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fangirljeanne 's review for:
The Professional
by Kresley Cole
3.5 overall
CW: Kidnapping (more details below), dubious consent (some coercive situations, one involving alcohol), kink (done well IMO), violence (he's in the mafia), angst, sex-negativity (that gets addressed), discussions of domestic violence and child sexual abuse (a character talking about their past).
I read this in 3 parts, via audiobook. While the narration was good, I wouldn't recommend listening to this story in this (broken up) format. This is written as a cohesive story and the cliffhanger breaks are jarring and pulled me out of the story.
The story itself started strong, despite its fantastical setup of a broke college student discovering she's the lost heir of a Russian mafia boss, who is kidnapped ("for her protection") by his right-hand man who is the exact kind of kinky she's needed in her life. Also, she's a virgin and he resists her out of respect for her father and a deep sense of self-hatred because he has *gasp* a dark past. I say this all with a great deal of affection for these tropes, and characters.
Natalie is a fun protagonist. Her internal monologue had me cackling at several points. No surprise Cole has a gift for writing humorous and resilient heroines with a meta sense of humor about the often over-the-top situations they find themselves in, which is Natalie to a tee.
Aleksei is a delightful blend of dangerous brute and restrained aristocrate. I love criminals with a code, and the pairing of experiance with violence and emotional vulnrabilty. He's a mystery for a lot of the story which can be annoying at certain parts, but by the end I was fine with it because the resolution was satisfying, for me.
This story has explosive sexual tension that's drawn out by the delay of P in V sex, but there's still plenty of oral, fingering, and mutal masturbation to entertain us while you wait. I like how Cole turned the virgin heroine trope on its head by making her the one who is more comfortable with sex and ultimate helps him accept his kinkiness. That treatment of kink was really good, imo. The depiction of scenes through Natalie's POV showing how exhibition, pain play, and D/s dynamics can be healthy, even liberating experiances for people. I really liked how the story directly addressed misconceptions about BDSM and trauma.
I don't know if people who aren't into these tropes (listed above) would enjoy this book. It's very much made for a target audience. The kinapping-ish set up and Aleksei's behavior could easily be read as a huge red flag, a point made by Natalie herself. But the story did a good job of balancing the power dynamic between them in ways that worked for me, but again may not work for others. Be forewarned.
This is a very romaticised American view of Russian organized crime. It takes great steps to make both the hero and herione's father look like decent men who've resorted to crime out of political and economical, as well as personal reasons. While I love this perspective on criminals, especially when they're from marginalized groups, it gets a little suspect when it's white American's writing about white criminals. I'm used to this and can overlook it, but it might be irritating to other readers.
Overall I liked this book and plan to read the next in the series. I would recommend this to fans of mafia Romance and specifically Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. IYKYK
CW: Kidnapping (more details below), dubious consent (some coercive situations, one involving alcohol), kink (done well IMO), violence (he's in the mafia), angst, sex-negativity (that gets addressed), discussions of domestic violence and child sexual abuse (a character talking about their past).
I read this in 3 parts, via audiobook. While the narration was good, I wouldn't recommend listening to this story in this (broken up) format. This is written as a cohesive story and the cliffhanger breaks are jarring and pulled me out of the story.
The story itself started strong, despite its fantastical setup of a broke college student discovering she's the lost heir of a Russian mafia boss, who is kidnapped ("for her protection") by his right-hand man who is the exact kind of kinky she's needed in her life. Also, she's a virgin and he resists her out of respect for her father and a deep sense of self-hatred because he has *gasp* a dark past. I say this all with a great deal of affection for these tropes, and characters.
Natalie is a fun protagonist. Her internal monologue had me cackling at several points. No surprise Cole has a gift for writing humorous and resilient heroines with a meta sense of humor about the often over-the-top situations they find themselves in, which is Natalie to a tee.
Aleksei is a delightful blend of dangerous brute and restrained aristocrate. I love criminals with a code, and the pairing of experiance with violence and emotional vulnrabilty. He's a mystery for a lot of the story which can be annoying at certain parts, but by the end I was fine with it because the resolution was satisfying, for me.
This story has explosive sexual tension that's drawn out by the delay of P in V sex, but there's still plenty of oral, fingering, and mutal masturbation to entertain us while you wait. I like how Cole turned the virgin heroine trope on its head by making her the one who is more comfortable with sex and ultimate helps him accept his kinkiness. That treatment of kink was really good, imo. The depiction of scenes through Natalie's POV showing how exhibition, pain play, and D/s dynamics can be healthy, even liberating experiances for people. I really liked how the story directly addressed misconceptions about BDSM and trauma.
I don't know if people who aren't into these tropes (listed above) would enjoy this book. It's very much made for a target audience. The kinapping-ish set up and Aleksei's behavior could easily be read as a huge red flag, a point made by Natalie herself. But the story did a good job of balancing the power dynamic between them in ways that worked for me, but again may not work for others. Be forewarned.
This is a very romaticised American view of Russian organized crime. It takes great steps to make both the hero and herione's father look like decent men who've resorted to crime out of political and economical, as well as personal reasons. While I love this perspective on criminals, especially when they're from marginalized groups, it gets a little suspect when it's white American's writing about white criminals. I'm used to this and can overlook it, but it might be irritating to other readers.
Overall I liked this book and plan to read the next in the series. I would recommend this to fans of mafia Romance and specifically Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. IYKYK