Review: The Player
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Player is less about the Russian mafia and more about the collateral damage from Russian mafia. And the previous book we learned about Nadia and how her brother had done everything he could to save her, and he does. Nadia is the collateral damage I spoke of in the sense that she was captured and put through human trafficking ring, or shall we say what it really is. It was sexual slavery. I'm not sure why we as a society want to whitewash slavery into human trafficking, but let's call a spade, a spade. Nadia's experiences as a sex slave is just as horrible as you can imagine.
The things that happen to her are very similar to what you see in many different movies. Her slavers us drugs used to keep her compliant. In addition, she was abused by pretty much every male that came in and wanted to buy her ass. So, obviously, she has some PTSD from her captivity and she is afraid to go outside. Because she was just leaving work in Russia when she was taken and forced into slavery. This story isn't all doom and gloom. It is about growth and redemption. I think Nadia is finally wanting to move forward. I wouldn't say she's finally wanting to, more she is finally able to have enough distance to be able to start living life again and returning back to her passion. Her passion prior to her kidnapping is clothing apparel design. She has some pretty cool ideas on how to do design, clothing for different styles: for burlesque for rock stars and wedding dresses.
She's just seems to be an incredibly down-to-earth person who's had a really bad time. For her to be sparked into living again by Flynn, who is a rock star doesn't sit well with her overprotective brother. It doesn't help that Flynn is known as a player; Flynn also has his own issues. I found it to be interesting to learn more about him and his misconceptions of his father and mother and some instances. It's interesting to see the perspective from a child's memory and then compared to now that they're an adult what their parents are really thinking. Specifically Flynn thought his parents wanted something but in reality, it is not really what the parent wants from him. Flynn does a decent amount of growth in this book. He and Nadia together are fantastic because they bring out the best in each other and that's what I really liked about this book.
Compared to the other books in this series, Ms. Rose highlights more than just mental illness, but also trauma victims. She does it in a way that helps people understand and dispells some of the misconceptions. I like seeing the perspective of somebody that is familiar with mental illnesses, anxiety, or trauma. How they respond compared to what an average person would think we should respond is enlightening. It makes Flynn that much more attractive because he understands trauma and he's able to work with Nadia and help her come out of her shell. Their romance does have a few setbacks primarily because Nadia's brother is overly protective. And also someone from her past comes and shakes her up pretty badly. Overall, the story is great because Flynn grows and realizes that he's holding himself back and not reaching his full potential.
This ephinany comes about
because he wants Nadia to be able to reach her potential but she's been afraid.
His support of her helps him to become a better person helps him too. His most powerful help is helping her take back her sexuality. Is a wonderful affirmation for those who have
been a victim of a sexual abuse. She's now, a survivor and her desire to move forward by participating in burlesque shows is just phenomenal. I
loved it. I love this concept from start to finish tile of the characters. Ms. Rose wrote an excellent book and I highly recommend it to romance readers, who
love protective males and females, who are survivors.
* Provided by Social Butterfly
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