The Director: A Russian Bratva Romance (dark mafia enemies-to-lovers romantic suspense)

I was interested in reading this book to start the series. However, there were only 2 things I found appealing about The Director. The book itself is a very short, easy read and the side characters of Ravil's bratva cell are quite funny. But that's where my positive reception of the book ends. Overall, I feel that it's far, far too rushed (even while considering the story being 200 pages). Additionally, I believe the story itself would flow more smoothly if the series was condensed and POVs reformatted. This is particularly a peeve of mine because I find that what was shoved off into the second book easily makes sense to have in the first. And I'm not entirely sure what was so fantastic about the erotica aspect because I feel that that, too, was rushed coupled with an elementary-level of writing skill. The content's idea was there, but the final product was bland. I've honestly read more fulfilling content elsewhere on the internet.

This was a great way to kick-off this new series. Lucy and Ravil's relationship is complicated, to say the very least. I really liked Ravil. Sure he was very dominating, had an edge and was not really by any stretch of the imagination a "good guy". That being said he was caring. honorable, could in fact be very sweet and had some vulnerabilities that added some very appealing softness to him. As for Lucy, I have to be honest and say that I spent almost all the book either trying to like her or not liking her very much. I feel this was manly do to my own pet peeves. I was not a fan of many of her actions and in fact I felt she came across as quite the hypocrite in way too many ways to make me happy. Even with my not being a huge fan of her character, I did in fact love the book. It was steamy, emotional, tension-filled and dramatic. Plus it introduced a slew of very intriguing secondary characters that have me super excited to read many more books from this series. This is my sincere, freely posted review.

Black Light’s Roulette War gave you a glimpse of Lucy and Ravil, but it definitely wasn’t enough and Renee Rose managed to leave us all a bit wanting until, “The Director”, which picks up a few months later. When we see Lucy again, she’s struggling in a job that she thought she loved, dealing with a-hole colleagues, and, uh oh, her newest client meets with her and Ravil is with him, and he’s done the math. Likes: I really liked the two main characters. I thought they were engaging and Ms Rose has them meshing together as if they’re meant to be together. The secondary characters also seem entertaining and I’m hoping we get their stories, as well. The Director is an entertaining read in the mob (bratva) genre with plenty of alpha-y-ness from Ravil alone to fill a stadium. So, if you love an enemies-to-lovers romance that will give your heart a bit of a pang, then grab a copy. You know you want to.