Lies of My Monster

Monster Trilogy #2

by Rina Kent, Sebastian York (Narrator), Brooke Daniels (Narrator)

From the USA Today best-selling author Rina Kent comes a new dark mafia romance.

The continuation of Kirill and Sasha's twisted story.

This audiobook is part of a trilogy and can't be listened to on its own.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Mafia Romance, Dark, Enemies To Lovers, Audiobook, Contemporary

9 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 2, 2023

About the author

Rina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 bestselling author of all things dark romance.
Better known for writing unapologetic anti-heroes and villains, Rina weaves tales of characters you shouldn’t fall for but inevitably do. Her stories are laced with a touch of darkness, a splash of angst, and just the right amount of unhealthy intensity.
When she’s not busy plotting mayhem for her ever-expanding Rinaverse, she leads a private life in London, travels, and pampers her cats in true Cat Lady fashion.


You can find her below:

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Reviews

[isy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been ruined.

My mind? Fucked.
My heart? Shattered.

I don't know what's real. I don't know what to believe.

Kirillsasha served so fucking hard that they BROKE me. I will never be the person I was before this book and THAT ENDING. RINA WTAF??? YOU'VE DESTROYED ME. THEY'VE DESTROYED ME.

THIS BOOK HAS DESTROYED ME.

And yet I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.

God, I'm a mess.

[Clace · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.57!

Sasha
(noun) a submissive person who allows others to walk all over her.

I just want to know what RK was thinking while writing this book 😭because there is no way that I read a book where the dumbest character ever to exist fools all the men (who are highly skilled and trained) into believing that she is a man 😭 because lets just forget the horrendous writing and talk about how Sasha deserves a punch on her face 😭😭 she literally made me laugh sm because what she was doing was so embarrassing and also cry because wtf was she doing 😭 SHE TATTOOS HIS NICKNAME ABOVE HER 🐱 and yk what he does 😭😭😭😭😭 he marries someone else 😭 oh my god I have never ever laughed this much. Guys, she is the bodyguard of one of the strongest person alive and 😭 she would cry at any minor inconvenience, bolted out of a room when she found out that Kirill was marrying someone else like?? SHE LITERALLY BEGGED HIM TO MARYY HER?!? stand up 🙏🏻 pls. I have never felt this smart because Sasha was the dumbest person ever and how she fooled everyone should be one of the episodes of Netflix's documentary 'Unsolved mysteries'. GOD HELP ME!

Kirill 🙄 every one of his scene made me go 🙄I own you Sasha 🙄 you belong to me 🙄 I am so strong I can beat Rai and takeover as pakhan 🙄 I got a boner for a woman dressed as a man 🙄 no I am not gay 🙄 like pls 🙏🏻 STOP I thought he was good in the previous book but I hated him HATED him in this one. Rai should've shot him and Vladmir should've shot Sasha.

This was supposed to be a one star but I enjoyed it and it made me laugh A LOT and the ending as usual was brutal 😭 onto the next one!

Credits to (iqra) for the definition thingy
___
The ending of the last book was pretty wild 😭 Rina aces her trilogies!! (deceptions still 🔛🔝)

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS ENDING WAS INSAANNEEEEEE OMG

[aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

I lost it when she put his name above her cochie because

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

and most importantly, Rai for pakhan #rinaneedstostopbeingmisogynisticandstarslikingwomen

[sasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

she threw herself down the stairs AND tattooed her pussy for a man

[Rina Kent]

LIES OF MY MONSTER IS BOOK TWO OF A TRILOGY!
NOW LIVE┃ A Russian Mafia Romance

➜ https://amzn.to/3kvESVo

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (Semi-Hiatus-attempting return) · Rating 3 out of 5]

That ending. What?! This is like a Russian Novella (Soap Opera).

This is definitely not the best book I've read but it's highly addictive, fast paced, thrilling and sexy.

“To every girl who’s proud of loving villains”


“He might be a monster, but he’s my monster. And I refuse to have it any other way.”


“I hope you never forget about me and that the thought of me haunts you for eternity”

[Phuong ✯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

– 3.5 stars

i never thought there comes a day where i would ever utter the words 'i regret not reading RK books earlier', but today is the day. this women's books provide me so much entertainment (the Deception trilogy and God of Pain are the exceptions ❌) and i can't stop laughing. the characters behave in such a dumb way that i consider it iconic behavior at this point. 🤣

🌚 potential spoilers maybe idk and idc read at your own risk 🌚

Sasha tattooing 'Luchik' (her pet name for Kirill) above her pussy? who is doing it like her? no one (with working brain cells). very legendary if you ask me. 💅 every time i feel like a failure, i open this book and see how Sasha is doing as a bodyguard and suddenly i feel like Albert Einstein. she has done the most for the women's right movement. woman all over the world should thank her. 🙏

Kirill and Sasha my favorite himbos what can i say. they are so dumb and absorbed in each other my favorite kind of combination. when it was announced that Kirill would marry Kristina for political gain and Sasha had a mental breakdown and ran out. Y'ALL I ATE THAT UP DELICIOUS. my heart hurted for her for a whole ass second. also that ending was so predictable and i saw it coming, but i still love it because i'm a sucker for the betrayal trope and my heart pinched a little for dear Sasha. love really makes stupid. 😇

i can't wait to see what dumb choices these characters are going to make in the next book and how it will get resolved.

