Valon: What Once Was

Volkov Bratva #3.6

by London Miller

Before there was Luka Sergeyev, there was a boy by the name of Valon Ahmeti, born to a Russian mother and an Albanian father. His life was not an easy one and he should have long succumbed to death, but prevailed, as only he could, into a life of hell and debauchery.

Beauty derived from cruelty…

Bloodlust born of agony…

Some minds can’t handle torture…

It breaks them…

Genres: Dark, Contemporary, Abuse, Mafia Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Suspense

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2015

About the author

With a degree in Creative Writing, London Miller has turned pen to paper, creating riveting fictional worlds where the bad guys are sometimes the good guys. Her debut novel, In the Beginning, is the first in the Volkov Bratva Series.

She currently resides in southern Georgia where she drinks far too much coffee, and spends her nights writing.

To learn more about London Miller and her novels, please visit her through her social media:

http://facebook.com/londonmillerauthor
http://twitter.com/AuthorLMiller

Also, you can email her at: london.millerauthor@gmail.com

Reviews

[London Miller]

♥♥♥ VALON: WHAT ONCE WAS IS OUT♥♥♥
Go and be free Valon(Luka)!!

Before there was Luka Sergeyev, there was a boy by the name of Valon Ahmeti, born to a Russian mother and an Albanian father. His life was not an easy one and he should have long succumbed to death, but prevailed, as only he could, into a life of hell and debauchery.

Beauty derived from cruelty…

Bloodlust born of agony…

Some minds can’t handle torture…

It breaks them…

Buy Links:
Amazon US--> http://tinyurl.com/p3yj8zn
Amazon UK--> http://tinyurl.com/pylypxo
Amazon CA--> http://tinyurl.com/okv7ng8
Amazon AU--> http://tinyurl.com/ofcstab

[Fanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valon : What Once Was es una novela dentro de la serie Volkov Bratva escrita por London Miller y narra el pasado de Luka, un personaje secundario en los libros anteriores.

Cuando comence esta lectura estaba preparada para encontrar una historia dura, aun asi fue mucho mas impactante de lo que esperaba, me imagine que el pasado de Luka no seria bonito o sencillo pero aun asi no esperaba que fuera tan desgarradora.

No es un libro facil de leer, principalmente por los echos que se relatan, aun asi tiene un ritmo muy fluido y si ademas eres como yo, que tenia muchisima curiosidad por saber mas de Luka ( un personaje muuy enigmatico ) la lectura se te pasara en nada de tiempo.

En conclusion, una novela interesante, un perfecto prologo para el cuarto libro, el cual narrara de forma mas amplia la historia de Luka y Alex.

3.25 Estrellas!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to start...

There are some book characters that just capture you and become beloved favourites, since starting the Volkov Bratva series Luka has been one of them, now don't get me wrong, I love Mishca and Lauren and Alex and poor poor Klaus, but Luka is my absolute favourite, it could have stemmed from his enigmatic persona or the fact that he's a supreme hottie or even from the very obvious fact that he's very very dangerous, I could list his appeal until the cows come home.

When I found out about Valon: WOW, I was ecstatic, in the first books Luka's past was a mystery, we got a glimpse of a few teases but nothing really solid. In Valon we come to learn exactly why Luka is the way he is, where he came from and all of the traumas and tragedies that moulded him into who he had to be to survive. From a tortured childhood to an adolescense steeped in apathy and brutality, Valon, was at times really hard to read because I was so attached to Luka and knew he deserved none of the cruelties he spent years enduring. Needless to say I read on with the intention of pulling it off like a band aid and I was so pleased I did.

If you intend to read Hidden Monsters, as I definitely do, I'd advise you to read Valon, it's a definite must, if only so you can understand Luka completely.

[Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love him!!!

[reneeNaDaCherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valon: What Once Was (Volkov Bratva Novellas Book 2)

A sad story of Valon Ahmeti aka Luka Sergeyev early harsh upbringing in Alban once his dad shot his Mom and then turned the gun on himself. It left Valon orphaned and homeless. Under Abstain and Jetmir Besnik, the Albanian mob leader, he learned to be A ruthless knife wielding killer who got off on pain.

[suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Valon, who then becomes Luke. Good background story to finding out about Luka’s past.

[B. U. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

Should be read as book 5 in the series and before Luka and Alex story. The romance ends here Valon's backstory will leave you shattered for the boy he once was and the person he didn't get to be.
I love Lukas character so it was nice to learn his story. Can't wait for more from this author!

[Ginabm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh que difícil la,vida de Valon, quiero saber qué pasó con Elena. Y hasta con su perro

Lo que más me preocupa es que el torturo a Klaus, eso sí me da miedo de lo que hará para vengarse.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I'll say is that this deserves 5 stars but I can't say in good conscience that what Luka "Valon" went through in his life is "amazing". Reading the first 3 1/2 books I knew that Luka had lived through some horrors in his young life but nothing compares to actually reading all about it. I have always like Luka from the first time we were introduced to him but there is much respect for him now. I'm not condoning what he does for a living by any stretch of the imagination but for him to be able to laugh, joke around and be quite tender hearted at times is amazing. I am so looking forward to reading Luka and Alex's story now. As someone else said in their review you've got to love a man that is kind to animals and on that note I'm wondering what happened to Loki.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 estrellas.
Es simplemente increíble el sufrimiento y desolación que tuvo que pasar Valon - Luka para crecer...
Después de leer este libro, acepto totalmente lo que pasó con Bastian en The Final Hour, por lo menos lo que Luka hizo con él. Se lo merecía.
Me quedó la duda de lo que pasó con Fatos, Elena y GJarper; me imagino que en el siguiente libro nos hablarán de ellos. Provoca también, como que leerse nuevamente las partes de Luka a través de los libros Until The End y The Final Hour.
Ahí entenderíamos más acerca de su comportamiento, y de su extraño sentido del humor.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love London Miller's books, but I just couldn't get into this one. I don't know if it was me and I couldn't enjoy it or if it was the story, I don't know. I wanted to get into it and enjoy it, but I couldn't I'm giving a 3 star because I'm not sure if it was me or the book. I will try to revisit in the future to try and give it a fair shot, but my brain, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great backstory

This was nice to read about Luke's backstory to see why has acts the way he does. This was a brutal read but I am happy to say that I'm glad he came out from under it all

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot get enough of this series. My poor, poor Luka.
I love how this story just digs right into how Volon became Luka. Everything is just a puzzle piece to who he is. Great story that follows the rest.

[Yoneidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

La historia de Luka,sobre su infancia y cómo acabó convirtiéndose en el enforcer de la bratva rusa.
Una vida muy dura que empieza siendo testigo de la muerte de sus padres,al entrenamiento al que es sometido por los albaneses.
😭😭😭

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was extremely well written! I really felt for Valon and everything that he went through in his time from Albania and then coming to America. Heart-breaking. Still, London did an amazing job writing this.

[Jan Hoskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!!!

This book let's you you get a little back history which is always new. Not a bad read but you will cry!

[Sheena Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one best series I read in long time I just can't get enough of this series LM you rock awesome story line

[ER · Rating 5 out of 5]

A(AG--)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really intense but now we know exactly what Luka has been through! Can't wait to read Hidden Monsters

[Eteline Rangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante historia, me ha gustado mucho porque nos explica los origines de unos de los personajes que hemos conocido desde el primer libro y quien será el protagonista del siguiente libro de esta serie que me encanta. La pega que le encontré es que hacia el final hubo un suceso trascendental de la historia que quedó muy extraña, no puede ser que nadie lo haya descubierto, la verdad eso me pareció muy ilógico, pero en fin, espero esa duda me sea resuelta con el siguiente libro.

4 ESTRELLAS

[Lin ( Nerdy Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome story full of sadness, action and drama which starts at the beginning of the story until the very end. The story was well written to describe or display Valon (Luka) destructive and abusive childhood as the son of a mobster boss and a whore that been said "Man did this book do a number on me." This story is so heartbreaking to me I just can not get the mistreatment of Valon out of my head. He was given Elena for a pet and after their encounter he tries to keep all the bad things that happened to him from happening to her and I love that he never wavered from that even after Fatos tried to destroy their friendship in one of his jealous rage. Fatos on the other hand....I didn't care for him for most of the book. His  insane need to be the best and important no matter the cost...I really did not like that.  I have always enjoyed this author writing and bought all the other novel written due to her unique style of expressing story. Her story flowed beautifully and I once again(love the last book) found myself sitting down to read this book and looking up to find hours had gone by.The writing is rich and intelligent, and the characters are well developed without being overdone. I was in a state of suspense and excitement of what would happen next and anxious to turn the page and see how it is going to all work out. Then when the ending came I thought it was well played out and very enjoyable. KUDOS to the writer......Overall, a magnificent read and awaiting for the "Hidden Monster".

[Miss Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been stalking this book for almost a year now, so I was like a kid on Christmas morning Saturday when it finally came out. I am so in love with Luka. In the previous books, Luka came across as kind of a jokester. You knew he was dangerous, but he was so laid back you couldn't help but like him. After reading Valon and learning who Luka really is and where he came from made me truly fall in love with him. I know this is going to sound like I'm a crazy book lady, but after reading Valon, I'm so worried about what's going to happen with Luka's secret is revealed. Seriously, I'm worried about Luka like he's a real person not a character in a book. That's how talented a writer Ms. Miller is. I can't wait until August 17th to see what happens to my beloved Luka

[evette w · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Very Well Done

Well I'm hooked all over again.This was so well done that you felt all the pain.I am just in awe of Valon,this is a man who knows nothing but pain but wants to accepted.Sometimes you have to travel with the dark to know what the day is like.Avalon is a complex mnemonic an with many secrets and many stories to tell and the writer captures that feeling on so well.This is such an intense telling of the shaping of a man.I look forward to the next installment to this explosive series.

[Nicole Mcclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved this story for last

I finally got the courage to read Luka's past. It was a not an easy, happy read. I appreciate the man he became even after all the horrid things he went through. And Loki...you have to love a loyal pup and he saved him! Gotta love a man that protects animals!
Thank you London for writing this story! Have loved every book so far. These stories suck you in and leave you thinking about the characters long after you finish reading. I applaud writers that have the talent to execute this!

[Michelle Cage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so glad when this came out, and I am looking forward to the releaseof Hidden Monsters in a couple of weeks. Luka has been one of my favorite characters in this series and having this background on him only makes him more special in my eyes. This was well written and had me captivated from the begining.

[Julie Safford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast

I really read this one fast. It does give you an in site look at what and what luka is the way he is. It's sad. I hope good things for him for he was given a bad deal because of who his parents were, and the life he was thrust into.

[v'sreadingjourney · Rating 5 out of 5]

​

Method: ebook

Rating: 5/5 stars

Thoughts: Oh Luka..

[☆ Aimetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asimilando completamente este libro.

*re-reading*

Reseña pronto.

[Alicewhitman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanto este vistazo a Valon, su comienzo oscuro en la vida, y sus matices al crecer. No puedo esperar su historia completa en Hidden Monsters.

[Khanique McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how much I love a London Miller novel. Had to get through this one at the cost of falling asleep at work tomorrow