I’m a good girl. I live by a code that can’t be bent or broken. It is my duty to my family to stay innocent and pure. To marry an Italian man. The stars are already aligned. But Nikolai Kozlov re-writes my destiny with five simple words. You belong to me now. He’s Russian mafiya. A thief. A skilled liar with no moral boundaries. He is everything I have been taught to hate. A man who stands for … have been taught to hate. A man who stands for nothing. A man who takes what he wants without a second thought.
And what he wanted was me.
He thinks he controls my fate, but what he doesn’t know is, sometimes it’s the good girls you have to watch out for.
I’m a dangerous man.
I live by a code. The Vory code. It is my duty to my family to protect the brotherhood. To destroy anyone who threatens what we stand for, including her.
She’s a dancer. A beautiful little doll. My prisoner, and my new favorite puppet. This mafia princess thinks she has me under her spell, but in the end, she is simply collateral.
It’s a shame to destroy precious things.
But this is what bad men do.
Note: this book contains dark subject matter, please read at your own discretion. This is a full length standalone that can be read in any order within the series.
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4.5 you stole my heart Stars. Another amazing read. Definitely dark, very dark, as is the mafia. Unique storyline that will capture your attention and have you on the edge of your seat until the end. Nikolai is definitely someone you’ll hate to love. You will be tested and pushed out of your comfort zone, but so worth the read. Must read Ghost before you read Thief. Highly recommend this book if you love dark, twisted stories and the mafia.
If I haven’t said it yet (I know I have, though), I’ll say it again – no one does dark and twisted like Ashleigh Zavarelli, and her Boston Underworld series is one of my all time favorites in all of fiction. Her mafia heroes are hot and sexy, no doubt, but they’re not just that, they’re so much more. They’re dark, they’ve got questionable moral codes, they’re twisted, but they’re so layered that truly peeling back all their layers is impossible. I thought Reaper (Ronan) and Alexei (Ghost) were not to be bested in my heart, but Niko just may have usurped them.
Niko is part of the Vory (Russian mafiya), he’s the brother of Alexei (Ghost), but he’s quite different. He’s not a Ghost, he’s a Thief.
“I am a thief at heart.”
He too answers to Viktor, the pakhan, the leader, but he’s lately been distracted by acquiring something that’s not quite art, no, that something is a collateral owed to the Vory by Manuel Valentini, so he’s taken Manuel’s daughter, Tanaka, as leverage, until Manuel makes good on his debt.
Tanaka is not like the women of Niko’s world, or even like most of the women in her Italian mafia world. No, she’s much different. She’s a seemingly spoiled princess who’s not, she’s prisoner in her father’s world with only one outlet – her dancing. She’s a graceful, beautiful ballerina whose dancing career has just been cut short thanks to her father’s debt, and now she’ll live her life as Niko’s prisoner. She knows she’ll probably die soon, and Niko makes no bones about letting her know. But, as they struggle to manage the feelings they’re soon developing for each other, I was hurting for both of them because I knew one tiny thread was going to unravel and a shit storm of epic proportions was going to rain down on them. And when it did…sigh….
I have loved this series since its inception with Crow starting it off, and as each was presented to us, I fell in love even more with this Irish/Russian meld of dark, raw violence and love. I did not think it would be possible for me to love one of Ashleigh’s heroes more than Ronan and Alexei, as I mentioned before, but Niko really does take the cake. He’s magnificent, this Russian thief, and he certainly stole my heart. I’m going to really miss this series if this is truly the end. But, it was a hell of a ride and I can’t think of a more fitting conclusion to this series than Niko and Tanaka’s darkly sweet story.
A beautiful Ballerina, dancing like she had wings, stretching, flying , landing, like she breathes. Dancing is not just her art, it’s her life, her escape, her motive to keep living
I felt instant connection to the Mafia Princess – Tanaka Valentini, daughter of Manuel Valentini.
then a monster walks into her life and she falls!! Broken body, mutilated heart and shattered soul.
Her Fall From Grace forever captured and her light dimming till if just is a dying ember.
I can feel the same dread, same dangerous aura in this book like I felt in earlier Boston Underworld series. This is genre and trope ash is really master of. She creates Nikolai, a Vor Soldier. Ruthless, heartless and merciless
As men go, Nikolai falls in the top percent of his red-blooded class. From his Herculean build to his wild hair and sharp cheekbones, he is a deity among the male species. A mortal casted in the image of a Greek god. And that would make me his concubine.
