BARSHAN (Bratva Blood Brothers #3) by KJ Dahlen-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 5, 2018

Barshan
There’s a war coming and they want blood…from my family.
But that won’t stop me from protecting her.
She doesn’t care who I am.
The mobster. The killer. The devil with a twisted sense of justice.
There’s no room for weakness in my world.
No one leaves the mob unscathed.
But I break rules.
And I will break those who seek to hurt her.

Talli
I know he’s a mobster, a killer, a devil with his own twisted sense of justice.
I never should have got involved with the Bratva, but I can’t help it.
He sparked something inside me.
Something I thought I’d forgotten.
My heart. My feelings. My desires.

Note: All books in the Bratva Blood Brother series are standalone, full length super sexy, raw mobster romance novels. They can be read in any order and do NOT contain cliffhangers. It includes lots of steamy scenes, slang, cursing, some violence, dark themes, and elements about a fictional Russian mafia. HEA guaranteed.

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REVIEW: BARSHAN is the third instalment in KJ Dahlen’s contemporary adult BRATVA BLOOD BROTHERS erotic, romance, Russian Mafia series focusing on a tight knit group of friends, Blood Brothers, originally from Russia. This is Red Star Security owner Barshan Stanikoff, and jeweller Talli Janick’s story line. BARSHAN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: BARSHAN is the re-release of the authors October 2017 BLOOD TAINTED DIAMONDS

SOME BACKGROUND: Several years earlier, five young boys and childhood friends (Yuri, Sazon, Barshan, Mikial and Roman) survived the mean-streets of Russia only to be rescued and reared by a local gym owner Ivan Russo, who would meet his death by a local gang. Seeking revenge against the gang, local Russian Bratva member and soon to be New York Russian mafia leader Nikoli Silvanic would mentor the five young men until they were ready to take on the world, with the approval of Russian Bratva leader Sergi Constantine. When the time came Nikoli Silvanic would take over the New York territory, while the five ‘blood brothers’ would take over New Orleans. The Bratva Blood Brothers are their stories.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Barshan and Talli) BARSHAN follows the quick building relationship between Red Star Security owner Barshan Stanikoff, and jeweller Talli Janick. Several months earlier Barshan loaned businessman Russell Jerome a quarter of a million dollars, a loan that came due shortly after the death of his beloved wife Claudette Janick-Jerome. Unable to make restitution Jerome offers his late wife’s share of Christophe’s Jewellers, a family owned business currently run by the owner’s daughter, shares Russell had no authorization to offer. Enter Talli Janick, sole owner of Christophe’s Jewellers, and the woman with whom Barshan will fall in love. What ensues is the quick building romance between Barshan and Talli as Talli is targeted by an unknown source.

Barshan Stanikoff suspects he has been conned especially with the appearance of the Ukranian mob. With threats against our heroine’s life including several break and enters, assault and a fire that almost destroys Christophe’s Jewellers, Barshan claims Talli as his own in order to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love. Talli is a strong-willed, talented heroine but the on-going intimidation and threats place our heroine in a life-threatening situation. All evidence points to something to hide, something that is far more precious than anyone could have imagined.

Like the two previous story lines, the relationship between Barshan and Talli is very quick to develop. Barshan’s attraction to Talli is immediate, and within hours our hero claims Talli as his own, much to the bewilderment and objection of the Ukrainian mob. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

All of Barshan’s Bratva Blood Brothers play secondary and supporting characters. The Ukrainian and Russian mobsters must work together to solve the mystery that is Russell Jerome, a mystery that could affect the history of the Russian families.

BARSHAN takes liberty with some of the history of the Russian Imperial Romanov family- a history fictionalized and fantasized by many authors and historians throughout the years.

BARSHAN is a quick read; an edgy, insta-lust/love romance between two people thrown together by betrayal and vengeance, greed and power. The premise is thrilling; the characters are colorful and dynamic; the romance is provocative and tender.

On the down side, BARSHAN does require another round of editing in that there are missing words, and several errors that should have been caught before publication. And, as this is the re-release, there is no excuse for the publication of a book without a second attempt at proof-reading.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Yuri
Mikial
Barshan

Own a copy

Reviewed by Sandy