| Title | : | Dark Trade (Gunrunner, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1497482399 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781497482395 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 238 |
| Publication | : | First published April 2, 2014 |
Dark Trade (Gunrunner, #1) Reviews
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Interesting plot.
Interesting characters with a somewhat unusual romance...
I had a few remarks about certain things, but the story kept me involved until the very end, so I disregarded those little annoyances...
all in all, interesting, fast paced reading material. -
3.5 stars for Dark Trade.
This story started out well. I enjoyed the direction it went in and where it is leading as a series.
Sophia is a widow, whom is just starting to feel alive again after a year of mourning her dead husband and step-son. She meets Dmitri, a Russian Arms dealer, when her presence is requested in a meeting, for reasons unknown, by the board of the company she works for.
The Chemistry between Dmitri and Sophia is intense and they quickly become involved in a love affair.
I enjoyed Dmitri and Sophia. I thought their Chemistry was good. The erotic scenes were steamy enough to fit the story, but didn't take over the plot. What I really liked about this story is that Dmitri was always open, honest, and caring. He didn't threaten, or try to control Sophia in anyway. From the first meeting, he told her he would protect her, and he did. He was open about wanting her, and his developing feelings for her. The way he was presented did not take away from the criminal he is, and there was only one sentence in the story where his dialogue and reaction did not fit his character. Aside from this small mishap (which should be re-written in my humble opinion) I connected with Dmitri and found him believable, within the limits of being able to know him from Sophia's point of view. I would have liked to know him more, but what I got, I was satisfied with. For now.
Sophia's character started off strong. I liked that she was self confident and didn't cower and snivel. Her reactions were normal for the situations she was put in, at the beginning of the story. What lost me was the constant self analysis. One minute she's all in, and the next she's flipping and is all out. Self-doubt is normal, when going from a sheltered life, to dealing with high criminal activity, but the only truly honest reaction I got from it was when Sophia was confronted with the reality of Dmitri's work. Once that was over, and she chose to continue the affair, the internal angst was no longer required, and became annoying. This is especially true with some of her reactions to some of the violence. Her reaction was underwhelming for someone who is so conflicted about being with the type of man Dmitri is. I would have expected a stronger reaction in this circumstance, and less angst in calmer periods of the story.
There were a few grammatical errors that threw me off. One line where the wrong character name was used, and one line where it started off with 'Her' when referring to Dmitri. A little more polishing will fix this problem.
I had trouble believing some of the plot.
I am intrigued enough to want to read the next part of the series, eventually, and decide if I want to continue from there.
I don't consider this a dark story, it is a little bit grey, but then I could just be jaded. For those who are not into dark, but enjoy edgy characters, and conspiracy style plots, this story may be for you. -
I just couldn't connect with the story and Sophia. I understand that she lost some really important people in her life, but I can't decipher her personality or feelings; She has her moral dilemma's but no one tackles it the way she does. I was lost half of the time and when I wasn't, I was pondering reading past chapters a second time, so my reading experience could match all the 5 stars reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I am not kidding people! If you check on Amazon, there is currently nothing but 5 star reviews and I am extremely baffled and wondering if perchance I got the wrong copy x_x
I like Dmitri, but I would love to get some more alone time with him and maybe a nugget of his past. He is precise, dangerous and he has the way to him. I believe him when he speaks and I feel much better knowing he's around. I would follow that man anywhere! He runs a tight ship and even though we spent a small amount of time with him, I was more connected to him than Sophia, who for all intents and purposes, was the narrator of this story. It was done in a thrdi person narrative, but there was no other POV but that of Sophia's.
His criminal network was carefully planned and executed. It was detailed and as covert as it could get. There was no eventual come around or involvement of Sophia. I don't even know when any of them fell in love, because I was too busy admiring his business acumen. I would prefer to see behind the scenes of his operations, more than I want to see him in bed with Sophia. I can tolerate them as a couple, but I would sacrifice her for his career any day!
Sophia is a walking, talking oxymoron who got away with murder. Literally and figuratively. She floats between Magnum PI, Nancy Drew and Natasha Romanoff. The people behind all these wrong doings are even worse, because they allow her to sort, print and collate documents that could sink them further than the Titanic!
