Book two of the Karev brothers saga continues with this fast paced and enjoyable read. The book focus of Maxim Karev a former Russian mobster who goes under cover within the organisation to clear his name after being accused of killing his father. Teaming up with Maxim as his fake girlfriend is feisty FBI agent Savannah Casillero who is determined to catch the true killer as well as find the the mystery jewel smuggler. A nice romance, slightly disjointed at times but a good quick read.

It started off good but I felt as he the story went on it just started to lose me because I lost interest in the characters and the storyline. then it ended so fast I wasn't sure why.

Maxim Karev and Savannah Casillero.
Former Russian mobster and 
FBI agent.
A good romance.

copy received courtesy of netgalley
quick read
I was looking for more from Maxim's story it was probably too short to do justice to Maxim. Maxim is an ex enforcer for the mob. The story is He got out but he was dragged back into the life. He teams up with FBI agent Savannah to help find the person responsible for his father's murder. Yes, they fall in love, but you have to continue to the next book to find the murderer.

I read an advanced copy of this book and loved it just as much as book 1. I cannot wait to read book 3. I am very curious as to who the killer is!

An enjoyable read. I quite enjoy mafia books and Leslie's books are easy to read. You will need to read this series in order.

What can I say? I'm hooked on all things Leslie North. Quick sexy read that made me laugh out loud and blush- often.

This is book 2 of the Karev brothers. Maxim Karev is trying to find out who killed his father. No longer part of the Russian mob, he's willing to be pulled back in to find his father's killer.

Savannah Casillero is an FBI agent who's also trying to catch Maxim's father's killer. She's also trying to see who's smuggling jewels into the country illegally.

Can these two work together and fight their attraction?

I enjoyed this second book in the series. It was a quick read and I'm looking forward to the third book.

Funny how Maxim never spent time behind bars when he did commit a crime and now is behind bar when he didn't. Even funnier is the fact the he is going to have to go under cover with an FBI agent to go back into the mob family he left. But. When Savannah comes to get him from jail that's exactly what he's going to do to try to find the killer of his father. The fact that the both believe that they will be the one leading this is another lesson they will share.

When it becomes very clear that each one is loosing themselves in the relationship with the other will they fight to keep things separate or will they give in and truly work together?

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked both Max and Susanna as the leads. I thought it was a little rushed even if it is the second installment.

‘Her Rogue Russian’ by Leslie North is the second in her Karev Brothers series and although it can be read as a standalone I do feel I maybe missed something by not having read the first book. This is 3.5 stars.

It is a very quick read and a great introduction into mafia books if you haven’t read many but it had a major downside in that it although it has an ending there is a thread that runs through the three boos in this series and if you want to find out who the murderer is then you need to read book three too.

Maxim and Savannah are quite good together at parts but I thought that things could have been a bit better or more fire from a reformed mobster and an FBI agent playing his girlfriend. Overall a good story and I will probably go on to read book 3 as I want to know who did it.

Maxim Karev is screwed. Even though he managed to leave his past as a Russian mobster behind, the FBI is setting him up. He can either go back to being a mobster and take the beautiful agent Savannah Casillero with him, or he can rot in jail for whatever the agency can come up with. Savannah is on a mission to find Sergey Karev's killer. She knows Max didn’t do it. She even knows he wants to find the killer just as bad as she does. But she will lock him up if he is willing to help her accomplish her goals. As Max and Savannah go deeper into their fake relationship cover, the attraction between them raises to unberable levels. What Maxim wants, Maxin gets and he wants to own her. Savannah thinks she can control this mission and the sexy man that is Maxim. But soon she'll learn that some missions are more important than others and falling for her partner just might be her undoing. Her Rogue Russian is a fast paced, thrill and passion filled romance to the end. While I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters, I thought the end wrapped up too quickly and without much explanation. Like things weren't supposed to end quite like that. Suddenly it was over and I wasn’t sure I had finished it…

Maxim Karvez has cut ties to his mafia life or at least he thinks so until he is dragged back into it by FBI agent Savannah Casillero to help solve the murder of Sergey Karev, Maxim's father. He wants to clear his name and get back to his life but everything isn't so clean and cut when dealing with the Russian mob.

This box was so much fun, flirty, sexy as hell and I absolutely love Max and Savannah. Their sexual tension steams up the room! There is also suspense and the ending is action packed. When it comes to a shorter read the author has a lot do in a shorter amount of time and Leslie North easily does this. I really enjoyed reading this and there are still unanswered questions to get to in the last Karev brother book about bookstore owner Dimitry Karev.

While I did enjoy the first book in the series more, I thought Maxim and Savannah had incredible chemistry. I liked how there relationship evolved and how Savannah was able to become more accepting of the gray areas in his life. I'm looming forward to the next book in the series because this is the brother I want to read about the most.

"You have a lot of experience holding pencil-thin shafts in your hand, huh? Maybe alone in your bedroom at home?" I'm not enjoying this, she reminded herself, even as she tallied another mark on her side of the mental scoreboard. And if my skin feels hot where he's touching me, it's an allergic reaction to his bullshit. Or the lead in the paint. But probably his bullshit.

Two things about HER ROGUE RUSSIAN surprised me. The first being this is the second in the Karev Brothers series and I had not read book one before requesting it (or since). Oops. That being said there was enough backstory that I didn't feel too lost so this novella could definitely stand on it's own. The second being just how much I enjoyed this.

"I don't care if you're gay, straight, or attracted to the two-wheeled death machine you rode in on. The minute you leave this room, you and I are going steady, and I dare you to do better."

