From the moment Lev Leokov spots the young woman hiding behind her hair in the middle of the gentleman’s club, he can’t take his eyes off of her.For the very first time in his life, he is affected. Having been told his entire life that he can’t process or understand emotion, he considers it a big deal.When Mina Harris gets caught red-handed with a wallet that isn’t hers, she falls apart. She’s … apart. She’s tired, lonely and hasn’t eaten in days.
Lev offers her an ultimatum… A nice warm bed, a hot meal and a job, or the cops.
Mina takes her chances with Lev.
After all, a person with nothing has nothing left to lose.
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Lev is and will always be one of the most original heroes I’ve ever read. Unique. Romantic. Equally badass and vulnerable. Time for a re-read.
I was half way thru reading Vik when I went back and downloaded Lev on kindle unlimited. I was smitten from the very beginning. I haven’t crushed on a book boyfriend this hard in a long time, as I did with Lev. Honestly couldn’t get enough of him or wanting to be able to crawl into his lap. Mina was his perfect match. So good and richly written. Captivated my attention immediately and didn’t let go. The storyline, this family, their bond, their banter, their deep devotion to one another.
Mina’s an orphan who has been living on the streets for the last seven years and it is killing her. Literally. Starving and desperate she walks into a gentleman’s club, although she didn’t realize that at the time, and lifts a wallet. Only she is discovered and it ends up saving her life. Literally.
Lev is captivated by Mina from the first moment he lays eyes on her. When he spots her lifting his brother’s wallet at their club, Bleeding Hearts, their confrontation unleashes his protective nature.
Lev is not used to feeling all the emotions Mina brings out in him. He isn’t good at reading people or in social situations. He lives a very controlled life. Letting Mina in the way he has is not his norm.
“… I was coming to recognize that Lev Leokov was an open book. I only needed to discover the language in which his pages were written.”
This is a deep love story with many facets. Lev taking Mina in surprising all closet to him. Mina has been on her own for so long that this idea of family, friends, and trust seem so foreign.
“… I would be his rock when his reason floated away. And he would be the person I needed to remind me that I was no longer alone in the world.
A perfectly imperfect friendship had somehow formed, and losing Lev was not an option.
He found me, and whether he knew it or not, I was his, in a way.
You know what they say… Finders keepers.”
When Mina is put in a harmful situation it unleashes all the want Lev has for her. This changes everything and the slow friendship they have been building completely blossoms.
It’s a beautiful thing, but it’s not without drama. Family and friend drama, each of their pasts coming back to remind them drama.
Mostly told thru Lev and Mina’s POV. We do get a few chapters told thru Lev’s siblings, sparking our interest in their own storylines.
I liked this book, Lev and Mina’s Romance was wonderful. I couldn’t get enough of the way that Lev treated Mina.
He noticed her in the gentleman’s club and instantly knew she was up to something. Keeping a watchful eye on her he seen her take his brothers wallet. He was intrigued by his gorgeous mouse and did not want to let her go.
Have a living on the street for the last seven years Mina Wasn’t used to the generosity that Lev had shown her. Their romance was sweet and the understanding between the two was wonderful to see. I can’t wait for more from this group of characters.
Belle is famous for giving us immortal, unforgettable, broken alphas. I’ve been her ardent follower since Twitch in Raw. Her captivating prose with thrilling,fast-paced plot never let’s your attention stray from the pages even for a minute. You get invested in her story till the outside world ceases to exist.
A PERFECT story of an IMPERFECT man is the best way to describe this book. Lev Leokov is an emotion-less cyborg of a human being. It’s not that he doesn’t feel anything, it’s just his limited word power makes it difficult for him to articulate his feelings.
“A face like yours makes men stumble over themselves.”
“Faces like yours are carved into statues, immortalized in stone for the world to see over the ages.”
“You…are art.”
A rough diamond hiding in the shadows of his own mind, till a tiny petite flame of a girl- Mina Harris enters his corner of the dark world and his facets start to shine. To everybody around them, it seems like A dysfunctional kind of support of blind leading the blind, but it somehow works!!.
“I would be his rock when his reason floated away. And he would be the person I needed to remind me that I was no longer alone in the world. A perfectly imperfect friendship had somehow formed, and losing Lev was not an option.”
