Savage (adjective):
1) Not domesticated; wild and untamed
2) A brutal or vicious person
3) Malek Antonov

He’s a myth. A ghost. A legend.

A Bratva assassin so feared, some won’t even dare to speak his name.

He comes in search of vengeance for the death of his brother, but what he finds instead is me.

A girl he thinks is someone else. Someone unrelated to the man who killed his brother.

Except I am.

And when he finds out my true identity, he decides to take me as repayment for what he lost.

Now, I’m a little bird trapped in a cage, and the only way to survive is to make friends with the monster who captured me. But friendship isn’t what the monster has in mind.

Avery’s Thoughts About the Book

I need a whole book of sarcastic banter between Sloane and Riley! Upon arriving at their palatial island estate, Riley sees how hot Declan is and this is her greeting to Sloane:

“Hey, Hollywood. Thanks for inviting me. Your man is a toad, and this place is a dump.”

In the early parts of the book, you can see their sisterly resemblance in their dialog and sense of humor. Not that she loses her humor but you quickly find out that she harbors some fairly nasty ill feelings where Sloane is concerned. She’s got reasons (eh) but it comes across as very catty and fueled by jealousy, which is a bit of a turn off as a reader. Maybe that’s just because I love Sloane. I don’t know. I’m not the only one who notices though. I cant remember if it’s Kieran or Spider but one of the boys tells her that it’s not a good look on her.

Malek ‘Mal’ Antonov is a Russian assassin who was contacted by an enemy in the last book to take out Declan. When we meet Mal, he is perched outside of Declan’s estate with his finger on the trigger. Declan comes soooooooooooooooo close to becoming worm food. He has no idea. The only thing that saves him is the chasms of space Malek covers while leaping to conclusions about Riley and her purpose for being there. Right out of the gate, he assumes she’s a refugee. Where the fuck he would get that idea still baffles me but don’t you worry. Before long, his assumptions shift wildly to sex worker.

To say their relationship starts off rocky is a colossal understatement, and Geissinger took a long hot minute getting them to the turning point. This one is a bit of a slow burn read but when it finally ignites, holy hell. The road to their love story is paved with the hottest kisses in history, too. Mal decides that he’s going to win Riley over with his tongue (not really but pretty much lol) and good LAWD. These two are hot together but I have to admit that their dynamic took some getting used to for me. He’s a cranky mofo to say the least and it’s a bit like the 800lb gorilla petting a teeny tiny kitten. You watch, kind of terrified that he’s going to pet it too hard and snap its neck. lol

Overall, this is an excellent read and a fantastic addition to the series. The slow burn nature of the story makes the romance feel like it takes a bit longer to get there than the previous books did. The mafia story in this series just keeps snowballing. By the end of this book, it’s clear that things are nearing a real boiling point. I can’t wait.

Heat Level
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Avery’s Rating
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Tropes Used
Dark Mafia Romance
Captive Romance
Opposites Attract
Badass Heroine
Alphahole Antihero
Age Gap Romance