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Sutherland Brothers #2

The Price of Pleasure

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Kresley Cole returns with a breathtaking romantic saga of love, honor, and passion unbound—as a man of duty faces his greatest trial, and a young castaway discovers her greatest desire...

A man noted for his courage and integrity, Captain Grant Sutherland journeys to Oceania to find Victoria Dearbourne, an English girl lost at sea a decade before. He's given her ailing grandfather his word—as a gentleman—to find and protect her. But one look at a grown Victoria, and Grant has never felt less like one.

Tori relishes freedom, untamed passion, and spontaneity above stifling order. Even more so when a proud, cold British captain arrives to rescue her, though she has no wish to be. As Grant tries to convince her to leave her island home, she begins to see in him a man hungering for more. A man who once laughed. A man who desires her but won't take what she offers.

353 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 29, 2004

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About the author

Kresley Cole

98 books27.9k followers
Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Gamemakers series, and five award-winning historical romances.

A master’s grad and former athlete, she has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings.
Her IAD books have been translated into 23 foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, a RWA Hall of Fame induction, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists, in the U.S. and abroad.

Cole lives in Florida with her family. Learn more about Kresley at: www.kresleycole.com & www.thearcanachronicles.com

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5 stars
1,500 (36%)
4 stars
1,458 (35%)
3 stars
915 (22%)
2 stars
213 (5%)
1 star
41 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah B..
1,179 reviews2,293 followers
October 4, 2023
THIS WAS CINEMA HEARTBREAK FEELS GOOD IN A PLACE LIKE THIS
Profile Image for Laura.
Author 16 books616 followers
June 26, 2010
I'm one of those readers who wants her Historical Romances to sound, well, historical. Kresley Cole does an amazing job of writing an Historical Romance that sounds like modern times, and IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME. How on earth is this even possible? I'm not really sure, but by God this woman can write.
This one is set during Victorian England, it's the Sutherland brother Grant, who we saw setting off on a fool's errand of locating any survivors of a shipwreck from 8 years ago. Well, he found her. And I loved how Tori led him on a wild goose chase to catch her. I loved how they had to spend a few nights to together before leaving England, and I loved Ian. I am so sad that this isn't a trilogy. We're left with the hint that Ian is off pirating (quite successfully at that), and that he always lands on his feet. hmph. I'd like to see him end up with this Ericka we'd all heard about. ::me pouting::
But, I just adored how Grant finally won back Tori, and oh I LOVED Cammy and the baron next door-such a sweet little romance.
I know usually I say something more, but I just love Kresley Cole, and this is such a fantastic book. She made me love her historicals! On to the MacCarrick brothers next!
Profile Image for Lisa (Remarkablylisa).
2,610 reviews1,802 followers
August 10, 2020
This one was kind of a weird book. Instant love. The girl was stuck on a island for almost a decade and was remarkably pale even though there's no shade. She's extremely educated and curious about the male body so much so that she has a lot of confidence in herself. They get together pretty quickly and it's him struggling with figuring out his emotions for majority of the book with him proving himself to her that he loves her for the remainder. It's good and bad in some parts. Odd too in terms of pacing. For fans of pirate/captain/force proximity/grump and Ms sunshine /stoic heroes romances.
Profile Image for Annie .
2,514 reviews939 followers
November 17, 2010
I felt the need to read more KC after the release of Dreams of a Dark Warrior and although I prefer her PNRs, KC writes damn good historical as well.

Grant Sunderland is the logical brother. A leader by nature, he finds himself accepting a journey that leads him and his crew to the Oceanic in search for a missing girl named Victoria Dearbourne.

After eight years of being stranded on an island, Tori and her friend Cammy Scott have established a routine and find that living on a deserted island isn’t so bad. Sure, Cammy’s got a continuing illness and deadly snakes wish to bite their heads off, but in the end, it’s all in a day’s work!

I found that I really enjoyed Tori’s strength and resiliency. She’s a tough as nails kind of girl and I liked the fact that, even being casted away for such a long time, she doesn’t shy away from London Society.

Grant is a hottie, but sometime he gets on my nerves. Could you take any longer in figuring out your own feelings? It’s obvious he has developed feelings for Tori, but his damn pride stands in the way of them being together.

