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cgastorga's review against another edition
5.0
Yes! Finally. Do you know how long I have been waiting for this book? I'm on a book budget for the month and did not hesitate to buy this one.
Kostya has been there for everyone to help them. He's the silent deadly kind of man that just oozes alphaness. He's scary and I just swoon over him. Holly is brought into this dangerous world and sees underneath Kostya's scariness.
Kostya has been there for everyone to help them. He's the silent deadly kind of man that just oozes alphaness. He's scary and I just swoon over him. Holly is brought into this dangerous world and sees underneath Kostya's scariness.
jigsawgirl's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
Kostya was a long time coming. I hope Roxie Rivera is doing well and everything is moving in a positive direction for her. I didn't mind waiting for Kostya to be released.
As the "cleaner" for Nikolai and Maksim, Kostya was always intriguing, but he seemed more forbidding in previous books. The fact that he had his "little spiders", made him seem more approachable, like he had more of a sense of humanity. Kostya was more than a killer and a cleaner.
Holly saw something in Kostya that made her not mind the suspicions she had about his business activities. Even when her suspicions were confirmed, she had no major problem with the work Kostya did for the family.
Kostya and Holly had more in common than either could imagine. When the secrets begin to unfold, Holly's life took a turn in a direction she could never have anticipated. Kostya was determined to do everything in his power to keep the woman he loved safe and alive. How successful would he ultimately be at that particular duty?
The secrets in this book ended up encompassing almost the entire family; including the little spiders, Holly's coworkers, her Mom, and even a crossover to the Connelly clan.
There was a more than sufficient amount of suspense, danger, intrigue, action, and mystery. I did think the writer was light on the romance and steamy scenes as compared to previous books, but it has been a while since I read any of them.
This book can be read as a standalone. I read it without reading any of the previous books as a refresher with no problem. Reading Kostya made me want to go back and read all of the other books again. I do think they were better.
I admit that I am terribly greedy. After waiting so long for Kostya, this would have been a 5 star book for me had there been an epilogue. The ending, after all the climactic scenes, was a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was still a decent book. I just ended up wanting more.
Kostya was a long time coming. I hope Roxie Rivera is doing well and everything is moving in a positive direction for her. I didn't mind waiting for Kostya to be released.
As the "cleaner" for Nikolai and Maksim, Kostya was always intriguing, but he seemed more forbidding in previous books. The fact that he had his "little spiders", made him seem more approachable, like he had more of a sense of humanity. Kostya was more than a killer and a cleaner.
Holly saw something in Kostya that made her not mind the suspicions she had about his business activities. Even when her suspicions were confirmed, she had no major problem with the work Kostya did for the family.
Kostya and Holly had more in common than either could imagine. When the secrets begin to unfold, Holly's life took a turn in a direction she could never have anticipated. Kostya was determined to do everything in his power to keep the woman he loved safe and alive. How successful would he ultimately be at that particular duty?
The secrets in this book ended up encompassing almost the entire family; including the little spiders, Holly's coworkers, her Mom, and even a crossover to the Connelly clan.
There was a more than sufficient amount of suspense, danger, intrigue, action, and mystery. I did think the writer was light on the romance and steamy scenes as compared to previous books, but it has been a while since I read any of them.
This book can be read as a standalone. I read it without reading any of the previous books as a refresher with no problem. Reading Kostya made me want to go back and read all of the other books again. I do think they were better.
I admit that I am terribly greedy. After waiting so long for Kostya, this would have been a 5 star book for me had there been an epilogue. The ending, after all the climactic scenes, was a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was still a decent book. I just ended up wanting more.
ireadit13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
africreole's review against another edition
5.0
What a tangled web of secrets we weave!
Everyone has secrets to hide. This story was so good. I could not put it down, and I did not want it to end. It's obvious that Roxie Rivera has not lost her creative writing touch after being gone for sooooo long. I just love how she weaves a story and Kostya did not disappoint. She shows how the love of family, even among made men, and woman in this story, will do anything to protect the ones they love. I find it how ironic that Kostya and Holly fell in love despite the information they just found out about their parents' involvement in the Russian underworld. Even Lana's father had a tie into their past.
This story was so heartbreaking about how even made men in the Russian Mafia need love too. It's just a human longing to love and be loved by someone. Kostya's mind was all in a jumble because he hated bringing his life into Holly's but in the end, love won out for the both of them. Even Savannah could not sway Holly out of love for Kostya. But he knew he wanted a chance with Holly and needed to get out of the wet work he was so good at. I wonder who will take his place? Will it be one of his little spiders, will it be Boychenko? I also see a brewing romance between Savvy and Gabe, and possibly another romance brewing between Atenon and Nisha. I can't wait to find out. Come on Roxie, your dedicated and d patient readers have missed you so much, and we can't wait for your future books. Welcome back and congratulations on a publication well done.
Everyone has secrets to hide. This story was so good. I could not put it down, and I did not want it to end. It's obvious that Roxie Rivera has not lost her creative writing touch after being gone for sooooo long. I just love how she weaves a story and Kostya did not disappoint. She shows how the love of family, even among made men, and woman in this story, will do anything to protect the ones they love. I find it how ironic that Kostya and Holly fell in love despite the information they just found out about their parents' involvement in the Russian underworld. Even Lana's father had a tie into their past.
