Hunt the Villain

Villain #2

by Rina Kent

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a standalone dark MM mafia rivals romance set in the world of Legacy of Gods.

I’m hunting a monster

The first time I met Yulian Dimitriev, it was hate at first sight.
He’s brash, chaotic, and a violence-junkie.
In short, everything I disregard.
As heirs to two notorious mafia organizations, we were shoved together in an unorthodox setting.
The more I learn about Yulian, the deeper my loathing seeps.
Until I truly see the person within, and something forbidden sparks between us.
But our coexistence is cut short when tragedy strikes.
Yulian and I go back to our respective, parallel worlds that shouldn’t cross.
But they do.
And once again, I’m dragged into the orbit of a man I shouldn’t want.
Two men can’t be together in our world.
But Yulian blurs every limit I thought existed until everything is in jeopardy.
Our hearts included.

Hunt the Villain is a male x male dark college romance. This book can be read as a standalone, but for a better understanding of the world, it's recommended to read Kiss the Villain first.

Genres: Dark Romance, M M Romance, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark, Mafia Romance, LGBT

546 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2026

About the author

Rina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 bestselling author of all things dark romance.
Better known for writing unapologetic anti-heroes and villains, Rina weaves tales of characters you shouldn’t fall for but inevitably do. Her stories are laced with a touch of darkness, a splash of angst, and just the right amount of unhealthy intensity.
When she’s not busy plotting mayhem for her ever-expanding Rinaverse, she leads a private life in London, travels, and pampers her cats in true Cat Lady fashion.


You can find her below:

Website
Newsletter
Instagram
Bookbub
Amazon
TikTok
Facebook
Reader Group
Twitter
Pinterest

Reviews

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH WE ARE SOOOOOOOO BACKKKKKKK!!!!! This was without a doubt one of my all time favorite Rina Kent books! VAUGH AND YULIAN ARE EVERYTHING TO ME!! I never wanted it to end like why didn’t they get a whole trilogy?!!! Also in my top 3 Rina Kent couples no question they were so perfect I literally cannot think about anything else but them 😭😭😭

Guys no you don’t understand I haven’t loved a new Rina Kent book since god of war and I feel like she went back to her ROOTS with this one!! I will die on the hill that the mafia world is where Rina cooks up her best work and we NEED MORE OF IT! It really just adds so much more plot to her books and makes me more invested. Like Vaughn and Yulian being rival mafia heirs?!!! Bye.

THE YEARNING, THE LONGING, THE BANTER, THE MUTUAL OBSESSION WITH ONE ANOTHER?!!! No I’m so obsessed, I laughed, cried, screamed! FOUR YEARS?!!! They were each others bi awakening and pined after each other for four years and got secret tattoos to remember the night of their first kiss?! I love them so much my chest physically aches.

Vaughn was everything I needed and more. He’s exactly how I expected him to be but also somehow so much better. I loved his possessiveness and how jealous he got when it came to Yulian like that man was losing his damn mind. YULIAN MY SHAYLAAAAAAAA!! Literally the most unhinged and iconic Rina Kent man. The way I was losing my mind when he sent Vaughn that video of him with his girlfriend then said “this could be us Mishka” idc if it’s toxic I LOVE HIM!!! The man’s literally flung himself off a cliff to get vaughns attention. Again iconic. Also so Nikolai but in a different font. Every time they opened their mouths I think I had a visceral reaction.

The spice…… I actually have zero words. So hot FOR WHAT?!!! I absolutely loved that they were verse, could not have been more perfect for them. Like I can’t even explain how much I love their dynamic you just need to read it.

Oh my god and Kirill and Sasha in this?!!! The best parents in this universe. Are we surprised? No. Also getting to see them still so in love and how they are with Vaughn no I can’t I need more!! Also ANTON AND MAKS?!! My heart is so full even though I wish we got a full book on them. Honestly there’s so many couples from her mafia world that I will forever be bitter we won’t be getting books on but I digress…

And listen I know to always expect a happy ending with Rina but tell me why I had real tears running down my cheeks reading this book?? I’m too emotionally attached. Anyways what the fuck do I do now????

[isy · Rating 5 out of 5]

yup that was incredible.
all you hating, losers who are going to switch up and say how much you’ve “always loved them” genuinely dont deserve to read and experience vaughnyulian
-
-

all of you wanted a vaughn book and are now complaining because it's MM 🤡 weirdos.
I cant wait!!! Im so excited and we will get to see kirillsasha again 🥹

[Rina Kent]

HUNT THE VILLAIN IS A LEGACY OF GODS MM SPINOFF
➜ Read Here ┃ Release Date: March 24, 2026

Audiobook Teaser

Tropes:
Grumpy x Chaotic Sunshine
Mafia Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance Tension
Pining / Longing
Mutual Obsession
Bi Awakening

[Than 🪷 (Hiatus)]

I’ve been debating whether or not to write this, but it’s been bothering me. My FYP is flooded with discussion about Rina Kent’s upcoming book, so I thought I’d throw in my two cents since everyone is talking about it.

People are absolutely allowed to be upset and entitled to their opinions. But giving an unreleased book a 1-star rating without even reading it, calling for a boycott of Rina Kent’s comment section, and labelling the book a “bad idea” is not just unnecessary - it’s downright hateful. And honestly, it’s not a good look on you.

1. Vaughn

Yes, Vaughn has been referenced throughout The Legacy of Gods series, but not in a way that gives us a deep understanding of who he is - his personality, his thoughts, his struggles. Rina is the author; she knows him better than anyone, and she’s shaping his story the way she sees fit. Assuming we know better than the author about a character we’ve barely seen on-page is quite frankly ridiculous. Let’s reserve judgement until we actually read Vaughn’s story and see who he is in his own book.

2. The “Girlfriend”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Rina never even stated Vaughn had a long-term girlfriend in a published book - it was mentioned once in a Facebook post. I get that words matter, but authors change their minds all the time. Aelin was originally meant to end up with Dorian, and look how that turned out - she and Rowan became perfection!!

Even if Vaughn had a girlfriend, so what? People evolve. Relationships end. That doesn’t mean there has to be cheating or a character death to justify it. Maybe Vaughn’s bisexual or pansexual - we don’t know because we haven’t read his book yet. Personally, I suspect Rina had no concrete plans for Vaughn’s story back when she made that throwaway “girlfriend” comment; it might have just been to stop readers from pestering her about him. Now that she’s decided to give Vaughn a book, she’s free to take his story in whatever direction makes sense for the character’s growth.

3. Money Grab

Let’s talk about this so-called “money grab.” As if authors aren’t allowed to make money? (Rina, go get your coins, girl!). Rina Kent has been writing M/F romances for ages - she has over 50 books/novellas in her catalog​ and many of them do follow similar dark academia/mafia romance formulas. If I had been writing the same type of story for that long, I’d burn out too. And honestly, some readers have noted that her recent M/F books were starting to feel repetitive​. So is it really a shock that she wants to branch out and try something new?