He’s also a THIEF. Stealing precious objects and now he has stolen Tanaka and made her his pet.
I loved the story , it’s my fave trope and the intricacies of Bratva, combined with interconnections with Italian Mafia made it very dark, very dreadful. There’s a lot of sinister deals, vengeance, mayhem, gory torture atypical of such dark underworld. The end scene was so casually written , gave me shudders !!!
There’s also Love, lust, pain, angst and heartbreak . Perfect combination that kept me occupied throughout. Lots of sizzling action, Nike is a Red Blooded Alpha male and he uses his pet however he
Pleases and whenever he wants.
Towards the end is a bombshell !!! I had forgotten all about it actually.
Taut, tense and tensile, story is hard and elastic both, twisting and turning till our mouth falls open.
I have to mention one line that impacted me real hard and truly captures the plight of Tanaka.
With the tug of his puppet strings, the master fractures the good girl inside of me. All that’s left in the wake of his devastation is a broken doll who wrings out every ounce of pleasure from his mouth before she deflates. I’m bankrupt…..I’m BANKRUPT <--- I loved it. It truly shows her destitution. She has nothing left. I shed a tear or two at this point . Thank you Ashleigh !!! 4.5 "Zvedza" stars
I had to take a few days to gather my thoughts on this book. This is book five in the Boston Underworld series. I love this series and this book was no different.
Nikolai and Tanaka’s story was at times heartbreaking. I found it gripping to the point I didn’t want to put it down. I loved that they just seemed to gravitate toward each other even when they knew they couldn’t be together. I thought them to be two halves of a whole.
We learned of his character in Ghost where he was now hated by his brother for stealing his fiance. In this book, we find that there was more to the story and that the reasons he did this dishonorable thing to his own flesh and blood was not for the reasons we thought.
Both come from damaged pasts. Nikolai looking for a truth while also trying to earn back the respect or even love of his only brother. Tanaka grasping for control while so cruelly being kept in a gilded cage by her own father.
Throughout this book we got to see the real people behind the farce that their worlds expected them to be. The damaged thief and the broken dancer.
And although I enjoyed reading this book, I am also sad it was the last in the series.
I have devoured every one of the books in the Boston Underground series, and Thief was no different. Thief was everything I had hoped for for Nikolai’s story. The same dark and twisty tale and the same intense, love-hate relationship that I’ve come to love in Ms. Zavarelli’s writing. I didn’t think anyone could steal my heart away from Alexei, but Nikolai came in like the thief he is and took it as if it always belonged to him.
Nikolai is a man with hidden troubles who believes he can extract his vengeance by using Tanaka. Tanaka is a prisoner to her life and wants only to follow her impossible dreams. I love the way their connection grows from hate to tolerance to uncontainable desire.
One of my favorite things about this series is how all the stories are interconnected. Beyond just seeing the characters from the past stories, you see scenes from those past books told from different characters’ points of view. It brings a whole new perspective to the story while letting you relive moments that flame to life in your memory and become more vivid because of the way it’s retold.
While I love the Irish mafia men in this series, the Russians have my full attention. I would love to read more stories about these Russians, and I hope someday that I can.
Boston Underworld #5
Wow! I fell in love with this series when I stumbled across Crow. (And what a fabulous stumble that was!) I devoured Crow and the rest of the series in a week and was hoping for more!
Well Ms. Zavarelli delivered and delivered brilliantly! Thief is the story of Nikolai and Tanaka.
What a gritty, dark and deep story! Nikolai has the weight of the Vory world on his shoulders and when he comes across Tanaka it’s a thin line between love and hate. I wanted to hate Nikolai when I was reading but then he redeemed himself beautifully. His love for Tanaka is dangerous and scary but it’s worth it!
Tanaka, oh my girl. What a horrible way to grow up, but when you don’t know any better, you believe it’s normal. Her disease (yes, it’s a disease) is her way to cope and unfortunately, she is only hurting herself more. She is shown a true but tough love from Nikolai and it made him even more redeeming in my eyes!
If you loved the previous books in this series, get your hands on this! This story grabbed my by the throat and didn’t let go until the very end. I hope to see more from this series, there are quite a few secondary characters I would love to know more about and it was fantastic to see previous main characters in this series make an appearance, it’s like having a bit of a mini reunion with old friends!
Thank you for your stories A. Zavarelli, I cannot wait to read what is next from you!
So I have never read anything by this author before, but I will definitely be adding her books to my enormous TBR pile for future reads.
I loved “Thief” so much it dealt with some major issues between its pages that I wasn’t really expecting and I was glued, unable to put it down.