┍━━━━━━━━»•» «•«━┑
MONSTER TRILOGY

#1 Blood of My Monster – 3.25 stars
#2 Lies of My Monster – 3.5 stars
#3 Heart of My Monster – tbr
┕━»•» «•«━━━━━━━━┙

[manas · Rating 3 out of 5]

kirill : a cum wipe.

sasha : a desperate fool.

manas : how the fuck did we get here?

rina : kent.

[T.S · Rating 2 out of 5]

~ 2.00 ☆

I am so glad I stole this book; now I know it's not even worth my money. 😊

Ahem Ahem

*Clears Throat*

This was a whole bunch of something full of a whole bunch of NOTHING, with that something given only in the last 3 pages. This book made me facepalm so many times, it's unreal🤦‍♀️. I don't know who the Sasha in this book is 💀. In the first book, she was this fierce, savage, strong independent woman out for revenge 😤✊🏼. In this book?!..... 💀 I wanted to summon the ancestral power to carry me on a broomstick, land in the book, do a back handspring, and give her a backhanded SLAP!!🤚


SHE WAS SO DUMB! 😭



She turns into this weak, whiny, crybaby of a character. Sasha, girl, get it together!!! Homegirl cries every 3 chapters, lets anyone manipulate her, and falls for Kirill's manipulation in five seconds, then runs away on his command? i ripped the book in half with my teeth when she tattooed his pet name above her choochi! even throwing yourself down a flight of stairs for a man!! ?😭 Pppppfffft. the way she literally BEGGED Kirill to marry her?!!GIRLIE, YOU'RE THE BODYGUARD OF THE STRONGEST PERSON ALIVE, GET SOME STANDARDS AND STAND UP!💀👏👏





I honestly loved Kirill in the first book, no lie about that, but in this one, Kirill had nothing but those fake-ass glasses he wears. Actually, he sucks as a dark romance MMC in this one. Maybe he should have been in a Colleen Hoover book. Why did bro start talking to his cock?!

Kirill spent most of the book just moping and complaining like a little bitch. He's all insecure and jealous over a non-existent lover, and he got shot twice? Like, come on now, what did you expect when you followed her to Russia? And the whole beef with Rai was just unnecessary and out of nowhere

I used to hate Viktor for being such a pain in the ass to Shasa. But after reading this book, I'm starting to appreciate him more than anyone. I wish i didn't take for granted all the times he punched Sasha 😔 all the times he scowled at her 😔 I wished I cheered!🥂


Anyway I just think this plot was wasted. Rina could have used the 200 pages of the book to tell us more about Kirill’s family and Sasha’s family. Instead, we got 90% of the reading just reading about Shasa whining like a little baby 😭 and Kirill being all broody. The only thing keeping me hopeful for the 3rd book is that cliffhanger and reveal in the last 3 pages. 🙏 🤞

WITH ALL BEING SAID! *sips hot tea* Of course, i will read the next book 🌸 💅 😌



Blood of my Monster ~ 4.75 ☆
Lies of my Monster ~ 2.00 ☆
Heart of my Monster ~ TBR ☆

[ˋ✧*⁀➷ ʙᴇᴛᴛʏ (med school got me good) · Rating 2 out of 5]

i asked for the D and rina served me dumb and dramatic. the joke is on me i guess 🤡

this book was dumb on so many levels honestly rk deserves a badge🏅purely for this.
now i know i know, you need to yeet the concept of logic out of the window while reading miss kent's books but there's a limit to which i can ignore my agonizing conscience. besides, the amount of times i was embarrassed while reading this beauty is a record on it's own😍

🏅 7x62x82xxx here is rina's contact no. she is giving free advice on how to dumb down your female characters.
seriously, why did i expect anything more from her? i really admired sasha in the first book. she was strong, independent, feisty and on a mission to avenge her family. meet sasha from the second book. the dumb, whiny, pathetic, doormat sasha who's too much of a lovefool to think straight. i can't believe it took kirill 5 seconds to convince her to marry him, even after the shit he just pulled💀 and the way this dumb bitch ran away on his command and stayed hidden for 6 fucking months I'M DEAD💀💀. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REVENGE GURL??😭

🏅 kirill is no better. manipulative mafia lord my ass💀

🏅 how tf was sasha still his guard? and that too senior guard of all😭 the amount of times she acted stupidly and impulsively needs to be studied.

🏅 how tf did no one guess they were fucking behind the closed doors💀 they were so open about it, so vocal, y'all some blind bitches bro cuz what-

🏅 did i mention how dumb this book was? i don't think so i did.

