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A review by isitcake
Beautiful Russian Monster by Odette Stone
2.25
Well Sarah MacLean recommended this 2nd book on her podcast, so I read this without reading the first. It's not really a mafia romance but it has a lot of the same tropes with the immediate danger and her dependence on him for survival.
I liked the first 60% when it should have ended with them saving the day but instead there's 40% more book with this sniper plot that ultimately was a REALLY dumb reason for why the sniper was hunting Viktor. But I guess the start of the main plot is pretty dumb too. Like there's so many plot holes to begin with why this "somewhere between illegal and legal" government figure, Drake, is coming to him to recover highly classified data.
Drake takes Andrusha and his wife (who are both clearly from the first book) hostage while he makes Viktor do this task: kidnap wealthy heiress Olivia and her birdlike body from her mansion (which for some reason has tons of media around it at the start, then nothing later? lol), take her to Singapore to her grandfather's cargo ship, have her find a usb drive in a place "only she will know to look for," and bring the drive back to Drake.
Originally it was going to be just the kidnapping but things went wrong so he has to do the whole thing. A lot goes wrong. They smuggle themselves on a plane headed to Vietnam but are diverted to Cambodia. They hire a boat run by the most incompetent Australian captain ever (he doesn't know to get weeds out of his engine) to take them to Vietnam(?) where they meet Viktor's contact. But the most legendary typhoon ever hits them and his contact dies in the storm. Olivia makes contact with her childhood friend-turned lover-turned friend & fellow socialite Pierre to bring them cash which they use to buy passports and transport. They get to Singapore and the ship where Olivia discovers the drive taped to her old raggedy-Ann doll. They take it to Drake and hand it off to his people but Drake dies in a firefight.
Andrusha and his wife are released. Viktor and Andrusha team up with the security company they've formed (they're trying to go legit after being in the Russian mafia) and recover Olivia's Grandfather using non-lethal darts. Olivia and her Grandfather are about to be reunited when she's literally running into his arms he's shot and killed by a sniper.
This sniper has been following them the whole time. We later learn that he was hired to help recover the drive for the bad guys but he recognized Viktor. Viktor has some history when he served in the military, before being in the mafia I guess, where he was stationed in Beirut. Some woman left this sniper for Viktor and he's still bitter about it decades past. That's the reason. Yep... Viktor manages to get himself even more injured but he kills the sniper and then its HAE for him and Olivia even though they've had some talks about them being in separate worlds (she's a ridiculously wealthy heiress and he's a former mobster).
I liked the first 60% when it should have ended with them saving the day but instead there's 40% more book with this sniper plot that ultimately was a REALLY dumb reason for why the sniper was hunting Viktor. But I guess the start of the main plot is pretty dumb too. Like there's so many plot holes to begin with why this "somewhere between illegal and legal" government figure, Drake, is coming to him to recover highly classified data.
Originally it was going to be just the kidnapping but things went wrong so he has to do the whole thing. A lot goes wrong. They smuggle themselves on a plane headed to Vietnam but are diverted to Cambodia. They hire a boat run by the most incompetent Australian captain ever (he doesn't know to get weeds out of his engine) to take them to Vietnam(?) where they meet Viktor's contact. But the most legendary typhoon ever hits them and his contact dies in the storm. Olivia makes contact with her childhood friend-turned lover-turned friend & fellow socialite Pierre to bring them cash which they use to buy passports and transport. They get to Singapore and the ship where Olivia discovers the drive taped to her old raggedy-Ann doll. They take it to Drake and hand it off to his people but Drake dies in a firefight.
Andrusha and his wife are released. Viktor and Andrusha team up with the security company they've formed (they're trying to go legit after being in the Russian mafia) and recover Olivia's Grandfather using non-lethal darts. Olivia and her Grandfather are about to be reunited when she's literally running into his arms he's shot and killed by a sniper.
This sniper has been following them the whole time. We later learn that he was hired to help recover the drive for the bad guys but he recognized Viktor. Viktor has some history when he served in the military, before being in the mafia I guess, where he was stationed in Beirut. Some woman left this sniper for Viktor and he's still bitter about it decades past. That's the reason. Yep... Viktor manages to get himself even more injured but he kills the sniper and then its HAE for him and Olivia even though they've had some talks about them being in separate worlds (she's a ridiculously wealthy heiress and he's a former mobster).