God of Fury is her first experience with M/M romance, and from the way she’s spoken about it, you can tell how much it brought new energy to her creativity. (She even celebrated the one-year anniversary of GoF by reminding us it was her first MM book after years of holding back, which shows how special it is to her.)

Maybe - just maybe - she’s found something new that excites her. And if people end up loving this new direction too, why wouldn’t she continue writing what she’s passionate about? That’s not a cash grab; that’s an author growing and delivering stories readers enjoy.

At the end of the day, if you don’t like the direction a book or series is going, that’s fine - skip it, or wait for reviews from others you trust. But tearing it down before it’s even out - giving it a 1-star rating without reading it, or harassing the author over her creative choices - isn’t valid criticism. It’s entitlement, and it’s not a good look.

Just something to think about.

[maria]

┆ ⤿ ♟️ ༝ pre-read:

I admit it! I’m addictive to Rina’s books😪 I don’t have hopes of this book being any different than the others lmaoo but I’m still intrigued 🫡


thank youu bloom for the arc!!!

[safeya ༒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GODDDD 😭😭😭

i love them. i love vaughn. i love yulian. i love this book. I LOVE IT. HATERS CAN FUCK RIGHT THE FUCK OFF.

guys i can’t. this book was so wholesome. it was PERFECT.
GoF had a lot of angst, KtV was very dark, but this book? this book had the perfect combination for everything.

ALSO THE BANTER? absolutely hilarious. i was giggling my ass off every time.

i genuinely got completely lost in this book i literally thought it was like 300 pages. i need more it wasn’t enough. i was so immersed in it and i already wanna reread.

i’m so happy rina came out with this book and kept going and didn’t cancel even after people were hating on vaughn being gay. as if they have the right to judge.

from the moment this book was announced, people have been posting shit abt it. and not the good kind. and till this day i say videos or comments about how “powerful” and “better” vaughn would have been if he coupled up with a girl. like shut the fuck up.
they keep saying “it doesn’t make sense for vaughn to end up with a guy” AS IF U KNOW HIM?? AS IF U WROTE HIM?? it’s so damn stupid. and that was before the book even came out.
to all them dumbasses that said that, SCREW YOU. how u feeling now after the book came out huh? yuli and v were obsessed with each other THE MOMENT THEY MET. don’t fucking piss me off.

if u feel like u saw this review before, it’s cuz i wrote one talking abt the controversial shit ppl were saying before this book came out. but now i wanna talk abt my love for it after reading it.

before starting HtV i thought it would be similar to rina’s other mm books. but nope. it’s on it’s own. and i’m so happy abt that.
it was such a lighthearted and wholesome book. it had yearning, pining, humour, angst, lightness and darkness all at once. it’s so perfect. it’s the type of book u could reread at any time, no matter how ur feeling.

also can we talk abt the heathen’s friend group at the end of the book 😭 it was so cute seeing them together talking, laughing, and insulting each other like it was every other day. never thought i’d say this but i missed them.
AND THE NIKO CRUMBS? NOT EVEN CRUMBS ANYMORE. ITS A WHOLE DAMN MEAL ATP. RINA IS FEEDING US 🤌🏻

endless quotes i loved:

“He consumed my heart, body, and soul.”

“I knew a single taste wouldn’t be enough—it’s why I ran away.”

“He’s a goddamn drug I can’t wait to inject into my starving veins.”

“Mishka…” he breathes out in a shaky breath. “Let me in… I promise to make you feel good.”

“As if, like me, the world comes to a standstill when we’re all over each other.”

“You’re like a dream, Volchonok. How are you even real?”

“The answer to what would destroy me most—is losing Yulian Dimitriev.”

“I stole a kiss from him, and I think he might have stolen my heart in return.”

“I feel like all my life, I’ve been waiting and biding my time. For years, I thought it was for leadership, but I realize it’s my heart that’s been waiting. For him—the boy who awakened me, punctured my shield, and lay inside my chest.”

“A universe where he belongs to someone else doesn’t fucking exist.”

“I don’t want my life without you. I refuse to have it. And I’m never letting you go again. Not in this lifetime, not in the next.”

“You’re the reason I know what love is, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, ruling side by side, leaning on one another and just loving each other as best we can.”
don’t mind me while i drool over them 🤧✋🏼

[annie]

Yulian & Vaughn being verse (both dom/sub) made me realize that if Jeremy/Landon were something, they'd definitely be THAT.


PAKHAN DEBATE ‼️ - Um vaughn being gay or whatsoever, pls he better be the future pakhan. whatever's circulating about Jeremy being the 'future Pakhan' better NOT happen. I do love JerCes but vaughn deserves his position, no one else.

VAUGHN MOROZOV IS SUPPOSED TO BE WITH DAMIEN'S DAUGHTER. IDC ✋🏻 I've always imagined him with a girl, even rina mentioned that he has a gf ffs, atp it's cash grab!

- might stop calling me homophobic, just because i don't want a character to be gay or bi, doesn't mean i'm hating the community. ffs a person can't even say anything on this app. and it's as clear as a day, that she's making everyone MM after the success of GOF. i did love that book and might love this series too but i just felt disappointed, but ik my opinion will change after sometime. i'm not a hater 🤡 Iqra explained it better.

[Youssra (semi ia- shelving books don't mind me) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

Your honor I loved those two toxic idiots😩 but I still had some issues with the book💔 Brace yourselves this will be a long one😶‍🌫️

💫 Ok to start this off, I am a Rina Kent stan, well at least a Rina Kent book stan because like all of us in the reader community, I know nothing about the woman other than she's British I think. I do not believe or condone attacking the author for my or anyone else's opinion on her books. I always go into Rina's books expecting to get some hot spice and a mid plot. I read RK books for the vibes which I almost always get. This book was no exception actually; the vibes vibed, the spice spiced, and the mmcs were toxic as hellll and I loved them😭

💫 What I liked:

🖤 Unlike Kiss the Villain, I actually LOVED both mmcs. Yulian was kind of Niko coded; he was reckless and funny but also very caring. Vaughn was jealous and possessive and HOTTTTTTTTTT!!! I preferred him to Yulian because I always love "the stoic on the outside but a raging beast on the inside" mmc... I'm just a girl guys you know this already💅

🖤I loved their dynamic a lot. I loved the toxicity, the jealousy, the possessiveness, the mess, and the protectiveness. I love reading about healthy relationships but I ALSO love reading about people being toxic and messy and when its TWO HOT DUDES THAT ARE ACTUALLY LIKABLE?? I'm eating it up thank yeww.