Both Lev and Mina have been painstakingly crafted by Belle. She’s patiently etched nuanced progression of their relationship, takes her time to edevlop. Nothing is rushed, no stone unturned, no development goes unexplained. To see Lev blooming up to fill his shell is such a beauty.
The start gave me a bit unbelievable vibe but simplicity of Levi’s heart and soul gives it enough credibility to make me a believer. Things are pretty black and white in his world and his justifications are straightforward and brusque too.
“This is Mina. She was homeless. I found her. I’m keeping her. She loves me. So we’re getting married.”
Much to Minas consternation. But her character is patient, compassionate and so generous in spirit, she SEES him. Inside where it matters!
“He’s not broken,”
“He’s in there. I see him. He’s just…stuck.”
“sometimes I think you’re better than the normal person. Extraordinary. Unique. Elite. Gallant.”
Mina turns out to be the Appraiser who identified his brilliance and polishes it to perfection by her love.
I had tears in my eyes reading this thought provoking story about two misfits who magnetically fit like a puzzle.
Now on to Vik.
5 Shiny stars for Love The Verb
I was wholly surprised about this book! I saw it recommended in a Facebook group and I gave it a go. So glad I did. Lev was a gorgeous hero! Protective, sweet, and possessive. I got the sense he was the spectrum somewhere and if that’s the case, I loved that part of him best of all!
Mina was cute, she’d been dealt a rough hand but it didn’t dampen her sweetness.
There’s a whole lot of nothing in the book, too much some reviews say, we got a lot of day-to-day descriptions. In our current climate where I don’t want to cope with a lot of drama in my romances, this suited me fine and I enjoyed seeing their friendship develop.
Lev’s brother was an ass at times, so I was excited to see his book was next…. though it’s been years, so I’m unsure if we’ll ever see it.
A really good read.
Lev by Belle Aurora
Five Full Stars
World Building
Characters
Romance
Storytelling
HEA & Stand-alone
Lev. Wow. What a broken and beautiful person. I fell in love with him and was a little bit sad when I reached the end of the novel. If I could, I would be his forever penguin.
As a young child, he suffered nightly physical and mental abuse from his mother because he wasn’t quite right. I guess he suffered from asperges, but the author never says.
Mina is a homeless woman who stood out in a gentleman’s club, trying to hide. In desperation, she steals a wallet, but regardless of the amount of money in it, she only takes $100. Enough to feed her for a little while. She is caught by Lev.
For a man who can’t process or understand emotion, he is drawn to Mina. She is ultra thin, hungry and tired and her cloths are thread bare. Lev offers her a choice. A nice warm bed, a hot meal and a job, or the cops. With nothing to loose, Mina chooses Lev.
This is a heart warming story, and Belle Aurora masterfully breathed life into her characters. You can’t help but fall in love with them, cheer for them, and want the very best for them.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
I’ve had this book on my wish list for years, but it wasn’t until recently that I picked it up. And, oh my goodness . . . I’m chastising myself for waiting so long to read it.
This book was beautiful. It was wonderful. And it was oh, so sexy. I absolutely LOVED Lev and Mina, and Mina’s love for Lev’s daughter. Everything about this book was perfect for me!
If you haven’t read this book or are on the fence about reading it, JUST STOP OVERTHINGING, GET THIS BOOK ON YOUR KINDLE, AND READ! You NEED this book in your life!
This has been a favourite of mine for a long time! I reread it at least twice a year 😀
“It was a powerful thing to cause a want so fierce in the person you loved.”
Lev started out with some very dark undertones so I was preparing myself to read a dark romance, but it ended up being more on the cuter side. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily and it isn’t the fault of the book.
I enjoyed Mina, Lev, and the whole gang. The family dynamic was heartwarming and the way everyone just about fell over themselves to help take care of Lev’s 2 year old daughter was precious. And the friendships that Mina builds are perfect. I loved her back and forth with Nas and Vik.
Both Mina and Lev have been through a lot in their lives so it was very rewarding to watch them grow, heal, and bond together. Their relationship progressed very nicely and the angst was killer (in such a good way)!
This was my first read by Belle Aurora. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall rating 4 stars
Steaminess 3.5 stars
A definite must-read!
I’d only read the RAW Family Series by this author before, although I had this book on my shelf for years!! I think I hesitated to read it because it’s a different genre, not the dark kind that Raw was. But boy, what had I missed out on all these years!
