dark heart

Can dark hearts be melted? Maaaybe...
A great addition to the series, although it can be listened to as a standalone, I would say go listen to the other ones too, the story will be more rounded in your mind, having those characters joining in this one too. Wow... dark, heartbreaking, I was on edge the whole time, addicted and wanting more, Ms. Zavarelli has the "spell" to keep me interested.
Not sure I liked Nikolai before, but once knowing more of his life, and his quest, I understood his drive. What Tanaka went thru as a child, then as a young woman broke my heart. I would never thought they would match, but they did, even after so many explosive encounters and the dangers they were both in. Quite a few twists and the revelations made my head spin, this story is not for the faint of heart, I didn't know it ends in HEA till almost the end.
Ms. Marks did an amazing job ... again! Love the accents, love the passion and how each character gets its own voice.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

great

This was a great story with a unique spin. I enjoyed the characters and story however in hindsight, I would rather have read the books in order despite it being a standalone. The narration was great- well edited and performed. Great read- just read the whole series for maximum enjoyment :)

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Melt the man's heart!

Another installment of the Boston Underworld keeping me in love with mafia romantic suspense. This story features Tanaka, a mafia princess that is given to Nikolai as collateral for a debt owed by her father. Knowing what the life consists of, she is very aware of the her situation. She belongs to Nikolai, and with this there is a definite Stockholm syndrome feel in the story, I wasn't sure if I liked the character of Nikolai, he is harsh, rough and demanding, but as I learned more of his situation, I could see the good in him. I really enjoyed seeing Alexei again, his story is so compelling, and Zavarelli wove more of his hidden secrets into this book. I love how the book melds the Irish and Russian mafias together each with skills the other can use, and brining characters like Ronan in for a cameo appearance. With suspense, angst and romance, this book is has a little of everything to have kept me engaged and looking for more.

I have to say, the narration of this book is incredible, Tracy Marks gives a stellar performance. No other narrator has the ability to switch accents and genders as easily. Each character she creates has a specific voice and you know exactly who's speaking, an amazing portrayal of the Boston Underworld!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A new twist to Mofia romance

Note, this book is part of a series. I do not recommend reading it until you have read the other books in the series. It seems like each book is centered around a different couple but the characters are all intertwined in some way. With that being said, I did not read all of the previous books and was a little lost at certain parts. It did not take away from the story, just got a little confusing at times.

The story was great! It was a new concept in the mofia romance sub-genre and the author did great with it. There were so many times when I wanted to take Nikolai and shake him for being a big, stupid goon and other times when I wanted to hug and kiss him for being a sweet, loving man.

The narration was good, I did have a hard time understanding some names and words during Nikolai's chapters because of the accent but overall it was good.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

🎧AudiobookObsessionReviewer🎧

I love AZ and she delivers again! I’m a sucker for captive romances, and this one is great. Like others have mentioned, I wish I had listened to these books in order to understand the relationships with and between established, important, ancillary characters. I did have a little trouble connecting with Tanaka. She is annoyingly OCD at times and refuses lifesaving help throughout. I loved Nik though - he does a good job of reigning in her crazy. There are twists and turns galore and so worth it! The narration was wonderful as well. Tracy gives a great performance. Her accents were perfect! Definitely recommend!

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thief

This was my first book by A. Zavarelli. I loved it but I sometimes had a hard time keeping all the characters straight because there were so many and their names were all foreign and hard to remember or even understand. I'm looking forward to listening to this series starting with book 1 so I can get the backstory on a lot of characters that were talked about in Thief. Tracy Marks did an excellent job bringing this story to life with all the emotions and accents of all the various characters.
🎧AudiobookObsession 

4.75 stars

Anti-hero that you will love to hate. I hated that Tanaka saw other women with Nikolai, I seriously wanted to strangle him. Captive storyline but if you've read the books before you should already know a little about Nikolai and Tanaka. The heroine has tons of issues that stem from her father and wanting to be a ballerina which is all she cares about since that is her only escape. Twists and turns at the end and I'm happy Tanaka did what she had to do towards the end.

Narration 4 stars

One of my favorites.

This book was amazing, but the audiobook elevated the FEEL of this book.

Loved it all.

Loved it!

It was predictable but the storyline was enjoyable from the beginning to the end. In my opinion I loved it. The characters were strong and the outcome was pleasant to me. I recommend this. I need to go back to the very beginning of the series to know what’s going on.

good but disturbing

I admit that my review is really colored by my preferences so let me preface this with the fact that this is a well-written, dark book about a Russian mobster who has power over a beautiful mob princess. Nikolai made a deal with Tanaka's father and he holds on to her as collateral. Throughout the first half of the book, they fight against each other but my biggest issue is that the push and pull makes it that Nikolai seeks other women for comfort. I'm quite against this so that colored the rest of my perception of the book. However, that said, it is a well written, very descriptive book. Tanaka is really a sympathetic character who has been psychologically damaged (by her father) and Nikolai actually does try to help her, even though he does things that I don't agree with.

I also listened to the audiobook, besides borrowing the book via KU. Tracy Marks is good and one of the better ones at playing multiple male and female characters pretty seamlessly. Since this book is a dual POV, I kind of wish that there were a male and female narrator though!
🎧AudiobookObsessionReviewer, AudiobookObsessionReviewer