I know I shouldn't be shocked, I expressed interest in it after all, but I guess I expected something a little cheesier. And I mean it had it's moments : FBI agent goes undercover as an ex-Mob member's girlfriend, getting a tattoo to smooth her way into an unofficial initiation, and Maxim shockingly not being questioned by his sudden return into the fold after his father's murder. So, yes, you are suspending the majority of your disbelief here.

But the writing by North was solid, the characters vibrant, and the chemistry was very very palpable. All that in a short action packed novella. It was sexy and had me laughing and interested in more.

3.75 "if I wanted to spend time pulling teeth, I would have become a fucking dentist" stars

I read this book without reading the first in this series Her Ruthless Russian. The story can be read as a stand-alone, though it does involve the Karev brothers and solving the murder of their father, Sergey. In this story, we have Maxim, who is a suspect in his father's death, especially after they had a heated argument and then he later dies. FBI agent Savannah Casillero is on the case to find out who murdered the Russian Mob Boss. Maxim is no longer in the mob business and is trying to lead a regular life, but that proves impossible. Savannah hoping to infiltrate the mob scene demands that Maxim introduces her as his girlfriend to see if they can find out any more information on the murder, while he tries to get back get in. I have to admit I was lost as to what exactly happened at one point in the story, we know that someone is definitely trying to frame Maxim and then in the next part they, Savannah and another Agent, named Tom, go to his place of business to arrest him? However, no one questions, the fact that Savannah who was playing his pretend girlfriend, now is an undercover FBI agent? Then in another part after he is arrested, the epilogue, all of a sudden, he is cleared of all charges as long as he agrees to be an FBI consultant? It just did not seem in sync to me and I felt it jumped around a bit. The chemistry is there between the two, the one sex scene they have, was in a bathroom and left much to be desired in my opinion. All in all, not a bad read, could have been better. Thanks for the opportunity

Max must return to the organization to find who murdered his father and to clear his own name. FBI agent Savannah is determined to solve this case and keep Max on the straight and narrow during the investigation. How do these two resolve their differences to find the truth?
The second book in the Karev brothers will keep the reader involved in the story line and characters. Await the third book to read.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

Having just finished book 1, Her Ruthless Russian, I was surprised the previous book’s main couple and other cast of characters did not make an appearance in this one, except for a few text messages. This book, of course, had the same implied backdrop but felt like a stand-alone featuring an FBI agent heroine, Savannah, forcing Maxim, a former mob security member, to work with them to figure out who murdered his father, which he happens to be a prime suspect.

Overall, I felt the writing flowed, the connection/chemistry between the main couple felt realistic, but it seemed little to no progress was made in this continuing unfolding murder drama. Sure, there are a couple of scenes where they return to a few of Maxim’s mafioso haunts/stomping ground and he interacts with a few mob characters, but they did not go deep undercover as I had expected. Instead it was more like they were just seen together, which ultimately did result in bullets and blame being fired at Maxim once again. This time around though Savannah has come to know him and has his back.

At only 102 pages, this storyline was more about these two unlikely forces meeting and pretending to be a couple only to find themselves becoming one. With only a few very smexy scenes, one particularly graphic one, the steaminess certainly did not hijack the plot. Their chemistry certainly did take center stage though.

With an ending that barely felt like a HEA for now, I was disappointed the epilogue didn’t move this couple’s relationship further along. Here’s to hoping the third book, My Rentless Russian, will tie up all the loose ends, reveal the killer, and give us an intriguing romantic tale for the last Karev brother, Dmitry.

Title: Her Rogue Russian, Series: Karev Brothers (Book 2), Author: Leslie North, Pages: 102, short novella, stand-alone but part of an unfolding drama, only a few steamy scenes - one is VERY graphic, some mob violence, FBI agent heroine, former mobster working together to figure out who killed his mob father, no cheating, no OW/OM drama, now a good guy former mob hero, no love triangle.

Book 1 - Her Ruthless Russian (Vlad & Madison), 12/27/16, Pages: 103
Book 2 - Her Rogue Russian (Maxim & Savannah), 1/11/17, Pages: 102
Book 3 - Her Relentless Russian (Dmitry & Harper), 1/26/17, Pages: 103

(This review is based on advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased, fair review. No compensation was provided to this reviewer, nor is there any affiliation between the reviewer and author/publisher/NetGalley. It will be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, NetGalley, and Barnes and Noble.)

I have mixed feelings about the newest book by Leslie North. While I love the story - much better than the last edition of this series - I was a little disappointed at the rushed end. I know that Leslie tends to tie up the stories at the end of each series, but usually, they do not end that abrupt. Yet, this book is an absolute improvement from the first one in the series.

I am absolutely going to be reading the next installment, but I am also recommending that this book should be read as a whole of the series, instead of single, stand-alone novels.

3.5 Stars

I was excited when I got this book to review since I had just finished the first book in the series. I was expecting Max to be some drunkard considering the couple times he was mentioned in Her Ruthless Russian (Book 1) he was drunk. I think him being a ex-mafia enforcer was a great background, but from everything I've ever understood about the mafia is that there is no leaving the family. But I can get behind that he got out and got a life. Savannah was a little bad ass! I didn't mind that it was a bit clichéd that she went undercover, but I liked it. My problem with the book was two things; first, they were together a total of what, a few days and the bad ass ex-killer for the mafia falls in love. I hate insta-love. And second, it just ends. One minute he's being arrested and the next paragraph he's being released. Where was the part of her standing up for her man? Or how he got released? I thought maybe I didn't get the whole book or something. But whatever, I'll be reading the next book to find out the killer since it's being stretched out for another book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.