Dmitri Stavitsky and Gwen Peterson met and died at the height of the Cold War. Dmitri and Gwen are reapers: they harvest the souls of the newly dead in order for the souls to be sent to their proper destination, be it Heaven or Hell. Some people are chosen to become reapers because, although originally destined for Hell, they are seen as being deemed worth of salvation. Dmitri was KGB, and Gwen FBI; they were mortal enemies, they share a very dark past; and they still hate each other's guts. But fifty years later, they have no choice but to work together on a mission in order to find a reaper gone rogue, Patrick Ziegler; what he's out to do could have unimaginably disastrous consequences.
GRAVE VENGEANCE is the third book in theGrave series, and it can easily be read as a standalone. I fell in love with this series from the first book, and I had been awaiting with bated breath GRAVE VENGEANCE, which is about Dmitri, whose story I was dying to read. And to put it mildly, Lori Sjoberg does not disappoint. The reapers' world is a fascinating one, and with every instalment, new layers are added, even more metaphysical ones in this case. Characters from previous books make cameo appearances, and some even have important roles to play in this story. All the characters are very complex, but none more so than Dmitri, whose destiny has been linked with Gwen's for half a century, to their utter dismay.
GRAVE VENGEANCE is a terrifically exciting book, action- packed and very fast-paced. I find particularly fascinating that the three books are completely different even though in the same world. Both protagonists are totally unlike those from the previous books, and the story is as different. I also loved that Ms. Sjoberg researched thoroughly the Cold War era as well as the Russian language; Dmitri is unapologetically Russian, and he was a true Patriot just as Gwen was. The author is known for her especially strong female characters, and Gwen is no exception; she is everything a counterintelligence agent has to be, even taking into account how different things were in the sixties for women. Dmitri's background story is one of the most interesting I have ever seen, especially in a paranormal romance. Dmitri and Gwen are a fantastic pairing. Their story spans half a century and I think it was a stroke of genius from the author because everything that defines Gwen and Dmitri is connected with events of the era. I loved how their romance progressed; everything was believable, convincing, and never easy.
There are a few very ingenious plot twists, an ending I never expected and a few surprises as well! GRAVE VENGEANCE has exceeded my expectations; yet again, I cannot wait for the next book in this series!
Some men were nice to look at. Others, you couldnβt look
away from.
And then there was Dmitri Stavitsky.
He was taller than her, around six foot four, and had the
powerful
build of a gymnast. The shirt he wore did nothing to
conceal his
thick, corded arms or the broad expanse of his chest. His
thighs
strained against the confines of his jeans. He carried
himself with an
air of confidence that most men found intimidating and
most women
found irresistible. And even though Gwen despised him as
much as he
despised her, she had to admit he wore it well.
Gwen could feel his eyes moving over her while she drove,
and she
resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. βWhat?β
The passing streetlights played over the planes of his
face. He hadnβt
shaved in a day or two, and his jaw was shadowed with
stubble. It made
him look almost as dangerous as he was.
Almost.
Back in the day, heβd been one of the KGBβs top agents.
For nearly a
decade, he worked within the borders of the United
States, stealing
some of the countryβs most valuable secrets. What he
couldnβt steal he
usually destroyed with calculated and ruthless
efficiency. He killed
defectors before they could spill their secrets as well
as killing
anyone else deemed an enemy of the Soviet Union. The full
extent of
his treachery was never determined; heβd taken those
secrets to the
grave.
βYou cut your hair.β During the Cold War, he spoke with a
flawless
American accent to mask his true identity. The habit died
when the
Iron Curtain fell, and now his rich, deep voice contained
a blend of
both Russian and American, with the former growing more
pronounced
whenever he got pissed off.
Like now.
βSo nice of you to notice.β
One corner of his mouth twitched. βIt makes you look like
a boy.β
Bastard. Her grip tightened around the steering wheel.
βLike I give a
damn what you think.β
He laughed under his breath. βI think you do.β The smirk
on his face
vanished when she ground the gears. βCareful! It took me
two days to
rebuild the transmission.β
βSorry.β Not really. She totally meant to do that.
βThirdβs a little
sticky.β She held back a smile as she hooked a right onto
Alafaya
Boulevard.
Dmitri raked his hands through his short, dark hair. He
was a few
weeks past the time for a cut, and the ends curled around
the nape of
his neck. βWhy are you here, Gwen?β Her name sounded like
poison on
his tongue.
Good question. Her current base of operations was on the
opposite side
of the country, along the American side of the border
with Mexico.
Samuel had been vague on the details when he contacted
her late last
night with orders to fly to Orlando for a special
assignment. She
hated the idea of working with Dmitri, but knew better
than to refuse
an order. After all, the Big Kahuna wasnβt known for his
gentle
demeanor. The quicker they got the job finished, the
quicker they
could return to their normal routines and forget the
other existed.
βSamuel sent me,β she replied with a shrug, knowing heβd
understand
the way the boss operated.
He nodded, his expression grim. βAnd why did you steal my
car?β
βBecause I could.β And because she knew it would piss him
off. It was
the way things had always worked between them. Theyβd
lost their
humanity and become reapers together, and had been at
each otherβs
throats ever since. Two Cold War relics, passing through
the modern
age. βYou really need to install a better anti-theft
system. Anybody
with a screwdriver can hot-wire this thing in less than
five minutes.β
Sheβd done it in three.
She could have sworn he growled.
An uneasy silence fell between them. She darted a quick
glance in his
direction and saw the unwashed hostility darkening the
blues of his
eyes. The muscles along his jaw clenched and unclenched,
his full lips
pressed into a thin white line.
The light ahead switched from green to yellow. After
checking for
cops, she punched the gas to make it through the
intersection before
the yellow turned to red. βYou know, Iβm not happy about
this either.
The sooner we do whatever Samuel wants, the sooner we can
go our
separate ways.β
With a huff of annoyance, Dmitri rolled down the
passenger side window
and propped his arm on the sill. βDoesnβt mean I have to
like it.β
For once, they were in perfect agreement.
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