~spoilers~
anyways, THE PLOT TWIST. i thought yuri was gay for sasha bcz of how sketchy he was acting but imagine my shock when man's actually turned out to be her brother😭😭 JAW. DROPPED.
~spoilers~

and yep sasha is stupid. i need to mention it again. and again. and again.

this book suffers from the infamous "middle book syndrome". it's dumb, stupid, boring, repetitive, cringey, and the one where i lose all the respect and admiration for the characters. the angst and pain was high at the start, and the grovel was by fmc (surprise!), but that's the only redeeming quality of this book. even the smut was lame and a whole cringefest on it's own.

but i gotta thank rina for the laughs😭 the absolute absurdity of this book sent me. i completely lost it when she tattooed his ugly ass name above her coochie to stake a claim💀😭🤚

[ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you for the laughs, Rina Kent. i needed this rn🙏🏻

[veerali · Rating 2 out of 5]

just a bunch of stupid people doing stupid things.

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reread)

''She's the other half of my unbound lust and possessiveness''

Safety warnings:
- H 30 / h 22
- No cheating
- No OM drama
- OW drama
- Attempted s*xual assault
- Violence
- Edging
- Knife play
- Cliffhanger

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

Be aware I will keep adding to my review until everything I can possibly think of is written down.

I need a good month to get over this book.

Did I enjoy it more than book 1? Yes
Did it hurt more than book 1? Fuck yes!
Will I send Rina my therapy bill? You best believe it.

Let's dive in because we already know this is going to be a long review and I have more feelings than I can possibly explain.

The book starts with a look at 13-year-old Kirill, and we see that he has known Adrian since he was young, and it also shows the start of the torture he went through from his father. His little brother and sister both love him, and he is super protective over them.

Right after this chapter we are back to the ending of book 1 and we see Kirill follow Sasha to Russia. He goes for two reasons: 1) He has a bad feeling about her trip and wants to make sure she is safe 2) He wants to see the ''lover'' she has and kill him.

We all know Sasha has NO lover despite what Kirill has created in his head, he is so jealous and possessive that he cannot let go of this narrative.

My theory going in was that Viktor was with him during the shooting at the end of book 1 and dies but I was proven wrong which actually made me happy as I don't wish the guy any harm! He is actually in Russia but not allowed to follow Kirill when he goes in search of Sasha.

Sasha witnesses Kirill get shot and chooses to save him over letting her uncle and grandmother kill Kirill. She takes him to the hospital and gets a hold of Viktor who joins her, asking questions she cannot answer. Kirill is in unstable conditions and almost dies but he is thankfully saved and taken back to NY after waking up and being stable enough to travel.
''Is this how I will die? Staring at these cruel eyes that I once dreamed would soften?''
BUT OF COURSE, Kirill no longer trusts Sasha, he views her as his enemy and he is absolutely pissed off with her to the point he ignores her, pushes her out of her position and his inner circle. They never speak and it's just an all-around sad time. This goes on for months until she eventually forces him to take her back and he does out of spite, but their sexual relationship is dead in the water. They have no intimacy, and he is still keeping her at arm’s length even after she is back to being his guard.
''Erasing her is nowhere near possible''
There is one scene where he attempts to use sexual methods to get her to admit to anything that happened in Russia and who shot him. He edges her the entire night, but she never gives in and that’s as far as it goes for them both.

Once she is back at his side as his guard he is off one night with his team to get a delivery at the port like usual but has a bad feeling and forces most of his men to stay back including Sasha, they get ambushed at the port but Sasha herself who had a bad feeling as well shows up while Kirill is about to be shot by a mystery man but once Sasha shows up (and shoots him in the chest, he has a bullet proof vest) they all leave and are left alone. Remembering this moment I have to say it was Yuri who was the masked guy and I bet you I am right! It just seemed so odd about how he got separated from Kirill and then this guy showed up but didn’t attack Sasha?

However, during all this separation they are both celibate as they both admit in their POVs they only want each other and nobody else matters. I love this in books - I love that despite his anger he still sees her as the only one he wants and nobody else will ever be enough nor even tried to find someone else.

Sasha is adamant on proving Kirill that she can be trusted and she truly never set him up back in Russia, months afterwards we enter a scene (if you have read the Throne duet) readers will be very aware of, it's the scene where Sasha and Rai get kidnapped by the Albanians after a shootout.

Pause to discuss the timeline, I was WAY OFF. We are told that Kirill and Sasha have known each for over a year at this point and Rai is now married to Kyle placing this timeline back to Throne Duet events and book 1 and 3 of Deception trilogy. I think my confusion came from Lia nor Jeremy ever being mentioned in book 1 and Rai having the drunk moment happen (which I thought was right after Kyle left).

Okay so up are at the point where Kirill, Damien and Rai are being attacked by the Albanians, Kirill has not relented in truly trusting Sasha even after she pledged she would protect him with her life until the end and guess what? That ''I'm sorry'' she said to him before the Albanians took her was about her being sorry she could not protect him.