This story is all crime on both sides. It's just whose better at being a criminal. In her quest, for only she knows what, Sophia is trying to justify one crime network while plotting to sink another. Bare in mind, if not for these two unscrupulous networks, she wouldn't have met the so called "love of her life"
I live for the Dmitri moments even though he is at times a little reckless, sensitive and not as polished as you would expect from a polyglot. I also did not know it was such a thin line between Russian and Shakespeare o.O
This man is fluent in eight languages and the female lead is fluent in Russian culture and linguistics. Yet still, we only ever get about two words in Russian and he is barely able to construct a proper sentence in English. Broken English Ms. Kavi, is for those who are not as verse. He knows eight languages ... what is his excuse?
I love that he was intelligent and not just a Russian sewer rat who made it big. No offence Dmitry Medlov :) He was cool, calm, deadly and believable. Apart from his language blunders, I think it was great character structure and portrayal.
Instant sex is something I have gotten used to, so I won't judge, because it sometimes work. With this novel, I don't know. As I said in the beginning, I was lost most of the times and I don't find their sex explosive or memorable. I remember the events leading up to the sex better than I do the act itself.
Sophia tries to juggle two hats in this novel and she is terrible at it. She annoyed me frequently and as much as I like that she wasn't the meek lamb that the women of this genre usually embody, I just couldn't get on her team in the end. To be honest, I hope she never finds him or he find the true love of his life.
I don't trust Sophia for Dmitri and I believe that is important in a book of this genre. I don't see her staying by his side and if it does happen, it would be forced. Sophia is selfish, confused and extremely hard to read. She is fiercely independent and even knowing that she can get caught, she's all carefree and so is the climax of this novel. I didn't identify it until it was over, because not only didn't I expect that ending, I don't fully understand it. I am filled with why's!
I think I need to wrap up this review, because if I don't, I'm gonna be here all night knit picking everything that was wrong by the end of this novel. It had no sense of direction and it tried to drop as many cliches while keeping a ridiculously naive level of fear.
Dmitri and his criminal network was the saving grace for me in this story. Sophia's past is blurry and a chaos of flashbacks and we know nothing but the bad about Dmitri. He is struggling to make his character shine through all the missing information and Sophia dominates the book without letting us into her world.
I wouldn't go as far as to say I wouldn't read the next book but at least this time I can prepare myself for the development and chaotic progression, if any. This story needs emotion; It was missing and it showed. -
So much more than a romance.
On the whole I really enjoyed this book, I did have a couple of issues which is why I've given 4 stars and not 5.
Sophia has been through a huge family tragedy and thanks to her best friend Andrea and her job she's come out from underneath it all, she's HR manager for Red Bluff International, and when she gets called one night to attend a meeting the next day at EBCasp National she's a bit confused, it's unusual that they'd want her there and also to call last minute at night but that's nothing compared to the meeting itself.
Sophia meets Dmitri at EBCasp under less than desirable circumstances and despite the fact that he's rumoured to be an arms dealer and a very dangerous man she just can't stay away.
Who can blame her, I mean who doesn't love a dark and broody good looking Russian, but while I liked Dmitri we didn't really get to know him as much as I'd have liked and while I appreciate it's part of his character! he's never going to be an open book I know, it's difficult to fully relate. Sophia was an interesting character, she's been through so much and while at times the darkness threatens she's intelligent and goes after what she wants, ok she has lots of doubts along the way but for the most part ignores them, she did however have a couple of stupid moments and along with cliffhangers this is becoming a pet hate of mine when an otherwise intelligent woman for no apparent reason has a too stupid to live moment...why...
I couldn't quite get my head around the beginning of the book, why would they want Sophia there, it just didn't make sense at all, they must have known to a certain extent what to expect so why take her all, all it did was open them up to suspicions from one of their employees and it annoyed me no end I needed a viable reason for her to be there, this took the shine off the beginning of the book for me and it says something that it kept me hooked and completely brought me round in the end.
On the whole this is a wonderful read and I can't wait to start 'Dark Chase.' -
Simply amazing... Sex... Danger... Hit men... Corrupt business ... Damaged and list heroine finds love in all the deliciously wrong places!!!! Left on a cliffy but I'm not even mad! I cannot wait for book 2!!!!!
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It had instalove which threw me off. I liked the ending and look forward to reading on!
I didn’t really grasp why such a huge corporation would ever care abt one employee, to the extent that they want to kill her. It didn’t feel realistic. -
Hmmmm..... what to say about this one?
Well, first of all, I thought it was a standalone. So I was a bit disappointed to get to the end, only to find a cliffhanger. Honestly by that point I was kind of ready for it to be over.
There wasn't much character development in this book, especially on Dmitri's part. At the end of the book, we the readers (as well as Sophia), don't know anything about him other than that he deals in guns. I can't fall in love with a character if I don't know anything about him, and that includes physical description. Well, more than 'he is well muscled' anyway.