🖤 ......... the spice🌚🌚🌚

🖤 My man Kirill 💋💋💋 Forever my favorite RK man. Seeing him as this protective and amazing father??? 🤰🤰🤰🤰 Also the mini heathens cameo was so nostalgic😭😭 The magic of that series will never be replicated I fear💔

🖤 The epilogues WERE SO CUTEEEE😭😭 No I truly love these two together I wish this were a duet or trilogy I wanted more of them being cute together😭😭

💫 What I didn't like: MINOR SPOILERS BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

💔 This book had good bones but bad execution. Rina has this recipe she follows with all of her books and sometimes it works, other times it just doesn't. Rina always works in reverse. She starts off with the physical relationship and then builds the emotional one. If she had possibly started their relationship with them getting to know each other first, building a friendship and THEN moving on to the spice, this would have SO MUCH BETTER. She even had the foundation for it too because they met when they were teens; she could have maybe kept them in contact in some way. The spice and physical aspects of a relationship are always better when the two people have an established relationship and actually know each other.

💔 Piggybacking off the last point, Rina was glaringly lazy in this book with how she always tells us what is happening instead of showing us. Most of the super sweet things that Yulian and Vaughn do for each other as their relationship grows are told to us instead of us seeing them happen. That greatly takes away from the emotional impact and it is such a shame because they were sooo cute together and it would have taken the book to a much better place. Rina you can do so much better girl I believe in you😭

💔 Making Danika a cheater in order to get Yulian and Vaughn together was so lazy too. I don't think Rina hates women but she treats them unfairly in her books :(

💔 The pacing was all over the place in this one. It had some dull moments, then all of a sudden this shocking thing happens near the end and it gets resolved wayyyyyy too fast. The plot was so so flimsy like it was barely there😅 I knew the plot wasn't gonna be all that, especially after the fiasco of KTV, but it was still somewhat enjoyable.

💔 As much as I love Teddy Hamilton's voice, he should not have been cast as Yulian. In the Rinaverse, Teddy is Niko I'm sorry. When I hear his voice in this world, he is all I could picture😅 HEAR ME RINA PLEASE HIRE SEAN MASTERS😭😭😭😭


Final thoughts:

This was a fun book. I didn't hate it but I also wasn't obsessed. I wanted to giggle and I did, I wanted some hot spice and I got that, but at the same time while listening to this, I wanted it to be over😅 Will I read Crave the villain? Of course I will😅 Cyrus was very intriguing I hope she does his book justice!








______________________________________________
pre-read:

I am nothing but a sheep and Rina Kent is my Shepard BAAAAAAA 🐑🐑🐑🐑

[Uswah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.45 ⭐️

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book 🥹🥹 It seems Rina is back, but a lot of spice made me reduce my rating 🙂‍↕️ Still, it gave me all the vibes I was hoping for 🤭

Vaughn is absolutely my favorite, and if anyone asks me to choose between Vaughn and Yulian, I’m definitely choosing my Vaughn 🥹🤭 Not that I hate Yulian—I love him so much—but ofc, Vaughn takes the top spot 🙂‍↕️ Back when I finished the Monster Trilogy, I was already waiting for Vaughn’s book 🥹 so ofc there’s a term called “bias” here 👀 and sometimes, a girl has to be biased 🤭 Vaughn grabbed my attention right from the start; I love his personality 🤭

Yulian is literally a mix of Nikolai and Landon 🤭 That guy is so delulu that it makes me want to follow his steps and learn how to be delulu like him 🙂‍↕️ Seeing him be unserious in the most serious situations always made me cackle 😂 Like, bro- you can’t be serious, right?? 😭 But at the same time, he made me cry too 🤧 I hate his dad so much, and let’s just say, Yulian satisfied me in the end 🙂‍↕️

Vaughn and Yulian are so perfect together that I can’t imagine Vaughn with anyone else 🤭 He definitely belongs with Yulian 🙂‍↕️

I do have one issue, and that is Danika’s betrayal 😭 It’s hard to imagine her betraying Vaughn after being with him for four years 😭 Rina lowk did her dirty 😭 They could have ended things with mutual understanding or something, so yea, that was the only downfall, aside from the heavy spice. But it’s dark romance, so it was totally expected 🫂

Overall, this was such a good read and made me giggle 🤭🥹 I had so much fun, and Rina gave me all the vibes I was expecting—or maybe hoping for, judging by her recent flops 😭 So I’m really happy she didn’t do my Vaughn dirty 🥹

Yea, that’s it guys. Love y’all 🫶🖤💛

———————————
ᝰ pre-read ᝰ

It’s time to read about my babies 🥹🤭 Plz, don’t disappoint me, I really love Vaughn and Yulian seems amazing too 🤭 I really don’t want this book to flop 😭

—————————
ᝰ pre-release ᝰ
As long as it’s my Vaughn… I’m more than satisfied hehe idc who he’s with. At least i’ll be reading more about Kirill & Sasha. 🤭

[Maddy ✨ ~The Verse Vixen {AFK brb}]

DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EGYPT!! -OUR MYSTERIOUS WHITE MASKED FUTURE PAKHAN IS GAYYY!!💀


Ohk, Rina Kent is really in her Landon King-era villainy with this one. The chaos, the delusion, the iconic one-liners—I can ALREADY tell this book is about to destroy peace, and make us all question our morals. 😩🔥Okay, so tell me WHY did it have to be Kirill’s son?! Like, out of ALL possibilities, this is where we land? I was praying for an FMC with the ruthlessness of Lana Myers, but NOPE. Instead, we’re out here questioning genetics and rewriting our theories like conspiracy theorists on caffeine.📝Anyway.
Let’s get into the madness, shall we?

🔪 EXHIBIT A:

"Hey, Kill."
"Hmmm."
"Do you know if Yulian is into guys?"
"I’m trying to figure out a plan to bring him down, AND— I heard rumors I want to confirm before plotting."
"If by guys, you mean Vaughan, then yeah. Yulian definitely wants to f*ck him. Or get f*cked by him. I’m not sure

.

🔪 EXHIBIT B:

Vaughn got a certain serpent man pinned to a tree, choking him out with a chain and this dude Yulian’s just giggling like it’s foreplay?? "Love it when you get rough, Mishka"—SIR??
-They are already giving JeremyXLandon vibes👀🔥
Vaughan trying to be the composed, dangerous future Pakhan but shaking inside because a psycho snake boy got under his skin like no one ever has? That's Landon King level losing control.
Total MMA: Mafia Men Anonymous.🔥
They’re not rivals. They’re foreplay with body counts.

~At this point, all we need is:

-One scene where Vaughan almost kills him but pauses because "his eyes looked too wild and beautiful in the moonlight" 🌚✨

-And Yulian to say something like: “I’ll let you kill me if you kiss me first.”

