Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Kiss a Villain
SERIES: No Mercy
AUTHOR: Mia Darling
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 300 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2024
BLURB:
Once upon a time, I saved a boy from certain death.
Fell for him so hard that I’d follow him straight to the gates of Hell, and say thank you for it.
But the problem with being hopelessly in love with Kirill Volkov is that he won’t ever love me back.
On paper, we shouldn’t even be friends. He’s the grump to my sunshine, he hates to be touched while I’m touch-starved. Most of all, I’m the prince to a mafia kingdom and he’s one of my father’s soldiers.
And everyone knows that the Russian Bratva is a graveyard where all good things go to die.
Day by day, the Kirill I love slips further and further away. Now, when I look in his midnight-black eyes, only a stone-cold killer stares back.
That’s okay, though. There isn’t anything I won’t do to make him mine…
Even if it means that I’ll need to kiss a villain.
REVIEW: This story started a little slow for me as the pieces were laid out. We quickly learn what kind of world these two boys are existing in, and none of it is pretty or good. Kirill is on death’s door when Yarik finds him and brings him deeper into the Russian Bratva world. Yarik’s father, the head of the Volkov empire, is a cruel and evil human being. He is focused on maintaining that role while also attempting to shape Yarik into the type of heir he can leave said dynasty to. To say that he is not pleased with Yarik to this point would be an understatement. His solution is to basically beat Yarik into submission and compliance, much like he does with everyone else underneath them. Difference is that his solution to put a bullet into him in order to solve the problem doesn’t help with Yarik, although it seems close at times.
Yarik’s father quickly realizes he needs to keep Yarik and Kirill apart, although I’m not sure if it’s because he knows things about Yarik or if he just doesn’t want his son reliant on anyone else. He seems to have similar feelings about Kirill, whom he expects full loyalty from without anything else getting in the way. He uses violence and doesn’t hesitate to pit them against each other if it helps advance his motives.
Through all of this, there is an undeniable bond between Yarik and Kirill. These two seem to be in such an unbelievable no way out situation. Kirill is indebted to the Volkov family, as he has no memory of life before they found him. Father Volkov made it a point to “train” Kirill to believe he would be nothing if not for him and everything and anyone he has to care about him would be gone, not that he has any option of a way out if he tried. Yarik is in a similar boat. He doesn’t want to be the Volkov heir but has little choice but to play along to his father’s whims. The despair is palpable at times, as Yarik realizes he is, in fact, gay, and is in love with his best friend and soul mate, who seemingly doesn’t feel the same way.
Yarik and Kirill spend most of their time in this story separated, although they communicate by text messages, until they don’t. Kirill is forced to do unspeakable things, not the least of which are to Yarik. He languishes over the guilt, but he feels that he can’t live without Yarik in his life and any of that is better than him being dead, even if it is at his own hand. These two dance back and forth with this throughout the years, although they come to some realizations here and there. It’s a difficult world to exist in, even if you don’t include all the surveillance Yarik is under. I spent most of the book trying to figure a way out for these two, but every road leads to a dead end for one or both. Just when you think they are making headway, the book ends and we are left hanging for the conclusion.
I wasn’t real sure about this story when it began, and it did take me a little bit to get rolling. But, once I did, I was flipping pages to read the text exchanges and the next chapter segments to see where these boys were in their lives. These guys have to do some pretty despicable things, even to each other, but there isn’t really ever a time where I couldn’t feel their bond even through the guilt and anger and disappointment. I really hope they don’t have to suffer too much more before finding some peace and happiness. I’m ready to finish this story up and hope we don’t have to wait too long to get it.
RATING: 
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