Her Russian Protector series by Roxie Rivera-a  combined review

Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1)
by Roxie Rivera
Release Date: February 24, 2013

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date: February 24, 2013

Desperate to find her sister, Erin goes to the only man in Houston who can help her: Ivan Markovic. The intimidating, tattooed Russian operates one of the most elite mixed-martial arts training centers in the world but it’s his shadowy past and reputed connections with Houston’s underworld that interest her most.

To find her sister, she’ll need the help of her big, scary Russian protector—but asking for help from a man like Ivan carries a steep price, one that might just include her heart.

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REVIEW: IVAN is the first storyline in Roxie Rivera’s contemporary/romance/suspense series Her Russian Protector. IVAN is a short introductory story, basically 80 pages in length that prefaces a number of friends and members formerly involved with the Russian Mob.

The storyline premise focuses on Erin and Ivan. Erin needs to find her drug-addicted sister before it is too late. She knows Ivan’s reputation as a no nonsense man with connections. Making her way into his fight club, Erin will soon discover she has also made her way into Ivan’s heart.

Ivan is our hero: a man who admits he is not perfect but a man whose primary passion is Erin. Hoping to find her sister, Ivan and his fellow Russians uncover a connection that goes deeper than a simple addiction.

IVAN is a story about one woman’s love for her sister and her many attempts to save her from self-destruction. There is an immediate connection between Ivan and Erin-one that is protective without being too alpha; loving without obsession; romantic without control. Ivan is a man who has fallen for a stranger the moment she walks into his life.

If you like a quick and easy read-one with love, romance, sex and several sexy Russians waiting for their story to be told, IVAN is your first stop in HER RUSSIAN PROTECTOR series by Roxie Rivera.

Reviewed by Sandy

Yuri (Her Russian Protector #3)
by Roxie Rivera
Release Date: May 17,2013

YURI (Her Russian Protector #3) by Roxie Rivera-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 17, 2013

While clawing her way out of Houston’s worst neighborhood, Lena vowed to never let any man have power over her. After a lifetime of broken promises from her criminal father and a mother who abandoned her, Lena believes that love makes you vulnerable. She’s never been tempted to test that belief…until Yuri.

Sexy as sin and with a dark reputation, Russian billionaire Yuri survived a miserable childhood of poverty and neglect to ascend the pinnacle of success. He enjoys the perks of his massive wealth without much thought to the consequences…until Lena.

When Lena’s father blunders into an international art theft operation, Yuri seizes his chance to be her protector and save her family from ruin. But when past misdeeds catch up with him and threaten Lena’s safety, Yuri puts her love and trust in him to the test.

He’ll show Lena he can be the man she needs—a man she can trust and depend upon—one sensual, wicked kiss at a time

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REVIEW: YURI is the third storyline in Roxie Rivera’s HER RUSSIAN PROTECTOR series focusing on four life long friends and ‘blood brothers’ from Russia whose childhood and teen years were filled with betrayal, hurt, anger and revenge. All four men have become success stories in one way or another, but their pasts continue to haunt them on a daily basis. This is Yuri Novakovsky and Yelena (Lena) Cruz’s story.

Russian self-made billionaire and businessman Yuri Novakovsky has always admired and watched Lena Cruz from afar. But Lena currently works as a media and PR promotions person for a rival nightclub. The night Lena steps into his club, looking for the person who sabotaged a big event, Yuri knows his heart is lost. She is a strong, independent woman but one with a vulnerable past that is about to catch up with her. Not only does Lena have secrets but Yuri will kill to keep his secrets hidden from those who threaten his family and friends.

Roxie Rivera takes the reader on a journey of betrayal and the heartfelt solidarity of four men who have had each other’s back since their childhood days in Russia. With each installment, Roxie is building on their stories of abuse and neglect. As the relationship between Yuri and Lena grows, so too, do the threats against both of their lives from some very familiar faces.