When she wakes up all she cares about is whether or not HE made it out alive, her entire world revolves around Kirill and whether or not he is safe. You know damn well that Kirill feels the same. All he cares about, and we see this play out in the Throne Duet scene where he tortures the Albanian for info and also how everyone refers to his actions after she was taken.

The scene with the Albanians is also the moment Rai finds out that Sasha is a woman after she is stripped, Rai never utters a word to anyone about this BUT again from the Deception Trilogy and Throne Duet we know that Adrian and Kyle both know that Sasha is a woman, and they don't care lol so honestly I wish it would just come out so we could of avoided so much pain later.

After Sasha is rescued, Kirill makes sure she is out of harm's way and ends the Albanian's nest the entire evening. They finally go back to being intimate and I swear it took almost half of the book for them to get to this point. It was torture watching these two want each other but Kirill denying it mostly because she has become a weakness but fuck it right? But once it’s back? It’s so worth. The spice is perfect.

You can see their obsession with each other in this book. It's to the point where it's unhealthy and also toxic BUT it's mutual. Nobody means more to Kirill than Sasha does. His whole world is about her, he cannot function without her around. He cannot get enough of her; he adores her push and stubbornness. You know he loves her, but love is such a foreign concept to him that it never crosses his mind, but there are moments where he is almost realizing it but confuses it with being obsessed.

An endearing moment I will never get over is when Kirill demands Sasha give him a nickname the way he has given her one. Why? Well Sasha has a nightmare where she calls out her grandmother, uncle and little cousin with endearing Russian names BUT Anton (her long lost brother presumed dead) is only Anton and Kirill thinks that he is her lover but he is happy she didn't use a term of endearment for him like the other, so he demands she give him one to have the UPPER HAND over a GHOST haha

She does, it's Luchik.
''It's sunray. As in, the only beam of light in the darkness''
''Am I your beam of light in the darkness? Really?
''I don't know. Am I your sun?
And at this point Kirill says ''You are'' in his mind responding to her question.

She helps his sister plan his birthday and they have a surprise party for him. Sasha's gift? She tattooed his nickname above her lady bits, and he is just as animalistic/caveman about it as you can imagine. I swear does this not confirm she has NO LOVER? haha

We find out that her actual birthday is a day after his and she tells him this which a second later he gives her a bracelet that he has kept around for her, and it has engraved with her name on it. Deny you love her all you want but it’s so damn obvious.

Also, something else to note: Kirill has counted every single time they have had sex. Every. single. time.

''I fuck her as if I'll die without her''

But not everything can be perfect right? Nope.

We are at the stage where the book needs the inevitable drama, and we are about to get it. Right before that though, the two of them are having sex and he makes her promise that she is his and to never leave him which she promptly says ''I love you'' to him and he is even more adamant that she never leaves him, no matter what. So, at this point you know he did something she will not like but what?

Welllllll

A party is being thrown where everyone must attend. The party? It's an engagement party. For who? Kirill and Kristina aka Adrian's former fiancée who he was with for business and ended things with disdain from the Pakhan and Igor after he married Lia. Kristina who is Igor's daughter and Igor who is basically best friends with the Pakhan, he has massive influence for who is chosen next. And we all know Kirill wants the top position and will do anything to get it.

Sasha finding out about it the way she did in front of the world, crying her eyes out was such a dick move. I hated it, it made me super angry with Kirill. I wanted him to snap out of his ego and realize what he did was so harmful to the woman who hours ago confessed her love for him.

Thankfully, Rai sees Sasha about to break down and removes her from the room, but Sasha is beyond gone at this point she runs off. Desperate to understand why he would do this and why she means nothing.

I should mention that this scene had an intriguing moment between Konstantin and Kristina. Konstantin bolted from the area when the engagement was announced and Kristina and him shared a look. I agree with many others that these two have a secret thing going on and are most likely in love. It would be great for them both to get their own HEA, Kristina needs to stop being a pawn her father uses whenever it pleases him.

Adrian and Rai both corner Kirill (at different times) and Adrian tells him to back out of it, I think he knows Kirill and Sasha are together and knows the damage it will cause because of his own marriage being a mess for years because of shit decisions and Rai let Kirill have it about Sasha being distraught.

Kirill finds a drunk Sasha hours later demanding to be let go and wanting to know if she was allowed to be herself would he leave and choose her?

''End it with her. Choose me.''

At this point Kirill is just being an asshole and a true monster. She is shattered beyond belief, and he doesn't do anything to fix it but even suggests she must stay and basically be his mistress because Kristina is nothing but a business transaction but of course who would be okay with that? He says she means nothing, and she is actually the other woman but it’s not enough.

He tricks her into entering the basement safe room to make sure she never leaves and doesn't run off after the threats she gives him and after days of being confined goes back to see her, she basically admits that she wishes she was his wife and could be with him for everyone to see.

''Is that what you want to be? My wife?
''If I say yes, will you make it happen?

