Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Bratva’s Intern
SERIES: Bratva’s Undoing #1
AUTHOR: Gianni Holmes
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 350 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2025
BLURB:
They call me a businessman.
And that suits me fine.
Let them believe I built my empire with contracts and strategy.
Not blood, blackmail, and the resentment of a father who thought I had no place in his world.
Then Wren arrives.
Shy. Awkward. Unremarkable on paper.
The kind of intern meant to disappear into the background.
Until he throws himself in front of a blade meant for me.
Now he’s always at my side.
Craving the smallest scrap of praise like it’s air.
And I give it to him.
Not because he’s earned it.
But because I like who he becomes when he’s praised.
Bolder, braver, a little more mine each day.
I tell myself I can keep him close without letting him in.
But someone’s after me.
And if Wren keeps looking too closely, he won’t just see the truth.
He’ll get pulled into it.
I should push him away.
Protect him from the world I was born into.
But I won’t. I can’t.
Because I’ve finally found something worth losing everything for.
And I’m not letting him go.
REVIEW: This is one of those stories that pulls you right in from the first few pages. Wren, the struggling college student who stands up to the cocky, arrogant businessman and his world ends up getting turned upside down. Maxim sees something in Wren from that first encounter and things move pretty quickly from there. He manages to get Wren to intern at his company. With every encounter, Maxim continues to see more in Wren than even he sees himself. And, he pushes Wren to be more, quickly making him his PA, much to Wren’s reluctance.
I loved Maxim, and I loved Wren, and the two together were fabulous. But, Maxim keeps some pretty big secrets. Doing so prevents Wren from learning just who and what Maxim is and also works as a preventative to keep Wren safe. However, as is easily imagined, those secrets and not going to be kept for very long. Sweet, naive Wren, even by the end of this story, doesn’t fully grasp the extent or scope of Maxim’s position.
These two are such opposites – Wren, a bit of a clumsy mess, innocent and just trying to make his way with what life has handed him; and Maxim, all power and control. Maxim fell right away for the feisty coffee shop guy, but it takes some guidance for that Wren to be fully comfortable in that role. When he is around though, standing up to Maxim, and Maxim relishing in it while asserting his control and dominance, is simply delicious.
Just as these guys really get things moving in the right direction, pieces start to unravel in Maxim’s carefully constructed world, with the one thing Maxim truly wanted to protect, his Wren, ending up in the crosshairs. As clearly warned, this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with the promise of a not too long wait for the continuation. I know I was ready to jump right in and continue this story, so I’ll be front and center as soon as it’s available. This is my first time reading this author, but I loved the flow, chemistry and narration of this one. I will be looking to read more for sure.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
