Wicked Intentions

The Bobrov Bratva #1

by Shandi Boyes

I’m a ghost.
A monster.
A man without a soul.

Then I saw her. Again.

Katie Bryne had been missing for four years, presumed dead until she was paraded for sale at an auction days after her eighteenth birthday.

Her endeavor to escape caused the bids to come in hard and fast, so the last thing anyone expected was for her to be held captive in a windowless room for an additional four years.

When freedom finally presented itself, it wasn't as either of us expected. I bought her for myself, but after lowering her to her knees, I was once again forced to alter my wants.

A Bobrov heir is more vital than my wish to bed the red hair beauty, so no matter how long I’ve craved her, I can't touch her.

Until the temptation proves too much…


*

This book is a full standalone dark mafia romance. It has content that is triggering. Check author's website for TWs.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Romance, Mafia Romance, Love

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2023

About the author

Shandi Boyes is a USA Today Bestselling Author who was an avid reader for many years before she discovered the love of writing in February 2016. Her first penned novel 'Perception of Life’ is a new adult rockstar romance that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the very last word.

In September 2016, her focus shifted to hot alpha men in steamy contemporary reads that sizzle off the pages. Shandi’s novel ‘Enigma of Life’ is an award-winning story on an FBI agent and the subject she was assigned to investigate. Her men are swoon-worthy, devoted, and alpha; and her heroines are strong-willed, determined, and loveable. You should start her stories first thing in the morning, or you may not sleep.

You will laugh and you will cry, but Shandi's characters will stay with you for a lifetime!

Join my newsletter: subscribepage.com/authorshandi

SERIES ORDER:
Perception of Life (Noah and Emily #1)
Reality of Life (conclusion of Noah's story #2)
Fight of Life (Jacob's story - standalone #3)
Player of Life (Nick & Jenny - standalone #4)
Beats of Life (Slater's story - standalone #5)

Enigma:

Enigma of Life (Isaac #1) - ** FREE **
Unraveling an Enigma (Isaac #2)
Enigma: The Mystery Unmasked (Isaac #3)
Enigma: The Final Chapter (conclusion of Isaac's story #4)
Beneath the Secrets (Hugo #1)
Beneath the Sheets (Hugo #2)
Spy Thy Neighbor (Hunter's Story)
The Opposite Effect
I Married a Mob Boss
Second Shot

Bound:

Chains
Links
Bound
Restrained

Russian Mob Chronicles:

Nikolai: A Mafia Prince Romance
Nikolai: Taking Back What's Mine
Nikolai: What's Left of Me

You will laugh and you will cry, but my characters will stay with you forever!

I love writing and reading. They are both my passion. My genre is generally set to new adult and contemporary, with a few twists thrown in.

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Author-Shand...

Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01D8C13WU

Enjoy reading!

Reviews

[Donyá Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was by far one of thee worst books I have ever read in the romance genre. Before I go in I want to say that by no means is the author a bad writer technically wise she was great I’ve followed her on instagram and I read Hotshot Neighbor by her and loved it! But plot wise…. This was not my cup of tea AT ALL. She does have trigger warnings for her books sometimes I saw it in Hotshot Neighbor and as I’m writing this I checked to make sure I wasn’t just a dumbass who missed it for this one and it’s not there for this book. Hotshot Neighbor didn’t need them as bad as this one does. If you wanna still read it for yourself stop reading here.

