The Vengeance of Rowan Sinclair by Ashlyn Drewek (The Solynyshko Duet)

Title: ⟫ The Vengeance of Roan Sinclair: A Dark MM Russian Romance 

Author: ⟫ Ashlyn Drewek 

Blurb: ⟫ After a lifetime of death and suffering, Aleksandr Vassiliev finally has everything he could ever want — the most important being someone to share his future with. Somehow a spoiled American named Roan gave Sasha a reason to see life could be more. 

Except, that’s where the fairytale ends. 

He’s not surprised Roan hasn’t been the same since his attack, but with every day that passes, Sasha sees less and less of the boy he fell in love with. He would do anything to get his Solnyshko back, but old enemies from Sasha’s past might end up costing him everything, even Roan. 

Roan Sinclair used to have it all. Now? He’s a shell of his former self. No longer the rich, carefree college guy who brought a Russian criminal to his knees, all he’s trying to do is recover from an assault that nearly killed him. 

Roan knows he should be grateful to be alive… but he’s not. 

He’s humiliated. 

Ashamed. 

Most of all, he’s angry. 

He hasn’t forgotten the part his dad played in everything that happened and when he threatens Sasha’s freedom, Roan takes a page from the Russian’s playbook. Maybe vengeance will piece him back together. Maybe then Roan can move on and get to the happily ever after he so desperately wants with the Wolf of Verkhoyansk. 

Content warning: This book contains references to alcohol/smoking, ethnic and homosexual slurs, sexual assault, mental health issues including PTSD and depression, on-page torture, and a lot of profanity. Reader discretion is advised. 

Review: ⟫ Oooh, when the sunshine turns on you, you need to remember that it burns! 

This book was Roan growing up and doing what he needed to do and I enjoyed it even more than the first book. Struggling to recover from the assault, Roan is feeling disconnected from everything and everyone – how does he find his way when he knows that he’s Sasha’s weak spot and can be used against him at any time? 

Add in his father behaving in an even more appalling fashion than previously, and something has to break. Or step up. And Roan steps up. 

I freaking loved this book because we got to see Roan really grow into himself and his relationship with Sasha. We also got more time with Sasha and saw beneath his mega-grumpy exterior. I wouldn’t describe him as a marshmallow under ANY circumstances, but this guy really grabbed at my heart and I couldn’t shake him. 

The cast of characters grew and I loved Misha and his nephew but this was most definitely Roan’s book. I actually ended up enjoying it more than book 1 which I am surprised at as normally I find the second book’s to be not as good. I absolutely adored the ending and what we got to see, and I am more than happy to give this a 5/5 rating. 

Now to find something to help me with my book hangover…

The Kidnapping of Roan Sinclair by Ashlyn Drewek (The Solnyshko Duet)

Title: ⟫ The Kidnapping of Roan Sinclair: A Dark MM Russian Romance 

Author: ⟫ Ashlyn Drewek 

Blurb: ⟫ Roan Sinclair’s life is perfect, just ask anyone. Set to graduate college and bound for grad school at Georgetown, Roan’s life has been all planned out for him. 

Except, he doesn’t want it. 

Dedicated to his music, he dreams of a life free from his parents’ expectations. Those dreams are gone the minute he’s kidnapped by a group of Russians, led by the tall, dark, and broody Sasha — a man ripped straight from Roan’s fantasies. 

Determined to make it out alive, Roan will do whatever is necessary to secure his freedom, even if that means seducing his captor. 

Aleksandr Vassiliev doesn’t care about anything except surviving in a merciless world. Known as the Wolf of Verkhoyansk, Sasha’s reputation for brutality is far-reaching and well-deserved. When a bank robbery goes wrong, he’ll do whatever he can to fix it — including kidnapping the bank owner’s son. 

Instead of complying like he should, Roan defies Sasha at every turn. Worst of all, he makes Sasha want things he can’t have, things that are a death sentence for men like him. 

Things like Roan Sinclair. 

Content warning: This book contains references to alcohol/drug use, sexual assault, graphic violence, self-harm, ethnic and homosexual slurs, and a lot of profanity. Reader discretion is advised. 

Review: ⟫ This was a recommendation on sub-reddit and I am so pleased I went ahead and got it. 

Roan was a sweetheart – a complete ray of sunshine in the darkness of his world. His family life is awful and he’s on the verge of being pushed in a direction that he has no interest in going. That is when Sasha enters his life and absolutely everything changes. 

Sasha was – brutal. He wasn’t just grumpy, he was rude, violent and the epitome of a Russian mobster. This book held nothing back in terms of the type of person Sasha was, who he had had to become in order to survive. There were hints given as to the type of life Sasha had lived, the things he had been through, and they sounded traumatic and awful. 

The clash between sunshine and the Wolf was epic – entertaining, upsetting, sexy and life altering. Watching the dynamics between these two as they tried to figure out a way through what life was throwing at them and how the circumstances under which they met influenced everything was enthralling. 

I would most definitely heed the warnings given but for me, this book was worth all of that for the feelings it evoked. I went immediately to book two because I needed to know what happened next. Thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited.