Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Hers to Tame by Rhenna Morgan. As it is the second book in the NOLA Knights series, this blog post includes the first book in the series, His to Defend.
DESCRIPTION:
Book one of NOLA Knights, the heart-stoppingly sexy spinoff series by Men of Haven author Rhenna Morgan
His world. His rules. Her love.
Though his methods may be rough, when it comes to protecting what’s his, Russian vor Sergei Petrovyh’s heart is always in the right place. That’s never been more true than when the gorgeous Evette Labadie asks him for a job. He knows enough to keep his hands off someone as beloved by the locals as Evie, but there’s something about her that calls to him—no matter how badly he burns to make her his.
Don’t think Evie hasn’t noticed the powerful Russian mafia boss who makes her favorite diner a regular stop. How can she not? He’s as hot as his reputation is dangerous. But everyone in her struggling New Orleans neighborhood knows he’s the man to turn to. And right now she needs money to get her son out of trouble.
Her other needs—needs she knows damn well Sergei can more than satisfy—will have to wait.
Evie soon finds herself playing Cinderella to a man who, despite what people believe, is definitely more prince than villain. She can’t help falling deeper in love with each passing day. But when a turf war between Sergei and a rival brings violence to her doorstep, Evie must come to grips with loving a man who will do anything to defend her…or walk away from her best chance at a happily-ever-after of her very own.
Read it today!
NOLA Knights series
Book 1: His to Defend
Book 2: Hers to Tame
Book 3: Mine to Keep
His to Defend is the highly anticipated spinoff of the Men of Haven series. Order your copies of Rough & Tumble , Wild & Sweet , Claim & Protect , Tempted & Taken , Stand & Deliver and Down & Dirty today!
MY THOUGHTS:
Author: Rhenna Morgan
Series: NOLA Knights #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 384
Date of Publication: October 14, 2019
My Rating: 4 Stars
The blurb describes Sergei Petrovyh as a Russian vor. As I read the first two books in the NOLA Knights series, I already knew that he was a highly respected mob boss. However, for the heck of it, I googled the definition of "vor". In short, it stands for a self-made man, one who shows considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect and charisma. I am glad I looked up the word, because it truly says much more about Sergei than simply calling him a mob boss.
Sergei grew up under very challenging conditions in Russia. He clawed his way to the top, and creating a life that suited him perfectly. Having street smarts is only one of his attributes. This and other exceptional skills led him to being a man many feared. Now controlling a significant portion of New Orleans no one dares to make Sergei their enemy. This tougher than nails character is all brought to his knees when he meets Evette Labadie. She is far too wholesome for the likes of him, but Sergei can't stop himself from wanting her.
Evette cannot help but to stare at the enticing Sergei, reputed Russian mob boss. She is more than drawn to him, no matter how dangerous she imagines he is. He has been stopping at the diner she works at and that proves to be very good for her, especially when her young son is in need of help. No doubt Sergei is the perfect man to help her, and she cannot help to fantasize about him. She has no doubt that he could please her in any way imaginable. The fact that threats and danger bring the two into close contact no doubt opens to the door to love. Can the pair find a happy future together?
His to Defend is the hot and spicy start to an exciting and thrilling new trilogy. This is the second mafia series I am reading and I absolutely loved it! Seeing how a dangerous man shows his softer side to a woman and his son, there was no way I could put this book down. Evette is the perfect counterpart to Sergei which only made the book even better.
The blurb describes Sergei Petrovyh as a Russian vor. As I read the first two books in the NOLA Knights series, I already knew that he was a highly respected mob boss. However, for the heck of it, I googled the definition of "vor". In short, it stands for a self-made man, one who shows considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect and charisma. I am glad I looked up the word, because it truly says much more about Sergei than simply calling him a mob boss.