I’m hoping that Ian will get his book, even after all the time that has passed since this one was published. He’s such a thrill to read and I wonder if KC is planning on writing any more historical???
Profile Image for Linds.
1,191 reviews40 followers
December 20, 2010
The first half if this book is a five and the second half is a three.

This is Kresley Cole's second book. The doesn't have that rat-a-tat-tat pacing or hilarity of her IAD series (which I adore, every fan of paranormal romance needs to check those out.) But it does have some of the elements that Kresley seems to like. Namely the strait laced stoic hero and the spitfire heroine.

Victoria was ship wrecked when she was thirteen. She is now 21, completely reliant, resourceful, and tough as nails after having to survive on her own with only one other woman friend for company. She's still very naive in other ways as a result of her isolation.

Grant is the captain sent on a rescue mission and to everyone's surprise he actually finds Victoria. They fall in mutual attraction quickly. Grant is extremely strait-laced and responsible and finds it hard to reconcile that he's fallen in love with a half feral girl. The rest of the book is dedicated to this conflict, which is a little drawn out. The book is very enjoyable, none the less.
Profile Image for LuiG.
37 reviews
July 16, 2026
I’m not over the bit about her wearing a hat for 10 yrs as a castaway to not get a tan. HUH? really like the parts where she’s saving the court and learning about sheep, though. I find many of the elements KC uses to bring love interests together in these historical romances (first sight infatuation, the physical mass of the mmc’s) are begging to be bolstered by some paranormality. also jc this guys sucks so hard.
*sitting on thumbs waiting for the next IAD.
2.5 stars, but rounding down for all the times you crossed me, book.
Profile Image for Saly.
3,437 reviews583 followers
August 25, 2018
This one was a snooze-fest! I went in looking for a romance & not h/H's solo adventures. The hero is stuffy as hell & the characters were barely together on page. h was badass for surviving for 8 years & gave hero a merry chase. I don't think the stuffy H deserved her. I got really bored around the 60% mark I think but finished it (yay!).
Profile Image for Debra Johnson.
11.1k reviews191 followers
October 12, 2015
3.75 Stars

A good romance story. But quite a few editing problems.

Grant and Victoria where a fun read.
However, it seemed like Kresley Cole was trying to put to many character wrap ups in one book. It becomes apparent that she wanted to finish off this series.
Considering the series she is writing now, I understand it completely.

If you haven't read her Immortal's After Dark or Game Maker series, You are SERIOUSLY missing out on some of the most amazing stories I have ever read.
She has become a true Master in the Art of Writing.
Profile Image for Sora.
718 reviews3 followers
November 1, 2026
******SPOILERS********* The first 62% of the book was okay. Victoria, her mother, and her governess (Cammy) land on a desert island after their ship is destroyed in a storm. Victoria losses her father in the storm. Her mother is so injured from the wreck that she passes a few days later. Cammy and Victoria are stranded on the desert island for 8 years. At one point, bad men come on shore and bad things happen, but Cammy manages to murder the rapist and the rest leave the island. Victoria's grandfather spends their entire estate sending sailors out to search for Victoria and her family. Grant Sutherland finds Victoria and Cammy. He tries to rescue them, but Victoria is untrusting after the earlier ordeal with male sailors. She escapes Grant and he is thwarted in trying to rescue her. It was very reverse-gender Tarzan-like. Victoria had grown accustomed to the jungle and island life. Cammy was going slowly crazy because of a fish allergy (which was later fixed with an improved and limited diet). Grant ends up bringing Cammy aboard his ship which then causes Victoria to follow. They leave the island forever.

Grant and Victoria fall in love and, when they reach Cape Town, they bang it out. Only for Grant to completely mess it up because he believes that he should marry a boring English lady and Victoria is wild. Victoria overhears the conversation Grant has and decides to not marry him because he sounds like he is marrying her out of obligation. It is clear to everyone else that Grant and Victoria are in love with each other. But, they self sabotage themselves and spend the rest of the book fighting and, even after countless marriage proposals, refusing to get together again.