This moment causes Kirill to do something he has never done before, SMILE BIG like a weirdo and leaves right after. Another two days pass until he shows up again with a man and a suitcase. While wearing a tuxedo.....he reveals that the suitcase contains a wedding dress, lingerie and make up and shows her the two wedding rings he had made for them with the engravings of ''Kirill's'' and ''Sasha's''.

They are officially married, and she reveals her real last name and what happened to her family. Viktor now also knows that Sasha is a woman as he was a witness to their wedding. He seemed truly shocked at first, but it made more sense to him after he calmed down.

During his POV Kirill is absolutely over the moon at marrying her and cannot help but be astonished that she is his wife so yeah the end of this book hurts because of this moment. He even suggests to takes selfies with her and have pictures of their moment.

''She is my fucking home now. The only home I've ever known''

He tells her the only way it can work for them to be married to the outside world is if she goes away for 6 months and stays at a cabin he owns until he can bring her back as her guy counterpart's twin sister. She agrees and he states he will visit almost every week and eventually it will be safe to come back and have a life together out in the open and she won't need to ever pretend to be a man again.

She goes off after her goodbyes and spends the week at the cabin, Kirill messages her that he will be there tonight and she starts to get ready and a knock comes at the door during the late afternoon, she thinks it's him but it's Yuri. The quiet, calm guard who she has known since the Army and has been a massive asset and help to Kirill the entire time.

Yuri is showing her an image of Kirill at a church getting married to Kristina, and how now that Kirill knows her last name and information about her family he has found out about the truth, and he is going to kill her because he was a part of the massacre that killed her family and wait the worst part of the reveal? Yuri is Anton. Her long-lost brother. He needs her to get ready to leave now as Kirill is on his way to kill her. Sasha is in absolute disbelief and Anton tells her their marriage is a fake one and he never cared for her. He played her to get information and it was all a lie!

Now listen, I am pissed that Kirill went through with the wedding to Kristina. I am pissed that he did it behind her back and sent her away so she would not be a problem to his plans, but do I believe he doesn't care? No. His POV has been consistent about her and how he feels and after they got married, he was elated to be her husband and her his wife. He was calling her his HOME!

Do I think he has a shitty plan? Yes.
Do I think their marriage is fake? No, his marriage to Kristina is the one that isn't legal.
Did he marry Kristina to make sure he doesn’t get in trouble or ruined because he backed out? Yes since he did sign a blood contract. He is possibly going through with it to not cause any harm to his plans, but he is going about it the wrong fucking way. He is also being named Pakhan because of the marriage, which is giving him the ultimate power, in turn enough power to leave the ''marriage'' and bring Sasha back as his WIFE.
Is he involved in Sasha's family's massacre? No. He was genuinely puzzled by her story and her last name meant nothing to him. He was also investigating stuff that is probably related to her family in the beginning of the book BUT he made no connection to it the way he should if he was involved.
Is Yuri aka Anton playing Sasha? Yes. I think he has been played by his family as well, but he is so far out of it that Kirill's actions are not sitting well with him either and he has found proof of his involvement in their family’s deaths.

Here is some of my theory about the ending:
Kirill has found out about Yuri being Anton somehow, so he either thinks that Anton is in fact Sasha's lover and is attacking the cabin at the end of the book to get rid of him for even daring to go near her OR the attack is NOT Kirill but a plot to make Sasha obedient again and leave to turn on her husband.

There is also a theory going around that Sasha might be pregnant, we get a scene in the book where she noticed how she looks more “radiant”. Am I hoping she is? Yes. I actually like the pregnancy trope. Will there be a time jump between the books? Maybe?

If she is pregnant then it must mean that their kid is the white mask from the LOGs series! They would be in the same age range as Nikolai.

Also timeline discussion:
I was like I mentioned before OFF about the timeline.
The first book takes place almost 2 years or less before the events at the end of Deception Trilogy.
Rai gets married in the beginning of this book.
We witness the Albanian kidnapping which not long before Rai is pregnant and helps Lia escape Adrian but as we saw during the engagement party for Kirill and Kristina that Adrian and Lia were very much showing off their affection for one another and playfully acting in front of them too.
Which obviously means that the third book will have to be after the end of that series.
I might be wrong but I am so damn confused about it all haha

Another theory/observation:
The third books name is ''Heart of My Monster'' so this has to mean that he does have one and he will do anything to get her back? Obviously they will end up together but how far will he go to get her on his side again and what will he sacrifice for her in the long run?

I need the final book right now because I don't know how I will wait an entire month before we get all the answers and conclusions. I just want their HEA so badly and I also want him to get his head out of his ass and finally confess to her and to himself how much she means to him and how much he loves her.

This is the part where I announce I will be rereading the Deception Trilogy AGAIN this month because I need a happy ending and Adrian/Lia can provide that for me.

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome cliffhanger!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚💜❤️🖤
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍
Character development: 🙂😀🤩😍🥰

The heroine: Sasha - her entire extended family were massacred four years ago, except herself, her grandmother, her uncle Albert, her cousin Mike, and possibly her brother Anton. Since then Sasha has been hiding as a male soldier named Aleksander, until going to work for the Bratva in the US with her commander, Kirill. She suspected his father was the one who ordered her family slain and is out to prove it and get revenge.