Sergei grew up under very challenging conditions in Russia. He clawed his way to the top, and creating a life that suited him perfectly. Having street smarts is only one of his attributes. This and other exceptional skills led him to being a man many feared. Now controlling a significant portion of New Orleans no one dares to make Sergei their enemy. This tougher than nails character is all brought to his knees when he meets Evette Labadie. She is far too wholesome for the likes of him, but Sergei can't stop himself from wanting her.
Evette cannot help but to stare at the enticing Sergei, reputed Russian mob boss. She is more than drawn to him, no matter how dangerous she imagines he is. He has been stopping at the diner she works at and that proves to be very good for her, especially when her young son is in need of help. No doubt Sergei is the perfect man to help her, and she cannot help to fantasize about him. She has no doubt that he could please her in any way imaginable. The fact that threats and danger bring the two into close contact no doubt opens to the door to love. Can the pair find a happy future together?
His to Defend is the hot and spicy start to an exciting and thrilling new trilogy. This is the second mafia series I am reading and I absolutely loved it! Seeing how a dangerous man shows his softer side to a woman and his son, there was no way I could put this book down. Evette is the perfect counterpart to Sergei which only made the book even better.
Please enjoy the following excerpt:
Inhaling slowly, he inched back and raked her head to toe. “Now, are you steady enough to resume your grand entrance? Or do I need to do something more drastic to unplug your mind?”
She cocked one eyebrow and shot him her best mock frown. “Oh, no you don’t. I know what methods you use to distract women, and I need my wits about me tonight.”
He dipped his head, all gallant formality. “As you wish.” He turned her toward the table and slid his arm back around her waist. “Though, I can’t make any prom¬ises about what happens after dinner.”
He couldn’t have timed the suggestive hint any bet¬ter, the proximity of the table decreasing swiftly enough with each step that she had no choice but to brace for introductions rather than remind him of their platonic relationship.
Thankfully, no one appeared to monitor the rest of their approach. Not even Sergei, whose sole attention was now focused on the young boy seated to the right of him, the one she’d seen in Kir’s picture days ago.
The second they reached the far end of the table, though, all bets were off.
The petite dark-haired woman with an amazing pixie haircut at Sergei’s left homed in on them first.
Then the boy.
Sergei was the last to turn his head, but the moment he pushed back in his chair and stood, every other man at the table stood as well.
Kir led her directly to Sergei, the proprietorial weight of his arm around her back surprising for such a gath¬ering, but one she appreciated all the same.
Sergei glanced at Kir’s hand at her hip, and his mouth twitched. A string of complicated-sounding Russian words rolled from his tongue, every one of them aimed toward Kir, but the wry humor behind them was un-mistakable.
Across the table, Roman chuckled.
Kir didn’t seem the least deterred by whatever was said. Merely cleared his throat and lifted his chin a notch. “Allow me to introduce Cassie McClintock. Cassie, this is Sergei Petrovyh.”
Sergei extended his hand. “Miss McClintock. We’re very happy to have you join us.”
Cassie took the hand he offered, his grip firm, yet not frighteningly so. “Please, just call me Cassie. Miss McClintock is way too formal for me.”
“You sound like my bride. Though, I must confess, I enjoy the formality now that she carries my surname.” Sergei motioned to the woman beside him. “Cassie, my wife, Evette.”
Before his introduction could fully die out, Evette was on her feet, her beautiful hazel eyes bright with ex-citement. “Girl, am I glad to meet you!” She wrapped Cassie up like she’d known her for years rather than seconds then stepped back and motioned to the open seats to her left. “I saved you both a spot so I can hear all about the girl that’s got Kir so kerfluffled.”
Kir? Kerfluffled?
Surely, they weren’t talking about the same guy. And what kind of mob wife used the word kerfluffled?
Evette motioned to the other people around the table, starting with the big guy in the chair next to Kir. With loose auburn hair to his shoulders, a big build and attire to rival Kir’s, he looked like a Scottish warlord turned is his wife, Lizzy Hemming.”
