Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Review: Rip by Rachel Van Dyken




Release week 2.99 Pricing! Stand alone Mafia Romance. Because of violence and subject matter, not recommended for younger readers! --RVD 

Synopsis
Pretty things aren't meant to be broken. But I broke her, and now we both have to pay the price. I'm her nightmare. I'm her savior. And now that I have her signature on an ironclad contract, I own her body and soul. She doesn't remember me. She will. It's inevitable. Because as much as I know I need to stay away, for fear of unlocking the memories I helped her father bury--I can't. She was the apple in the Garden, dangled in front of me, her core so tempting and sweet. A voice whispered. Just. One. Bite. I bit. I tasted. I fell. Welcome to the world of the Russian mafia, where death, is your only future.



Review  
4.75 of 5 Stars

Well, it is official, Rachel Van Dyken never falls short!  Rip is a stand alone mafia novel about the Russian mafia.  It does include characters from her Eagle Elite series.  You don't have to read the EE series beforehand, but you should. Otherwise you are going to miss out on an epic series and characters!  

Rip focuses on the story of Maya Petrov.  Maya is a driven young woman whose primary focus is on her medical research studies with the long term goal of escaping her dark, ruthless family.  Her father is basically a scum of the earth, Russian mafia boss.  The difference between her dad and the italian mafia featured in EE?  Simple, he has no boundaries or conscious.  He will hurt anyone in his path and even sell Maya to the highest bidder.  For all that Maya has experienced in her young life, she has such strength and passion.  I totally loved her character and really enjoy reading from her POV.

Nikolai Blazik is the high bidder, if you will.  He is pure genius;  not only a gifted doctor, but one who also leads the world on STD research.  He is rich, famous, and did I mention hot?  But alas, Nikolai's life may look picture perfect, but underneath it all he's a tortured soul. Genius that he is, Nik has crafted a very unique ability to "brainwash" and hypnotize others, and unfortunately this skill has taken him down a very dark, dangerous path.  I loved and hated him at the same time.  After the first 25% of the book though, he really started to grow on me.  You really begin to see a lot more about him as the story continues and I am happy to report that I love his character now.

Rip is without a doubt more dark than RVD's other mafia books, but she nevertheless weaved a great captivating story in the pages.  I love how she can seamlessly weave humor into the most serious of situations at just the right time.  Some of my favorite parts of the book included the pages where the five families presence were felt, they not only bring comic relief, but in this instance their presence offered the hero and heroine an opportunity to lean on one another, the chance to join forces or remain enemies.  Rachel Van Dyken can write a plot twist like no other, and believe the one in this book will not disappoint.  Job well done, Rachel!

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