Also, I don't want to be a brat, but at the end of this book there was a special thank you directed towards the editor. I was surprised by this, since there were so many word errors in this book (repeats, missing words in sentences, and even some incorrectly attributed dialogue tags). A couple of those in a book is okay, but after a while they just start to get annoying.
I don't think I'll be reading the second book, as I just didn't really connect with these characters. -
Actual Rating 4.5 Stars
If you like books that are dark, thrilling and deliciously sexy then this one is for you. The riveting story and memorable characters will pull you right in and won't let go.
It was one of those reads wherein I just gambled. I didn't know the author, I just saw the blurb, liked it, got it, read and I'm happy to say that it paid off. I love the characters especially ehem Dmitri. All I can say is be prepared for intense action and sexual attraction.
Anyways, the book was far from perfect, there were grammatical errors, missing words, etc. and the character development needs to be improved especially in the case of Sophia but those didn't bother me as much and it didn't hinder me from enjoying the story.
I cannot wait to read what happens next. -
DNF 30%
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A dangerous man. (Oh yes he is and sexy for it)
A corrupt corporation. (Sophia the main female lead focus too much on this part and not the romance)
A twisted love story. (Its only twisted because Sophia cant get her head and heart together.)
I am giving this book 4 Stars!!! Its a great read and a good start to a new series. I would've given this book 5 stars if not for Sophia's head drama. Let me just say I love and admire a author who can right a strong smart female character. But Sophia Sophia Sophia. She gave whip lash with how much she couldn't get it together with her own emotions I like him I want him but hes too dangerous I cant be with him but oh hes worth it cause I really like him but I just cant be with him but I'm so ashamed to be seen...etc. (You get my point) I couldn't enjoy Dmitri and the romance as much as I wanted to because Sophia kept getting in the way. Just as much as I love a strong Female I LOVE a STRONG man. Dmitri is that is SPADES!!
This is why I'm looking forward to the next book but can only give this one 4 stars because Sophia has finally seemed to understand the concept of loving Dmitri. (Too bad it took for him to leave for that to happen.) -
"Dark Trade" by Miranda Kavi is an exciting love story between Sophia, a human resource manager and Dmitri, a Russian "business man". Since Sophia speaks Russian she was pulled in to a meeting that she where guns are pointed at by her bosses, but realizing that she shouldn't be there Dmitri sends her out of the building. She wants answers and demands to get them from him, so he meets up with her. Sophia can't hide her attraction to this dangerous man and he can't resist her either. This leads to some very steamy moments starting with an elevator. This dangerous intrigue could cost her life, but is she willing to take that chance? Is Dmitri just using her or does she really matter to him?
I fell in love with Dmitri and I could hear his Russian accent (think Marton Csokas in XXX (Triple X)) he may be a dangerous man who sells guns, but he also is a man with heart. Sophia was realistically portrayed as an intelligent woman with a dangerous attraction to a bad man, she knows she's playing with fire but can't help herself. I love them together and hope it works out for them in the "Dark Chase". -
Compelling, fast paced roller coaster ride. I loved the story line, it grabbed me from the word go. And Dmitri, could he be any hotter? Seriously? I really dig that Dmitri is a criminal, straight up, no apologies about it, criminal. And even though he is this larger than life, hard shelled criminal, he has a soft, vulnerable side, that made me love him even more. Sophia has been through a lot, and she is very strong and goes after what she wants. But, then she starts to have doubts, I'm not going to lie, I almost threw my Kindle out the window at the end of this book! Well written, highly entertaining book, now to read what happens next! Oh yea, I forgot to mention, I love that it's set in Houston, a city I know well and live near! How cool is that?
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Though I enjoy shows, movies, and books with foreign (to the US, that is) characters, this is the first time I can remember reading one with a Russian lead. I enjoyed that aspect very much. I also enjoyed seeing the romance through the heroine's eyes as she finds herself attracted to what many women are drawn to--a bad boy. And as with many women, Sophia is confused about it. She wants her Russian bad boy. She just doesn't want to want him. She enjoys having sex with him. She's ashamed about letting him touch her. She's scared of him, but she's thankful for his ruthlessness when it comes to protecting her. This tug and pull, along with the corporate politics in the story, made it interesting from beginning to end.