…and we’re fully in Vaughnyulian > JeremyLandon supremacy territory. 🔪

🔪 EXHIBIT C: THE REVENGE ARC NO ONE ASKED FOR

“She really cheated with Yulian?”
“I had my revenge :)”
— THAT SMILEY?? 😃😃😃 ???Boy didn’t just get revenge—he redecorated it with moans and regrets. 🫡

— Vaughan: “I hate his guts.”
Also Vaughan: Let me uproot my entire life, leave my friends, and cross borders just to not be near him... but still stalk his Insta at 3AM. ✈️📱
— Not him transferring to a whole-ass other country to avoid Yulian… and still ending up emotionally attached like it’s a Wattpad slow-burn enemies-to-lovers fic. 💀📚
— Yulian got one arm around a professor and Vaughan’s already drafting his villain origin story. 💅


🚀🚨 FUTURE PAKHAN GOT MM??? JUST IMAGINE THE DRAMA!! 🔥
FUTURE PAKHAN CRISIS that’s about to hit.
— Kirill out here staring into the abyss, wondering where he went wrong as a father. 😶
Vaughan:"Father, this is my partner."
Kirill: clenches jaw, takes a sip of vodka, stares into the void for 30 seconds 💀
— Damien laughing his ass off because "At least it’s not my son this time." 🥃
— Also , AND —NOT VAUGHAN TAKING TIPS FROM NIKO??? 💀
"Just kidnap him, bro. Worked for my parents."
"Don’t look desperate. Set his car on fire instead."
"Murder is a love language."
—And Killian? Bro is tired of everyone’s mess but living for the tea. And speaking of Vaughan… Vaughan better not be bottom. 🚨🔪 I SAID WHAT I SAID.

But anyway, let’s not pretend we’re here for pure plot (lol). We all know Daddy Kirill is about to make his grand entrance, and I’m 1000% ready. Break hearts? ✅ Shatter egos? ✅ Be the center of every single scene? ✅ If this book doesn’t make me question my moral compass and rethink my life choices, did it even happen?! Kirill, CONGRATULATIONS! Your heir might be having the spiciest identity crisis in mafia history .And listen, I get why people are already foaming at the mouth, handing out 1-star ratings before the book is even out—like, WTF? At least let us spiral first before passing judgment. But I won’t lie, Rina Kent’s books are my guilty pleasure. No matter how much I clown, no matter how much I scream at the characters, I will be seated when this drops.

🔪 Rina, bring it on. I’m ready for the villain to hunt ME. But if this turns out even slightly like Kiss the Villain, I’ll be the one doing the hunting Rina.😌

"Boys with grudges, power, and sin,
Lock me up—I'm guilty again."🙌

[Matea ☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

INFINITE STARS!!! ♾️

⚠️ WARNING: THIS IS A VERY BIASED REVIEW ⚠️
I know there’s always controversy around Rina Kent, but I adore pretty much everything that woman writes… so yes, this review is absolutely going in that direction. If that’s not your thing—feel free to skip hehe.

OKAY. NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY—
I LOVED. EVERY. SECOND. OF. THIS. BOOK.

And yes, I did say this would be biased—but I can admit it wasn’t perfect. There were moments where she introduced really interesting ideas and perspectives… and just didn’t fully go there.

But also, my reaction to those “misses”:


Because honestly??? I was having WAY too good of a time to care.

I don’t even know how to put together a coherent review because this book was EVERYTHING I wanted. Rina always delivers when it comes to a good time and good spice—you can count on that every single time.

Let’s talk about Yulian first.
Yulian aka Niko 2.0!!! They’re so similar yet so different, and I was OBSESSED with him in the first half. He’s chaotic, unhinged, unintentionally hilarious, and wears his heart on his sleeve. There were moments I was literally like: HIDE IT, YOU STUPID FOOL—
(but also… don’t hide it. I love it. Stay a little unhinged and possessive, king.)


ALSO—let’s get one thing VERY clear:
Yulian’s other name is YEARNING.
Because NO ONE yearns like that man. NO ONE.
The longing??? The pining??? The emotional chaos??? I was LOSING MY MIND.

VAUGHN.
Listen… first half Vaughn? Lowkey cutely boring (Bee, if you see this—no you didn’t). All prim and proper, always in control…

BUT THE SECOND HALF???
JEALOUS VAUGHN???
POSSESSIVE VAUGHN???



I’m sorry, how is anything supposed to top that??? Because I am NOT OKAY. That man might be my new obsession.

Also, I LOVED how their relationship was handled. No endless “I’m not gay / I can’t be gay” spiral. They were actually pretty self-aware of their feelings and what it meant in their world as pakhans’ sons. Like yes, there were initial thoughts, but they moved past that quickly—and it was so refreshing to read.

AND LET’S BE REAL—
these two were TOXIC.

But also… was it as dark as I expected? Or have I just read so much dark romance that I’m sitting here like… “this is it?” 😭
I mean, there was darkness, obviously—but my standards might be… questionable at this point.


I’ve seen people rating this lower because they wanted more Kirill. And I get it—my man Kirill is STILL my favorite mafia king, love him forever. But also… this is not his book??? Why are we mad??? Vaughn deserves his spotlight too.

And can we TALK about the Boston Bratva setup???
Rina. My sweet Rina. I’m looking at you.



You CANNOT start cooking something like that and then just walk away. I’m going to need a full course meal. Give me mafia romance. Give me adults. Give me chaos. Please and thank you.

Anyway—if it wasn’t obvious already: I’m a Rina fan. So yes, biased review confirmed.

I also cannot WAIT for dawn to read this because I just KNOW she’s going to be screaming. I’ll be linking her review when she’s done 👀

And shoutout to my bestie Bee, who was in my DMs the entire time—this felt like the most chaotic, unintentional buddy read ever and I LOVED IT 💕





_______________
pre-read

OKAY, IT’S TIME 😭 I NEEDED THIS BOOK LIKE I NEEDED AIR.
THIS IS MY MOST ANTICIPATED READ OF 2026!!!!
IF THIS DOESN’T SLAP, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WILL DO WITH MY LIFE 😩

I’m kinda buddy-reading this with my bestie, my love, my partner in crime dawn💕 (though we’ve got some technical problems… let’s just call it a buddy read anyway 😅)

[manas · Rating 3 out of 5]

➳ 3 ☆

ok, wow...i have a lot to say so if you love her books or get easily offended, don't read this. overall, this was a massive step up from her newer books, but it's still got the same typical RK style, aka rinse and repeat. this was a copy of her monster trilogy, god of fury, and the ENTIRE dynamic of landon and jeremy. now, that's not to say this was fully bad...i do think there are some notable improvements with the story and the plot. however, seeing as this is not the first book that is a copy paste of her previous works—it's getting harder to ignore the blaring duplication. as always, if you're gonna start the bullshit and come for me because i have valid critiques; you can do that elsewhere. i know NOTHING about the author so this is in main reference to the book—the words on the paper. read whatever you want to read. there will be MAJOR spoilers.

how this book went:

1. meet up at some mafia camp
2. both are of them are horny, wet, hard, and obsessed
3. miscommunication for 4+ years
4. constantly trying to kill each other
5. homeboy starts fucking vaughn's girlfriend for no reason
6. bro is pissed at his so-called girlfriend for no reason
7. grown adults behaving jejune and petty, trying to see who caves in first (pun indented)
8. repetitive smut
9. stupid ass mystery plot unfolding in 2.5 seconds
10. goodbye