Okay so this book was dark as fuckkk. Like I not once got horny for the characters, not once was I like ooh wish that was me. As a girl who reads romance and sometimes erotica or hell reads at all you know what I’m talking about. This didn’t happen in this story NOT ONCE. This shit was dark I spent the entire book hoping it got better, her love interest wasn’t what I thought it was something. I was hoping for anything any reason not to write this book off as a waste of time but that’s what it is for me at least. It’s basically about this girl Katie she gets kidnapped and trafficked at 14 because she and her friend Blaire were walking alone and her dad said not to but she just thought ole dad was just being protective NOPE. No she gets trafficked disappears and this is like the first chapter in. They get separated as she’s drugged and put into a shipping container and she can’t find Blaire. It all just keeps going downhill creepy Russian pervy trafficker men? Check. All the trafficked women in Katie’s container are virgins because creepy men like “claiming them” ? Check. (It was disgusting to even type that 🤢) Being in a abusive “whorehouse” basically to be trained to be a whore? Check. Them being enslaved and only allowed to wear nighties with no underwear and inspected by creeps who look at them like pieces of meat? Check. Graphic descriptions of the Russians torturing their enemies check? Abuse, trauma and Stockholm syndrome for the man who also looks at her like a piece of meat but he doesn’t quite abuse her like the rest and therefore is the so called dream boat of the story? Unfortunately yes. Here comes in “Ghost” yea that is his fudging name. Ghost say Katie and JUST HAD TO HAVE HER so of course the bad guys stole her in the first place use her to lure Ghost away and get Ghosty’s friend killed. Then Ghost is blamed for that and blah blah it got kinda boring so excuse me for missing the minute details. Finally they cross paths again and Ghost’s boss buys Katie and wants her to be “pure” 🤮 so this plot line is the reason Katie gets assaulted both by a doctor, a previous owner and Ghost all to make sure she’s still a virgin because if she’s not? Oh yeah he’ll kill her because that’s totally sane?!..🤦🏾‍♀️ also apparently Ghost had tried or did buy her for 3.8 million so theres another weird layer there and this is generally the story. Creepy Russian men trafficking women raping them to claim them virginally and either breed them or something sick and if they mess up they die or they’re used in sick vile ways and Katie is the only one spared BARELY many times she’s either assaulted almost assaulted or in creepy situations and if Ghost isn’t the one choking her out to talk like Batman to her then he’s brutally beating then killing those that do. I guess its cool when he fingers her to check because his excuse is the mafia boss is watching I have to *commence eyerolls* and of course despite him basically doing all the same shit damn near that the other men did/ do to her because he framed it under the guise of pretending to care, doing it so others wont or to protect her you guessed it she falls in love with him and LOVES HIM HARD. You’d think a girl that went through trauma like this wouldn’t want to be touched sexually but we don’t think about that i guess. Then when she finally gets free in the real world after having to fake a pregnancy that she didn’t know was fake (was being drugged with hormones to protect her from Ghostys sick boss) then what does she do?! Mourn Ghost look everywhere for Ghost because “love” this book was nothing but sexual trauma and every girl’s worst nightmare with a mighty helping of Stockholm Syndrome in the most extreme form on top. Plus that wasn’t even the only time she was drugged. She was drugged often by Ghost as well but because He eventually tells her I guess it’s alright…I will say Ghost was going along with the sick boss for the safety of his sister, Katie’s sister and Katie so I will give him that He didn’t like those circumstances but He still did treat her like meat to be “devoured” as he’d say. Also he was engaged at some point mostly emotionless but still. Its all just a toxic gross mess. I genuinely wouldn’t recommend this book to ANYONE unless I hated them and I mean some deep hate. I’m sorry if the author ever sees this because you are a good writer but this plot was just not for me like at all and I can’t really imagine it being ANYONE’s cup of tea.

[Mariamohamad · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is the worst book I've ever read

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 91%. I could not will myself to finish this book. Literally one of the worst romance books I’ve read tbh. First the timelines were so confusing and the author kept saying “he” and not mentioning any name to reference who were talking about for a while. There was so many different men in the book she could’ve been talking about so it was so confusing. Absolutely no romance at all, maybe two scenes with the main characters but they were short and we’re only sexual scenes (wasn’t even that spicy), and absolutely no conversation so I felt no emotional connection between the main characters. Towards the end it got so confusing with information just being thrown around, talking about one family and another and how the fmc was related to 20 different people. I just could not finish it, especially since it was such a long book for absolutely no reason. The author also mentions a lot of different families and doesn’t explain the backgrounds of them or why we are talking about them, or like how they had any connection to the book. Also, the mmc would like be all on the fmc and be obsessed with her and then just hate her the next, he also had a major addiction problem which was so overlooked and I felt it was just added on to his character for the hell of it, so basically for no reason. If your looking for steamy scenes and actual romance, do not read this book please.

[Vianna Lim · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is why i never trust booktok recs

[brigi tirpák · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at 40%
they sold her, bought her and she's a prisoner and she still feels desire for the man?

[Emma Beauchamp · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly Stockholm syndrome in a book with massive gaps in the plot

[what.lanareads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t knew a book could be this bad😨

[chloe - crimewithchlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 words - little. lamb. 😂

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 since it definitely kept my interest. it was very dark, sort of up my alley… minus the weird smut (hence “little lamb”) lol

[Jocelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 62%

[Kassidy Gunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am not your life line, маленький ягненок. I am the sole reason you’re captive. If it weren’t for me, you’d be free.”