“Oh my God!” She quickly shook hands with Axel and offered him an old-fashioned how-do-you-do, but the majority of her attention was on the brunette rockstar who rose to her feet beside him. For the last year, Lizzy Hemming had all but dominated the charts, her powerful voice and exceptional music casting a wide net for followers.
Cassie held out her hand. “I’m thrilled to meet you! I’m a huge fan.”
Lizzy accepted Cassie’s outstretched hand. “Glad to meet you, too. Always good to meet a fellow music lover.”
Keeping the introductions moving, Evette motioned to an older lady across the table. “This is Dorothy. I’ve known her as long as I’ve been alive. My momma worked at her diner in Mid-City when I was little.”
“Diner as in Dorothy’s Diner?” Cassie said. “That was one of the first places my aunt Frieda took me when I moved here. I had two helpings of blackberry cobbler and that was after I’d already gorged on pork chops and potato casserole.”
A proud smile curved Dorothy’s thin lips. Despite her gray hair and wrinkled face, there was an undeni-able strength in her demeanor. “That’s the one, child. You and your auntie come visit again, this time you ask for me. We’ll get ya fixed up with something extra special.”
Evette waved at Roman next to Dorothy. “If you know Kir, I’m gonna guess you already know Roman.” Her gaze locked on the young boy next to Sergei and her smile deepened. “And this handsome boy is my son, Emerson.”
“Likewise.” His attention shifted to Kir, and an or¬nery smirk crept across his face. “She’s pretty, Uncle Kir. I think you did good.”
The Uncle Kir hit her first.
The next realization was the staggering fact that ev¬eryone apparently thought they were a thing.
Well, duh, Cassie. His arm is still around you. What else would they think?
Thankfully, Kir interjected to cover her fluster. “Of course, she’s pretty. And smart and funny, too. After all, I have exceptional taste.” With a knowing wink, he motioned Cassie to her seat. “I think you’d best have a seat, vozlyublennaya. They’ve been building their list of questions for you since Thursday, and the restaurant only stays open so long—even for their boss.”
Cassie took her seat and the familiar comfort that had seemed to grip everyone before their arrival re-sumed, each person commenting on different options on the menu, or taking up their previous conversation. She leaned closer to Kir as soon as he’d settled and murmured, “What’s vozlyublennaya? You’ve said that a few times tonight.”
Clearly, Evette wasn’t paying any attention to what¬ever Dorothy was saying to her son, because she chuck-led and answered before Kir could. “It’s an endearment. Sweetheart, I think. Right, babe?” she said to Sergei.
Sergei grinned. “Da.”
Sweetheart?
She twisted her head to Kir, a silent question and probably a healthy dose of surprise plastered all over her face.
“All their endearments sound sexy, if you ask me,”
Evette added. “Malyshka. Daragaya. Zolatka. Milaya. Russians don’t mess around with their sweet talk.”
“That last one,” Cassie said, taking advantage Evette’s chattiness, “what’s it mean?”
“Milaya?” Evette said.
“Darling or dear,” Roman answered. “A term of affection I’m not certain I’ve ever heard cross my brother’s lips.”
The glare Kir aimed at Roman wasn’t exactly one of irritation, but held a warning all the same. “Perhaps there would be more opportunities for me to share en¬dearments with my woman if my family didn’t give her cause to run after only one dinner with them.”
My woman.
Had he just said that?
In front of everyone?
***FEATURED BLOG TOUR POST***
DESCRIPTION:
As an avtoritet for the most powerful crime syndicate in New Orleans, Kir Vasilek doesn’t act without purpose, doesn’t speak without thought and never, ever loses his cool. The lives of his brothers, his family, depend on it. But then Cassie McClintock strolls back into his life, and staying cool is next to impossible. Cassie was the one who got away—and Kir is willing to break all his own rules to keep it from happening ever again.