The Hero: Kirill - he had a horrible childhood and broke free from his father when he joined the military in Russia, but has since come home to learn the family business and eventually take over for his father as one of the top leaders of the Russian Bratva. Kirill brought some of his closest men with him when he was in the military and they returned with him to the US along with Sasha, who is now one of his bodyguards.

The Story: The last book ended with a huge cliffhanger which changed everything between Sasha and Kirill. They both have family secrets that affect each other, but they aren’t about to bring those secrets to light without possibly endangering one or both of them. Though Kirill has to get to the bottom of what happened while they were in Russia.



I really enjoyed the fact that we get to know Kirill as a person in this book, in the first book we found out a little about his life before he joined the military, but in this book we learn so much more about his childhood, his family and his relationships with the people closest to him. The characters in this book are terrific, from Kirill’s messed up family to the other Bratva leaders, like Damien who loves going to war and sees it as his only form of entertainment.

I also love the fact that Yuri and Maksim are Sasha’s close friends and are always helping her out, despite the fact that they don’t know she is a woman. Like the first book, there were a few great scenes in this book that also took place in some of Rina Kent’s other books (Deception Trilogy, Throne Duet), but this time we saw those situations from a new perspective. I liked it quite a bit.

I have to say, that I have read most of Rina Kent’s books and I looked back at them recently and I have given all of them either 4 or 5 stars, most of them 5. I got to thinking, that maybe I am too biased and giving them a higher rating than I they deserve, but then I started reading this one and literally couldn’t put it down from start to finish.

Not only that, but I read a lot (upwards of 400 books a year) and I forget a lot of what I read, but I have never forgotten any of Rina’s books and I knew those scenes that appeared in other books right away when the same scenes were in this one. Rina Kent is one of my favorite authors and it always surprises me how I get so involved in these stories and just can’t get enough. This one certainly deserved 5 stars and I can’t wait for the next book. The cliffhanger at the end came out of nowhere and I am exited to see how it all plays out.

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[iso · Rating 1 out of 5]

both of them are such fucking losers omfg it’s pathetic.

[annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS ✨

I'm seriously truly shocked by giving 5 stars to another book by Rina! 🫢 This book was as good as book 1, and the writing was truly excellent. It did have the usual over-the-top usage of creepy words to describe the hero, but it was good. Also, you can say it had lil groveling but by the heroine?!! 😗

╰┈➤ RIGHT AFTER BOOK 1:

So, book 1 ended with Kirill being shot by Sasha's Uncle, who knew that he would follow Sasha to Russia.

❝It’s the reality of knowing that Sasha led me here so that whoever these men are would kill me.❞ — No, you idiot! She took necessary measures to ensure you didn't follow her, but you put 3 trackers on her! 🙃

So he thought that Sasha betrayed him, and he lost all his trust in her. Sasha refused to believe that he was the one behind her family's massacre and saved him, fought her uncle, and got disowned by her grandmother, but she still clung to Kirill's side. Kirill felt betrayed by her, so instead of confronting or listening to her, he silenced and restricted her from meeting him.

This ignoring-silencing-restricting pattern continued for a few weeks until Sasha finally made it to his room where he not so subtly threatened her. Sasha is as stubborn as he is. Half of this book showed month by month how Sasha slowly gained his forgiveness, and he started talking to her again, but he still didn't trust her. I loved that Rina didn't rush anything or include anything sexual because Kirill is mad at her; the characters in this book actually have a lot of self-control. and I'm not complaining at all.

╰┈➤ THEIR PROGRESS:

❝She’s someone who can be used against me to put me on my knees.❞

I'm still glad that this book showcased Kirill's possessive and caveman-like side, but he was a complete asshole sometimes because he stayed mad at Sasha most of the time — well, because she kept getting herself into danger. Sasha made it her mission to protect Kirill no matter what, she was traumatized after seeing him get shot, and she was willing to do anything, even sacrifice her life, to protect him. Even though Kirill was obsessed with Sasha, her povs delved deeper into her emotions and how much she respected and loved him. No matter what happened, she was always looking out for him! 🥺

❝I have no clue why Sasha is special to me, but I know she is. She. Fucking. Is.❞

Kirill's obsession is so intense that it's toxic! 😭 I swear he's always thinking about locking her up he actually did. He's also insanely jealous of anyone talking to her.

– He comforted her when she was kidnapped:
❝What do you need me to do? How can I help?❞

– He killed everyone involved in her kidnapping:
❝You’re not the type who starts wars without a reason.❞
❝That’s where you’re wrong. I have a perfectly solid reason.❞
❝And what is that, I wonder?❞
❝They hurt you, and that’s enough incentive for war.❞

– He would kill anyone for her:
❝I will annihilate each and every person who attempts to harm Sasha.❞

– I'm dead 💀 because of his thoughts for Rai:
❝I hope he (Kyle) dies, and she becomes a widow, and then decides to become a nun.❞

╰┈➤ THE BETRAYAL:

❝If I’d let him have his way with me after swearing never to go near him, I’d never forgive myself.❞

Now, what the fuck happened! 🙂🔪 I was super mad that Kirill agreed to marry Kristina when he was offered the position of Pakhan — the head of the whole organization. Although it was for the alliance and power, it came as a shock to Sasha, and I swear she was crushed!