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️
Spice: 3/5🌶️

🛳️ Thank you Shandi Boyes for the ARC! I love Katie & Ghost so much!!

🛳️ This forbidden, dark mafia, age gap romance with forced proximity and so much angst and tension is full of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes!

⚠️ Please check TWs before reading this book ⚠️

🛳️ Katie 😭 ahhh I love her so freaking much! She has been through so so much and she is still strong and brave 🫶🏻 She will never stop fighting. And I love this about her. Kidnapped at 14 by the mob and sold at 18. Now at 22, she is to meet her new owner, become his virgin bride, and carry his heir. She has been physically and emotionally abused for 8 years, trained to be an obedient slave. But when she meets Ghost her fight to survive is in full force.

🛳️ Ghost is very much a possessive man, but the possession he so desperately wants he can’t have. Or at least not without a great cost he’s not willing to make. He is the definition of touch her and ☠️ He has a hard exterior but there are a few people he has a soft spot for & it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever read 🥰 When he calls her “Little Lamb” swoon 🥹

🛳️ This is a must read!! These two were made for each other🖤 I love the connections to Shandi’s other characters/books. I’m gonna have to start making character connection boards soon 😂

[Tammy Majors · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn’t get into this one

I just couldn’t do this one. I tried but it was confusing and just not dark but made no sense. I gave up at chapter eight and couldn’t continue with this hot mess

[Souhila · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is too much for me i had to dnf after 65% of reading

[Battleaxe Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok but confusing in places

I struggled through and finished this. I’ve got to say, I couldn’t follow it. It was so confusing. Maybe it was meant to be? So many things didn’t make sense.
I understood the main premise and guessed correctly everything that was revealed towards the end, so I gave myself a pat on the back for not being totally brainless as I assumed I must’ve been lol. But the whole thing just seemed pointless for the most part.

[A.B. Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm sure people who can read Russian are pleased with the fact the author wrote the Russian words in the Russian alphabet, it makes it just about impossible for me to translate it, so I have no idea what those words meant and that did detract from enjoyment of this book.

The word ropeable is used far too often.

And "flab" is never the way to describe a pregnant (or faux pregnant)
belly.

Overall this is a complex and quite long, but good book.

[Harley Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly dark, not a lot more than that

Honestly this book was mostly just dark and sad with very little romance sprinkled in. I forced myself to finish it, but had to wait for the epilogue to finally get what I was reading for. It was a really long read too. Not my cup of tea.

[Rebbeca Rebellion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the hype that’s all I need to say.

[Jesmin Nawaz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting. Lots of chemistry, slow burn, and smut - but the story didn't flow well. Too many tangents and unnecessary characters for me. The insemination process was weird, the "pregnancy" track didn't make sense either. My favorite part were the epilogues where Katie feels that Ghost is around, and when Ghost finally comes back. This was very close to being a DNF for me but I wanted to know if Ghost died or not. One of my tells for a book I liked is how many highlights I have, this book only warranted 2.

[Mads · Rating 1 out of 5]

No.. gross

[Nihad azz · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 🌟. I would have DNF I just can't (it personal I can't dnf a book )
All the book .he was like" don't shave your 🐱 he(the other man ) doesn't like it " like brroooo are u serious
The other men was literally mentally fucked with GOD'S (Jesus) complexity 😶
The ent was sooooooo bad .the mmc was not needed at all in the book .I think ot would have been better if it was just a book not romance

[wulan · Rating 1 out of 5]

huh?

[Phia Schiele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t even get through this… it’s so gross and I hate it.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get that it’s a dark romance but what?

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

brah

I haven’t left a one star review in a long time. I’ve stuck to fan fiction and there you just get either fantastic or not for you and move on.

This thing went through the editing process. Someone else read this and said yeah let’s do it. Publish this bad boy. Who was that person?

The whole book was poorly written. But let’s really break it down.

Firstly Katie is a poorly written character. She has so much story filler to tell us. For eIgHt YeArS she’s been b*aten and scared and ab-*used yet she gets put into a new situation (the ship) and suddenly she’s all hot and bothered. Suddenly she’s breaking all the rules that were bEaT into her for EIGHT YEARS. just in case you didn’t know it’s recreated at least 60 times in the characters monologues.