As part of payment for looking for Victoria, her grandfather agreed to give Grant their ancestral home upon the grandfather's death. They travel to Victoria's ancestral home and she is able to be with her grandfather before he passes. Grant agrees to not take the ancestral home, but contractually, he owns it. Grant then leaves to go look for his missing cousin, Ian, who was also on the ship that originally found Victoria and Cammy. I am bummed that there is not a third book about Ian because there was a lot of plot set up for his story in this book. While Grant is gone, Victoria discovers that the estate owes a lot of money to creditors and she has 45 days to pay off the debt or risk losing the home. So, Victoria goes about learning as much as she can about business and literally selling everything in, around, and associated with the home including the door knocker, iron ore in the estate's ground, her mother's wedding ring, and all the family's jewelry. While Grant is traipsing across Europe in search for Ian, Victoria is saving her ancestral home. Grant has an epiphany and realizes he is in love with Victoria and comes back to England intent on winning her over. Unfortunately, Victoria is in survival mode and STILL trying to save her ancestral home. Grant helps and he also buys back all the things she sells because Grant is vastly wealthy. Victoria realizes she loves Grant and Grant fights for her. It culminates when the barn is burned down by a female creditor and Grant runs in to rescue her kittens. She runs in after him because she doesn't want to lose him to the flames. They live happily ever after. Also, Cammy finds a neighboring baron to fall in love with who is also an older gentleman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Meg.
2,307 reviews108 followers
October 30, 2026
Victoria Dearbourne, granddaughter of an earl, was shipwrecked and orphaned in the South Pacific at the age of thirteen. Now almost a decade later, Captain Grant Sutherland is on a mission to find what remains of the earl's family, and discovers Tori and her former governess surviving on an island. Tori leaves reluctantly, but she wants a chance at a normal life and Grant intrigues her. Grant feels guilty wooing her, though, because he is the first man Tori has met as an adult, and he's depriving her of a chance to meet others. He's also going to gain the earl's estate in exchange for finding Tori, and his starchy conscience views this as a conflict of interest. A stubborn Tori has other ideas, though.

When you've read most of an author's backlist and you pick up one of their earliest books for the first time, it's always fun to see their signature style in fragments. This is absolutely a Kresley Cole novel - big alpha man, small fierce woman (she'd be a Valkyrie if this were IAD), and just enough bonkers to keep me really invested. The plot is paced a little unevenly, and I think that's why when I first tried to read it years ago, I DNFed. But I had fun overall even if the crux of Grant and Tori's relationship was about not talking with one another. (We're not even talking miscommunication trope, we're talking not talking.)
Profile Image for Sana Zameer.
1,007 reviews135 followers
July 19, 2020
It was fun when they were on the island then it turned boring. I thought Grant was too uptight. I really liked Ian. Sadly, we will never going to know his story!
Profile Image for Sara.
249 reviews4 followers
April 24, 2009
Oh No! Every Kresley Cole book has gotten 5 stars from me. I'm thinking a fair rating would be 3.5..and then I saw the high ratings! Eek what's wrong with me?
I just had a hard time with the main characters stubbornness. Annoying....
Profile Image for Monique Takens.
687 reviews13 followers
April 8, 2018
Ik heb de Nederlandstalige uitgave gelezen : Tussen lust en liefde - Candlelight Historische roman 783 .
Dit is deel 2 over de Sutherland broers , ook dit deel is lekker vlot geschreven en op het sensuele vlak is er ook weer genoeg te beleven .Helaas waren er toch ook weer wat behoorlijk storende elementen in dit verhaal , wanneer je iemands lang verdwenen kleindochter thuis brengt dan vind je toch een manier om haar zo snel mogelijk bij haar familie te brengen - maakt niet uit wat voor weer het is - zeker wanneer je weet dat het om een zeer oude opa gaat . Er had duidelijk nog een 3e deel in deze serie moeten zijn over neef Ian maar dat verhaal is er nooit gekomen .
Profile Image for Novia Liu.
45 reviews27 followers
October 18, 2018
Can someone enlighten me, what happen with Ian ? I'm searching for other Kresley Cole book and couldn't find one about Ian
Profile Image for Teela (bookdragontee).
527 reviews86 followers
February 12, 2022
I'm going to be real with you guys - Kresley Cole could write anything at this point and I would probably love it.