So “Thief” is basically Nikolai Kozlov (Russian mafiya, member of the Vory) and Tanaka (she’s not Russian) story.
In fact, Tanaka is collateral for her father’s debt, a guest in Nikolai’s home until such time as he pays up or she pays with her life.
So Tanaka lives for her ballet she knows she will have to eventually give it up when she marries, an arranged marriage and until that day she is protected by walls and locks and guards a prisoner at the will of her father.
To the outside world a pampered princess.
But appearances can lie and there’s a whole lot more going on here than what can be seen with this criminal princess.
On the night Niko calls in his debt Tanaka’s world implodes as shes dealt a harsh blow, an injury she will struggle to overcome.
Taken with the permission of her father Tanaka finds herself a guest of Niko’s.
Niko of the tattoos and fuck you attitude.
A world totally foreign to what Tanika is used to in her usual small controlled environment.
Shes like a lost soul, really out of her comfort zone and depth here.
There’s also a lot else going on with Tanika that is explored in “Thief” and these things ultimately have left there mark on her.
Niko has no idea why he wants to help but he does.
Going out of his way to try and assist Tanaka.
There’s also a deeper agenda going on here on Nikos part.
And that’s partially why he wants Tanaka so much as everything is connected.
“Thief” is ultimately a dark romance that deals with plenty of uncomfortable situations and themes.
There’s plenty of action in typical mafiya style and also an extreme sense of family, a dysfunctional one maybe but still at heart a family.
I was rooting every step of the way for Tanaka and Niko, even when the deck seemed to be stacked against them I was praying for a happier outcome for the both of them.
The world Thief is set in is so believable I could almost feel the bonding and the blood and violence that ultimately connects this dysfunctional brotherhood.
I’m so looking forward to my next book by this author as this was such an engrossing read, It is one of those stories that digs deep and sticks.
Bravo to the author for such an engaging piece of fiction.`
I received an ARC of “Thief” (Boston Underworld, #5) from the Author of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
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“His ocean eyes wash over me, and a rush of warmth floods my veins. His eyes are loud, electric, and undeniably captivating.”
This entire series is pure gold!!! The most difficult thing will be to pick your favorite, and I’m swooning hard for Nikolai this morning still!! Even though each couple in the series is unique, they all floor me with the similar premise. Broody, deadly Mafia hotties and strong, equally matched females who share similar broken, damaged pasts and overcome unbelievable obstacles to be together, when usually they have fought it tooth and nail from the beginning. Nikolai is no exception to this!!
“I confined him to a box inside my mind, and he hasn’t just stepped outside of it, he’s blown it entirely apart.”
He sure did….this muscled, tattooed, Russian filled to the brim with domineering cockiness, sexy danger, and vulnerability that makes him human. (Still swooning over here) The Author filled in so much backstory and vividly explained what only had been hinted at in previous books that made this a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end! I DEVOURED this book in a few hours and was left blinking at 3am in my reading chair…not even kidding!
“Until now, I didn’t know that I was dying of a thirst I never knew I had, and he was the bluest water I ever tasted. For eternity, I could drink him, and for eternity, I would never be satisfied.”
The words just held me captive, no doubt, Nikolai is going on my Top Reads of 2018!!! My absolute favorite kind of story to read from one of my most favorite Mafia Romance Series! I thank the Author for providing a copy to review!!
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
Thief is book #5 in the Boston Underworld series. It is a stand-alone and can be read as such. I have not read any of the other books in this series but I was able to follow the story without any problem.
Tanaka Valentini is the daughter of Italian mob boss Maneul Valentini. She is obedient but fierce. She lives in a world full of tradition and violence. All of her life she has been raised/trained to become a Mafia wife. To marry an Italian man. It was arranged by her father long ago. Her only joy is ballet. It is her passion, her only outlet in her lonely world. She has studied hard and has taken a spot in the New York City Ballet Company.
“….That’s what I’ve been preparing for. My entire life. I’ve been sheltered. Schooled at home. Forbidden from having friends or leaving the house. ”
“….My father arranged my marriage, and it was set in stone.”
Nikolai Kozlov is Russian Mafia, loyal to the Vory Brotherhood. He is a thief, an artist, a complicated man. Manuel Valentini owes a debt to him. One he cannot pay. Manuel offers his daughter, Tanaka as collateral for his debt.
