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Beast

S.C. Daiko

Start date: March 1, 2019

Finish date: March 30, 2019

Discussion: Group Reads

Discussion leader: Hazel

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Group Reads

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* grσup rєαdѕ rulєѕ!
By SimplyƝì₭ , HȯƗƗie MøԀ · 1 post · 385 views

last updated Jan 04, 2015 08:11PM

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What Members Thought

Sep 18, 2018 Rosebud rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, erotica-content, m-f, antihero, romantic-suspense, never-read-again, romance, pregnancy, mob-crime-mafia

Turning 21, Eva Petrenko is thrilled when her BFF Tamara hooks the two up with passes to Lure, a high end exclusive club where only the rich and famous are allowed.

Taking the wrong turn when looking for the ladies room, Eva ends up in the club owner's office and mistaken for a hooker which leads to an "oopsie" climatic interlude with the club's owner.

Two years later the two are re-united when Eva's father goes into default on a loan to Russian Bratva head Gleb Sokolov. In a last ditch effort t Turning 21, Eva Petrenko is thrilled when her BFF Tamara hooks the two up with passes to Lure, a high end exclusive club where only the rich and famous are allowed.

Taking the wrong turn when looking for the ladies room, Eva ends up in the club owner's office and mistaken for a hooker which leads to an "oopsie" climatic interlude with the club's owner.

Two years later the two are re-united when Eva's father goes into default on a loan to Russian Bratva head Gleb Sokolov. In a last ditch effort to appease the mobster, Eva is offered up as collateral.

To save her family Eva will have to work for Gleb though she's been keeping a secret that would change things in a big way if known.

* *

New to me author I just had to check out as I love those tall dark gruesome mafia themed stories. The Beast. Just rolls off the tongue now doesn't it? After reading the story blurb even more so.

Best described, the main characters are a May-December couple. 20 years age difference, the two had chemistry as it was an instant lust initial meeting for the two. That translates into knowing that adult content will occur in this story. Not to any overly graphic degree, but it's there.

Secondary characters. Eva's BFF Tamara makes a cameo appearance along with various other characters but none really stand out. The purpose of secondary characters in this story are isolated to support the main characters and provide a reason for various scenes. Included is a bad guy element, because after all there always is an enemy or two when dealing with the mafia, though my personal opinions on this person are that I really wanted more.

My issues. I see I am in the minority (in looking at the overall existing reviews for this story) in feeling that this story had flaws, loopholes, and contradiction of fictional expected norms for Russian Mafia (shouldn't that have been Bratva?) lifestyle. This was like expecting an outlaw Biker Gang who turned out only rode scooters and mopeds. A special ops military tactical unit flying commercial and therefore had to check in their gear because of TSA guidelines. A fierce fire breathing dragon who blew out cute smoke rings. It just wasn't up to the blurb hype. Example would be Gleb going into enemy territory to have a sit down with a rival mob boss only to voluntarily give up his gun (along with his security detail) at the door. Even I know that's asking to be shot, killed, and buried with the fishes. One step further while said meeting is taking place. Mobsters don't give away emotion. Stone faced, they don't give anything away or risk having it used against them. Reacting to a pawn being abused or tortured in their presence is a direct contradiction of that mantra, especially if said victim isn't part of your blood or extended family. OK. Those are two superficial examples of behavior and actions that irked me as I just didn't find them credible.

I also had concerns over formatting and copy line editing. 30 pages really weren't needed or productive other than to add that number to the overall book length. I could be totally wrong in my idea about this and if so that would be a good thing.

I regret that I'm not a fan of this book/story. Too many contradiction of the core Mafia/Bratva lifestyle and mindset norms ruined the story premise being sold. Beast turned out to be more like a cub. ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Andrea (mrsaubergine) rated it did not like it

Another book I had to read for a challenge which was absolutely dire. The plot was odd, the characters unbelievable, and the Audible narrators were hands down the worst I have ever heard. It's rare for me to return a book but I did this one. Horrible. ...more

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Jun 06, 2019 Diane Yoz rated it really liked it

I really really liked it!! The storyline was intriguing. The passion was off the charts and the action was nonstop. I wish I had a few more detail in certain chapters but overall what a great read.

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