Historical romance full of high seas travels and bit of island misadventure? Yes, please.

As with the previous Sutherland brother, we've got another insta-lust on our hands, and since I'm trash for that trope, you best believe I ate that up. But Grant is quite different from his elder brother, Derek.

If anything, Grant is so much of what I love in my romantic heroes - outwardly controlled, disciplined, seemingly cold, and a bit broody. But on the inside? A simmering volcano of passion ready to snap and implode at any moment - in fact, that snapping becomes an innate need for the development of his character - and OH! How I enjoyed watching Grant grow. Especially when we got to the latter end of the book as he starts to redeem himself for his stupidity and really loosen up. God bless Victoria and her wonderful influence on that man.

Speaking of Tori - that woman is just pure strength. So much admiration for our heroine. She's adaptable, assertive, intelligent, and insufferable tease (aka: the best kind) when it comes to Grant, and just full of fire - exactly what our Captain needs. She was such a delightful heroine; I really enjoyed her character. Also greatly appreciated the way she holds her ground but also how forgiving she is without sacrificing herself (or her spine).

The communication between these two was usually best when they were having sex - I really loved that Tori had no qualms saying what she wanted/needed, and I loved that Grant was receptive/did the same. BUT it definitely took a bit (aka: most of the book) for those two to learn to how communicate properly outside of the bedroom... mostly because Grant and his "conceal, don't feel" Elsa bullshit ways has rendered him a bit emotionally immature, so he had no clue he was in love with Victoria until he pretty much lost her for a minute.

But, because Kresley is amazing, he does get there (again, I refer back to how much I enjoyed his character development/growth), and all that really did make for a satisfying ending. Tori and Grant are excellent partners and I was very pleased with their HEA.

It was also very nice to see Derek and Nicole again, and the addition of Ian and Camellia was lovely as well (although I'm sad we'll never get to find out what happened with Ian).
Profile Image for SmittenKitten.
194 reviews10 followers
April 26, 2010
I enjoyed the beginning when the characters are on the island. Tori & Grant had great chemistry... I loved their contrasting personalities.

Once they leave the island, it just got boring.

This book just seemed to be missing the x factor that made the first book in the series, The Captain of All Pleasures, such a fantastic read.

Also, this story sets the stage for a 3rd book in the series with Ian, cousin to the Southerland Brothers:

"In fact, they had recently received word that not only had Ian escaped his captors, he'd started a mutiny and taken their ship, bound for somewhere unknown. There were rumors of a scarred, black-haired, and black-hearted devil pirating the South Seas, but Tori adamantly refused to believe that the dates of his marauding and Ian's escape were more than coincidental." (page 352)

Now that's a story I want to read! According to Kresley Cole's website, Ian's story is on hold... and it's been 7 years since book 2 in the series was published, so I'm not holding my breath for Ian's story.
Profile Image for Mala.
65 reviews4 followers
January 6, 2017
Sudah dapat spoiler dari buku sebelumnya, dan yeahhh... sesuai ekspektasi Grant ini memang gentleman yang nggak bajingan seperti Derek. Saya suka sih, lebih suka Grant dari pada Derek, walau di beberapa bagian sikap sopan dan menjaga kehormatan itu bikin gregetan juga. Di sini lebih kental aroma romannya. Biarpun sama-sama berkisah tentang pelayaran nggak ada plot yang bikin tegang dan bikin saya nggak bisa berhenti dan menghabiskan buku dalam sekali baca. Twist di buku ini lumayan bisa diprediksi. Tapi, perjuangan Grant buat mendapatkan Tori jauh lebih layak diapresiasi dari pada kelakuan Derek yang maksa Nicole kawin lari. Dan, baik Nicole ataupun Tori, saya suka mereka. Karakternya asik, tangguh, sedikit keras kepala, tapi punya harga diri dan nggak benyek
Secara umum, buku pertama jauh lebih seru sih
Profile Image for PT.
103 reviews
July 30, 2009
Good sequel to Cole's (The Captain of All Pleasures. Grant, younger brother to Derek, is more of a stubborn jerk , but still sexy and brooding. Tori is an a brave and intelligent woman, who wants her man, but can do fine without him. I wouldn't have minded if Cammy had ended up with Ian, but Stephen was an excellent substitute. I really feel that their must be another book in this series letting us know the fate of Ian and Erica. It was much too up in the air at the conclusion of this book.
Once again, Kresley Cole has not let me down.
106 reviews1 follower
April 23, 2015
Really good