The story unfolds beautifully. There is so much emotion expressed. Tanaka and Nikoli have undeniable chemistry. The push and pull is amazing. Tanaka is determined to fulfill her duty to stay pure so that she may marry an Italian Mafia man. Nikolai knows that he must stay within his culture as well. He must protect the brotherhood and live by the Vory code. But fate has other plans. Nikolai’s behavior is infuriating at times and then he is thoughtful and protective. He manipulates, he takes.
“The thief stole my heart, only to hold it in the palm of his hand, extorting my affections when it suits him.”
The writing is fantastic. It is descriptive and flows from page to page. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not see a way out for either Tanaka or Nikolai. And then comes a twist or two. It takes you to places that you do not expect. The story was dark, raw and sensual. As I said above, Tanaka and Nikolai have an undeniable, explosive chemistry. One that cannot be denied!
“You are so lovely. So soft and sweet and pure. I want to ruin you.”
Ashleigh Zavarelli is a new author to me and I am so glad I took a chance on her! I want to go back to the beginning of this amazing series. To read it from its start and discover the characters that I have seen in this story. To see their stories……
“He has the will of a fighter and the artistry of a lover. Right now, he’s both. And I’m a slave to my weakness. A slave to him.”
5 stars!!!!
Book five of the Boston Underworld Series was intensely heartbreaking, breathtaking, arousing and is a definite must read. Tanaka is a Mafiya Princess and has always been a prisoner of some regard her entire life. Her escape is ballet and her entire world and life implodes around her with a major injury to her ankle. Nikolai demands Tanaka as collateral to what her father owes and they are immediately drawn into a battle of wits against each other, both of them fighting the lust that they have for one another. I love how the author adds pieces of the other four books in this series into this one so that the story is a continuous one. It’s very well written and I’ve loved reading each individual story of the Mafiya men and their women.
Wow what an awesome ride!!
so in love with Nikolai and Tanaka story.. and A. Zavarelli’s words..
Tanaka is a beautiful ballerina who happens to be the daughter of a mafia boss, she is pure and innocent in a way but not so innocent as her father would think.. she has live in the middle of the mafia for so long that her skin is now so though.. she was spoken for to a Russian guy.. but life has another plans for Tanaka.. the night she loses her dreams, the night that everything changed, is the night she met him..
Nikolai works in the Russian Mafia, he and his brothers have been living this life forever.. they call him the Thief because he likes to collect certain things.. Nikolai is set to search for the killers or murders of his beloved ……. if that ever happened.. He doesn’t know who did that atrocity but he has some information that can change his life forever.. after attending a beautiful ballet recital, trying to collect a debt.. he comes face to face with his destiny .. a destiny he was not ready to change..
But things are not going to be easy for them.. life keeps bringing obstacles and the past keep showing up .. letting them know they can’t never be together.. his brotherhood is against her, her family owns him too much.. there seems no other option other than take separate ways…
what a beautiful book.. i love the way how ballet made the story more soft and in a way more delicate.
you see Nikolai and his brothers all strong and mean and when you see Tanaka, her ballet, her determination to survive with all the harshness surrounding her.. you see two different worlds but at the same time each one having a beauty of is own..
i also love the secondary characters, Nikolais brother Alexei, Mischa, Talia all of them contribute to make this story so wonderful ..
love Thief.. love Nikolai, he was strong, controlling, possessive and a very dirty talker .. in less words the perfect man … Tanaka was a great Heroine.. she was soft, strong and she didn’t take any BS from anybody.. she fought until the end ..
Amazing conclusion of The Boston Underworld .. Thank you ashleigh for such an amazing story..
I love the way Ashleigh wrote the Tanaka and Nikolai! There was so much going on in this story: suspense, lust, hope, heartbreak, and love. You felt like you were right there with the characters in the story and I was sad when I read the last page because I wanted more. You always wish there’s more when you’re reading a good book. <3
What do you get when you combine a Russian mob, Italian Mafia, a sexy, artistic, alpha male and a mafia princess ballerina? Mystery, betrayal, two slightly twisted characters with explosive, off the charts chemistry, and a book load of suspense. But more specifically? You get Thief.
I had intended to just read a chapter or two before bed, but instead I was up until I finished it at 5am because it felt physically impossible to put it down and go to sleep. I was captivated from the start, this gritty, gripping, gory novel kidnapped my heart, mind, and soul and didn’t let go even after I read the final page.
