REVIEW: The Professional Part 1 [The Game Maker Series] by Kresley Cole

Part 1 of The Game Maker series follows a Russian Mafiya enforcer and a Grad student, and their undeniable attraction to each other as they go about their lives. Sounds too cliche, but I won't be saying more until I get to my review. First off is the summary of The Professional by Kresley Cole (credit to author website):

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole comes The Professional—the first scorching installment in her Game Maker series, an erotica collection that has readers asking: How hot is too hot?

He makes the rules . . . Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.

Rules are made to be broken . . . PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.

Are you ready to play? Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true…

Review: [MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]
Are you ready to play?

Truthfully, the first book I've read from Kresley Cole was her YA Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles), and I absolutely loved it. I was hooked by the story and her writing, especially on the romance side. So when I heard about her ebook serial, I was giddy.

For Natalie Porter, finding her biological father was probably what was most important to her. She juggled three jobs, and used most of her money on the DNA test, and was hopeful until she hadn't heard from her investigator. Enter Aleksandr Sevastyan, the mysterious guy, who turned her down at the bar. It was an attraction that Natalie couldn't fathom, but for Sevastyan, as much as he kept denying it, he was far more attracted to her, deeply, and dangerously. AND WHO DOESN'T LOVE DANGER and a menacing look of lust in his eyes that even I, as a reader, could feel the way he looks at Natalie. Which makes me envious of how lucky Natalie is, really...

Sort-of-kidnapping, Russian Mafia, guns, castle, closet inside the wall. We should expect action right? Yes, a lot of action. The tension between Natalya and Sevastyan builds up every turn of the page, and all I could do is continue to the next page as I read what Natalie and Sevastyan were up to, which is very fascinating. In fact, I don't think I can ever look at a cornfield the same way ever again, or closets. He loves to control, especially the girl that drives him crazy lately, and BDSM comes in play.

How hot is too hot, really? A question that I probably wouldn't be able to answer until I finish the third part of the story.

I enjoyed reading this book, and giving this 5 cups of tea, to relax me a bit. Because what I read was intense. Intensely creative, intensely brilliant, and intensely erotic. ;)

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This is only available as an ebook, and available on
Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, iTunes, and Kobo
for $1.99.