Her Ruthless Russian

Karev Brothers, Volume 1

By: Leslie North

Narrated by: D. C. Cole

Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Born into a Russian Mafia family, Vlad Karev is no stranger to violence...but this time it's personal. Someone has murdered his father and Vlad can't rest until he finds the killer. When the trail leads to an art gallery, Vlad wants to dig deeper, but he needs help from the owner's daughter. The pretty redhead is far too innocent for a man like Vlad, but he'll do what it takes to get the information he needs. His obligations are to the family, even if that means using the fiery woman.

Madison O'Connor works hard to keep her family's gallery going, although secretly she has little interest in art. But when she discovers her father's been laundering money for the Russian Mafia, she'll do everything she can to keep him out of jail. She hates to lie, but she has a plan...seduce the Russian bad boy to learn the mob's secrets. Never mind his dangerous exterior or icy blue eyes, Madison's going to get her family free of the mob, even if she has to use Vlad Karev to do it. As the killer gets closer, so do Vlad and Madison. But is their connection just the means to an end, or could their romance be real?

©2017 Relay Publishing (P)2017 Relay Publishing

Her ruthless Russian

Vlad is suspicious of everyone, of course being a member of the mob can do that to you. His current mission is to find out if Maddison or her father killed his father. But he can't resist her. And of course things get really crazy trying to find a traitor. Great narration by D.C. Cole

Worth Listening To More Than Once.

Any additional comments?

Would you listen to Her Ruthless Russian again? Why?
As my headline indicates, I would listen to this again. Our narrator does a great job of bringing this book to life. He had me so sucked into the story that I hated having to turn the car off.

What did you like best about this story?
I loved the tension that I could feeling coming through my car speakers. Both characters feel that they are right about the other but that doesn't stop other feelings from coming to the forefront. It mixes well with the mystery and suspense that surrounds Vlad's family. A great thing about listening to a story is that you get a different perspective about the characters.

Have you listened to any of D. C. Cole’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have listened to one other of Mr. Cole's performances. It's hard to compare the two since the stories are different. Plus I don't feel that it's fair to either author to make any comparisons. The better question would be if I would listen to him again and that answer would be yes. He makes any commute so much more pleasurable and helps you get lost into the story he is telling.

Any additional comments?
This was a great way to start this series. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't see that there's another audiobook for the Karev Brothers but that won't stop me from seeing what these brothers have in store for me. Maybe by the time I get some more books read Maxim's story will be out than I have two books to enjoy during my commute. Also love me some romance when it's mixed with mystery and suspense in any form. Great job by both the author and the narrator.

I voluntarily reviewed an Audiobook copy of this book.

Diamonds are forever?

I love Leslie North, and this Russian mafia book was a good short listen. This is the first in a new series having us meet Vlad and Madison(Maddie). The two are caught up in a situation that neither knows the entire extent of, what role each has, but we do have some diamonds! Love having couples that have some fire between them. The foreplay of the banter between the two is so much fun. Leslie North has a wonderful way of writing short books with such well developed characters, it makes it a pleasure to listen to. We have met Vlad's brothers and the book has definitely set us up for book two, am definitely looking forward to that.

One of my favorites, DC Cole is the narrator of this book. The man can read anything, but his bad boy mafia voice is perfect for this book. Hoping Leslie North keeps him to read the series, it will be a definite pleasure.

The voice pulls you in

The read has a smooth, sexy voice thats draws you in in all aspects of the story. Her books are well written and with his voice, you don't want to stop.

Vlad and Maddie!

Wow the sparks a Russian man and Irish woman can ignite are crazy hot. I love this one. I can't wait to read more about the other brothers. The story has an epilogue but there is a mystery within the storyline that has yet to be solved but not a cliffhanger per se. Would recommend. DC Cole did great!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
AudiobookObsession
AudiobooksUnleashed

Perfect!

Loved the storyline, loved the narration! Leslie North has all it takes to write a hot romance and D.C. Cole has the voice to make it perfect.

Swoony!!!

Any additional comments?

This was my first book by Leslie North and I can't wait to read more by her!!! This was a fairly short story but Ms. North packs so much into this book from the mystery of Vlad's father's death to the smouldering chemistry between Vlad and Maddie. I was so immersed in this story that it was over way too soon!!!! The narrative was flawless and fast paced! I can't wait to read more in this series ! Maybe about Vlad's brothers!! I do love myself a hot and sexy Russian!!!

I am a huge fan of DC Cole's narration and I melted into a puddle with his mafiaso voice!!!! Such a thrill to listen to him!!

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author

Great Start to New Series

It is always a pleasure to listen to anything written by Leslie North. This was a great beginning to a new series. It was probably one of my favorite books written by her.

Narration brought the story to life. D. C. Cole did a great job narrating this story.

The characters were interesting and captivating. The story is fairly short but it was perfect. The story was well written and the characters well developed. The conclusion was really good. No cliffhangers. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Instant Attraction

Vlad is the son of a Russian Mafia Boss. He's one of three brothers but is the only one working for the "family firm". When his father is murdered he takes over the reins of the business and launches an investigation into who is responsible for the brutal murder of his father.

Madison works in an art gallery owned by her parents. They have foolishly borrowed money from Vlad's father and the Mafia now have an interest in the gallery. Madison did not know about the deal until it was too late to stop it.

Vlad's investigation leads him to the gallery and they meet. They both feel an instant attraction to each other but both have totally different agendas. The chemistry between Vlad and Madison is really good and the verbal sparing is good too.

This was a really good short story which is by no means finished as it clearly states this is book one. But there is a lot going on in this book, even though it is short, it grabs your attention from the beginning and holds it to the end. Who to trust, who is the killer and what about Madison's friend the FBI agent? I for one was left feeling that I now must listen to the next book in the series.

I have tried not to give any "spoilers" as I hate them, so I have left a lot out of this review, but what I will say is that the writing style of Leslie North and the delivery of the story by D C Cole were superb.


I was given a free copy of this book but I am voluntarily writing this review.

DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING RUTHLESS OR DARK MAFIA...

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook through Audiobook Boom at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

Madison now runs her family's art gallery and finds out her father used Mafia funding so the gallery is obligated to launder money. She hopes to find useful information to trade for releasing the family's obligation. Vlad is the youngest son of the murdered Karev Boss. His goal is to find the killer so he's investigating everyone, including Maddie.

There's nothing ruthless in Vlad's actions. He threatens and implies. There are several situations that cause him to question Maddie's innocence but he is quick to believe her after no more than an argument (or very hot sex). He's very loyal to the family business initially but changes his tune at the end.

My review isn't based on whether it's ruthless enough, but on whether it's entertaining. I know it's hard to fit a complete story in 3-1/2 hours, but there could have been more grit substituted for some of the sap. It's okay that Vlad isn't ruthless if only I could have seen him bad-ass. I settled for hot and sexy, though!

DC Cole took the book up a notch. He can pull off sexy AND bad-ass just with his voice. His name makes it an automatic listen.

Thumbs Up, but let's get a bit harder next time.