Finally a historical romance where the heroine is independent, intelligent and headstrong without being a shrew! The chemistry between the characters is there, the heroines personality doesn't change upon meeting the hero, and no silly misunderstandings create the plot. The dialogue is definitely modern, but in the setting, the alternative wouldn't be easy to understand, and I appreciate how it is done, rather than a half hearted attempt at contextual vernacular. I loved this book. Tori is my favorite heroine, easily. My only complaint is that the conflict with the broker seems an afterthought and doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the story.
Profile Image for Marishka.
465 reviews60 followers
March 21, 2014
Absolutely loved these two book but I'm not sure that I would have picked them up if I realized that the series is left unfinished.


We need Ian's book! come on don't leave us hanging like that ..
Profile Image for Tamara.
136 reviews2 followers
January 18, 2013
Better than the first of this series but not as good as Ms Cole has showed us with her numerous other series.
Profile Image for GaffersGirl.
621 reviews2 followers
December 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this book for what it was. I typically don't read a lot of historical romance, but I read Ms. Cole's MacCarrick Brothers Series and enjoyed that, along with everything else she has written, so when I saw the Sutherland Brothers I just had to add them to my collection.

I believe these were her first books and she made some choices in them that are a bit odd writing style-wise but not off putting. I enjoyed them both.

This one, however, has me a bit frustrated. If you are a fan of reading books that are in a series you'll likely notice it as well. She seems to set up at least three other books for this series and then just kinda change her mind or maybe not realize she did it. We all know that a side character who gets pretty deeply fleshed out in a book series will likely pop up in the next book in the series. That's the beauty of the series book, you just know what character's story you will get next. It's fun to speculate on who their love interest will be, where their journey will take them, until you finally get your hands on the next book and realize the author did nothing you expected them to...ugh.

Here's the thing, and this isn't a spoiler because there is nothing to spoil, Ian Traywick does not have a book in this series. I know it's the Sutherland Brothers Series, should have guessed, as there are only two brothers there'd be only two books but...really?! His story was better developed and character more compelling in this book than Grant's was in the first book in this series and yet she just leaves it out there with zero resolution (and I assume, as we are nearly 20 years out from when the last Sutherland Book was published, there isn't likely to be another book).

She does bring some conclusion to Camellia Scott's story. I honestly feel like she knew she needed to tie this up somehow so she did the odd thing of momentarily adding a third perspective and kind of just wedged the story into this book instead of adding to the series, like she could have. I kind of liked that she didn't do the simple thing and have Ms. Scott and Ian hook up...I also assumed that was because they would each have their own books in some sort of spin off series...

The last book I thought she was setting up was for Miranda McClure. I kinda thought, why go to the trouble of developing this person in this way if you aren't setting her up for an appearance in another book or her own? Seems odd to do that much back story and personality for one scene that ultimately goes nowhere. That one might be a stretch but, again, if you read a lot of series books I think you'll agree with me.

