• The Professional: Part 1

  • The Game Maker, Book 1
  • By: Kresley Cole
  • Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis
  • Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,525 ratings)

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The Professional: Part 1  By  cover art

The Professional: Part 1

By: Kresley Cole
Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis
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Publisher's summary

From number-one New York Times best-selling author Kresley Cole comes The Professional - the first scorching installment in her Game Maker series, an erotica collection that has listeners asking: How hot is too hot?

He makes the rules….

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, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well - on his own wicked terms.

Rules are made to be broken….

PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.

Are you ready to play?

Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy's reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest - and most forbidden - fantasies can come true...

©2013 Kresley Cole (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Professional: Part 1

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,008
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  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    933
  • 4 Stars
    280
  • 3 Stars
    113
  • 2 Stars
    45
  • 1 Stars
    38

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty darned good

The story was a little unbelievable, but then I I don't look for realism in my books...so I'm really quite ok with that!
My only issue is that Russian accent Kimberly Alexis used...it didn't seem right to me all the time (too many liquid U sounds, not enough K sounds) but that really is a very small thing. Overall great job all around!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Pro was decent

The narrator did a great job. The story was interesting. It will be interesting see what happens.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Half a book!!

I would have liked the book better if it had not ended prematurely, what a letdown to be left hanging. I should have know better since it was a 4 hour book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Russian Mafia So In PNR So Yesterday

Sorry I still like pnr but you know there really isn't a lot more to say in that genre. Now give me a hard body Russian mafia bad boy!! I got hooked reading Her Russian Protector series by Roxie Rivera and WOW. This book by Kresley Cole was FANTASTIC. I was a little bummed by the three part to one book thing. I hope she makes a series out of this but not in chaplets, it costs us the listeners more and for no real reason. I loved the H/h and the narrator was great.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story! I was hooked write away.

If you could sum up The Professional: Part 1 in three words, what would they be?

Steamy! Interesting storyline!

What does Kimberly Alexis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She does an amazing job with the accents and keeping you interested in listening.

If you could rename The Professional: Part 1, what would you call it?

The Siberian!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Really good part 1 of 3 :D

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good start to the trilogy. I liked Natalie and thought she was a pretty good heroine. Sevastyan is a bit of a mystery but seems like a promising hero. Sevastyan is a bit dominant and so far there's been some light BDSM type sexual activity (some spanking and such).

Natalie is a college student with 3 jobs. She has friends but keeps too busy for a man. Natalie is adopted and after her adoptive father died 6 years ago, Natalie has felt the need to find her birth family. She knows she's Russian and has learned the language and a lot about the country, now she just has to find her family. She hired a man to track down her family by DNA and thought he was on to something until suddenly she couldn't get in contact with the guy any more.

Sevastyan is an enforcer in the Russian mob. Natalie's father took him in when he was only 13 and living on the streets. Sevastyan has great respect and love for her father and went to America to find Natalie, ascertain if she's actually who they think she is and make sure she's safe. Unfortunately for Sevastyan, he's felt an attraction and pull to Natalie from the beginning and the closer her gets the stronger the pull is.

Natalie sees Sevastyan in a bar and tries to approach him but he seems uninterested after some mixed signals that confused Natalie. She goes home and can't help thinking about him which leads her to doing naughty things to herself. Unfortunately she's startled out of them just before she reaches climax because Sevastyan is watching her after somehow breaking in to her apartment. This leads to him explaining that she's the daughter of a rich man in Russia and some of his enemies are out to hurt her so he has to take her to Russia for her safety. She isn't too thrilled about this so Sevastyan kidnaps her, giving her no choice about the matter. There's a definite attraction between Sevastyan and Natalie but Sevastyan seems to go hot and cold which confuses the hell our of Natalie but she wants to try to find a way to get the hot because she immensely enjoyed a "hot" session they have on the plane while flying over to Russia. Once they get to Russia however, Sevastyan mostly runs cold and stays away from Natalie most of the time. Natalie does meet her father though and starts to get to know and like him. Although his Russian mobbness rather freaked her out at first, once she started to realize how things work in Russia, things started being a little bit easier to accept and her father became easier to like. Natalie is also introduced to a distant cousin, Philippe, who is handsome and flirty but Natalie doesn't feel any attraction for him. Natalie is settled in and trying to figure out her new life (and wondering when the danger will pass) when the story ends.

Since this is part 1 of 3, obviously this ends in a cliffhanger. I really liked part one and am firmly entrenched in the story so I'll be starting part 2 immediately. I'd recommend this story.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • T
  • 06-22-14

Entertaining But Short - Serial Not a Series

I am a fan of Kresley's Immortal After Dark Series and I LOVE The Arcana Chronicles so I very much recommend this author.

The Professional is an entertaining story but very short. At about 4 hours long it feels more like a serial that ends in the middle of a chapter instead of a series with a cliff hanger. If you add up all the parts you will end up with one book that reminds me of a monthly Harlequin/Silhouette romance.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Could not put it down

Where does The Professional: Part 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my FAVORITES!

What did you like best about this story?

The steamy hot characters and how humor was throughout story. I love Kresley's writing style with sarcasm infused throughout!

What about Kimberly Alexis’s performance did you like?

She did a great male Russian and didn't over do the dramatics in the "naughty" scenes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I literally would not answer the phone or turn on the tv just so I could listen! I usually only listen during my long drives for work. But I could not put this down and got through all 3 in 2 days.

Any additional comments?

HOT AND STEAMY!!! I can't wait for more stories including these characters. I have read all of Kresley's sci-fi books from the Immortals series, and this one is right up there as one of my favorites! I don't even care I had to buy 3 little books. WELL WORTH IT!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Had me a PLAY…

What made the experience of listening to The Professional: Part 1 the most enjoyable?

First-time audible listener. This book pulled at my heart and inner bad girl. The narrator was great at pulling me in and allowing me to see everything as if i was there. great book and great narrator

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Would not recommend this series

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Any one into erotica without much of a plot. "Book 1" has a plot and a promising storyline that quickly disappears is in "book 2".

What was most disappointing about Kresley Cole’s story?

Don't waste your credits or cash on an incomplete book. This feels like a money grab on the part of whoever puts them on audible. Why get only 1 credit when we can charge 3+ per book by breaking it up. I put "book" because this is not a complete book. This is just chapters 1-19* of a book. When I buy a book I expect a complete book not a serialized story that requires a new credit when you hit a new plot point. The next book picks up at chapter 20* and continues from there. I like the IAD series and love Poison Princess for its interesting story and good characters but this one feels like she just wrote it in a weekend.

*I am not completely certain about the chapter numbers but you get the idea

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was good with the material given. Her Russian accent sounds a little silly when she speaks it for more than a few sentences but overall she does a good job

What character would you cut from The Professional: Part 1?

I don't think it really matters if anyone is cut.

Any additional comments?

Once again I urge you not to waste your credits or cash on an incomplete book.

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