Nancy Haviland

4.5 stars

I read this for the Second Chances square for Romance Bingo.

"You're my greatest weakness and my greatest strength."

Y'all. I'm so ridiculously entertained by this series and world the author has created. This is a second chance romance because the hero orchestrated a scene where the heroine thought he was cheating on her because he thought his world was too dangerous for her. I know, I know, Drama-lama but while there are a few romanclandia roll-eye tropes, I completely let them show more slide on by because of overall enjoyment of characters and story.

I think I mentioned this in a review for another in the series but there are times where the sheer amount of characters and connecting off-shoot storylines gets a bit overwhelming, you need to start at the beginning with this series, but man oh man, I am eating it up with a spoon.

We don't initially get to see Alek and Sacha fall in love or their first meetings, some reminiscing about it, and the romance has a different feel and structure from the usual romance step-by-step. I missed some aspects of the usual route, cheesy romance moments or excitement of firsts but the deeper, real, and dealing with hurts did a great job of making up for it.

With Russian mafia, Italian mafia, Romanian mafia, and MCs (see why I mention an overwhelming feeling sometimes) there is definitely something for everyone. The plethora of characters and storylines is crazy but the author does an amazing job of keeping a pretty tight rein on things. You may find some coincidences or situations a bit unbelievable but you'll go along with it because like I said, it's so gosh entertaining. I love the myriad things there are to keep track of.

The romance might suffer a bit for some because of all the plots going on I mentioned but only enough for me to take away half a star.

THAT ENDING.

Safe to say I'll be sticking with this series and am dying for Lucian's story.
I guess I should also give a fair warning that this one is a little gory, let's just say Vlad the Impaler must be a relative of Lucian. I'm a horror movie lover who has watched more than my fair share of slashers, so I didn't mind the sometime descriptions of acts carried out in vengeance.
Give me MOAR of this series. show less

4.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Sydney has gotten herself into a dangerous situation and it is starting to look like she is in way over her head. When the cartel leader she is doing business with realizes she may not be adhering fully to their agreement, he pays her a little visit. Fearing for her and her son's safety, Sydney makes a call to the one man who can save her. Every show more time Maksim is in a room with Sydney he can't wait to get his hands on her but so far, she has kept her walls firmly up. When he receives a call asking for his help, he doesn't hesitate but he does prepare himself to keep business strictly separated from pleasure. The possibility of the Russian mafia and Mexican cartel going to war is almost as dangerous as Sydney and Maksim's feelings for one another.

You know how people say they "Dropped the mic"? That sentiment and action is how I visualize the author dropping off this manuscript on her editor's desk; this book is on point. From the characters, to their relationships, and to the world building (oh my readers, the world building!), I was engrossed into this story. This is the way books in a series should be interconnected, shaping and adding to the overall world but still focused on the couple that is supposed to be the star of the particular book. No info dumping but rather branches flowing out of the trunk that take the reader here and there, sometimes wrapping up a thread and sometimes leaving you lingering on where the story or characters are going to go. The Wanted Men universe felt real to me, this is no quick story but an experience.

This is the third in the series and if you want the full overall story arc and not feel left out at times, you'll want to read the previous two books (A Love of Vengeance & The Salvation of Vengeance) but if you just want to read Maksim and Sydney's story, you could comfortably start here. I was a fan of her first book and thought she tapered off in the second but am now recommending reading this whole series if only for the emotions that will hit you when you read how Vincente has to leave the room when Sydney's son hugs his "sister".

After getting a glimpse of Sydney in the previous book, I wasn't sure I was going to like her but she quickly developed into a woman I found myself cheering for. She first met Maksim when the club she owns had video footage his organization needed in book two of the series. They had an instant attraction but because she had been on her own so much, due to getting pregnant at age 17 and being abandoned by her parents and the baby's father, she has major trust and control issues. I would have liked a little more expansion on her struggle and past, especially on who her parents were since it was alluded to that they were very rich and powerful but this is a small complaint. Maksim was a character that made a big impact on me from the previous two books; the author delivered and gave me everything I wanted and more for his character. He had the darkness that comes with growing up in an extremely harsh environment but also the vulnerability of trust issues. Along with the trust issues, he also matched Sydney with the need for control. These matching issues provided some fantastic push, pull, and eventual giving in moments. Maksim and Sydney's playfulness had a great sexual vibe that managed to be both light and dark at turns and also sexy.