😎🤏🏼🥱🤏🏼

for starters, this book is ALL OVER THE PLACE. all over the place. we have several storylines going on at once and while they are facile and easy to follow, it made for a very clumpy plot. essentially, vaughn—as a 15-year-old—is at some training mafia situation and yulian also happens to be there with the rest of the main LOG characters. from here, vaughn is immediately painted as his father—kirill—and yulian is a damian and landon copy + paste. naturally, the two but heads constantly and are at each other's throats every 3 seconds due to their polar opposite mannerisms, until they are forced into a do or die situation where they start to form a bond. yulian—randomly, and i mean RANDOMLY—decides to kiss vaughn as he is on the brink of death and then we basically jump to the present where vaughn is 19 and dating a woman named danika...and yulian is just clowning around. ugh.

now, i actually had fun with the first few chapters until we got to the girlfriend bullshit. RK is never, and i mean NEVER beating the allegations that she hates women because why the fuck was danika the portrayed as some cheating, lying, hoe ass just to get vaughn and yulian closer??? the terrible smut scene we got of yulian cheating with danika just to ragebait vaughn was so weird...it wasn't cute or angsty. it was just so odd and cringy. then to film that nonsense and send it to him was even stupider, i can't. ultimately, this went nowhere as danika became villain number one, as always, and vaughn and yulian started fucking around which never really went away. that was basically the rest of the book.

some sentences literally went like this:

i hate you. 💀
i love when you get violent with me, mishka. 💀
i'm gonna kill you. 💀
keep talking, baby. 💀
it was always you, volchonok. 💀
danika was a replacement for the actual man i was in love with. 💀

??? i mean...at this point, yulian has a humiliation kink because he wasn't yearning, he was pathetic. i never understood what he saw in vaughn because for the majority of this book, vaughn is an absolute piece of shit and has ZERO regard for anyone but himself. i can't believe i am admitting that yulian was more interesting to read about than everyone's favorite nepo golden boy, but he honestly was so much better of a character. vaughn has one personality trait—being overtly jealous and angry. that's it. yulian on the other hand had more layers. don't get me wrong—this is an RK book so take that with a bucket of salt, but i enjoyed reading about how yulian went from being severely abused by his father, to being a closeted because his dad tried to literally kill him for being gay—to then doing everything in his power to save his little sister after she became disabled. all of this made for a very interesting plot until we kept going back to that cardboard cutout bore.

yulian = obsessed, crazy, VERY direct, and pathetic.
vaughn = quiet, moody, annoying, VERY jealous, and stupid.

vaughn dragged this goddamn book so badly. so. fucking. badly. since they are switches, the dynamic felt so much more even and on the same playing field which was different to read about. AND that is what i wanted really more of. however, as i previously mentioned; yulian is an anomly and his character and arc is vastly different than his counterpart. at no point did i feel they were actually equal because yulian was miles better in terms of temperment and devlopment. on a positive note—i did however, really enjoy yulian's siblings and that entire dynamic with their homelife. i do hope we get more of their story because that was easily the most compelling part of this book.

this sounds like a LOAD of shit and i promise, i am not trying to sound like a hater ass bitch. i do honestly think this is a major step up from books like, kiss the villain and beautiful venom—but there is still a long while to go before i can say anything definitively. what i am massively surprised about, though, is the fact that the heathens, AKA jeremy, nikolai, gareth, vaughn, and killain were the most interesting and comedic group in this story. i am embarrassed to even say this because everyone knows how much i hate most of them—but i thought their scenes were easily the highlight of the book. i do think it's even funnier that we are getting all these scenes of vaughn and the group hanging together like bestfriends after having him DO LITERALLY NOTHING for the duration of the legacy of gods…now she needed to insert him into the story somewhere so we got all this??? LMFAOAOOAOAOOAOOO!!!

overall, this was a fast ass read and quite fun. really pulled me out of a slump so there’s that. cyrus on the other hand is so clearly gonna get with jethro; which could be very interesting so...we shall see when we end up getting that. however, one thing to note was vaughn saying cyrus’ eyes were, “THE STRANGEST part—east-asain”. i’m not sure why you would describe ethnic eyes as strange???…but this is rk so who even knows at this point. jeremy being the token straight will never not be funny because landon was RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

on a last note, please retire these russian nicknames. please. there is only so much you can say before it starts to border on cartoonish. telling my russain friends that vaughn calls yulian volchonok sent me to hell and back. they were wacking me for this so badly. i could not stop laughing reading that and mishka every 2 seconds.

if you come for me for this, i will haunt you! xx

[Alexia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read enough smut to last a lifetime, and frankly, it wasn't even good. It was honestly so cringe-worthy that it gave me the ick, seriously, who talks like that during sex in real life?

I really enjoyed God of Fury and hold Niko and Bran close to my heart, I had high hopes that Hunt the Villain would give me the same feels. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

If I wanted to read a story all about physical intimacy, I could’ve just re-read Kiss the Villain(which I didn't like), since Yulian and Vaughn’s relationship was filled with enough sexual tension to power a small city. But the romantic chemistry was not there, I never truly felt they connected emotionally or balanced each other out.

Starting with Yulian, if you look up "pathetic" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of him. Honestly, his level of pathetic-ness for Vaughn was so over the top.
His sad backstory was just the cherry on top of an already ridiculous cake.

Vaughn was an asshole. He’s the love interest who’s all cold exterior but is secretly a warm person inside, except he was unlikable and annoying. I could not stand him.

Their relationship? Completely unconvincing. I’m convinced these two are about as compatible as cats and dogs. Even after finishing the book, I felt Yulian deserved someone way better. I hate it when I get the feeling that one of the characters loves the other more in a relationship and that is what I got from them.
Sadly the feeling never went away.

Usually, I read this author for fun and the vibes(having read only her MM books since she writes women horribly and I won't torture myself reading her MF books), ignoring plot holes or lack of depth. But this time, I couldn’t. Thinking about the plot made me realize it was just a shiny, superficial backdrop. Honestly, I laughed out loud at how nonsensical some parts were.

The only part that got my attention and I loved was when Niko and Bran popped in( and the reason this is 2 stars).
The biggest flaw this book has? It was dreadfully boring.

In the end, this book just wasn’t for me. And don't worry, the author still writes women like they’re Public Enemy Number One.

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡.]

Whew, what the actual fck, Rina? 😭🤡

Vaughn Morozov, the loyal Russian mafia heir, is now suddenly in an MM romance?? Like, I love MM, but this feels like a cash grab. 💀 Where’s the continuity, Rina? 🤡 You literally gave him a girlfriend, and now you’re switching it up? What happened to character development?

Let’s be real: Rina has a serious problem with women. Why are they always villains in her books? The girlfriend will 100% be a cheater, mark my words. 😭 Rina has no issue dragging women through the mud, but when it comes to M/M, it’s suddenly all healthy and respectful? 💀 Double standards much?

And the most telling part? Actual gay readers critiqued her M/M books as stereotypical, and instead of listening, she blocked them. 💀 Yeah, that screams integrity.

