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A review by poisonivy70
Nikolai by Roxie Rivera
4.0
The Premise
The fourth book in Ms. Rivera’s Her Russian Protector Series, features Vivian, a young woman who almost died when she was a teenager. Her father, a career criminal who always cared more for himself than anyone else, used Vivian in a supposed robbery and she was shot for her troubles. She remembered little of that night, but it did turn her life around and she went to live with her grandparents, staying on the straight and narrow. Nikolai saved her that night, and he was in her live from then on. She's the bright light in his dark world and the only thing that keeps him from sliding deeper into a life of crime and violence—a mobbed-up life he can't escape no matter how hard he tries.
The Good
This story is the one I had been waiting for - the first three books hinted at Nikolai’s childhood trauma, but this one really faced it, along with his life in the mob. When Vivian is taken from Nikolai and almost sold as a human slave, the tension was believable and I wasn’t sure how far the story would go for a little while. The pacing was well done and the genuine, realistic angst that Nikolai had in getting romantically involved with Vivian gave an emotional weight to this entry in the series.
Bonus, I appreciated that the story wasn’t miraculously cleaned up. Nikolai and Vivi’s obstacles didn’t just go away for convenience, but Vivi had to truly show how she loved Nikolai - the good, the bad and everything in between. I’m a complete sucker for those types of stories. Vivi is a virgin and the sexual tension built and built until I was just on the edge, waiting for them to finally get together.
The Okay
The love scenes still were very similar to each other, much like the rest of the series - the only drawback to reading all of these books back-to-back.
The Bottom Line
Still crackalicious and arguably the best book in this series, I really enjoyed Nikolai and Vivi’s story.
The fourth book in Ms. Rivera’s Her Russian Protector Series, features Vivian, a young woman who almost died when she was a teenager. Her father, a career criminal who always cared more for himself than anyone else, used Vivian in a supposed robbery and she was shot for her troubles. She remembered little of that night, but it did turn her life around and she went to live with her grandparents, staying on the straight and narrow. Nikolai saved her that night, and he was in her live from then on. She's the bright light in his dark world and the only thing that keeps him from sliding deeper into a life of crime and violence—a mobbed-up life he can't escape no matter how hard he tries.
The Good
This story is the one I had been waiting for - the first three books hinted at Nikolai’s childhood trauma, but this one really faced it, along with his life in the mob. When Vivian is taken from Nikolai and almost sold as a human slave, the tension was believable and I wasn’t sure how far the story would go for a little while. The pacing was well done and the genuine, realistic angst that Nikolai had in getting romantically involved with Vivian gave an emotional weight to this entry in the series.
Bonus, I appreciated that the story wasn’t miraculously cleaned up. Nikolai and Vivi’s obstacles didn’t just go away for convenience, but Vivi had to truly show how she loved Nikolai - the good, the bad and everything in between. I’m a complete sucker for those types of stories. Vivi is a virgin and the sexual tension built and built until I was just on the edge, waiting for them to finally get together.
The Okay
The love scenes still were very similar to each other, much like the rest of the series - the only drawback to reading all of these books back-to-back.
The Bottom Line
Still crackalicious and arguably the best book in this series, I really enjoyed Nikolai and Vivi’s story.