❝I want to be at the top. No matter what it fucking takes.❞

I loved when she confronted him, even though she was drunk and crying. She didn't let him stomp all over her. I don't understand why he was being so robotic about the whole situation and just told her plainly that it was all for power when she was crying in front of him and begging him not to do that! I'm so glad that she cursed him, shouted at him, punched his face 😭🥺, and ran.

❝You have a damn fiancée, so you have no fucking right to talk to me about a lover or hundreds of them. Fuck you, Kirill! Fuck you! Fuck you!❞

She wanted out after that, but he locked her up for 2 days straight because he's super toxic like that and doesn't want Sasha to EVER LEAVE HIM. But guess what, they got married! Yayayayay! ✨ but I'm still counting on Kirill being on his knees!

❝I have a wife. And her name is Aleksandra Ivanova.❞

Sasha, like a lovesick puppy, agreed to everything he said — living at a cottage in the mountains for 6 months until he became Pakhan, then he'd announce her as his wife — and she thought that he ended things with Kristina and told him everything about her past. She was wrong, and I was so shocked in the end! I read some reviews, and something wasn't adding up, but I still didn't see it coming 🫢, and Sasha found her brother in the end!

Also, Damien is said to 'kill people or girls' because of his violent episodes and the fact that he's also called unhinged and he's always joking around but is dangerous is so giving VLAD'S (from morally ambigious) VIBES. umm plss don't copy that rina 🥲

I'm so glad this series is already finished and I can start the next book rn, BECAUSE someone TOLD SASHA THAT KIRILL IS SENDING HIS MEN TO KILL HER 🤡

RATINGS:

• Blood Of My Monster — 5 stars
• Lies Of My Monster – 5 stars
• Heart Of My Monster – TBR

[EmBibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dumb

Ways

To

Die.

[lakshmi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hope is a fucking bitch

the whole marriage thing came up and all I thought was “ really? That’s so used”

okay so here's my full on thoughts for the Lies of My Monster:

1. I really don't get why anyone still thinks Sasha is okay to be his body guard? She acts on impulse, gets hurt and he ends up protecting her.

2. The amount of second hand embarrassment I got was stellar. in the first book, I thought, wow! this chick has balls, but now I'm like "What are you even doing ?!?!?". She cried in front of everyone! She fell down a flight of stairs as a distraction, she practically begged him to marry her

3. He wasn't all that better of either, He was bland, boring and unoriginal in this addition, he didn't have any development or personality. I'll leave it at that.

4. Rai and Viktor and Yuri saved this for me.

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*deep breath* here we go

[lana myers #1 fan 🍉 (ervena) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75🌟

not too shabby. it was enjoyable but on the boring side.

there was too much 360° head turns and point black stares at the forth wall from yours truly.

i need more personality from kirill and sasha, i beg. they’re quiet fucking boring right now.

the nicknames for each other were cute. sasha being possessive was adorable, i love possessive women🫶🏼. ALSO sasha’s tattoo, FUCK ME, i love whipped women. (i love women 🫶🏼🤞)

the ending scene was decent, definitely shocking reveal with yuri and anton.

i swear to fucking god if there is another mention of the word ‘lover’ in the next book, i will blow myself to mars.

————————————-
COMING MARCH 2nd.

the fucking wait is going to make me grind my molars into powder.

my theories:
- my man kirill is 100% getting shot up (from the looks of it at the end of book 1)
- the uncle is the one that set up the murder of sasha's father but it back fired which resulted in his childern dying too
OR
- kirill's mother set up the attack that killed sasha's family for revenge or what not
- sasha's brother is probably a powerful mafia person within the circle but he lost his memory
- either yuri or maksim die (boo, i dont want that)
- its revealed that sasha's family was heavily involved with the mafia

i might as well come on here and say, i am motherfucking obssesed with sasha and kirill.

[Dora Koutsoukou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Part 2

1 😳⭐️

The heroine was not smart. Period.

There were so many fillers in this part that it got tedious.

For so many months, Sasha and Kirill had sex behind closed doors and none of his men noticed or ever heard Sasha moan and scream????
Sasha, who was still pretending to be a man and Kirill was the only one who knew her disguise.

Let's leave the tattoo for another day. 🙄

The only reason I will read the last part, is the cliffhanger.

[Mareeva · Rating 1 out of 5]

🛑SPOILERS - but I mostly just call everyone stupid in 100 different ways🛑

Kirill surprised us all by joining the dumb bitch club, a badge for him🏅 truly broke the bounds of stupidity. The only good thing to come out of his sudden case of brainlessness was him going unhinged over every male name Sasha dared to utter.