It’s one thing to report on the Russian mafia; it’s quite another to sleep with one of them, especially one as dangerous, and as sinfully sexy, as Kir Vasilek. Even though the information he once provided helped make her career—and the memory of his touch still keeps her up at night—Cassie knows too much about his world to go down that path.
But when Kir reaches out for help after a rival family comes for one of his own, Cassie doesn’t want to say no, either to investigating a gruesome murder or to the heat that pulls her right back into his arms…and his heart. Taming Kir—and helping to save the family she’s come to call her own—is not the story she thought she’d write, but it’s the one she’s determined will get a happy ending.
Hers to Tame is the highly anticipated follow-up to His to Defend. And don’t miss Roman’s story in Mine to Keep, coming soon from Rhenna Morgan and Carina Press.
BUY LINKS:
MY THOUGHTS:
Author: Rhenna Morgan
Series: NOLA Knights #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 384
Date of Publication: March 16, 2020
My Rating: 5 Stars
Having just read His to Defend just prior to this book, I was excited to continue this series. Just as the blurb for the first book used the Russian word "vor", the blurb for this book uses "avtoritet", which means a person of significant authority. In this case, Kir Vasilek is Russian mob boss Sergei Petrovyh's right-hand man, and is closer than a brother to him. Kir would do anything for Sergei and for the rest of his family.
Agreeing to work with tv news anchor Cassie McClintock behind he scenes by sharing certain critical information with her, which will help to drive her career, leads to complications for Kir. The two shared a hot night together, but both agreed things between them would just be business. When Kir's family is threatened by a rival mob family, he goes to Cassie again. As Cassie begins investigating things in order to help Kir, sparks fly hotter than ever.
Kir's family ribs him that he just might have been bitten by the same bug that got Sergei. If so, what will he do about it? Furthermore, what will Cassie do when she realizes that her life will soon change forever?
I loved both books in this series, but this one had a sharper edge for me. Both books are ultra spicy, but considering the fact that Cassie was had a public image, I could not imagine how any chance for a future could be had. I loved the emotions the pair shared, the danger around every corner, the burning passion between them and the resolution of the ever-present conflicts.
Having devoured both books in the NOLA Knights series , I cannot wait for the final book in the trilogy Mine to Keep, as I was clearly able to see who the characters would be in the story. I have no doubt I will devour that story as well.
Many thinks to Carina Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Having just read His to Defend just prior to this book, I was excited to continue this series. Just as the blurb for the first book used the Russian word "vor", the blurb for this book uses "avtoritet", which means a person of significant authority. In this case, Kir Vasilek is Russian mob boss Sergei Petrovyh's right-hand man, and is closer than a brother to him. Kir would do anything for Sergei and for the rest of his family.
Agreeing to work with tv news anchor Cassie McClintock behind he scenes by sharing certain critical information with her, which will help to drive her career, leads to complications for Kir. The two shared a hot night together, but both agreed things between them would just be business. When Kir's family is threatened by a rival mob family, he goes to Cassie again. As Cassie begins investigating things in order to help Kir, sparks fly hotter than ever.
Kir's family ribs him that he just might have been bitten by the same bug that got Sergei. If so, what will he do about it? Furthermore, what will Cassie do when she realizes that her life will soon change forever?
I loved both books in this series, but this one had a sharper edge for me. Both books are ultra spicy, but considering the fact that Cassie was had a public image, I could not imagine how any chance for a future could be had. I loved the emotions the pair shared, the danger around every corner, the burning passion between them and the resolution of the ever-present conflicts.
Having devoured both books in the NOLA Knights series , I cannot wait for the final book in the trilogy Mine to Keep, as I was clearly able to see who the characters would be in the story. I have no doubt I will devour that story as well.
Many thinks to Carina Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy the following excerpt:
“Please take this in the spirit it’s intended, but you work for a man who’s suspected of leading a growing crime family. I don’t think me telling you where I live is a good idea.”
“1023 South Franklin Avenue.”
Cassie stopped so hard she wobbled slightly in her heels. “How did you… I mean, I only just moved in there.”
