YURI (Bratva Blood Brothers #1) by K.J. Dahlen-a review

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ABOUT THE BOK: Re-Release Date: Feburary 6, 2018

The Russian mob are a den of murderers and thieves…….

When her brother steals the wrong man’s wallet, Raven has to return it and almost gets caught by the Bratva.

When Yuri catches up with her, he can tell she’s hiding something from him and he’s determined to find out any secrets she has.

What is revealed is a lifetime of lies that once brought out into the open, sets the chance to right more than one life will Yuri claim her as his woman or allow her to taken from him?

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REVIEW: YURI is the first instalment in KJ Dahlen’s contemporary, adult BRATVA BLOOD BROTHERS erotic, romance, Russian Mafia series. This is the leader of the New Orleans Bratva forty two year old Yuri Anatoly, and twenty four year old waitress/ thief Raven Casseni story line.

NOTE: YURI is a re-release of the author’s March 2017 book BLOODLINE.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Yuri and Raven) from both the present and the past, YURI follows the building relationship between the head of the New Orleans’ Russian Bratva Yuri Anatoly, and waitress /thief Raven Casseni. When her younger brother, twenty year old Nicky, pick-pocketed the head of the local Russian Bratva our heroine knew the only way to make amends was to infiltrate the Russian’s apartment and return the wallet without anyone knowing the better. What Raven didn’t expect was to find herself face to face with her future, and the man who could destroy her life and her brother’s with a single word. Enter Yuri Anatoly, the man with whom Raven would promise her life, and the man who would quickly uncover the secrets of her past, and that of her brother’s. What ensues is the building relationship between Yuri and Raven, and the potential fall –out as Raven and Nicky’s pasts are revealed for all to see.

The relationship between Yuri and Raven is quick to develop; a case of instant attraction between a powerful member of the Russian mob, and a young woman who struggles between her head and her heart. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text but I had a difficult time accepting the ‘insta-lust/love’ between our leading couple. There were no proclamations of love or a happily ever after-Yuri claimed Raven as his own almost immediately without forethought to the future or what was about to transpire.

We are introduced to Yuri’s childhood friends and ‘blood brothers’ (Yuri, Sazon, Barshan, Mikial and Roman) five boys who survived the mean-streets of Russia only to be rescued and reared by a local gym owner Ivan Russo, until Ivan met 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. Mikial’s story is next to be re-released.

YURI is a complex story line that follows several paths revealing Nicky and Raven’s heritage: their history, their past, their struggle to survive. We are witness as our heroine recounts their earlier years of abandonment and rejection; their life on the street, in the system, under control by the vilest of men, and finally on the run staying one step ahead of certain torture and death. The premise is entertaining, intriguing and engaging but I had some issues with the style of writing that seemed to change throughout the story line –from simple and elementary to intricate and involved-as though the author’s writing ‘evolved’ as the story line progressed then reverted back to basic writing. The characters are charismatic, spirited and inspiring; the romance is edgy and energetic. Although I had some issues with the author’s writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the first instalment in the BRATVA BLOOD BROTHERS by K.J. Dahlen

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reviewed by Sandy