Review: Cracktastic series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2014
Since it’s a boxed set, I’ll just do mini-reviews for each book in the set.Ivan (3.5 stars)Erin’s search for her drug-addicted sister leads her to Ivan, former Russian mobster now gym owner.  Instant attraction leads them to the middle of a potential gang war on the streets of Houston.Insta-love aside, Erin doesn’t make any real TSTL moves and Ivan’s protective love hooked me on this series. The background of Houston and their mutual friends attracted me and kept me reading.Dimitri (4 stars)Dimitri and Benny have been attracted to each other for years, ever since Dimitri moved into the apartment over her family’s bakery.  When Benny is threatened by a shady developer who’s trying to force her out so he can bring big-box stores into the neighborhood, Dimitri steps in to protect her, with a little help from his friends.I liked that Dimitri and Benny’s relationship starts as friends with an attraction that’s built up solidly throughout. Benny’s struggled to keep her family and her business together, yet never comes off as a true damsel in distress. When the chips are down, she steps up and helps Dimitri as well as herself.Yuri (3 stars)Lena is a friend to Benny and Erin, and is a PR whiz who grew up in a rough neighborhood and never wants to be dependent on a man. Yuri is the billionaire of this crew, and he’s used to having whatever he wants - until he meets Lena.The weakest of all the stories, Yuri wasn’t a big alpha, and he screwed up a few times, but he had decent chemistry with Lena.  This felt more like a bridge book, giving me details on Ivan/Erin and Benny/Dimitri’s HEA, and building up the tension to finding out Nikolai and Vivian’s story, that I ripped through it in short time.The Bottom Line (4 stars)My new cracktastic series - I really liked the ‘verse Ms. Rivera has created here.  Dimitri’s relationship with Yuri, Nikolai and Ivan since their days in an orphanage in Russia clicked for me and enough hints are dropped in this story about their history drew me, wanting to learn more about these men.  The heroines are also strong enough while acknowledging the dominant tendencies of their men.There are continuity issues, and there’s a bit of samey-ness to the love scenes, especially reading the books back to back.  Overall, I got hooked and fast to Ms. Rivera’s writing and I look forward to finishing this series and seeing what else is on her backlist.