Sasha: *mumbles her brother's name while in the woes of a horrific nightmare about the massacre of her family*

Kirill:


Even more good news is Sasha's still a loser, but she is a pathetic loser now. The levels of embarrassment she managed to acheive in this book are stupendous. astonishing. MIRACULOUS. I swear to god it's scientifically impossible to be this dense.

Like imagine abandoning your only living relatives, debasing, humiliating, and LITERALLY THROWING YOURSELF DOWN A FLIGHT OFF STAIRS for a man😭 she does all that and more, after being told he orchestrated her family's execution. And then get this............she didn't even bother checking if it's true👹 not even a peak, a lil sneaky peaky....just to see if ya know🤪 the man you starved yourself for didn't ACTUALLY murder your entire family.

By the end of the book, I feel like she's completely lost her mind. That woman is so out of touch with reality, I sincerely believe she needs a mental hospital.

And Kirill isn't any better, he belongs there right along with her. He was so gone, dude skipped his way into two marriages, he looked and sounded deranged😭

A mental queen with a severe saviour complex and her intellectually degenerative king<3 put that on the cover

I wonna say the whole plot surrounded a bunch of completely idiotic misunderstandings, but that would be false. There has to be a limit, where a misunderstanding can't count as one when a person is literally too slow to form one critical thought.

It was so obvious that Sasha has no lover and she didn't want to kill Kirill💀 I mean the girl literally tattooed his ugly ass nickname above her pussy. No, it's not a misunderstanding, it's a very rare case of an exotic disease called RINA KENT LOGIC. God bless anyone who suffers from it because I'm sorry to say....you're doomed.

The one thing RK never fails at is making me laugh my ass off. When I say Ellie and I were in hysterics while reading this, I wish I could insert voice notes in here.

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no fucking words. Kirill… the man that you are. I am sat. But also my heart is ripping out of my chest because that ENDING?!!! I honestly couldn’t predict these plot twists of my life depended on it and I’m having the best time despite my anxiety being through the goddamn roof. I love the balance of spice and plot in these books, like don’t get me wrong it’s spicy and it’s scrumptious but there are way less spicy scenes compared to RK’s other books and I think that’s truly because it’s so plot forward which I love. Sasha continues to be the bad ass FMC that she is and takes no shit and I can’t wait to see her on her revenge arc in book 3! I better get hard core groveling from daddy Kirill. I’m stunned.

[soumeya &#x1f1f5;&#x1f1f8; · Rating 2 out of 5]

had to dnf when she tattooed his name over her 🐱 cuz wtf😀

[ApoorvaReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 star for viktor punching sasha and 1 star for Rai, Adrian and Damien crumbs🙏

[Matilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

eat shit kirill

[lulu ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 5 stars ⭐️

”Sasha is the ruin of my house of cards and there’s nothing i can do to change that.”

~ WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ENDING???
my heart is literally in so much pain. i am NOT ready for the next book 🤧🤧

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

sasha what the fuck is wrong with you, did you learn nothing?
what a pathetic spineless whiny moron. how's she still alive is a mystery to me.

i can't take them both seriously, this whole trilogy will end up being a joke. and the joke is on me who thought they were the next lia and adrian.



at least i didn't have to suffer another chasing through the woods sex, thank god!

[aira · Rating 5 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 4.75/5

(2026) annual reread of this trilogy!!

It just hits every time!! Just everything about this book (and Sasha + Kirill) makes me feel so happy.

I have definitely read it too many times by now, but it's my comfort trilogy.

book 16 of 26 books in 2026 and this trilogy is a self-rec hehe.

--------

(2025 review) re-read #∞:

"...watch your fucking tone when you speak to my wife."

I don't have any words.

🤭🤭🫣🫣

“No one but me will touch you, own you, hurt you. No fucking one.”
“You’re my fucking property, Solnyshko.”

The absolute chokehold he has over me is so real. In Kirill we trust!

The way he asked for - I mean, demanded - a nickname was actually hilarious, but like cute at the same time. The man was so jealous of the wrong people. Like her cousin, her brother, and her uncle. The way he would say "lover" when referring to her little cousin because he didn't know wiped me out. EVERY. DAMN. TIME.

She calls him "Luchik" btw and it was the first time I read about a woman having a nickname for her man.

“I was hoping you'd see reason so it wouldn't come to this, but you forced my hand, Sasha.”

This is the one point that I was so mad at Kirill for doing that to Sasha. 😡😡😡

God, towards the end, he infuriated the hell out of me and I was pissed on Sasha's behalf, but he somewhat makes it up to her. I personally might not have forgiven something like that, but I am not Sasha and Sasha is not me, so I'll respect her decision while also shitting on it (jk, jk, still love them both - A LOT might I add).

onto the last book in the trilogy - Heart of My Monster!!!

------

the ending has me in a chokehold, omg.

this trilogy got me out of a huge reading slump. I went in with no expectations, but it ended up being my fav trilogy of Rina's.