The Arrangement by Bethany-Kris

I have read about the Russian mafia and arranged marriages before but not within the same story line. There is something to be said about characters who embrace and live in the dark. The ones who don't try to seek out the light.The fact that Vine was already acclimated to the mafia life, cut a lot of red tape and dropped us right into the meat of the matter.

Where we went from there though balanced the line between cheesy and good. There were good and boring moments but by the end, I was fully invested, especially after that cliffhanger, soap opera-esque ending.

There were a few stagnant areas that were filled with mindless, detailed sex scenes that did nothing for me or the story line and I found that I preferred their conversations and banters to the sex. They aren't your usual couple, pairing or individuals and that made for an interesting story.

The Anton we meet is barely Russian, despite being 100% born and bred Russian. There were times when I had to be reminded that he is a Russian mob boss. He came off as an American hitman, as oppose to Russian royalty, but I didn't mind. He was honest and sure in what he wanted and the Russian came out when he got angry enough or business needed to be conducted.

Vine's personality changes with the different stages of her life but one thing remains the same and that is her knowledge and acceptance of the life. She acts accordingly without being a boss herself or inserting herself into Bratva and Cosa Nostra business. She is the perfect mob wife.

Some would say that this story lacks a good dose of Russian and Italian culture but I think it was dispersed in just the right amount for an introduction. It was focused and didn't stray with mindless explanations to cover space, even when the transitions became messy, as you tried to decipher Anton's from Vine's POV.

Still, I found myself confused and unsure in the middle, as I tried to decipher the big secret and ascertain the main underlying point of the novel. The climax didn't help much in the way of excitement, as it was rather mellow, much like the rest of the novel and didn't appear until the last 20%.

Even in my confusion, I was hanging on to every page of this novel. It was straight forward, clean and balanced in it's delivery. There wasn't an excess of cheesy mafia or romantic moments. There was a lot more history than present and the future looks filled with possibilities but this installment got me grounded in the idea of Vine and Anton and believe me when I say that I am already ready to get my hands on book 2.

- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21483114-the-arrangement

Scare Crow By Julie Hockley

You know what pisses me off? When I spend an entire novel, waiting for those good moments, only to have them when my kindle reads 96%, leaving the ending as my beginning. You know what hurts even more? When I have to admit that it made the story line and progression a tad brilliant and original and fueled my anticipation for a follow up.

I don't know what to do with myself now because I spent a year waiting on the release of this novel, only to have the first 90% filled with things I could care less about. I have never read a novel where the main characters managed to stay apart throughout the entirety of the novel, only to make the biggest ripples in the world of organized crime and when they finally do come together, you ask me to wait another year for the fireworks.

You know what I love though? When I feel like my opinions were heard and taken into consideration; even if they weren't. After reading this novel and my review of 'Crow's Row' (http://litjungle.blogspot.com/2013/07/crows-row-by-julie-hockley.html), I felt like Mrs. Hockley, read my review and gave me everything I requested. There was dual POV, former love interest, a clearer understanding of Spider and Carly; more depth, interest and realistic adaptations of the underworld and even Cam seemed more like the leader of all things deemed organized crime. It was perfectly imperfect and I have no idea how she gave me everything I asked for but still kept me longing.

I know which Cameron I like and I hope he's here to stay. He was confident, grounded, cocky, ruthless, calculating and everything I would come to expect of his role. He was the perfect criminal and I love that we got to know him better, which in turn, helped us to decipher the puzzles that are Spider and Carly.

Emmy. Sighz. I don't know what to do with this chick! One minute I am rooting and campaigning for her and the next all I can see is the naive saint, trying to save everyone and slowly killing herself in the process. She however, had her moments and I loved her business acumen. She was her father's child when she needed to broker a deal.

There continued to be ridiculously fake situations and solutions but it's a work of fiction and I have decided to give it some slack. It bothers me but I can live with it.

The characters of  Emily and Cameron were strengthened, especially as individuals. I can imagine that the next book will be filled with tons of upset but I am anticipating the logic for solving all these problems. I wanna see their work as a team.

While you read this novel, you will be annoyed and questioning the relevance of all the business talk. It literally took me finishing this novel and then analyzing it as a whole to understand and appreciate the creative concepts. Some of you might never even agree. There is no sex and romantic fallacies. There is hardcore scheming and puzzle solving, as everyone finds their footing and places, behind the line in the sand.

While I have high hopes for the upcoming the novel, I wouldn't be surprised if many didn't agree or like this one, especially with the wait. It's one of those novels that your either gonna like or dislike. I liked it after I sat with it for a while and though it has it's faults; prospective ends, answered questions and seeing all I wanted from book 1, made me overlook these faults in hope of a superb ending.

- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21898444-scare-crow

Otherwise Unharmed By Shay Savage

I am having a dilemma here, because while I am mad at myself that I had this novel from December and didn't read it until now, I am also glad that I didn't because I would have been missing Evan more than I am now. I don't know how the world of book boyfriends/mafia hitmen are going to survive without Mr. Arden.

I've loved Evan Arden since the first time I met him in the Arizona desert on his porch with Odin. Eventually, I got to like the whole series, even 'Uncockblockable', that wasn't told from his POV. He is one of those characters that remain true to themselves and reel you in with their personality, wit and charm if he ever displays it. He is rough, not just around the edges, but he's also fiercely loyal and his paranoia is what helped to drive the action and suspense of this story.