Ghost is ghost until the end of the book which in and of itself must be a joke. He has no name. He is the no name bad guy good guy grey guy - guy. He is written with a lot of confusion of where the line is and what’s hot or not. Because he is a walking contradictions.

The writing is bland. There is a lot of telling and no showing. You know it’s going to be bad when there needs to be descriptive words as they speak to understand what’s going on in the story. The actual conversations and what they say don’t make sense at times and I had to reread a few times to figure it out (which I didn’t, so I moved on) [who edited this?]

The plot is more and more tedious. Not only did I stop caring about Katie at about chapter 3/4 but by 64% I just wanted her to expire. I wanted them all to expire. Sofia. Lera. Ghost. Katie. Krill. (What name is that by the way.) all of them I wanted them gone and then someone else to just be there so the story could start. So I could care about someone or something.

The problems lies in the fact I am constantly told everything. Next the plot doesn’t arc at 50% and then have some struggles towards resolution. It’s still clapping on about how they need to figure out what’s going on. 64% still no one knows why Katie. Why the prawn wants to impregnate her.

And the impregnation itself makes NO SENSE. he wants her to be a pregnant virg*in. Why? What for. That makes no sense.

The addition of a child that never talks and has no personality, features I can remember, a face, nothing. She’s Lera the 4 year old. Nothing more. Don’t add children in for nothing. For “shock” effect. I didn’t care about her. And the writing made it that I didn’t care about Katie’s decision to stay 😂😂 for her.

And then the epilogue is a JOKE. that’s when you find out about Blaire (who I felt nothing for and forgot) and what sort of happened and why.

It was dreadful. Even unedited fan fiction is better than this. It’s a poorly written ra pe fantasy.

Not for me.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I need more. Wicked Intentions is the first book in the new Bobrov Bratva series. It has some triggers, so please read them before proceeding. If dark romances, and I mean truly dark, are not for you, then you may want to skip this one.

This story truly pulls at the darkest aspects of human nature. Katie is taken and then is physically and emotionally abused for years. She's been trained to be obedient in whatever capacity they see fit.
Ghost is not to be trifled with. He is not a hero by any means. He's ruthless and not to be underestimated. He has a soft spot for very few people. The two seem like an unlikely pairing, but they absolutely fit. She isn't meant for him, and the things he's asked to do, made me feel bad for his character. The restraint that Ghost shows is incredible. He wants Katie, but knows it will come at a great cost. A cost that he may not be able to pay (even if he wants to).
"Don't worry Little Lamb, you were designed for me. I'm sure you can take it."

I enjoyed this story. It's a dark, slow burn mafia story that shows the strength of the human spirit. No matter how hard she was beaten down, Kate did not give up. She may have conformed to avoid certain punishments, but her spirit is still intact. Ghost is a force of dark nature. He is a brute, but doesn't know how to be any other way. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read.

Although I have to say, Shandi's writing style is a bit weird and confusing. She just breezes through everything in a way that makes it very confusing what is going on. There were also several characters that I had no idea what their relevance was to the story.

I do think the story as a whole could have been better developed for sure. The mafia aspect was very minimally developed and just the story as a whole was confusing. It was hard to get any kind of mental visual for the whole story. And as I've mentioned, there were several characters that could have been better introduced and explained.

And holy hell, that purity/Mary wives storyline was very interesting. Can't say I've ever seen that done before. I thought that was very interesting.

Every book I've ever read that involved human trafficking has been pretty dark. This one is no exception. It is a pretty bleak/horrifying existence and I think you definitely see that here.

I did like how it took a very long time for her and ghost to actually get together.

It was also interesting to me that the Russian parts were actually written in Cyrillic. I can read Russian so that was fun for me, but I’m sure most people can’t. Although, in kindle it’s very easy to just highlight any passages and click the translate button that pops up. Super easy to translate as you’re reading so it really shouldn’t be a big deal for the majority who can’t read Cryillic.

What I don't get are all the one star reviews saying this is the worst romance ever because it was so messed up etc…. Uh, ya, because it's actually dark. I've had it up to here with people who claim to love dark romance, and then when they actually read one that's really fucking dark, knowing it's going to be dark, they get mad. The story is dark as fuck. Ya, ghost isn't a nice guy, not even remotely a good guy. It's kind of the point.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW: Abortion, miscarriage, drug use, abuse, murder, human trafficking, many other things.

This book was ... wow. I think my mind is too blown to know how to rate it.

