Star, Raven, Rosa, & Cindy Are Best Friends That Each Find Love! Their London-Based Stories Have An International Flavor. From The Criminal Underworld To Royal Ties, Their Beaus Bring Danger And Intrigue Into Their Lives. Nikolai, Konstantin, Dante, & Alexander Reek Of Power, Money, & Mystery.
The Crave Me romance collection includes the stories of four best friends. Each reads as a standalone. Though the story of their friendship progresses, by the third and fourth book the friendships play a relatively small roll. The set includes:
• Submitting to the Billionaire: Star’s story
• Redemption: Raven’s story
• The Heir: Rosa’s story
• Nice Day for a White Wedding: Cindy’s story
Nice Day for a White Wedding is also a spin-off of Nanny & the Beast, which is where Yuri Volkov and April Winters find love. Yuri’s best friend from childhood, Alexander, gets his own story here.
ABOUT THE CRAVE ME ROMANCE COLLECTION:
Star, Raven, Rosa, and Cindy had been best friends since youth. They each had dreams. Star pictured herself as a writer one day. Raven had hopes of becoming a doctor. Rosa wanted to become a fashion industry insider. And Cindy dreamed of becoming successful in the business world. Their friendships had become strained once Star found love at an early age. She and Raven had a falling out roughly around the time Star married Nigel, leaving Rosa and Cindy somewhere in the middle. Cindy had gotten busy with getting her degree. Rosa spent some time in America doing an internship at Cosmo. And Raven gave up her education once her sister became sick. As their stories unfold, they rely on one another and discover that their friendships really can stand the test of time.
For those that pay attention to details, the timelines within the series and the individual books do not always add up. Submitting to the Billionaire primarily takes place during two weeks in June. Redemption takes place during the summer while Star’s relationship with Nikolai is still fresh. Star had been twenty-two; Raven is twenty-three. It is conceivable that Redemption takes place the following summer, but the way it reads it probably takes place during the same summer. However, The Heir takes place during the summer of Nikolai and Star’s wedding, which is two years after the summer they fall in love. At the time of the wedding, Raven is pregnant. Assuming she is very pregnant, it makes sense that Raven’s story took place one year after Star’s. Rosa is twenty-six in The Heir, which again does not add up. It is presumed the girls are all roughly the same age, but Star would be twenty-four at her wedding, two years younger than Rosa. Cindy’s story takes place in June, probably two years following Rosa’s story. Rosa had been twenty-six, and in Cindy’s story she is twenty-eight (nearly twenty-nine).
SUBMITTING TO THE BILLIONAIRE:
Nikolai Smirnov, thirty-seven, is a Russian billionaire living in London. His magnetic pull and powerful presence contrast with his cold eyes and sometimes gruff ways. There is much mystery surrounding him. Intelligent and well-read, he is quite the eligible bachelor. He was once part of the Russian mafia, but he left those days behind. Mostly. He opened a private club two years ago – Ziggurat. Members are invited to join by invitation only. Non-descript on the outside, nobody would suspect the glamour and luxury within its walls. It is a gambler’s fantasy. With three months of credit on the house, what sucker won’t end up penniless when it is time to pay the piper?
Star Harrington, twenty-two, is living the life of her dreams. She has a wonderful marriage with a husband that adores her. Nigel happily provides her with everything she could ever wish for. She has a beautiful home, far more than she needs. She loves her garden. She loves writing while Nigel is at work, and enjoying time with him whenever he is home. He works long and stressful hours at a brokerage firm. It is an ugly profession. She hoped he might change jobs and offered to work herself to help, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He likes taking care of her, so she does all she can to ensure she takes care of him, too.
When Star agrees to spend one month with a strange man to settle up Nigel’s debt, her whole world crumbles. She thought he had been coming straight home from work. The solid foundation upon which her marriage stood vanished in an instant when Nigel confessed his circumstances. Still, she is convinced that gambling addiction is a disease and believes that Nigel can get help. She takes her marriage vows seriously and means to stand by him even in bad times. She might let him pay the consequences of his debt himself but for the fact that her father’s bills must be paid. Determined that what she will endure will only be physical, she has every belief that at the end of thirty days she can walk away, and that she and Nigel can begin again. Even though the fairy tale has ended, they can rebuild their marriage.
Nikolai and Star’s dark story is a twisted and steamy romance. The plot is somewhat complex. Their story is told in first person. The POV alternates between Nikolai and Star. I rate this book four stars.
REDEMPTION:
Raven Hill, twenty-three, doesn’t regret for a second her choice to raise her preschool-aged niece, Janna. When her older sister Octavia died from cancer three years ago, it nearly broke her. She tries to live up to Octavia’s brave example and to raise Janna in a way that honors her. Her whole life now revolves around the little girl and she wouldn’t change a thing. Cindy’s friendship has been invaluable the last few years. They share an apartment together, and Cindy helps out with Janna whenever she can, proud to be called Aunt Cindy. An older woman who lives next door helps with Janna when Raven and Cindy are at work, which happens to mostly be nights and evenings when Janna is asleep. Cindy is the manager at The Diamond Rose Casino, and Raven was fortunate enough to get a job there as a croupier making decent money.
