The Professional by Kresley Cole

 

Meet the Professional.

Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr “The Siberian” Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss's long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Aleksandr will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.

 

He makes the rules.

Grad student Natalie Porter has barely recovered from her first encounter with the dark and breathtaking Siberian when he whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures.

 

In the game of obsession, two players are better than one. 

Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Aleksandr spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-rich in Paris, the two lovers tempt each other’s boundaries to discover whether their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies really can come true...

 

I’ve loved Kresley Cole’s paranormal romances but The Professional is my favorite Cole novel thus far. Seriously, how did I not know about The Game Maker Series before now?!?!?

 

So, The Professional really should come with a fan because this book will leave you feeling hot, hot, hot. Although buyer/reader beware: This is erotica. There is mild kinkery. There is BDSM.

 

Natalie Porter is a grad student whose search for her biological father—who happens to be a vor in the Russian mafiya—has led a mafiya enforcer to her front door—okay actually to her bathroom door while she was doing more than rub-a-dub-dubbing in the tub after he turns her down at a bar.

 

“Of all the men in the bar, you choose me to approach?” His English was very good, though heavily accented. “Are you looking for trouble?”

 

With a confidence I didn’t feel, I teasingly said, “Maybe I am.” I sounded breathy—I still hadn’t caught my breath since he first touched me. “Have I found it?”

 

He glanced down, seeming surprised that he was still holding my arm. He abruptly released me, growing angrier by the second. “No, little girl. You have not.” With a disgusted look, he turned away and stalked out.

 

I stared at the door, battling my bewilderment. What had just happened? I’d seen interest in his gaze, hadn’t I?

 

Yet he’d acted like a vampire who’d discovered I was a fucking sunbeam.

 

Aleksandr Sevastyan is an enforcer whose loyalty to his boss is steadfast although when he’s placed as Natalie’s bodyguard, he finds his limits tested. He’s attracted to her and she’s more than willing to enter into his kinky little world.

 

Okay, so I’m going to admit it: Aleksandr was one tantalizing Russian mobster. Is there some kind of form to fill out to get one just like him? If so, yes please! He’s an enforcer in the Russian mafiya, he exudes danger and I couldn’t get enough of him. He does everything to the extreme; there’s no half-way with him. It’s either 210% or none at all.

 

I liked Natalie, but I seriously have to question her ‘just go with’ attitude. I know this was a dom/sub relationship, but seriously, if someone was kidnapping me whilst I wore only a satin bathrobe, I would be putting up some sort of fight not rubbing myself against said man in a cornfield. I would have liked to have seen some fight in her. Also, if I just found out that I was being thrown into the world of the Russian mafiya I don’t think I would be so lackadaisical about it.

 

The chemistry and sexual tension in this book was out of this world. Apparently there’s a mob code of ethics that states if you sleep with the vor’s daughter, you marry the vor’s daughter and marriage isn’t something that Natalie wanted, so it was interesting to see the ways they came up with to sate their desires until they finally just gave in.

 

While there were steamy scenes and toe-curling moments, I found the BDSM, even though it touched on everything, to be mild.

 

While I devoured this book in mere hours, I would have liked to have seen a bit more thought put into the suspense aspect. I would have also have liked to see a bit more character development. If the book would have also included Aleksandr’s POV instead of just Natalie’s it would have rounded the book out more.

 

Overall, The Professional was a hot little number that I enjoyed sinking my teeth into and it was a fabulous way to kick of a new series and new genre.

 

Book Details

Title: The Professional
Game Maker Series Book 1

Author: Kresley Cole
Genre: Erotic Romance (Suspense)

Publisher: Pocket Books

ISBN: 978-1-4767-8501-1

Release Date--Print Edition:
The Professional was previously released as a 3 Part e-book serial
Format I Read: Mass Market Paperback

$7.99

Source: Publisher 

Rating: 4 Cups

Tweet