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Reading Order - Deception Trilogy
Rina Kent
💕 Adrian Volkov & Lia Eldridge
Adrian Volkov is the most notorious man in the city: head of the Russian mafia, widower with a young son, and a man whose word is unbreakable. When he offers Lia Eldridge an impossible job — to pose as his dead wife — she has two choices: prison, or surrender to his iron will. What begins as an act spirals into a vortex of lies, desire and a marriage where nothing is what it seems. Adrian is her torment, her monster, her villain. And in the end, her only way out.
Reading style · Publication order
In the order they were originally published.
Editor's note: Deception Trilogy reads best in publication order. Dark Deception (#0.5) is a short prequel introducing the first encounter between Adrian and Lia, before the fake marriage — it can be read at the start without spoilers, or after book one as bonus content. The main trilogy (Vow, Tempted, Consumed) is ONE continuous story with brutal cliffhangers between books: Adrian and Lia are the only couple, and the three volumes need to be read back to back. Important: Deception Trilogy is the first generation of Legacy of Gods — Adrian and Lia's children become the protagonists of the next saga. That makes this trilogy a perfect entry point into the modern Rinaverse.
Reading order
#0.5Dark Deception
Rina Kent
★★★★4/5
💕 Adrian Volkov & Lia Eldridge
Deception Trilogy prequel. Adrian Volkov is no gentleman, he saves no one and he doesn't negotiate. He's the monster no one wakes up from, the devil no one can fight. Lia is barely surviving on the streets when Adrian finds her: a lone rose struggling to bloom on ground that doesn't belong to her. He takes what he wants, and he wants her. But this isn't a rescue story — it's the opening scene of a nightmare Lia won't be able to escape. A short novella that sets the stage for Vow of Deception.
⚠ Content warnings
Dark romance, mafia, violence, manipulation, dark and obsessive hero, explicit sexual content, instalove, age gap, stalking, trauma. This is a short prequel novella and ends on a cliffhanger.
#1Vow of Deception
Rina Kent
★★★★4/5
💕 Adrian Volkov & Lia Eldridge
My husband. My tormentor. The most notorious man in the city offers me a job: pose as his dead wife. Adrian Volkov isn't the kind of man who takes "no" for an answer — he commands with an iron fist and his orders get obeyed. When he comes to me with the offer, I have two options: prison, or surrender to his iron will. I choose the roof over my head. How hard can acting really be? Wrong. The moment I step into his wife's shoes, everything spirals out of control. My only way to survive is through Adrian. Or is it?
⚠ Content warnings
Dark romance, mafia, dark and obsessive hero, manipulation, memory loss, false identity, explicit sexual content, mental health themes, intense cliffhanger ending.
#2Tempted by Deception
Rina Kent
★★★★★5/5
💕 Adrian Volkov & Lia Eldridge
Direct continuation of Vow of Deception. My husband. My villain. We started with death and blood. We started with games and carnal pleasure. Adrian and I should never have been together. He's wrong. I'm wrong. What we have is the very definition of disaster. And still, it's impossible to stop. My husband will destroy me, or I'll destroy him. The lie this marriage was built on starts to crack, and every answer opens a new door: each one darker than the last.
⚠ Content warnings
Dark romance, mafia, violence, manipulation, mental health themes, power games, explicit sexual content, obsessive dynamics, cliffhanger ending.
#3Consumed by Deception
Rina Kent
★★★★★5/5
💕 Adrian Volkov & Lia Eldridge
The trilogy's finale. My husband. My monster. The truth isn't always what it seems. Lia doesn't realize that yet, but she will. Soon. I chose this life. This road. This twisted arrangement. For her, I made a deal with the devil. For her, I toyed with fate and death. There's no going back. I stole her, and like any thief, I won't return her. Lia is my addiction. My obsession. My love. Mine. An intense ending where every truth about the first wife, the fake marriage and Lia's real identity comes to light — and Adrian will have to prove just how far he's willing to go for her.
⚠ Content warnings
Dark romance, mafia, violence, manipulation, mental health themes, family secrets revealed, explicit sexual content, obsessive dynamics, sensitive themes tied to Lia's past.
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