The writing was captivating and I was sucked into this story from the very first page. I felt for Mina and her sad situation and was stunned about Lev’s reaction and emotions. I wasn’t sure what to make of Lev in his first chapter but the very moment Mina entered his life, I was taken by him. And after just a few chapters, when he offered her his black t-shirt (OMG this scene!!!), I fell madly and deeply in love with him.
The Story:
Mina was broken and desperate which brought her in a difficult and dangerous situation. When she was caught stealing by the intimidating looking Lev Leokov, she never expected to find kindness and help. Although hesitant at first because he was still a stranger, she found herself thrust into a world where she least expected to belong to.
Thoughts:
Despite her situation, Mina had a lot of sass. I liked that about her a lot because she hadn’t given up and accepted her fate but fought to survive. She was a fighter and ran into the arms of her savior.
Lev was not just nice or fair or selfless, he was very generous and that kind of person you wish to run into when you find yourself in trouble to help you out.
He wasn’t your average man, because he was so unique and very special in his ways. He was generous, honest, straightforward, and reasonable until his temper took over. He had a way with words because although he didn’t talk a lot, the few words he said were said with meaning, conviction and thought. They were few but touched deeply. He was very set in his ways and drove hard bargains but Mina got him in a way only ever his family could. I adored his protective and jealous side and even his obliviousness to other people’s feelings. He was a very sweet and kind hero although he was a mystery to me for quite a while in this book until I got to understand him more and more with each detail that was revealed, and loved him even harder then.
It was a slow burn romance but there was so much stuff going on which made this book hard to put down and so easy to read in one sitting. There was drama, there was complexion in a lot of ways but it all came in a pretty package and I wanted to shower it with love. There was not a lot of sex, but the sexy times between the characters were off the charts hot, and I had to laugh a lot during this read as well.
I actually hadn’t expected this story so be so full of loving and kind people, all with their own troubled pasts and hardened exteriors.
My heart hurt so badly for some particular characters. They all had such hard lives and childhoods. I loved how the author gave the troubled characters a better life and I was so happy at the progress the characters made.
I really loved the Leokov’s and closer to the end my heart even warmed up to Sasha. I can’t wait for the books of the other family members!! I just wanted to hug my kindle all the time because of how wonderful this family was.
Lev is everything I wanted and so much more!!!
Lev, Lev, Lev!
I read the blurb and made assumptions. You know what they say about assuming something…I may not have made an ass out of myself but I did come across as a judgmental brat. Seems Mina and I have something in common after all!
This sweet and perfect romance isn’t the flowers and cards and candy kind. It’s real. It’s imperfect. Lev’s imperfections make him so darn perfect!
It’s not just Lev though. This whole cats of characters makes leaving these pages behind impossible. I can’t wait for the next release in the Shot Callers series.
“I Have Never Belonged, Mina.”
I am such a big fan of Belle’s books/writing. I will read anything she writes. Her stories are so unique and she brings characters to live. She is very original. I’ve been waiting on the sequel of RAW since I read the book which was a year or two ago. So when I saw that she was writing Lev I was super excited. I read that it would feature characters linked to Nik and Max who where the main characters in Friend-Zoned and Sugar Rush. The Friend-Zoned series is one of my favorite, I laughed so much when I was reading that series.
“They say penguins mate for life, and I want to be your penguin.”
OK, lets get back to THIS book. The writing is beautiful, I could picture every scene in my mind. Lev is a beautiful/funny/sad/SEXY book. I was feeling so many things and fell in love with many characters. I read really slow because I didnt want it to end (I know I am reading a 5 star book when I do that). Mina and Lev, they were so perfect together. Lev, he is definitely one of my top book boyfriends. He is this amazing guy who is different but so loyal and protective. Mina really helped him to become more, to feel more and LIVE. Every character has an important role in this book, and I hope they all get their own stories. We already got a glimpse of their stories in this book, so I am really excited to see how it will unfold.
“I would give my life rather than disappoint you and I would hurt anyone who tried to remove you from my side.”
Wonderful. Fantastic characters. Great story. Didn’t want it to end. Lev was a great character. I fell in love just a little, myself. He says he doesn’t feel, but that man has a heart filled with love. Most definitely recommended.