Two branches of the Russian mafia decide to draw a line under their previous antagonism and unite their families through marriage. Maxim Ivankov has always had a thing for Freya Federov and is happy to go ahead. Freya, however, fights against the union with every bone in her body. While she’s attracted to Maxim, she holds him responsible for the death of her friend and will never forgive him.
Okay, it’s another enemies to lovers trope but, damn, does it take its time. The chapters are very short so the pace is quick and jumpy, but there’s too much denial on both sides. At first, it heightens the conflict and tension, but quickly becomes dull and irritating.
Over half of the book is spent bickering or dumping backstory. It was pure luck if they managed to string two sentences together before Freya ran off. Practically every chapter ends with her running off.
Maxim is supposed to be a no-nonsense, mafia boss, alpha type. He’s cool and aloof, but he lets her get away with behaving like a brat rather than forcing her to talk out their issues. He always lets her get away with her tantrums. He’s afraid of his feelings for her and doesn’t want to appear weak and needy, so he hides them away.
Then, one tantrum makes Freya reckless and she ends up shooting him. By this point I can’t bring myself to feel any empathy for her. She claims she’s not herself around him, that he brings out the worst in her. When she finally realises her idiocy (it’s about time), her behaviour has left me hollow. She started a mafia war, but hey, she’s sorry, it was an accident. (Insert disbelieving snort.)
Freya is now a target, but surprisingly she has the balls to risk discovery, and visits him in hospital. She finally admits she wants him. Hurrah!
So, the reader thinks they’re going to get it together but then, guess what? She misinterprets his actions and she runs off. Then she changes her mind, they get it together, he misinterprets her actions, and runs off to protect himself. The whole novel is just a massive repetition of prejudice, deliberate misunderstanding, and running away. They keep lashing out at each other like teenagers.
The story became palatable once they decided to become friends with benefits. Eventually, she stops fighting him, and her feelings for him, and it all works out. I found the characters behaviour too frustrating to really get behind them, but I still managed to get to the end. However, there was a lot of perseverance required, followed by eye rolling, on my part.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
