Gilded Cage: A Russian Mafia Romance (Kovalyov Bratva) Paperback – February 24, 2021

It’s a slow paced story but full of vivid imagery. I love the characters and the plot of the story.

Moving on to book 2 right now!! This book was steamy and exciting. Lots of high energy scenes. I’m looking forward to finishing the story.

Esme and Artem met in a club. She was there with her cousin to have a brief evening of freedom from her cruel father, head of a Mexican cartel. She is dancing when she feels eyes on her and searches for the one watching her out of the crowd. She sees Artem with his dark eyes and handsome face, staring straight at her.Her cousin gets another drink and it is apparent that she is drunk and getting sick. Esme helps her to the bathroom where she gets sick and then passes out.The next thing Esme knows is that a man who was hitting on her on the dance floor enters the bathroom and puts his hands on her. She fights him off and he becomes mean and angry and begins to force her. She screams and Artem comes in and beats the guy to a pulp.Then Artem lifts her onto the vanity and they start kissing and one thing leads to another……

This book features Esme who is pregnant after a one night fling, with Artem who just happens to be Bratva but she has no idea. It had a strong plot that was packed with action, suspense and more, the story was written well. The road to romance for these characters is loaded with lots of obstacles but get ready to experience them blow it all away. What a great story, another reason why Nicole is one of my favorite authors. The story is full of good details, you feel the character connection is strong. I would read this again and again, looking forward to book two.

It was easy to get drawn into this book. The characters were being developed nicely and they were a lot of them and they seem to be pretty straightforward but of course with being a Bratva book with Cartel involvement you knew that it was going to be more involved. The first night I read it it kept me up for a few hours thinking about the next book, and what was going to happen next. On the second night I realized I had some issues with the book and it had me contemplating whether or not I wanted to actually find out.The biggest fail I believe is at the end of the book where the two main characters are hiding out in Mexico at Devil's Point in a little cabin where they get stormed by his backstabbing and deceiving Uncle right after his best friend and second Cillian showed up. I mean we're not even talking a couple of hours between the two. Cillian was commanded to watch and protect Artem's wife but he ties her up so she doesn't leave just before he leaves, so why didn't he take her to his car and leave? And here's my biggest question that was overlooked in the book: Why didn't the bad guys look in the house? The fact that they're all outside and nobody bothered to look inside is a major fail for me, that's like police work 101. I mean come on, aren't these guys supposed to be big time criminals?So I did what every curious person does when they're not sure about buying the second book, I checked out the reviews. And I have to say, that I can tell my answers about Cillian's loyalty don't get answered. I realize the main h is only 22 and a bit immature and unrealistic, it fits with being sheltered her while life, but when I found out she left her husband to die just to have her freedom when the first book spent so much time on building their relationship...I was floored. It didn't fit. Leaving Artem alone to fight his way back, but he starts drinking again, and doesn't look for her for a while, (insert woe is me and teenage angst reasons). It made me wonder if his Uncle was right, that maybe Artem really wasn't ready to be a Don after all.To sum up without going into too much detail: I'm not buying the 2nd book. There are too many questions that don't get answered, and I'm not into teenage angst in 22 and 30 year old adults.

I LOVE every series by Nicole Fox! I can’t put the book down once I start reading and I’m always sad when the story ends!!

Koyalyov BravtaArtem and EsmeEsme Moreno, princess to the Moreno cartel, she's considered the most eligible bachelorette in the entire Mexican drug world. She lives with her father, Don Joaquin Moreno, in his compound, on The Pacific Coast of Mexico, having not been allowed to leave but once and that one time had marked the death of her brother, Cesar. With the news that she is to be married, they fly to Los Angeles for a meeting.We find Artem in Los Angeles as well, son to the Don of the Koyalyov Bravta, on his way to a meeting with his father then told all the cartels that answered to them. One ill-fated tonight has their lives clashing together filled with lust and desperation...From guardian angel to her own personal monster.As their respective worlds come rumbling I'm crashing down them in a blaze, they have no one to turn to but each other they're going to survive.Side note: I hope to read an Irish mafia romance novel for Cillain in the future, we'll just have to see if anything happens to him in the second book with this one having ended in a cliffhanger with all their lives hanging in the balance.

So glad that I stepped slightly out of my reading comfort zone! I normally stick to romance and rom/com’s. Yes, this a romance novel, but has violence, family and so many twists and turns. Nicole is a new author to me and I am hooked! Beautifully written! Can’t wait to read the next one of hers!

I don’t know where to begin. I’ve read a lot of Nicole Fox’s books and no two where the same but wow I can’t wait to read the second book. The characters were well built out and totally captivating. Storyline kept you on your toes. Though you expected something to happen you didn’t know when it would happen or by whom.

I was up till after 5am reading this book as I just couldn’t put it down. If I could give this book more than five 🌟 i would, another great mafia book from Nicole Fox. Loved the chemistry between Artem and Esme and loved how she always fights back. Now to download the next book.

"My father likes to flaunt his possessions. And unfortunately for me, I’m his crown jewel."Esmeralda Moreno is the daughter of a Mexican drug lord. Her father treats her as a collateral and wants to marry her off just to expand his buisness. Esme's life is controlled and she feels trapped in her own house. So, just to experience one night of freedom, she sneaks out to a club in LA with her cousin."But it’s his eyes that draw my attention the most. Even in this chaotic club, they stand out. They’re darker than anything else. Angrier. More intense. And they’re locked dead on me."Esme meets Artem at the club's bathroom and he saves her from a horrible situation. They spend some steamy moments together but they agree not to ever share their names with each other. Fast forward four months later, Esme discovers that she's pregnant with Artem's baby but doesn't know how to find the stranger she met at the club and is terrified of her father's reaction if he finds out the truth."I hate him and yet I’m fascinated to him, drawn to him, both terrified of him and desperate to feel safe in his arms once more."She spends hours worrying about her and her baby's safety but suddenly, some soldiers infiltrate her house and ruin it to ashes. She meets Artem Kovalyov- the heir to the Russian Bratva and finds out that he had orchestrated the attack on her father's cartel. She thinks that they were going to finish her off along with all her father's men but Artem had some different plans. He takes her to him house and she's forced into another life of captivity."I know I need to be very careful. More careful than usual, even. Because when it comes to Esme Moreno, I’m not as in control as I like to be."The book was all things mafia! It definitely matched up to my expectations. Nicole Fox's stories match up to Natasha Knight's level for me. She sure knows how to write a good mafia romance. I loved the chemistry between Artem & Esme. At first, I thought Artem was impulsive and arrogant but he was definitely good at whatever he did. I felt really bad for him when his past was revealed at 79% and he deserved a break from all the stress his life in the Bratva caused him. Esme was really strong, brave, sassy and she put up a good fight. She wasn't a coward nor was she weak.Overall, I liked the plot and the cliffhanger has got me on the edge of my seat. I'm definitely going to read the next book and after finishing that, I'll be able to say whether I recommend reading this duet.

Om gosh I am buzzing needing to read book 2! Such a great story good action and written well. I hope you enjoy it as much as me

il faut s'attendre a bcp d'abus, de violence et de scènes chaudes et dominantes. âmes sensibles s'abstenir. sommes toute une bonne lecture dans le genre.