This series is taken from Evan's POV, so we spend most of the time in his crazy brain and Lia didn't show herself again until the end of 'Otherwise Occupied', so it's safe to say that this novel was the most time we ever spent with her character, including the time in the desert, and even though her appearances were few, I can truly say I like them as a couple. To some, it might look like insta-love but there's more to them than that and I believe they have the perfect balance. I can honestly see her centering him when he starts to go crazy.

She is the complete opposite of every thing in this world but I like that. It's different and a much more realistic approach as oppose to the usual of love pushing them to the dark side. She hated it there and that was fine.

This novel was more action than romance and even the romance at times felt like low key action. Still, I believe it because Evan is intense and crazy so it tied in perfectly with the PTSD riddled hitman who is fresh from spraying his neighbourhood park with bullets.

We got some more on his time spent in the marines and as a POW but the present action was just as intense and nail biting. I was hanging on to every word, especially in the end and I could actually feel myself getting warm from being nervous of the outcome.

There is a death in this novel that might rock a few. He will be missed and Freyja won't ever take his place. There is something about him that even though he couldn't speak, he added a necessary element that bonded both Lia and Evan.

I got to see a different side to Rinaldo, as well as, his relationship with Evan. I like the respect Evan had for him and how no matter his problems and beefs, he never once forgot his military training. We also got some more on him before, during and after his tenure in the Marine's.

Yes, the sex isn't sweet. It's rough, raw and raunchy. He doesn't mince his words and Lia seems to love that line between punishing and loving. I have to admit though, Evan makes you want to thread the line :)

There are so many points, that I would love to highlight, as I have no problem ripping this book page by page to discuss every single move. It's rough, action filled and kept a balance through all the different emotions and situations. I could watch this man hunt and catch his prey all day without ever getting bored. I will miss this story something fierce but I am glad I got to experience Evan Arden and I am really hoping for a future novella update. *hint**hint* ;)

- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19193057-otherwise-unharmed

The Beast By Jaden Wilkes

*crickets* ... What was that? o.O

I just read that? Really. I just did. I want my day and a half back. The blurb was promising, the beginning was perfectly balanced with history and present and then they met and it all went down the crapper and never came back.

I don't mind reading a book about depraved sociopaths but the time frame, events and epilogue was ridiculous! It was unrealistic, unbelievable and just plain bad. The thing is, I think I could actually like this author because of her sense of humor but I just can't get behind this story as a complete body of work.

The time frame of the story itself is let's say a week because 5 days sounds really bad. The epilogue ... I don't even know how much time later than was. Dimitri, the most used Russian name in literature, is a coward who kept running until his "girlfriend" and I say this loosely, helped him exact revenge. A revenge that I expected to contain much more build up and execution.

This novel is an attempt at erotica masked as a mob themed romance. Columbia is more of a criminal than all the vile men in this novel, Sergei included, because I don't know how hard it is to find a wealthy recluse if you really want him dead and what Russian Bratva enforcer hides away and literally plays with his wounds for years, then run when his enemies get close? You feel safe Columbia? I beg you to reconsider! Also, where is the face off scene where you get closure and real information as to what happened to make your friend literally light you on fire?? o.O

I won't even knock the insta-love, lust and everything else but make me believe it. These two could be the next Bonnie and Clyde but the conviction and delivery weren't up to standard. It was rushed and quite frankly annoying because it started off so well. With that ending also I can't understand all the queue of other novels in this series because it seemed like that was a wrap.

The sex had BDSM elements but I wasn't interested. They weren't memorable or even sensual. Quite plain actually for a couple with an asphyxia fetish. Dimitri was quite vocal in his sexual needs but it still wasn't anything to write home about. The fact that they only knew each other a day didn't help either.

There is a scene in this novel where Dimitri tries to explain an emotion to Columbia and he says that he might struggle to explain because his English isn't good. Listen here people! The man says one word in Russian throughout this entire novel and it's .... *drum roll please* ... Bratva -_-

His English is better than most of the people I know and my first language is English. Not even a few broken sentences were placed to show his struggle and I initially thought that was fine because he did explain earlier that he had speech experts to help him in the past but then all of a sudden all that is forgotten as he explains himself in plain as day English. See what I mean? You have got to make me believe it Jaden!

There are a few elements that did it for me though, like the fact that it was based in Canada. It's always good to leave the USA scene and I personally love Canada. It's one of my dream countries to live out my last days so I loved the time spent here. I've never been, so I can't confirm, but I loved the few culture details and hope they were accurate.

I like the Columbia we got in the beginning who was the embodiment of an environmental activist regardless of her motives; the Dimitri before he was the literal "Beast" and even after when his paranoia was at it's prime. His concierge, who seems to be without a name, reminds me of an English butler and I wish we got to spend some more time with him because I love me some English butlers and he seems like a loyal, possibly hilarious one, if only we got the time.

I will admit to liking this story in the beginning but it fell away as soon as they met and kept the same trajectory to the end. The chapters became repetitive, conversation was less and because we spent more time in both of their minds we had to read them recount the same sex scenes we read in the chapter before. It was rushed, heavily based with sex and the dark and twisted wasn't really dark and twisted. Their minds are crazy but their actions left me bored :(

- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21474143-the-beast