Again, overall I enjoyed these books. Maybe I just enjoy Kresley Cole because I typically don't enjoy historical romance. I would recommend these books just, heads up, there are only two...😒
712 reviews57 followers
October 20, 2025
This book had such an interesting premise. Victoria Dearbourne (and her governess) had been shipwrecked on a deserted island 8 years earlier when Victoria was 13 years old. Neither her parents or any other crew survived. Captain Grant Sutherland had been hired by Victoria's grandfather to find them. Grant does locate the castaways but since Victoria and Cammy had been assaulted by another ship's crew, they were wary of the newcomers. So Victoria devised ways to antagonize Grant in order to make him leave. While I understand that the women had reservations, it did not seem that they even gave Grant a chance. The other strange thing was that Cammy had some sort of wasting sickness which made Victoria the de facto leader of the two.
So Victoria spies Grant bathing and she is instantly smitten. He too has some overwhelming attraction to Victoria which was unusual for his normally reserved self. He convinces her to travel back with him to England and he vows not to touch her. But Victoria is curious and wants him no matter what the consequences are. I did enjoy the sexual tension between the two and how Grant really tried to hold onto his "honor". However, he fails and they are intimate with each other. After this Grant offers marriage but she refuses because he basically thinks she is a savage.
This is where my enjoyment of the book started to fade. Both held to their ideals with Victoria wanting love in a marriage and Grant being totally against it. It got really annoying after a bit with this constant back and forth. And then when back in England and her grandfather dies, Victoria has to sell everything and work her fingers to the bone to keep the estate afloat. My pet peeve is when a character clearly needs help, but refuses to accept it out of pride. Like she is making these two older servants work themselves to death because she does not want to accept help. When it starts involving other people, give up your pride!
I do wish that they had spent more time on the island or the ship. That was where all the fun happened.
Profile Image for Bethany.
279 reviews
December 16, 2024
After two long years of reading Kresley Cole books, I'm finally finished. Yes, I'm one of those people that reads books even if I don't like them. And let me say, I disliked most of Kresley Cole's work. But more on that at the end.

This book started out sooo interesting at first. Grant and Victoria were both really interesting to read about. Grant is a stoic type of character who doesn't like to share his feelings or emotions, while Victoria is wild and goes after what she wants. The story was so interesting at the beginning, when they were on the island, and until they landed in London. After that, the plot was a mess, and the pacing was crazy. The middle of this book drags on for wayyyyy too long, and the ending was extremely rushed. Don't even get me started on Grant's brooding for endless chapters where he tellls himself that he doesn't love her. A couple of chapters would have been fine, but it just went on for way too long. Get to the point already. And that's why this story was lacking. It dragged on for way too long. Ian even became irrelevant to the plot. He was just a plot point, and nothing more. He got captured, Grant goes after him, doesn't find him, and then returns to Victoria to live happily ever after.

My brain hurts. And I was even liking this story to begin with. The structure and pacing were terrible, the characters were annoying and dramatic, and I wanted more pirates - just like the first book.

Overall, I'm really, REALLY happy that I'm finally finished with all of Kresley Cole's books. That's the only happiness I gained from her books. Unfortunately, I won't be recommending her books to anyone.
Profile Image for Kartika Kurniati.
37 reviews
September 16, 2020
Ini kisah grant si pelaut dengan Victoria aka tory. Aku paling suka kisah bajak laut, koboi, highlander juga

Grant di suruh kakek tori buat nyari cucunya yang hilang bertahun-tahun. Tibalah di grant di pulau terisolasi. Waktu datang si grant diserang tori karena tori ngira grant itu bakal laut jahat. Keseruannya di sini. Tori bak tarsanwati penguasa pulau, dia bikin grant kewalahan karena beberapa kali grant dikerjain supaya gak betah dan pergi. Grant sama kerasnya gak putus asa, masuk hutan lalu cari rumahnya di tori (rumah pohon) tapi tori pun cerdik, markasnya banyak.

Pada akhirnya tori manut dan percaya kalau grant emang disuruh kakeknya buat jemput. Masalahnya adalah dua bujang, satu udah lama gak ketemu cewek karena mengarungi lautan. Satunya gak ketemu cowok karena terisolasi dunia. Tori terang-terangan bilang naksir grant, tapi ditolak. Grant gak percaya, gimana kalau waktu tiba di Inggris tori berubah pikiran karena ketemu banyak cowok yang lebih cakep (aku setuju). Tapi torinya bandel malah ngrayu dan ngejar grant minta di bobokin. Terjadilah hal itu. Tapi grant nyesel terus ngejauhin tori. Grant gak begitu saja menawarkan pernikahan karena insecur ama ikatan sakral itu.

Menariknya waktu balik ke Inggris, gantian tori yang jual mahal. Biar tahu rasa si grant. Ngejar itu capek, di tawarin nikah si tori juga kagak mau. Hatiku puas ketika gantian grant yang berjuang.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews