Player (The Game Maker, #3)

by Kresley Cole

When Vice and her associates maneuver Dmitri into a hasty Vegas wedding, he refuses to protect himself with a prenup, trusting her with all that he has. But can she trust him? As secrets unfold, the newlyweds share days of doubts and nights of the wickedest pleasures. Yet once Vice discovers her husband's past, will she stay to fight for her marriage or cut her losses and run?

Descended from a long line of con artists, Victoria Valentine, a.k.a. Vice, needs a protector, and sets her sights on gorgeous and rich Dmitri Sevastyan. Even as the irresistible Russian toys with her body and mind, he tempts her heart. When Vice and her associates maneuver Dmitri into a hasty Vegas wedding, he refuses to protect himself with a prenup, trusting her with all that he has. But can she trust him? As Vice discovers her husband's past, will she stay to fight for her marriage or cut her losses?

• ISBN10: 0997215119
• ISBN13: 9780997215113
• Publish Date: 12 April 2016 (first published 20 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Valkyrie Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 334
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

Victoria ("Vice") Valentine and her family have been pulling cons for three generations. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right?  Not necessarily.  Fleecing greedy tourists and blackmailing cheating spouses is all part of a days work. Unfortunately, her family recently fleeced the wrong person and now the mob is breathing down their neck. They need to repay the million dollars stolen and another six million dollar penalty, or else the mob is going to take her father on a long ride into the desert.

Vice is about to up her game from fake stocks to milk-cowing a billionaire. The idea is that Vice will get him interested and worked up and then hold out until he starts plying her with expensive gifts which her family can pawn.  The billionaire in her sights is the elusive Dmitri Sevastyan. It doesn't hurt when said billionaire is stunningly gorgeous. What does concern her is the fact that if he were a grifter instead of a gull, Dmitri would be what is known as a thrall, because every time Vice is hit with Dmitri's intense stare, she's the one who wants to submit to his every wish. She has to keep reminding herself to keep her mind in the game before she gives up everything that Dmitri demands.

No matter how enthralling Dmitri is, he seems to be making it too easy for Vice to work the grift on him. What rabbit puts his own neck in the snare? Like her family always says "If it looks to good to be true, it is." Vice's grifter sense are pinging like crazy that something is not quite right about Dmitri, but her family's desperation and her own uncontrollable desires are keeping her playing the game with the crazy Russian.

Can Vice turn her milk-cow into a long con and keep the billionaire for herself? As she tries to maneuver Dmitri up the aisle, she starts to get the feeling that this gull isn't quite so gullible.

THOUGHTS:
I freaking loved this story!  This was great storytelling.  The Game Maker was Kresley Cole's first non-paranormal series, and it was an absolute winner.   The Professional was well-done especially since it was originally released in three parts and each time it ended it left you tortured until the next release. Personally, I thought The Master was the sexiest of the three tales.  But it is The Player that takes the prize for story.

I have to admit that I thought Dmitri would be set up with Natalie's friend Jess. I figured her over-the-top behavior would be hiding some dark past which would mirror Dmitri's pain and they would be perfect for each other. I was originally disappointed when I first read the synopsis and saw the information about Vice and her family being grifters and working a scam on Dmitri. We know the family's dark past from the first two stories and we also know that Dmitri suffered the most out of the three brothers. I envisioned some evil, cold bitch playing with Dmitri, who has already been through so much. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it, but of course, I was going to.

I should have known better. Of course it is probably pathetic to so easily accept the story of a happy family of grifters with hearts of gold and like modern-day Robin Hoods who only steal and swindle the rich, degenerates who are in Vegas to make a killing or to be unfaithful to their spouse.  Kresley makes it hard for us to dislike Victoria and her family even thought they are conning, swindling and blackmailing people, because they only target bad people.

Because of Dmitri's past, I was a little angsty reading this story because the closer Victoria and Dmitri grew, the more I stressed what would happen to poor Dmitri when he found out it was all a scam, or at least, started out that way. Would he ever trust that her feelings were real?  Then I would relax because of course, Kresley Cole would have a plan and wouldn't destroy the poor, fragile Dmitri.  But then Victoria would start fretting about how Dmitri was going to react when he found out that her family was grifters and he was the gull on their scam, and then I would stress out again.  You could already see his crazy flag was flying half mast for most of the story.

There's no way I am going to tell you anymore and spoil the story for you.  Just know that it is definitely worth it.   Even if you haven't read the first two, Dmitri will confess his story to Vika, as he calls her, so you won't be lost.  It is marketed as erotic but it isn't all bondage and sex like some erotica so if that is usually a no-no for you, keep it mind it is bondage-light.  It is the story here is definitely the draw.

Once again I say, "Well played, Ms. Cole.  Well played!"

This review was originally posted on EBookObsessed

[Eve1972]

I'm always nervous to start a book I have been so anxiously waiting to read. I'm worried that it might not live up to the expectations I have in my mind for it. That wasn't the case here AT ALL.

O-M-G did this book live up to all my expectations. In fact, it pretty much blew them out of the water! I didn't think anything could be hotter than Maxim in THE MASTER but GOOD GOD dirty talking Dmitri made me change my panties more than once...



Dmitri, what can I say. The man was PURE perfection. Hot, dirty talking, vulnerable, sweet and loyal. The perfect hero. He broke my heart and I loved every minute of it. Vika was a little more complicated for me. She was a great heroine, but because of what she was doing to Dmitri I didn't want to like her. Alas, she was just such a wonderful character you couldn't help but fall for her. The side characters were all great and well developed. I'd love to see a book or two staring Vika's brothers and sisters.

I ADORED this book and I grieves me deeply that this was the last in the series. I want more of the Sevastyan brothers. Maybe the author will give us a novella at a later date...PLEASE PLEASE!

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com

The Professional is a serial story, which means that it is a single story that is broken into parts. This is part three of three. In part one, we meet the two main characters Natalie and Sevastyan. We also met Natalie's biological father. Part two, just like part one, ended in quite a cliffhanger and this book picks up right where that left off, in the sex club.

Sevastyan is very closed off from Natalie throughout most of beginning of this part of the book, much to Natalie's frustration. At one point, he starts to share what appears to be his past and then closes down again. He has never been a relationship before, and has no idea what to do with it.

While I enjoyed this story overall, the build up and wait for part three left me wanting more. Parts one and two were great, but then after waiting for the finale, I was just a little disappointed. I wonder if I would have felt the same if I listened to the entire thing all at once. I loved this book, but I think next time, I will wait until the entire thing is out and listen to it all at once, instead of in pieces like I did with this one. I will probably go back and listen to this again in a few months and see if I still feel the same way. I would recommend to anyone who likes a steamy romance with mild BDSM aspects.

Kimberly Alexis does another great job with the narration. There are some really emotional parts in this part of the story and she nails the emotions really well. I was very impressed, once again, with her performance.

I like to thank Simon & Schuster Audio for proving me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.