In the first book of this series, we only see brief glimpses of Baz’s cousin, Yvgeny’s personality. In the second book of this trilogy, the author opens the door to ‘who is Yvgeny really - is he a monster or a protector to those who need protecting or is he both?
Yvgeny is still dealing with the backlash of the events Baz and Nika were involved in - the only question is, has the human trafficking ring been fully uncovered or is there more than the Brezniks can handle? Unfortunately for Yvgeny, multiple government officials have their sights set on linking his businesses to illegal activity. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Yvgeny handled his encounters with the NYPD, FBI and other law enforcement. The situations Yvgeny finds himself in add to the action in this story. I find that the pace slows a bit too much for my taste in the middle of the book, but as the reader gets to the last third of the book, the author turns up the heat, in both the action and the romance department.
Sam, the female protagonist of the story is strong, fierce and reliable. She embodies the sentiment ‘she’s never met a stranger’. The author provides excellent scenarios to give the reader a deep understanding of who Sam is and how she ends up at Yvgeny’s side. I love the banter between the protagonists. It adds some lightness to the darker sides of the book (human trafficking, murder, torture of prostitutes). Sam’s bluntness is refreshing and turns out to be one of the many reasons Yvgeny grows to care more and more for Sam as the plot develops.
After much suspense and danger, the protagonists are finally on their way to at least a HFN, when the story ends on a cliffhanger. Lucky for the reader, the cliffhanger does not leave Yvgeny and Sam on the precipice but is a segue for the third book in this series. Read on….
Yvgeny Breznik, the CEO of a large corporation in New York City, has a laundry list of problems. A micro-managing aunt, a cousin who doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint, and a new employee who occupies far too much of his attention. Samantha Dubets is his onsite medic, and she doesn't know when to stop trying to protect the city's most vulnerable citizens from their own mistakes. It's all he can do to keep her out of trouble and his hands off her.
Oh, and he's an eight-hundred-year-old vampire. One of less than two hundred in the entire world. Over the years, fewer and fewer people have been born with the genetic quirk necessary to become one, which means vampires are on the brink of extinction and desperate to enlarge their numbers.
Samantha's blood reveals that she has the best chance of becoming a vampire of any human in a couple centuries. As a result, old alliances, treaties, and promises are tossed aside for the chance to take her. Other vampires want her to have children, as many as possible, then change her. But none of them are going to ask nicely. Yvgeny isn't going to allow any of them to touch her because she belongs to him.