Multicultural/Interracial Contemporary: Black woman, white man

Sensuality Level: Steamy

There seems to be a trend of late whereas authors are taking the “bad boys” to a new level. These bad boys are really bad, as in they’re criminals. And I’m not talking about soft-core criminals like jewel thieves and gentleman robbers. The genre has always had those. Nope, these bad boys are murderers, drug dealers, even pimps and thieves. I’m not sure why this trend is emerging now, but it’s interesting. I do wonder if the Great Recession has something to do with it. Anyway, I assume that authors are inspired by the film, Eastern Promises, as many of these criminals are also members of the Russian mob. Russian billionaires seem very popular as well, and from what I understand it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two! I guess we can add them to the Greek and Arab tycoons as “exotic” heroes.

This is the first time I’ve enjoyed a secret baby book. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Yes, I know that most secret baby books are booty crack because the rationale for keeping the baby a secret makes no sense. Trust me, given the circumstances of this story I would’ve run like hell too.

Eva and Alexei get together when they’re college students. Alexei has left Russia to go to school, but also to escape his mafia family. Of course, he doesn’t tell Eva about his mob connections, and she eventually finds out the hard way. They meet cute, and I love the fact that Eva is the aggressor. Eva’s family cuts her off when they discover that she’s practically living with a white guy, especially one who has no money. So she moves in with Alexei. They’re reasonably happy in their un-air conditioned Texas apartment,  (Yikes!) until Eva finds out about Alexei’s past.

She runs away leaving him a note that she’s tired of living without money and is going back to her family. Alexei vows revenge and spends the next eight years acquiring wealth so that one day he can throw it in Eva’s face. They run into each other at a wedding which leads to one of the hottest near-sex scenes I’ve read in a while. Alexei initiates his revenge plan by buying up the largest employer in Eva’s small town. Then he blackmails her into spending two weeks with him by threatening to shut it down.

I really had a great time reading this book. Eva is a refreshingly off-beat character with a quirkiness that I haven’t seen in many multicultural books. In a word, she’s absolutely adorable. Alexei manages to be alpha without being an alpha-hole. Communication between the two is very open and direct, even when Eva is pissed off at Alexei, she is still very direct with him. The initial relationship evolves slowly and we get to know both characters very well through the evolution of the book. Very good read. Her Russian Billionaire can be purchased here.