A ticking clock. A deadly enemy. Can they keep their heads in the game when their hearts are already on the line?Valentine Rivetti made a horrible mistake when he became a Marine Sniper at the age of twenty. Returning home with PTSD and a guilty conscience, he’s blackmailed into working for the mafia to save his family.Maksim Kovalenko has everything he ever dreamed of growing up in a Ukrainian … growing up in a Ukrainian slum. As a notorious corporate attorney, he has the world at his feet. But wealth and power can’t protect him from the emptiness he feels every time he shuts his eyes.
When Val is arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, his redemption is a silver fox in a three-piece suit. But Val’s lucky day becomes Maksim’s nightmare when the mafia begins to cut loose ends… starting with them.
The passion between them is overwhelming, but can two solitary men learn to trust each other before it’s too late?
This novel is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. It contains an HEA and no cliffhangers.
Book 1 – Risk Assessment
Book 2 – Murder Aforethought
Book 3 – Other than Honorable
more
Very much enjoyed this book by a new to me author!
Second book in Cabrini Law series certainly didn’t lack suspense or danger. Racing against time and unknown enemy two men stand to lose both their lives and their hearts. I enjoyed the fast pace, the emotional maelstrom that was Valentine Rivetti and sarcastic smooth talker Maksim Kovalenko, slight mystery and of course a bit of tender love. Told from dual POV this is a story of finding solace and intimacy in times of uncertainty and fear. This can be considered an age gap romance.
Maksim Kovalenko fled poverty and hunger, and now he is at the top. But despite all the comforts the money brings, he is still lonely. He gives back as much as he can, but it never seems enough. There is a heart of gold hiding behind power suits and icy demeanor, if one cares to look long enough. What starts as a regular working day turns into struggle for survival, reevaluation of his life and a new beginning. I liked how sure and steady Maks was, how he was there when people needed him. He surprised me many times. He was not what I thought he was. He was way better.
Valentine Rivetti’s life was always precarious. Told from early age that he was not smart enough made him feel less and think he will always be a nobody. He tries to escape and becomes a Marine, but too much death takes its toll on him. Coming back to broken home and having to bury his parents, he seeks answers as to who is responsible. All this leads him to Maks who not only saves his life in more ways than one but gives him hope that he can be more than mindless muscle for hire. I loved Val’s protectiveness, his strength to go on when he almost couldn’t and his willingness to let Maks go when he didn’t believe in himself.
This was a wild ride. In the space of days both men experienced so much together. Anger, frustration, friendship and desire all jump started something deep, but it took time and a bit of peace to realize how much they meant to each other. I liked the side characters like Emma, Miguel and Reese who became a sort of family for both men and were there till the very end. There were moments that made me laugh and want to cry, some made me worried that the boys won’t make it. I like when the book makes me feel like that. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Copy received for my honest and unbiased review
It’s rare to have the second book in a series outshine the first, but that’s just what happened with Murder Aforethought. I quite liked the author’s debut and thought the series showed a lot of promise. Little did I know that Risk Assessment would almost act as a teaser to all that Murder Aforethought offered. There was more intense action, greater gut-clenching suspense, and a palpably stronger chemistry in this book, which I found increasingly hard to put down as I read.
I loved the character development in Murder Aforethought, and thought the story and romance delivered on all fronts. The tentative connection between Maksim and Valentine builds steadily and was drawn out enough to make even a fast romance feel strong and believable. I also liked how the author gave the characters, particularly Val, space to work through their complex issues. This wasn’t a love fixes everything story, and I appreciated the honesty when addressing Val’s PTSD and Maksim’s past as an immigrant. And then there’s that plot…intriguing doesn’t even begin to describe it. Given the author’s writing style and character introductions in Risk Assessment, I knew this would be a series worth following. After Murder Aforethought, this is one I know I’ll recommend again and again because it was as good as my favorites in the romantic suspense genre…and I can’t wait to see what book 3 delivers.
*eARC received via LesCourt Author Services*
Just like for Risk Assessment,I find myself doubting that my review can do justice to a Parker St. John’s book. Because I’m in awe with what this author managed to do with .
I was hooked right from the first pages,when I met Maksim and Val. It’s just that they are so stunning,complex and layered. Because once you dig under the thinly stretched morals,the sarcastic or hardened surface,you uncover the beauty of who they really are, deep down. That’s why you’re completely enamoured with them,with their kind,caring and gentle hearts. And you understand how come two men,so diametrically opposed, connect at such a cellular level. You see the reason why their lonely souls bond so deeply.
In my opinion, everything about is breathtaking and intense. It’s thrill,mystery and danger,but also sweetness, heartbreak and love. I got engaged in a fast flowing,action filled plot,with amazingly depicted characters and a soul-stirring romance,that sucked me right in and kept me enraptured.