It isn't until later in the story we get a bedroom payoff but that felt right for this couple. Their situation is dangerous and while they are both sexually attracted to one another, they are emotionally leery. As they spend more time together and get to know one another, their attraction expands beyond the physical. We then see Maksim slowly overcome his trust issues while Sydney loosens the grip on her need for control; this couple really does come together beautifully. I was chomping at the bit for them to get their bedroom scene and wished it had happened a little earlier as I thought the middle slowed slightly with a few sexually charged starts and stops and I definitely thought it took way too long for Sydney to tell Maksim about her child. Maksim is in Sydney's life because he is pretending she is his girlfriend/lover in order to give her the protection of his name/brotherhood so the cartel can't touch her, it was a little maddening how she kept quiet about her son, essentially not providing him with that same protection.

Even with those small complaints, I greatly enjoyed this book. The beginning with the build up and establishment of the story created a solid foundation for a truly absorbing story. I loved the deeper look into Vasily, the Pakhan or leader of Maksim's Russian mafia group, and all the other side characters. Past couples and future heroes are not merely trotted out for future book bait but are truly part of the story and world the author has created. The epilogue has me really looking forward to Alek's book and I'm really dying to read Micha's..no wait…Dmitri's…umm, wait…Lorenzo/Tegan's…yeah, let's just say I want to read about them all. This author has really hit her stride with An Obsession With Vengeance and with the world and characters she has created, I'm excited to see what she comes up with next. show less

"I’m not stalking you; I’ve befriended you. There’s a difference. If I was stalking you, you’d never know it."

I am ecstatic to say that I definitely enjoyed this book more than the second book in the series. This book had everything that I loved about the first book in the series; a strong alpha male, some amazing action (and I ain't just talking about kicking ass), and a strong and likeable female lead. This book made me almost be late for work and had me distracted throughout the show more day wondering what would happen next with these characters.

While I did love both the male and female main characters (Maksim and Sydney) in this book, I feel like Maksim really commanded this story. Maksim was a great alpha male but he also had such horrors in his past. I loved getting to see some vulnerability to him. From start to finish I couldn't get enough of Maksim. It took me a little bit to completely warm up to Sydney but once I did I really loved how strong and independent she was. She also could be very vulnerable and that really allowed her and Maksim to really connect. I absolutely loved the chemistry between them.

There was some really great action in this book. Maksim and the rest of the guys can really kick some ass. I don't want to give anything away but there were definitely some twists in this book that I did not see coming but loved.

I noticed that there were some typos in this book and the occasional fragment. Clearly that did not lessen my enjoyment of this book but I also couldn't give this five stars because of that. I would recommend this book based on Maksim alone. If you have read any of the previous books in this series you will enjoy this one. I am excited to get to read more about Alek (at least I think that he is next as that is what this book made it seem like). Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book. show less

Gabriel snatched up his fresh Stoli and swallowed it whole. "She's mine," he rasped through the slight burn, wishing his voice could carry to the three fucks pissing him off.

I am so glad that I bought this ebook. I was up in the wee hours of the morning finishing this book because I just couldn't put it down. I haven't really read many romance books which involve the mafia but this book will definitely change that. Not only did this book have a perfect alpha male main character but it also show more had some action that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Gabriel, who is no angel, is dragged back into the mafia when he promises to protect the daughter of a Russian mob boss, Eva. The two main characters, Eva and Gabriel, had great chemistry. While I really liked both of them, I have to say that I loved Gabriel. I was light-headed whenever he showed up. If you like ultra alpha males who can be a bit jealous and overprotective at times (okay, most of the time) than Gabriel is a character for you.

Not only did this book have strong main characters but it also had a ton of strong secondary characters. I pretty much loved all of the secondary characters. I feel like some of these characters have really interesting stories that I can't wait to read about later in the series. I am especially excited that the next book is about Vicente and Nika.

There were a few reasons why this didn't get 5 stars from me (Gabriel gets five stars though). Some of the action towards the end felt a bit awkward and slow moving. Also I felt like Eva's feelings towards her father changed way too fast. Those are not major problems and I still loved the book. I cannot wait to read what happens next in this series. show less