Maggie Cole

"No names. No personal details. No face to etch into my mind. Just him, me, and an expensive silk tie. What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas. He warns me he’s full of danger. I never see that side of him. All I experience is his Russian accent, delicious scent, and touch that lights me on fire. One incredible night turns into two. Then we go our separate ways. But fate doesn't keep us apart. When I run into my stranger back in Chicago, I know it’s him, even if I’ve never seen his icy blue eyes before. Our craving is hotter than Vegas." --Amazon.

Ruthless Stranger

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
 


  Since I woke up in Vegas without you, I’ve been falling apart. You brought me to life, and without you, I’m wilting away again.



  First Impressions

I will be honest I have waited too long to read these books, and I was first introduced to this book by Jenn @ The Book Refuge, and she has RAVED about this series and I just knew that I needed to try these books out. I haven’t been reading much mafia lately and I have been wanting to read this author and I felt like this was the perfect place to start and the tropes in this one I was definitely in the right mood for. And I can definitely see why these books are so well loved though, and I was so fascinated with this type of mafia read, because they aren’t your typical mafia romance. I was fascinated by this family of brothers that we are introduced to and I just wanted to delve more into their stories and see the intrigue behind them. I really found the romance to be packed with some drama, sexy sensuality but also plenty of feels. If you are wanting to delve into mafia, this is actually a great beginner book as well.


  Summary

Aspen has just gotten divorced after 20 years of marriage and when she learned that her husband had been using her money and also been cheating on her, she knew she was done. And she is celebrating in Vegas with her friends and then she meets her ruthless stranger. Maksim is with his brothers celebrating an upcoming marriage, but when he is in the bar and overhears the type of night and distraction that Aspen is looking for, he knows he is just the man to give it to her. He knows she is the type of woman that is way out of his league but wants to indulge in this one night with her. Maksim and Aspen spend two passionate nights together exploring their desires with each other. Some weeks following, it shocks them both when they find that they will be working on a project together and that they both live in the same city. Maksim knows that he won’t be able to let go of Aspen, he is determined to be fully honest with her about his past and their current situation with her. While Aspen and Maksim work on building their relationship and exploring what they are capable of, they also discover secrets and strengths and are pushed to the limits but also find a beautiful love worth fighting for…


  The problem with trust is, once it’s broken, it’s hard to repair. Anything that threatens it again can take the fracture and break it in two, even if the truth isn’t what you perceive.



  What I Loved

I absolutely adored this book so much, and even though it didn’t quite make it to the five-star mark, I honestly loved so much of this story and most importantly this solid romance that just worked so well for me. It is quite a page-turner, so you will easily be drawn into the story very quickly. It’s so easy to be invested in their relationship and you definitely will be on the sidelines cheering them on in finding their HEA. I really enjoyed the aspects of the mafia world that we are introduced to.. It’s not your typical mafia setup, as the brothers here, were forced into the life. They worry about keeping the women they love safe, but they have such a strong bond as brothers and friends and always have each other’s backs. I loved the way that they work through the challenges that they face here, and it was so fascinating to see how this story set up the series. I was so intrigued by the cast of characters that we are introduced into. Now for the delicious part…the actual romance., I adored how quickly our couple comes together, they are “together” early on, that doesn’t mean they don’t have issues to work through, they definitely have pasts to work through. But I was so fascinated by the way in which this couple was able to work through their struggles and how connected they were in their relationship. I always really loved their ages, the heroine is in her late thirties and the hero is in his mid-forties, so not much of an age gap, I always get a kick out of more mature characters.

What I Struggled With
I did have an issue with this story that really affected my true enjoyment of the story, I wanted so much more from the conflict that rises between the couple. Honestly, I didn’t find it truly believable their issues that crop up and it felt like a ton of drama that wasn’t necessary. It almost felt like a filler being used almost. It probably won’t affect many ppl’s reading of this one, but it did just annoy me a bit haha


  Overall View

I found Ruthless Stranger to be a fascinating beginning, it contains a romance that is guaranteed to curl your toes and endear you completely to this pair and their love story!


  Without our past, we cannot have our future. It shapes us and determines what we will and will not tolerate going forward. We can never forget the past lessons, or they will be repeated in our future



  Trigger Warnings: 

Violence, Torture, Death

Milanna K

Maybe spoiler? **** I try not to do spoilers because I like reviews that convince me to read the series without giving much away. So, I’ll do my best not to do that.
First and foremost, I applaud the fantasy of the first encounter of the characters in this book. I thought it was really original and the spice was well done. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole of the whole series and read all ten books within 2 weeks. I don’t know that I’ll add them all to the app and review each individually, so my overall review of the series is that each story has such a unique perspective tying into one another and moving the timeline and plot along. Each character is unique and I enjoyed getting to know all of them. There were a couple books right in the middle where I often skimmed through the story just to keep it moving. They weren’t bad, just felt like fillers to keep things moving and in some places tying up loose ends. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole series and recommend to anyone that easily gets sucked into mafia romance 

Ruthless Stranger

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