Priceless is part of the Bratva Dom world that Jane has been writing lately, but it’s not exactly in the same group that we have been seeing in the past couple of books. For one thing, it all takes place in the US. The Bratva group that is the main thrust of this story is associated with the one we’ve seen in Russia, headed by Demyan.
This is Nicolai and Marissa’s story. It’s hard in places, harder than the other books in this world, I think. I wouldn’t necessarily put Nicolai in the same category of herodom as the other guys in this world. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a huge hero, just a different one. I think that he is the most good guy of all the guys that we’ve seen so far, if you want to break it down into good vs. bad. He does bad shit, a lot of it, but I think that he is just good, if that makes any kind of sense. I think it does to me.
Nicolai is Marissa’s bodyguard and driver. He has been for years, but now that she’s right on the cusp of 18, he’s starting to notice her in all new different ways. But she’s off-limits, because she’s so young for one thing, and then because her father is Nicolai’s father’s best friend.
At her graduation party, and mere hours before she turns 18, Nicolai gets word from his sister that Marissa is about to be sold into human trafficking. He does everything to nail it down so that he isn’t acting on rumor, but when he finds out it’s true, he grabs Marissa and gets her the hell out of Dodge. Too bad it didn’t last.
Poor Marissa. She really goes straight through hell. And she spends what feels like an eternity in it, at least subjectively. She really has no clue how long she’s been gone, she just knows it’s hell. I think, though, that she has a real core of steel. Even going through hell, she manages to keep a little of what makes her her.
Nicolai is definitely a strong and determined man. He knows what he wants, and he’s going to move heaven and earth to get it. I think that if he had to skin himself in order to save her, he totally world. I mean, just flay himself and lay that skin at the feet of whoever demanded it.
The villain is such a jerk. I can’t believe he tries to play it off the way that he does. What a fucker.
Ok, that’s all I have to say about this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 