Konstantin Milosevic, thirty-two, is a businessman who always gets what he wants. He is the best at what he does and is paid accordingly. He loves fast cars and beautiful women – and women love him. He doesn’t have much to say, but when he speaks his slight Serbian accent is barely detectible. It only adds to the sense of mystery that surrounds him. His life is about control. He loves working out, and the adrenaline high of punching someone is surprisingly satisfying. He is practiced and precise. He is comfortable in his solitude, but quite charming when he wants to be. He knows he is in deep trouble when he comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress one night. Her innocence disturbs him. Everything before takes on a different hue, and his carefully controlled life begins to crumble.
When Konstantin and Raven meet in a London ally, she can’t seem to get away fast enough from her protector. The terrifying experience has her in shock, and it is only later when she realizes how regrettable it was that she pushed him away. She had felt an instant connection with him, something deep and undeniable. Even though he masked his feelings, she sensed he felt it, too. As luck would have it she gets a second chance to make things right. Together they begin to get to know one another. And when little Janna takes a liking to him there is no more holding back. The couple has incredible chemistry – and they share some rather steamy scenes. But Raven still hasn’t faced either Rosa or Star, and her friends seem determined about settling the past. Meanwhile she couldn’t be happier with Konstantin, yet the ominous feeling she has won’t abate. Something is very wrong, and it doesn’t help matters that he has so little to say about himself. The couple eventually finds a very happy ending.
Konstantin and Raven’s dark story is shrouded in mystery. The story pulls you in for the first three quarters of the way through. The wrap up could have been more clever, but the ending is worthwhile. There are a few tears. The story is plot-driven. It is written in first person. The POV alternates between Konstantin and Raven. I rate this book 4.5 stars.
THE HEIR:
Rosa Gardener, twenty-six, hasn’t been with a man in over a year. She has great friends and loves her career. After going to college and snagging a coveted internship in New York at Cosmo, she landed a job back home in London as a fashion writer at Mirabel. She loves her job despite the cutthroat atmosphere. When she finds herself at her friend Star’s wedding, she has no intention of breaking her dry streak on a one-night stand with a player. With Cindy taken and Raven pregnant, she happens to be the only bridesmaid available and has apparently become the target of one obnoxious Mediterranean playboy. She knows the type well, but this one is particularly gifted in both looks and skill. He checks all her boxes.
One month later, Rosa learns the hard way that contraceptives are not one hundred percent effective. With help from Star, she locates the mystery playboy in Rome. She flies in only long enough to inform the arrogant beast of her situation and explain that she does not expect nor want anything from him – though to the extent he wants to be in the child’s life she welcomes it. His shallow and vain personality disgusts her – he is shameless. And that he makes light of the situation by suggesting that she and the baby live with him is beyond understanding. She eagerly returns to London without any expectation of hearing from him again.
Dante D’Angelo, roughly thirty-three (about seven years older than Rosa), doesn’t have a job. He lives life as he pleases, traveling throughout Europe and going from party to party. He thinks there is more to life than work. Work is boring. He has slept with countless beautiful women, but he never made any promises. He loves his life and cannot imagine ever settling down. When in England for billionaire Nikolai Smirnov’s wedding, his bride Star suggests that he and Rosa would make a perfect couple. And when he approaches her, Rosa’s feisty and rebellious personality have him captivated. She isn’t like the classic beauties he spent so many years bedding, but she is absolutely perfect. Intelligent and independent-minded, something about her resonates with him, and he is not taking no for an answer.
Have a few tissues handy! Dante and Rosa’s feisty banter and great chemistry in the first half of their story leads to family intrigue in the latter half. The second half is radically different than the first half, which is more whimsical and romantic and quintessentially Italian. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Dante and Rosa. I rate this book four stars.
NICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING:
Cindy Forrester, twenty-eight, is a proud working class girl. Daughter of a construction worker and a house cleaner, she had gone on to receive a degree in business. She is devoted to her career, so much so that she hasn’t been with a man in over a year. She began working at The Macau, a small London casino owned by the reclusive Lord Alstree, right out of college. Cindy loves working at The Macau. She worked her way up the ladder until becoming manager four years ago. She is good at her job. She routinely deals with difficult customers with ease. Her charm and keen ability to read people give her the advantage in any situation. She always gets her way.
Alexander Obolensky is a Russian businessman than reeks of danger and intrigue. His dark and stormy personality intimidates. He owns casinos and clubs around the world, though his management methods are rather unconventional. He is cold and closed off, and he is completely without charm. He emanates such power and control, though, that he commands any room he enters. His magnetic eyes captivate. The tattoos that peak out of his designer suits hint to an unspoken past. His eye-catching good looks stand in contrast to his hardened personality.
After a rebellious period in the bratva, Alex decided to go legit. He uses his skill at reading people and negotiating deals to buy new businesses and increase his investment portfolio. He looks for companies with excellent management – ones that will run themselves with little of his time or energy required. That leads him to The Macau and to Cindy Forrester. While quietly observing the casino and its manager, he cannot help but notice that Cindy is the perfect woman for a job he has been trying to fill. The great aunt that raised him after his parents died is getting up there in age and he hopes to make up for past misdeeds. Her greatest wish is to see him happily married. Though marriage is not in the cards for him, he can at least give his great aunt an illusion. His aunt will expect a beautiful fireball, a woman deeply in love with him and capable of charming his aunt. And he needs someone capable of standing up to the rest of his family.
Alex and Cindy’s steamy fake fiancé story is about trust, family, and making amends. It is a power struggle between two strong figures. The suspense builds as Cindy agrees to put her trust in Alex, a man she just met. The story is plot-driven. It is written in first person. The POV alternates between Alex and Cindy. I rate this book four stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.