Lena’s father is a con whose past indiscretions have caught up with his current life and Lena is about to pay the price for her father’s sins. But coincidence or not, Yuri will be pulled into the storm waging against Lena’s father and the eventual discovery that more than just Lena’s family is mired deep in betrayal and hurt.

YURI is a fast paced, revealing and heartbreaking story of one couple’s fight to uncover the deadly plots against them and their future together. But not only is Lena betrayed by family, so too, Yuri will discover that the people with whom he has trusted are the very people threatening to destroy the woman that he loves. Using secrets from the past that Yuri will take to the grave before revealing the truth to what happened to four young boys so very long ago, the couple will have to face a history of betrayal and sorrow that has threatened to reveal a painful and deadly past.

Roxie Rivera has written a wonderful series of four alpha men whose need to protect the women that they love, will put them face to face with a past that is mired is secrets, betrayal and pain.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

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NIKOLAI (Her Russian Protector #4) by Roxie Rivera

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 23, 2013

After a brush with death as a juvenile delinquent, Vivian swore she’d never stray across that line again—but there’s just one problem with her plan to stay on the right side of the law. She’s completely, irrevocably and unabashedly in love with Nikolai, the Russian mob boss who saved her life.

From the moment Vivian appeared in his life on that tragic April night, Nikolai felt himself inextricably bonded to her. 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.

After Vivian is ripped from his arms in a brazen blitz attack, Nikolai will stop at nothing to get her back—but rescuing her and keeping her safe in his arms isn’t enough. Suddenly, Nikolai’s only chance to keep her safe is to do the one thing he vowed never to do—he’ll drag her deeper into his shadowy world and bind her to him forever.

Because their tangled pasts are about to collide and the shockwave threatens to bring Houston’s criminal underbelly to its knees…

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REVIEW: NIKOLAI is the fourth installment in Roxie Rivera’s Her Russian Protector series. The first four storylines focus on four ‘blood brothers’ from Russia, who by virtue of being orphans and lost, at a young age bound together to keep each other safe and alive. As adults the Russian mob called to their angry and broken hearts and current circumstances have forced each into a legitimate lifestyle-but one. This is Nikolai’s story and it is darker than the rest.

The storyline focuses on Nikolai –a man who will risk everything for the woman he loves-a woman he has hurt in more ways than one. Nikolai and Vivian have a history that goes back to a fateful night when her father forced the then eleven year old girl into a life of crime and theft. But on this night, the young Vivian will find herself abandoned by her father and struggling for her life when a gunman shoots to kill. A decade later, that fateful night will come full circle when she discovers the identity of the man who was only protecting his property.

Nikolai and Vivian have been secondary characters throughout the previous three stroylines and in book 3 YURI we learn the dark secrets and haunted past that has kept Nikolai secluded and alone. But there is more to Nikolai than a damaged childhood-Nikolai still retains a strong connection to the Russian mob and it becomes a matter of family for both Vivi and Nikolai. Nikolai’s past continues to haunt him and there is currently no way for him to escape the control of the mob. But in doing so, he puts Vivian in danger, time and again.

The relationship between Nikolai and Vivian surpasses ward and foundling to lovers rather quickly in the storyline but in defense they have known each other for close to ten years. But it is the dance of sex and love that continues to pull one to the other. Nikolai is a man who has known no love in his life but for the woman who has wormed her way into the heart of a man only his brothers have loved.

The storyline unfolds as two warring factions of street gangs and the mob have set their sites on Nikolai and Vivian. The story is fast paced but dragged in a few spots. And there were a few issues not addressed as it pertained to a particular painting and former friend. Hopefully this issue will come into play in the next storyline.

NIKOLAI is an interesting storyline of loss and love; the loss of a family and the love of a mate. There are some issues concerning Nikolai’s continued affiliation with the Russian mob but on the surface it is easy to say-get out-when we are not the one’s who have been blooded by the mob. Sometimes there is no easy answer.

Copy supplied by the author.