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Let me say that this book was worth the wait. I was a little shocked by the first sex scene happening so fast but after that initial shocker everything fell nicely into place. I'm a sucker for dark, dangerous and mysterious and Dimitri is definitely that and then some! Sophia was a breath of fresh air. Even though she had her issues she didn't let that turn her into the normal damsel in distress. I was glad to see she stuck it out to finish what she started instead of running away even though she was letting Dimitri go. The ending is the perfect segway into the next book in this series! Will she or won't she find Dimitri?
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I'm extremely surprised at all the good reviews this book got. I managed to finish this book, but it was really out of curiosity as to how bad it could get. I found this book to be slow paced and a bland love scenes between Dmitri and Sophie as they got more and more involved with each other. I don't feel like we got to witness enough of the relationship buildup to make me invested in the couple
There are so many things that go on in this book and it took away from the storyline. It feels like the author rushes through and skips over things that should be important yet we get a lot of unimportant details, such as decorations or the latest fashion tips. -
This story is essentially about a woman decides to 'dig her own grave' and is surprised and weepy when she finds herself at the bottom of it.
1) Cliche moments and interactions. For instance, the 'best friend' that you share everything with so that the reader has to go through the plot twice.
2) Over-dramatic heroine.
3) Too predictable: The foreshadowing is not subtle at all. If you decide to read this book, prepare to roll your eyes a couple of time when 'surprise events' happens.
4) Intimacy: or rather, lack thereof. I did not connect with any of the characters. The attempt to make Dmitri mysterious and deep just fell flat.
Not gonna read the second book. -
This book was a different genre than the author generally writes and she did it so well! It was an awesome read. There was murder, mystery, romance and was all around an intriguing book.
I loved the characters, Sophia and Dimitri. Their relationship is so forbidden and romantic at the same time. Sophia doesn't know where to draw the line and she's caught between a rock and a hard spot after a series of events force her to make choices.
The book left me at the edge of my seat and I'm already dying to read the sequel, Dark Chase. This star gets 5 stars for being the bomb! -
This was a 3.5 read for me. I feel that there should have been more of a connection between Sophia and Demitri before throwing them together. Then Sophia's self doubt all the time was annoying. When you get through half of the book it starts to pick up with action which is the reason I have it the extra .5 oh if there were more character build up; this book could have been a 4.5 easy. I will continue to book 2 because of the cliff hanger I was left with...which I hate :) This was a pretty good read just not a dark read at all.
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Such a promising story with poor plot delivery. Proof reading would have easily noticed the gaping holes in the plot. (1) Sophia returns to her ransacked Condo. and the gun she left on the kitchen counter is still there??? (2) U.S.B. drives hidden in a kitchen drawer are never mentioned again even when the Condo. is cleared out for sale. (3) Sophia is warned to never return to Red Bluff because her life is in danger but off she goes alone?? I did like most of this book but I hope the next one remedies these problems. I will try the next book...
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Loads of potential poorly executed
Good idea for a story, but lacked story depth, believability, any kind of character development. Our male lead had the dangerous factor of a newborn baby girl. Our leading lady was a absolute uninteresting simple minded bore. But I'm an equal opportunity type of gal so I gave book 2 a look....( 2 start rating because it had potential and a nice idea ) -
So much potential... Must read on.
So I gave this book an "okay" rating because I think that the story is about to get a lot better. This was a really fast read, and not much was developed between the main characters on a personal level... Well not as much as I would like, but I think it is about to. I like the whole gunrunner theme because I love mafia romances and he is bad! I'm looking forward to the next book. -
I really liked this book. Not only because it's based in H-Town which is where I at but it had a great storyline. The book was filled with action from beginning to end. However, I was a bit disappointed that there was a cliffhanger at the end. But I would still recommend because I am definitely looking forward towards reading the sequel. I want to know if she's able to find him.
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I liked this book, but I skipping pages at times of just 'I care for him, but I shouldn't' dialogue. It startrd off fast paced, but then some parts just weren't believable scenarios. Then Dimitri just basically goes missing for pages and pages. But the sex scenes and how much Dimitri cared for her kept me going.
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Damn. It's got a CliffHanger. As soon as I realized, shelved it.
If the second part ends correctly, will reread / start over.
There's potential but the insta-lust/sex happened WAY too soon.
And...I'm not sure the H is evil enough. -
This book was a good read. I enjoyed the story and the h really surprised me. The H was so protective and HOT. I thought the h's grief was handled very well and realistically. The ending was a cliffy so I will be reading the next one.
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3.5 star. A page turner. Enjoyed the excitement, character build up and plot development. Full of action and intrigue. Enjoyable but leave you with a cliff hanger ending so roll on the next book as I have some questions I really would like to know the answers to.