I loved it and I think that 5 stars aren’t enough to rate it.
The day Maksim (Maks) took on Valentine Rivetti’s case was the day that changed his life. He may have been on top of the law heap, with success and a thriving career, but he didn’t have what Valentine would soon bring to his life – love.
Valentine had always been told he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t smart enough, wasn’t enough. He went into the military thinking that and he came out believing that even more. And now he’s under investigation for murder, being blackmailed by someone and coerced into something he wants nothing to do with. He’s at the end of his rope. Then along comes a gorgeous savior in a fine suit and icy eyes. But Maks will become his everything if Val will allow him in, allow him to protect him the way Maks longs to, has to.
I FREAKING LOVE this fast-paced, intriguing story. Maks and Val are a fascinating couple – opposites in many ways, years apart in age, but bringing something that each needs to the other. This is truly a beautiful story with two beautiful men. I don’t always enjoy age gap love, but it’s so well done here, they fit each other seamlessly. The action is just enough without being too much and it brings Reese, fascinating Reese, into the picture. I need his story next! I can’t wait for the next Cabrini Law story because I’ve fallen in love with this one and the world it inhabits.
An action packed m/m romantic thriller.
Val is a young marine Recon Sniper who left the service when he felt he needed his time as a sniper to end. He returned to a domestic mess with his father the petty con gone off the rails, and his mother broken hearted.
He found himself in need of a pro bono lawyer when he turned up at the scene of a murder. Maksim was a big shot corporate law guy who worked at a white shoe firm, as well as Cabrini legal services, which gave guys who were not well to do a chance to have a legal Shark go to bat for them.
Perhaps an unlikely pair, but quite a team when things get messy.
Addresses sticky issues like PTSD, and functioning alcoholics.
Multi-layered drama
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed the first instalment to the series so much, so I had high hopes that I’d enjoy this story just as much. Which I did, and then some. Maksim intrigued the hell out of me so I couldn’t wait for his story. There’s the same deep character analysis here where we really get to know Maksim and Val and we almost get a cinematic visual as the storytelling craft was that good; you were pulled right in there with the characters and it’s not a feat that many authors have the ability to do. I adore the fact that Maksim and Val both have an exterior that’s visible to the world—and one they take advantage of to an extent—that’s nothing like who they really are, kind of like an armour against the world. The more time they spend with each other and peel back those layers the more common ground they find. To watch these two cautious and lonely souls drop their guard and be almost forced to trust each other and cope with the chemistry that was brewing between them was an absolute delight to observe (and boy was that chemistry hot!). The author really brought something new to the table for me and I’m in love with their writing so much. They’ll be an auto-buy for me in the future, without a doubt.
Suspense, dynamic action and great characters. It was a brilliantly executed story and I can’t wait for more!
Valentine and Maksim are awesome!!
Great story-line, lots of action, emotionally engaging with plenty of intrigue creates a terrific read! I was totally caught up in this book the minute i started reading it. I loved the MC’s and found their journey compelling. Their back-stories gave them depth and their current situation kept me reading until the last page.
Valentine and Maksim are two not perfect men who at first glance have nothing to offer each other. Dig a bit deeper and you find two souls that really need and want the other. Their chemistry is steamy and intense and their hearts really need the other.
This is book two of the new Cabrini Law Novel series and i am so looking forward for book three about Reese,a character we met in this book.
I was gifted this book from the author and i freely give my honest opinion and review.
KU. Oh my gosh! This was even better than the first one, which I really enjoyed. I was totally hooked on the mix of action & romance. There was some angst, but it wasn’t belabored to the point of annoyance.
If you read book 1, you’ll remember Maksim as the suave, sophisticated, and somewhat stuck-up corporate lawyer sometimes dropping in at Cabrini Law to do pro bono work. If you didn’t read the first book ~ you aren’t missing anything to distract from this one. (Except you didn’t read book 1 and you should. Go. Right now. I’ll wait.) Anyway, Maksim becomes the lawyer for Valentine, call me Val, Ravetti who is accused of murdering a strip club owner. Val has inherited mob-entanglement from his father and is trying desperately to get out of it and solve who murdered his dad. After being shot at outside the police station ~ Maks is on the run *with* his client. Add in: Maks’s snarky 15yo neighbor Emma, Cabrini lawyer Miguel and Val’s Marine buddy Reese. This is a fast paced but thoroughly enjoyable book.
Y’all. As far as I can tell from Goodreads, this is only Parker St. John’s second book. It’s amazing on it’s own ~ but she’s definitely out of the gate running. I’ve already added the next two books in the series to my “Want To Read” shelf and can’t wait for their releases.