TL;DR:
✧ Rina’s chasing GOF hype so hard, it’s embarrassing. 🤑
✧ Vaughn was said to be loyal to his girlfriend, now he’s in an MM book? 🤡
✧ Rina clearly doesn’t like women. The girlfriend is gonna be a cheater.
✧ Critique her MM books? She blocks you. Very telling.
✧ Fanfics are better. This book ain't it.

Kirill & Sasha supremacy though. 🛐 They're the only thing holding this book together. I’m living for them and could care less about the mess surrounding Vaughn.

[Soph · Rating 5 out of 5]

vaughnyulian nation rise! Vaughn my bisexual king!

[Lucy🎈 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can swear that Rina is actually a misogynist man but I can’t prove it. She doesn’t write lesbian stories cause she can’t relate but has no problem making Vaughn gay even though she herself once said he has a girlfriend and royal like his dad??? 100% she’ll make that said girlfriend villain too like she always makes female characters depressive and mentally insane

[♡Naz♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

---‐------------------
⭐ 5 STARS — RINA KENT, YOU HAVE RUINED ME (RESPECTFULLY) ⭐

Let’s be brutally honest here: I did not want this book to end. At all. That’s literally why it took me forever to finish it — I was dragging my feet like a clown because I refused to let go of Yulian and Vaughn. “Hunt the Villain” is obsession, possession, and pure unfiltered chaos wrapped in one deliciously dark package. The tension? Electric. The chemistry? Nuclear. The writing? Rina Kent said “watch me resurrect your standards” and she did exactly that.

THE OBSESSION. THE POSSESSION. LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL. I haven’t been this hot and bothered reading a book since… actually, I don’t think I ever have. The smut in this book didn’t just spice things up — it slapped me across the face and said “wake up.” After the emotional disaster that Unholy Tsar left me in, this book single‑handedly revived me. This is how mafia romance should be written: intense, unhinged, and unapologetically feral.

And then… the cave scene. The cave scene. I was giggling, kicking my feet, rolling around on my bed like a teenager who just got kissed behind the school gym. Yulian’s chaotic gremlin energy paired with Vaughn’s quiet, obsessive devotion? I was DONE. These two are not the blueprint of Rina Kent’s M/M couples — as Nikolai himself said — but they are absolutely my personal favourites. Their dynamic is messy, addictive, and so stupidly perfect.

Yulian had me laughing out loud every other chapter with his unhinged commentary, and Vaughn’s secret obsession simmering under the surface? That man was one wrong look away from combusting. Their push‑pull, their banter, their tension — it was all fire. Rina Kent crafted a pairing that feels both chaotic and inevitable, like two storms colliding and somehow creating sunshine.

And then the epilogue hit me like a truck full of emotions. Brandon and Nikolai getting married in the first epilogue? I SCREAMED. I genuinely screamed. It was beautiful, it was soft, it was everything I didn’t know I needed. And seeing characters from previous books pop in like little emotional Easter eggs? My heart was doing somersaults. Rina Kent really said “fan service? I’ll give you fan worship.”

Also, let’s not pretend we didn’t notice Daddy Kirill Morozov showing up and stealing the spotlight like the menace he is. That man ages like sin and fine wine. And the thought of Kirill + Vaughn + Yulian at the same damn time? I had to close the book and stare at the ceiling. Rina Kent knows exactly what she’s doing and she does it with zero remorse.

And now I’m sitting here, vibrating with anticipation for Crave the Villain because Cyrus’ story? Inject it into my veins. And Tempting Venom? I needed that yesterday. “Hunt the Villain” was everything — dark, sexy, chaotic, emotional, and downright addictive. No notes. No critiques. Just pure, unfiltered love. Five stars, easily, and I’d give it ten if Goodreads would let me.

-----------------

Mishka & Volchanok.
😝 😏 🥵

[Laura Jane ♡]

i always have no expectations but hopeful of a fun time with rina, buttttt i am excited about this one - can’t help it, sue me 😛👹

[Rose Blackthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I for one am so excited about this I don't care who Vaughn is with as long as the book still gets released plus it's rinas choose who she wants to pair up

[Malessa Danner · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

Omg I absolutely LOVEDDDD Yulian and Vaughn!!! Very toxic, but they were actually so sweet with each other, too. I ate it up!

Yulian is such a softie with so many feelings and so vulnerable. And Vaughn is so possessive and jealous of anyone that even looks at him 😅

This was everything I was hoping for and more!!

Safety:
Descriptive scene of Yulian x Vaughns gf.
Yulian is a reformed manwhore
Vaughn has only been with his gf
Neither with anyone else after that gf scene/Vaughn breaks up with his gf the next day.
Both top/bottom. Vaughn is the first guy Yulian let himself bottom with


Ugh pregnant me is absolutely loving toxic/drama filled books 🙈😅😅

[lena ⊹˚.⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

➵ three point five hot and horny stars ⟢

miss rina, come to the front. after several flops in the past years (kiss the villain, beautiful venom and sweet venom) i had lost hope that she would ever return to her prime. so to say that my expectations were in the basement would be an understatement. but when i heard she was coming back to her mafia roots, i knew i was sat. this review will contain ‼️ spoilers ‼️ so please don’t come after me if you get spoiled, read at your own risk!!!!!

first of all, rina you are NEVER beating the ‘hating women’ allegations. how is it possible that in every MM book that she has ever written, the ex girlfriend (or ex wife) of one of the main characters is either a cheater or a fucking psycho. you can make a gay couple look good without sabotaging the ex girlfriend just to push forward the story or their relationship. the cheating scene 17% through was also so fucking uncalled for 🌝🤚 like no, unfortunately, i don’t want to read about someone’s ex situationship (from like, four years ago,) hooking up with that persons current girlfriend, filming it, and sending it to said person while murmuring some corny ass dirty talk that couldn’t make ANYONE wet. i’m not making this up. there is this exact scene in the book. these hooligans are funny. #justicefordanika

i also can’t lie and say that this book didn’t mold into the typical ‘rina kent writing technique’ (which it did.) at this point, she has to file for plagiarism against herself because this was a literal copy and paste of her other books - and more specifically, a crazy ass blend of god of fury, the monster trilogy & basically brandon and nikolai’s entire relationship dynamic. but i unfortunately can’t deny and say that i didn’t eat it up even though i predicted every single twist and turn that occurred in this predictable ass book. i’m a simple woman. sorry.

the whole ’it’s just sex….its nothing more than that 🥺’ talk is getting old real fast. i don’t find having a physical relationship before an emotional one in contemporary romance weird - i just think that all of this talk that’s it’s ‘just sex’ could have been avoided if they had a conversation. like you bitches CLEARLY like each other so instead of dragging it - sit down, have a coffee, and explain your feelings to one another. it’s as simple as that.

