Review: The Soldier

The Soldier by Renee Rose
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Now this is what I'm talking about.  Want a caring daddy dom who isn't really going to play daddy, but basically takes care of you like a cherish girl?  Someone who protects you?  This is Pavel.  He's one of the Chicago Bratva and his loyalty seems to be torn.  This is probably why the Bratva doesn't want any of their soldiers to have relationships outside of the "brotherhood".  This story is a romanticized view of Russian mafia men.  It's an erotic romance!

With that warning, let's talk about Pavel.  He's into kinky sex and he enjoys the D/s as well as the SM parts to it.  His submissive is a weekend one.  Why?  Because long distance sucks.  I liked how Ms. Rose shows that spending weekends together isn't enough.  A D/s relationship that Pavel wants can't be easily done with just a few days borrowed a week from a person's life.  If this was just for fun, go for it.  However, Pavel develops feelings for Kayla and vice versa.  With the intensity of their kink, it would be surprising for their intimacy not to grow into something deeper.

Kayla lives in LA because she wants to be an actress.  Pavel is in Chicago... because that's where organized crime likes to be.  LA is all about gangs and thugs.  Well, that is the stereotype.  There are a couple of things I liked in this story that stuck out.  Ms. Rose could have easily made this story into a soap box preaching with the #metwo movement.  Instead, she present a more realistic scenario of those impacted.  It is reassuring to find others in this similar situation who prefer not to advertise it.  Unfortunately for me, I had no Pavel.  I did handle it myself so it all worked out.  I digress.

I liked that Pavel with all his good intentions still caused problems and his actions backfired.  Because it showcases how there was not enough trust and communication in this weekend kinky fling.  When Pavel and Kayla decided to become more serious, that shift in their relationship shows. I liked how they learned from their mistakes.  This isn't a smooth easy slip into an erotic exchange.  It takes work, effort and a lot of communication.

This erotic romance is recommended to kinky readers who enjoy alpha men who are a bit of a bad boy.

 *  A copy was provided by Give Me Books for review