Synopsis

Ella Givens just wanted a night of dancing with her best friend at New York's hottest new club to forget about her ex-fiance. But she was in the wrong place at the worst possible moment. Maksim Morozov, the billionaire Pakhan of the Bratva that rules the city, mistakes her for someone who betrayed his organization, and what follows is a kidnapping, a terrifying chase through the woods, and something much worse, a marriage. Maksim needs a wife before another Bratva pushes their spoiled daughter on him, and he decides Ella is perfect for the job. He thinks he can lock her up in his penthouse like a princess in a tower, that she is just another commodity, like the women raised in his world, and that he can own her body and soul. Between a forced Christmas wedding and Valentine's Day, Maksim is about to find out that Ella is not going to make it easy.

The protagonists

My review

I have a confession to make, babes: I came into this universe through the back door. I read a book from the second generation without knowing it, and as soon as I found out Arianna Fraser had built an entire world around the Morozovs, I went straight back to the beginning. Best decision ever, because I'm loving this universe.

I loved Mistaken. Russian mafiosos are a treasure, and if they force you to marry them, even better. That's exactly what happens to Ella, who has the bad luck of being mistaken for someone else by our Russian, and instead of letting her go and apologizing like any normal human being would, Maksim decides she's going to be his new wife. Why? Because it's a convenient move to avoid dealing with yet another arranged marriage. Just like that, with a calm that's equal parts infuriating and hilarious.

What I enjoyed most was watching these two fall in love. He shows up convinced he can handle her like one more piece on his chessboard, and she has zero intention of sitting quietly in the tower he built for her. That push and pull between them, with Maksim slowly losing control in front of a woman who isn't afraid of him, is what makes this book impossible to put down.

And if you've already met the Morozovs in the second generation, reading how it all began hits differently. For me it was a 10 out of 10 in pure enjoyment, one of those books that leaves you wanting to jump right into the next one.

Content warnings: kidnapping, drugging used to subdue the heroine, chase and threats, forced marriage, violence typical of the Bratva world, mentions of physical abuse in the hero's childhood, explicit sexual scenes.

Who is this for?

Where to buy it?