the narrative structure was also very….complicated? for no actual reason? i mean, the two main characters original meet four years ago at this random camp (??? it’s never really expanded on what it is, so we move,) and they instantly fall for each other and are one another’s bi awakenings. then the camp ends (we STILL don’t know what this fuckass three week long mafia - rival - fighting - camp was btw.) they don’t see each other again until four years later. vaughn is now in in a “healthy 🤡” relationship with Danika (the cheating lying ass bitch from before) and Yulian spots them in a random restaurant. he’s instantly blabbering some corny ”he’s mine. why is he with someone else. he is MINE.” so he walks up to them and tries to assert dominance over poor Vaughn. flash forward the next day, the whole cheating scene occurs 🤡👹🤡👹 mind you, the whole time we have flashbacks to the “camp” from four years ago. i’m confused though, in the book it’s mentioned that Yulian forms an obsession and slightly stalks Vaughn for a short time - but at the same time he was fucking women and men left and right?!?!?!?!??!!? LMFAAAOOO WHAT!?!?! i mean i don’t know, but sabotaging someone’s first real relationship just because you are “obsessed” with them, but at the same time having intimate relationships with other people is so odd to me…..

i also didn’t really understand why Vaughn was suddenly so included in the Heathens drama. in legacy of gods, it was repeatedly mentioned that he spent most of his time brooding in his room without really hanging out with them much. i don’t even think he had more than FIVE LINES in the entirety of the series, so WHY (😭) was he with them every other chapter. it was weird??? is rina forgetting the LOG series already????!?!

i was SO happy to see all of the LOG characters together and in their respective relationships - it made the book feel even more bitersweet to me, because WHAT DO YOU MEAN i’ve been here since first gen, and now second generation is officially over. i’m so sad.

also, i think this book solidified the fact that i need to reread KirilSasha’s trilogy asap. they are the absolute best parents and the little speech they gave Vaughn after he came out 🥹 i shed a tear or two.

i don’t want to read about Yulian’s dad getting snipped, i want be the one doing it. my hatred for this man is very very very large. i was so used to reading about supportive and kind parents (apart from Killian’s dad) that i had forgotten that evil parents were a thing in rk books.

the ending was typical rina kent:
1. a random person kidnaps one of the MC’s
2. they get saved by the other MC
3. both of them return home
4. they have sex
5. random love confession
6. the person who got kidnapped leaves because they don’t think they deserve the other person
7. nothing happens for 2 weeks
8. MC 2 comes and begs them to come back
9. they come back
10. more sex
11. epilogue + marriage proposal

LMAOAOAO 🤡🌚🤡🌚🤡

i will be continuing the series - because i’m a nosy bitch and have FOMO for everything.
cyrus is also a pretty interesting character too…👀 and a stalker apparently????? with blonde hair?????? and he ends up with a nerd?????? yeah i’m waiting impatiently.

one last thing, rina i am begging on my knees for a FF romance. please 🙏



ok i ate this up like a fool 🤡 FULL (‼️) rtc

[dawn ౨ৎ [semi-hiatus]]

MY MOST ANTICIPATED READ OF 2026 HAS ARRIVED!!

ˏˋ♡꒰ʚ・୨🐍୧・ɞ꒱♡ˎˊ˗

And ofc I'm doing this buddy read with my bestie, queen of GIFS and ALSO partner in crime MATEA!!! 🥹💗

I'm already halfway 🤭😝 AND IT'S REALLY GOOD SO FAR, but its nowhere close to kiss the villain 😭 but IM MANIFESTING IT WILL SOON BE 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Why does it have to be you?” His voice drops to a hushed murmur, more to himself than to me. “That’s what I’m asking myself as well,” I whisper back.

Is the writing the best ever? No. Are the character types repetitive? Yup! But do I care.... absolutely not! In this instalment of the grumpy/uptight one (Vaughn) falls like a ton of bricks for the feral/unhinged one (Yulian), Rina gives us more of what we want: possessive, obsessive lunatics who can't stay away from each other. I loved it and wish it hadn't wrapped up so quickly. The whole 'it's not safe to be together' thing wrapped up far too neatly as well, but honestly I don't even care. Two lunatics giving each other sweet nicknames, getting tattoos for each other and not being able to let each other go no matter what, is just too adorable to criticize 😍.

[lakshmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow wow. for an mm romance, this one is actually quite decent? Maybe even good ?👀

“The villain I hunted only to fall in love with.”

from the get go- this was literally my thought process

1. Oh god they’re both so annoying ;
2.they’re literally 15!!!! why are they talking like that??
3. aw they’re so cute
4. Wow Vaughn deserves better
5. strike that Yulian deserves better

Just 20 points of me contradicting myself because this book took me through quite a journey. This wasn’t healthy by any means butI would say this is the greenest relationship RK has written (imo).

it was all fine until the word fuckhole made its appearance

swiftly moving on

I loved yulian’s character. He was the complete opposite of what I was expecting that was absolutely refreshing. He was honest and true to what he wants and going after it without the added peacocking and alpha bs. Also love that he was such an attention whore with Vaughn. The little temper tantrums were so cute🌸💗💓Vaughn was a great character too,once he got his head out of his ass but honestly, as a person with so much on his shoulder, I understood his plight.

“My attention is the only attention you’ll crave, Volchonok. Are we fucking clear?”

Alll the cameos!!!😭😭😭 omg it was like a reward!!!! krill and Adrian and kyle and rai and Reina 😭😭😭 it was all so nice to read ( I got to be honest here, I was having majorrrr trouble placing them in my mind 👀)

I’m so excited to read about Cyrus!!! He’s quite an enigma 😈👀

[Nadja ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good, I ate it up, licked the plate and french kissed the chef!

I knew I was gonna love Vaughn and Yulian and I was right. This book had me giggling, kicking my feet and smiling at my kindle screen like an idiot and I loved every second of it. It sparked the same kind of feeling I had when I first discovered Rinaverse last year.

I loved the cameos. The Heathen, Kirill and Sasha my babies, Anton and Maksim, Karina and Viktor mentions. I'm kinda mad that Damien wasn't even mentioned. Like sure, maybe it was to not spoil what could happen if (when, fingers crossed) he gets his own book but he was such a big part of the Monster trilogy and to not even mention him now just didn't sit right with me.

I really liked the side of Chicago, aka Yulian's siblings and I think it would be really great if she went back to the mafia world to explore other branches of the Bratva because the potential is real and sizzling in here.

I had huge expectations for this book and I'm so so so happy that I ended up loving it. It's definitely made me want to reread the Rinaverse (not you, empire series, never you) in the summer when I have more free time.

The Nikobran wedding in the epilogue, even tho we didn't see the ceremony just the very end, is so dear to me, you don't understand it.
Also can't wait for Crave The Villain because Cy seems like his head is an interesting place to be.

-> By the way, the original rant (which is what actually got this number of likes) is in the comments. It was written when this book was announced, little before KTV.

[aira · Rating 3 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.5/5

I guess it was ok. I didn't love it neither did I hate it, so I'll take the win and call it a day.

It was decently entertaining mostly because I wanted a book about Vaughn for a long time so he 100% delivered, there's no doubt about that...but, I don't know about the rest of it because it felt like we were going around in circles without any proper relationship development and I also feel like there's a lot of plot holes. And I do also have to point out the fact that the enemies to lovers didn't quite hit the way it should have...it felt very forced.