His smile softened and his words were offered with gentle deliberateness. “I’m a very thorough man, Cassie. You can’t possibly think I wouldn’t learn everything I could about a person before I shared important information with them.”
Very thorough.
Frighteningly so.
She shook the foreboding off and resumed her trek to the station, albeit on slightly less stable legs. “All the more reason for us to meet someplace public.”
“All right. Then I’ll pick you up and take you somewhere.”
“Not necessary.” She checked both ways on the street and hurried across. “Just tell me where you want to talk, and I’ll meet you there.”
“I’m afraid my retrieving you and escorting you is nonnegotiable.”
She frowned at him, but kept going. “You’ve got a lot of points you won’t negotiate. Tell me why this one’s one of them.”
“Because while I’m very much interested in hearing what you have to share, I’m not interested in anyone else hearing. The best way to ensure our privacy is to make sure no one else knows where we’re going—including you.”
She stopped just six feet from the station’s front door. “You don’t trust me?”
“Should I?”
Hmm. He did kind of have a point. And given how she’d stiffed him after their second date, he still might be wondering if she’d simply used him. “Fine. Pick me up at my place tomorrow at eight. But don’t pick any place fancy. A coffee shop, or someplace simple. And not Starbucks either. It’s criminal what they charge for coffee.”
His mouth twitched as if it were all he could do to keep a wisecrack trapped behind his lips. “You seem determined to expose me to establishments with limited standards.” He nodded, the picture of gentility and confidence. “I’ll endeavor to pick a location that suits your expectations.” He held out his hand, palm up. “Until tomorrow, then.”
He had great hands. Not too smooth like someone trapped in an office, but a man’s hands. Slightly calloused, with long fingers and blunt fingertips. Of all the things she’d replayed from their time together, his touch had been the most frequent. Which was exactly why she’d be smart to avoid any and all physical contact with him going forward.
Glutton for punishment and well-mannered Texas girl that she was, she slipped her palm against his.
Oh, yeah.
Still amazing.
Electric and warm. Supercharged and bristling with promise.
And that was just her hand.
“Thank you again for the dinner. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it all the same.” Hating the breathiness in her voice, she tried to release her hand.
Kir held it tight, the pad of his thumb subtly moving over the tender spot between her thumb and her forefinger. As if he were remembering other, more intimate places he’d touched her. “I assure you. The pleasure was all mine.”
He gently released her, turned without the least amount of hesitation, and strolled toward the parking lot like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Watching him was something to relish. An indulgence she didn’t even realize she’d taken until he stepped off the sidewalk and turned to open the door to his car.
Great. And now he’s busted you ogling him.
She swung one of the double glass doors open and strode into the arctic reception area.
“Girl, that dude was hot,” Bonnie said before Cassie’s eyes could adjust from the blinding sunshine outside. “He your boyfriend?”
“Oh, no.” She set the paper bag on the counter and shook her head. “Just a contact that helped me out on a few stories a while back.”
And ruined me for other men, but why quibble over details?
Bonnie took the bag and opened it, but the look on her face and her answering chuckle said she didn’t buy a word Cassie’d said. “Uh-huh. Looked to me like he was plotting how to peel you out of your professional getup.”
Yeah, it’d felt like that, too. But she wasn’t going to think about that now. Or ever, if she could help it. “Nope. Just talking business.” She waved toward the bag and headed back toward the newsroom.
“Good business, or bad business?”
Cassie swung the door to the hallway open and cast Bonnie one last look. “I haven’t decided yet. Could have been the lottery, or the biggest wrong turn of my life.”
Copyright © 2020 by Rhenna Morgan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
So glad you’re enjoying this series!
ReplyDeleteI've not read this author before - you find the best stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat reviews. I'm not sure they would be for me though. But I do like their covers.
ReplyDeleteI love books set in New Orleans, I might give these a try.
ReplyDeleteThese look like some good books.
ReplyDelete