This story was so heartbreaking about how even made men in the Russian Mafia need love too. It's just a human longing to love and be loved by someone. Kostya's mind was all in a jumble because he hated bringing his life into Holly's but in the end, love won out for the both of them. Even Savannah could not sway Holly out of love for Kostya. But he knew he wanted a chance with Holly and needed to get out of the wet work he was so good at. I wonder who will take his place? Will it be one of his little spiders, will it be Boychenko? I also see a brewing romance between Savvy and Gabe, and possibly another romance brewing between Atenon and Nisha. I can't wait to find out. Come on Roxie, your dedicated and d patient readers have missed you so much, and we can't wait for your future books. Welcome back and congratulations on a publication well done.
antoinetteo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
summermusings's review against another edition
4.0
Glad this author and series are back!
Kostya's story was definitely with the wait. Pretty sure I'll be rereading the entire series and then this book again. It definitely overlaps with some of the other books as expected. That is something I haven't come across with any other authors. Roxie managed to write multiple books in at least two different series that all occur in the same time frame including the same event told from and experienced by different characters. So good.
Kostya's story was definitely with the wait. Pretty sure I'll be rereading the entire series and then this book again. It definitely overlaps with some of the other books as expected. That is something I haven't come across with any other authors. Roxie managed to write multiple books in at least two different series that all occur in the same time frame including the same event told from and experienced by different characters. So good.
the_immortal_library's review against another edition
5.0
Omg what a tangled web these Russians weave! As soon as I got an email that the book was out I bought it
. I love Roxie Rivera’s writing the story are cute and at times intense and gruesome. This one is definitely my favorite after Yuri.
. I love Roxie Rivera’s writing the story are cute and at times intense and gruesome. This one is definitely my favorite after Yuri.
stephanie_says's review against another edition
4.0
Holy freaking complex story.
I wasn’t all that interested in reading Kostya when it finally released. Mostly because I couldn’t wrap my brain around so much happening in the first chapter. But I’m glad I pushed through this time cuz holy crap. Kostya himself is already such a complex and riveting H and I knew his backstory would be insane but I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be. Then tie it in with Holly and her as the h… I thought it was straight forward and w already knew the secrets she would find out. Boy was I wrong.
All that to say their story was so well woven together. Although heads up there are a lot of editing issues, enough to make you think nobody proofread it. BUT overall worth the read and great continuation of our beloved Russian Protectors. Also I’m super glad Kostya/Holly’s story doesn’t bear any resemblance to any of the other characters stories nor it is cut short like some others (eh hem like Alexei & Shay. We need way more of their actual relationship).
Anyway solid 4
I wasn’t all that interested in reading Kostya when it finally released. Mostly because I couldn’t wrap my brain around so much happening in the first chapter. But I’m glad I pushed through this time cuz holy crap. Kostya himself is already such a complex and riveting H and I knew his backstory would be insane but I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be. Then tie it in with Holly and her as the h… I thought it was straight forward and w already knew the secrets she would find out. Boy was I wrong.
All that to say their story was so well woven together. Although heads up there are a lot of editing issues, enough to make you think nobody proofread it. BUT overall worth the read and great continuation of our beloved Russian Protectors. Also I’m super glad Kostya/Holly’s story doesn’t bear any resemblance to any of the other characters stories nor it is cut short like some others (eh hem like Alexei & Shay. We need way more of their actual relationship).
Anyway solid 4
stephanie_says's review
4.0
Holy freaking complex story.
I wasn’t all that interested in reading Kostya when it finally released. Mostly because I couldn’t wrap my brain around so much happening in the first chapter. But I’m glad I pushed through this time cuz holy crap. Kostya himself is already such a complex and riveting H and I knew his backstory would be insane but I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be. Then tie it in with Holly and her as the h… I thought it was straight forward and w already knew the secrets she would find out. Boy was I wrong.
All that to say their story was so well woven together. Although heads up there are a lot of editing issues, enough to make you think nobody proofread it. BUT overall worth the read and great continuation of our beloved Russian Protectors. Also I’m super glad Kostya/Holly’s story doesn’t bear any resemblance to any of the other characters stories nor it is cut short like some others (eh hem like Alexei & Shay. We need way more of their actual relationship).
Anyway solid 4
I wasn’t all that interested in reading Kostya when it finally released. Mostly because I couldn’t wrap my brain around so much happening in the first chapter. But I’m glad I pushed through this time cuz holy crap. Kostya himself is already such a complex and riveting H and I knew his backstory would be insane but I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be. Then tie it in with Holly and her as the h… I thought it was straight forward and w already knew the secrets she would find out. Boy was I wrong.
All that to say their story was so well woven together. Although heads up there are a lot of editing issues, enough to make you think nobody proofread it. BUT overall worth the read and great continuation of our beloved Russian Protectors. Also I’m super glad Kostya/Holly’s story doesn’t bear any resemblance to any of the other characters stories nor it is cut short like some others (eh hem like Alexei & Shay. We need way more of their actual relationship).
Anyway solid 4