This dark, twisted, erotic tale made me think of some very adult retelling of Romeo and Juliet with a ‘Grimm fairytale’ twist. I’m already craving a chance to go back and read the previous novels in the book. Something about how background characters were referenced but with an addictive air of mystery made me crave to know their tale, A. Zavarelli let us get to know these characters while revealing just enough about their pasts and their story to tease and tempt us. It was genuinely addicting and I need to know everything about them, I need to see their own dark, twisted love story and fall in love with them too.
But Nikolai? I cannot see how any of these Boston Underworld men could ever replace Nikolai for me. He’s the perfect antihero that you love and swoon over even though you know you shouldn’t. Thief is my first book by this author but I can already tell it won’t be my last!
Nail biting, page turning, gut wrenching, soul shattering five star read. You need this moved to the top of your TBR.
Get ready to have your emotions stripped bare. Boston Underworld is one of the best mafia series out there and these dark reads are some of my favorite.
Nikolai and Tanaka are two broken souls and they take you on the ride of your life. You get to witness the cruelty they endured and learn why they are the way they are.
An unstoppable force of desire, devotion, commitment and secrets to be unveiled. Thief stole my attention from the very beginning and I’ve been entranced ever since. Prepare to be shocked, turned on, heart broken and obsessed from beginning to end. What a fantastic read. One of my favorites.
“It’s the thieves who come to steal you away without warning. And there is no thief more skilled than Nikolai Kozlov.”
Ever since I read the first page of Crow, Boston Underworld series Book 1, this series has been one of my favorites. Nikolai is Alexei’s younger brother and we are introduced to him in Ghost. They have a rocky history and I loved hearing it from Nika’s pov.
“I am a thief at heart. Art being my specialty, I steal it, and I create it, and sometimes, I even destroy it.”
Nikolai is a raw, harsh, powerful Russian Avtoritet and “Thief in law.” His plan is set in motion and he has his eyes on one thing and it’s named vengeance. Nika is very skillful and talented but it was his passion that took me by surprise and definitely gave Alexei a run for his money. He takes care of what is his even if it is only considered a temporary possession.
“For now, I am a slave to his touch. A servant to his commands. Another doll for his collection. Pretty and untainted by anyone but him.”
Tanaka is a sheltered Italian mafia princess who lives for one thing, dancing. She is a beautiful, graceful ballerina, sadly her fate has already been decided for her and dancing is not part of the deal. There are so many layers to her character and I loved witnessing them being peeled back one by one, exposing her true self and desires.
“I need ballet like I need air to breathe. It is my life. My heart. My soul. And the thing I fear most is what will become of me if I am no longer a dancer.”
This book is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You will be heartbroken, anxious, hopeful, surprised and squirming in your seat. I am so incredibly sad this series is over but Nikolai and Tanaka’s story was brilliantly told and a perfect ending for it.
If you haven’t read the Boston Underworld series STOP what you are doing and read it today, you will not be disappointed!
“My loyalty is with you, now and forever.”
~ Read on behalf of Two Darlin Dolls and a Book Review
I recently read Saint so that I wasn’t reading the books out of order. This has such a very different feel to that book, a lot less action packed but a lot more emotion intense. I wouldn’t describe it as dark, as all sexual encounters are consensual. It was reminiscent of Ghost, in that we had less mafia action and the action was very much centred around just the hero and heroine. We also have two damaged individuals battling not just their situations but also themselves.
Tanaka has never truly known freedom and has little control over her life. Not surprisingly she suffers from unrecognised mental health issues, especially given the harsh and judgemental ballet world in which she lives. Nikolai is haunted by his mothers disappearance and suspects Tanaka’s father, so takes her supposedly as collateral but with much more sinister motives in mind.
The pair share a very haunting and dysfunctional chemistry, both so scared of relationships that they deliberately hurt the other in an attempt to protect their own heart. Neither realised the power they held over the other. Nikolai wants to toe the party line and follow the wishes of his Pakhan, Viktor, but this might mean harming Tanaka, something he is finding increasingly hard to contemplate.
The scene with Tanaka and Nikolai in his ‘vault’ was just so beautiful but whilst just the two of them was perfect, outside forces were determined to tear them apart in the most violent of ways. At times Nikolai seemed very cold and distant but the reasons why, whilst plentiful in theory, were a little vague within the plot. An event would happen and suddenly he would abandon Tanaka, these were also often accompanied by timeline jumps that were difficult to identify at first. Tanaka was very easy to like and empathise with, she drew me into the story immediately. Despite, at times, being very cold Nikolai really grew on me and I so desperately wanted him to find a way to solve the problems of his making.
The pace of the plot varied but it was both unusual and unpredictable. The story held my attention and was read in one sitting.