I want to hate it but the storyline was also too intriguing to so I don't know what to think. It's one of those books that you wonder how the author came up with it because it's so screwed up.

First, note that Kate is held as a slave for 8+ years after being trafficked. She's bought at one point and a dude promises he's about to save her but then she has to spend another 4 years in captivity before being "saved" (which is relative here) because I guess they lost track of her? I wasn't clear on that part but it was hella confusing.

"Ghost" (which, if he was in a boys' home, how is there no official record of him?) is apparently being blackmailed by his "half-brother" to do crap. His half-brother is basically the devil and wants to act like God by keeping his wife a virgin but also getting her pregnant. But he also wants to set her and his brother up to fail by tempting them to cheat. It's just a whole mess and chaos, and I still haven't processed this two days later. Only, Ghost's sister is also the devil, even though no one will admit it.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addictive read *Spoilers*

First I wanna start off my saying that I never write reviews, but this author impressed me so I feel as if I have to. This is my first book from this author. Finished the book in two days, I couldn’t put it down.

I loved Katie and Ghost. I wish we got to see more love scenes between the two, but nonetheless I truly loved them. The book overall was very captivating, well written, and impressively detailed. Definitely a hard read due to it’s explicit detail about horrid experiences, but it was vital to the story being told. I’m definitely impressed by the detailing and storytelling.

I gave 4 starts instead of 5 only because some parts were a bit confusing and I did have some unanswered questions by the end of it … the ending seemed a bit rushed and lackluster, definitely would of loved more… but still overall a great book.
Spoiler **** And I was a little upset that Ghost and Katie didn’t end up together until literally the very end but, I do understand why he stayed away… and they DID end up together so that’s what matters.

Absolutely loved them. Would love to read more from this author, as I said, this was my first book of theirs.

Overall impressed. Definitely a talented author.

[Brandi-Lynn Weiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I read many of the reviews before going into this book, so I knew a little about what to expect. And while I don’t have any triggers, and I’m not sensitive to any specific issues, one thing I do hate in a book is when the two main characters aren’t really together for almost the entire book. And that’s how it was with Ghost and Katie, they didn’t get together until the very end.
This definitely wasn’t a bad book, not at all, but it is on the dark side and definitely hits on topics that may be very sensitive to some readers.
I absolutely loved Katie, my heart broke for everything this girl had to endure and yet she was still strong. She never stopped fighting and never gave up.
I actually really liked Ghost and Katie, and didn’t think she had Stockholm Syndrome. I understood his reasoning for staying away at the end, but I didn’t like it because these two wanted to be together for so long and went through hell, and when they finally eliminated the threats and there was no reason keeping them apart, he stayed away. I just didn’t like that.

[Edith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possible spoilers: Katie and Ghosts story is not your typical love story. It is one that has to go through many obstacles to get to where it should be. Katie is a queen in itself with all she has been put through. She has survived in a “man’s world” and has helped many along the way while still holding on to a part of who she use to be. Ghost is a savage who acts first and questions after but his tough persona is brought to a stop when he comes across the fiery Katie. Their attraction is instant but filled with so many obstacles. Their relationship might not be ideal but their love, is more than just Stockholm Syndrome like many believe. After all, a king knows when he’s finally found his queen. This story was everything I didn’t know I needed and more. Even though it’s not your typical love story, it is one with lots of thrill, mystery, twists, and most of all, love. Don’t miss out. Thank you Shandi

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was only 3 chapters in and ordered the discreet paperback. I needed this book on my shelf!!!!! I've wondered about Katie's story since she first showed up in Shandi's previous books.

💜Mafia Romance
🧡Dark
🚫Trigger warning
🩷Dual POV
❤️Forced proximity
💚Virgin Heroine
🩵Age-gap
🥵Scarred Hero

Katie was grabbed while out with her best friend when she was 14. She hasn't known a day of freedom in the last 8 years. Now her owner that bought her at an auction 8 years ago has sent for her. He wants her to have the next Bobrov heir. Her new husband Kirill is evil.

Ghost steps in to save her every chance he can. He was the original one that bought her at the auction, but his brother took her for himself as punishment. He is a moody brute.

Cannot wait for more!!!! Excited for Alek's book!!!

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enjoyment: 5/5
Sexual Level: 🔥🥵🔥🥵
Dark: 🚫🚫🚫🚫
Series: Book 1
Cliffhanger: No
HEA: ?
KU: Yes