, as I mentioned, since the first time that he had been introduced. However, I also struggled with him. He gave off certain vibes of being a certain type of man that demands control, and yet he was often wishy-washy when it came to that. I was expecting him to act differently. That being said, I liked that he fought hard for Olivia, oftentimes against what he should and shouldn't do, and really wanted her to have a chance at finally having a good and happy life. Olivia was hard for me to understand. I didn't connect with her as much as I wanted to until something pivotal happens and she puts Andrusha above herself. I appreciated that. Their connection was slow in building and that was both good and bad. I wanted more of a connection at times instead of the push and pull but at the same time, I liked that there was a bond there. Even though this story ended with a happily ever after, I still struggled for a couple of chapters before they got the HEA. I just didn't understand the choices that had been made but that is minor.
While this was not my favorite book that this author has written I still enjoyed it. I appreciate the author stepping outside of her wheelhouse and giving her fans the character that everyone had been asking her for.