I don't normally read MM romance - I say this with no hate so don't even think about it - and the only MM romance books I've read are in this universe mostly because I've read every book up till this point and I wanted to keep going so who am I, but a willing passenger on this journey?

The Kirill and Sasha cameos...please I need more. I screamed so loud when they both appeared but I can't believe my favorite couple have a teenage son now. I feel like a grandma because what? These two have such a huge chokehold over me and I fear I will never recover.

I really only read this because of Vaughn, because I knew KirillSasha were going to have cameos, and because I started the series and I know I have to finish it.

Overall, yeah it was decent.

Yes, the rating is mostly for the Morozov family.

No, I don't see myself reading this again.

Yes, I will read the last book in this series.

No, I probably won't enjoy it.

Yes, I will do my annual reread of the monster trilogy sometime soon.

Yes, I will enjoy it as I always do because that trilogy is elite.

And, that's pretty much it...

-------

2.5!! probably rtc.

------

pre-read: I can't even begin to tell you the amount of times I wished for a book about Vaughn after reading the monster trilogy....and it's finally here, not to mention the fact that I'm hoping KirillSasha make an appearance. ✋😩

[rou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’all have not read a single ff and it showss. Rina created these characters and will do whatever she wants with them. You have zero say in this nor (hopefully) will she care. For fucks sake she could kill off vaughn and y’all wouldn’t be able to do anything.
You have the right to be disappointed, i mean she teased that bro has a gf, but straight up hating her, being homophobic etc. is just wrong and unnecessary. If ur rlly mad abt it js don’t read it? Or just simply ignore it. No one is forcing you.
Also it came to my attention that vaughn can’t be queer because he’s a pakhan? First of all what? Second of all this just gives major homophobia once again. Do you not see him a masculine anymore? Does it hurt his masculinity?No. Ur just homophobic as hell and have never talked to a queer person in life.
Rina pls don’t die i need this book and i am indeed very happy we’re even getting one in the first place. How r yall claiming to sell y’all’s soul for this book js to not be happy after it gets actually confirmed that it’s happening..??? Stay mad.
Vaughnyulian im waiting.

Points:
• yall have millions of other rk fm books
• leader of the serpents yulian
• rival/enemy to lovers book
• mafia everywhere
• the pakhan being queer screams BLOODY. Idk yall but i have read some and people this is not for the weak. They’re INSANE.
• saw a twitter post with the headcannon of yulian calling him solnyshko to annoy him so much that he kisses him to shut him up???? (Knees gone weak)

Don’t be a hater, not js to rk but also to the lgbtq+ community that to this day are hated daily.
There is nothing you will be able to change. You’re not the author ur solely the consumer. Nothing else.

Lastly a lovely quote that i think of daily.
“What makes us so afraid of two men or two women being together.
All the things we could fear in this world, and we pick love” - stranger by the shore lovely movie !!
Bye.

[angelinabvby ۶۟ৎ]

➴ 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉 🗡️✨
did i read book 1? NO. am i fomo reading this anyway? YES.

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ MATEA'S AMAZING REVIEW CONVINCED ME TO READ THIS

[Erika Braga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you look at that , a 4⭐️ RK book !!! I haven’t like her books that much in a long time ! I am unexpectedly not disappointed! ❤️

I honestly LOVED this one , and before I start I will say that it is NOT 5⭐️for 2 major reasons for me. One of the reasons is the same one I have with most of her books and its originality….. the characters are quite LITERALLY Kirill with Niko…… idk if it’s the fact that she writes so many books or if it’s the fact that she can’t write original characters, but they are ALWAYS the same in every single book. Also the plot is always almost the same so if you are use to her books it’s almost like you read it one you read it all.
The second thing that made this book not be a 5⭐️is the “whorefying” of a woman to make the couple be together! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK RK ?????? I do read a lot of MM books and authors do NOT do this for a reason… she clearly missed the memo somewhere or she simply didn’t care ! There was ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to put a girlfriend here to be the “cheater” “the slut” “the whore” the “unconsidered bitch”…. WHY ??? WHY ?????? FOR WHAT? There was a million ways to do this part right and she did it all wrong. I almost wanted to Dnf the book JUST for that ! I was so angry ! I was buddy reading with a friend that I adore and we were commenting, at one point she said “I don’t like her !” And I completely agree because I also didn’t like her AT ALL and that alone makes my whole point because she wasn’t supposed to be there to be hated on to begin with ! You know what I mean ? UGH !
But now that I am done with my rant let me tell you what i liked which is absolutely everything else 😍❤️
I FREAKING LOVED Vaughn…. YES HE IS A COPY AND PASTE of Kirill but I still liked him, he was so smart and put together but SO possessive, with an internal aggression, dominance and SO SO SO SO jealous!!!! I freaking loved it ! He was a control freak and hides his feelings well as opposed to Yullian who shows the world who he is and HOW he is ! I also adored and loved Yullian but he was Niko 2.0 so I’ve seen him ….
I love that the story begins when they are 15 years old so we learn their past.
I love how explosive their chemistry is and how much they hate to love to hate each other.
I love the meaning of all the tattoos. I loved to see a little of our beloved characters from Legacy of Gods and I absolutely LOVED seen Kirill and Sasha !!!!!
So overall I am very happy with the fact that I finally got a book I loved, I am just hoping, which by now might be really far from happening, that she doesn’t do the same copy and paste with Preston and Marcus’s book because that is the one I am really excited for.

[Payal · Rating 4 out of 5]

RINA IS EVOLVING, EVERYBODY. THERE WASN'T A SINGLE SCENE OF ANY OF THE MMC ASSAULTING THE OTHER PERSON!!!

This book was the perfect mix of God of Fury (Yulian and Niko share the same personality as Vaughn and Bran do), Heated Rivalry (the long-distance thing and years of situationship), Kiss the Villain (Gareth's praise kink and attachment issues are the same Vaughn has). Plus, I would love to give an honorary mention to some BL dramas because Rina has definitely watched them. KinnPorsche, my first BL drama ever (the mafia aspect plus a great storyline, ngl); To My Shore (Fan Xiao's obsessiveness is definitely something these both inherit); ABO Desire (Vaughn definitely has Hua Yong's tendencies—cold and barely tolerable to others but an absolute baby for his baby🤭).

This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it did not disappoint. Let’s begin with the fact that before this, I never had to wait for a Rina Kent book, and waiting a year for this book had me on my knees. Kirill and Sasha are my favorite first-gen couple, so I was already hyped knowing that Vaughn was getting his own book. But the wait was unbearable, and after that build-up in KTV, I was not doing okay. And Rina was being such a tease on her Instagram that I was counting days to March 24th *sigh*.

I don’t even know where to begin this review, and I have written such long reviews for every RK book😭 but let’s just go to the beginning this is going to be incoherent af so, bear with me.>

I was expecting the book to begin in the present timeline, with Yulian being an antagonizing prick by seducing Danika, but when the first chapter started with AGE FIFTEEN, I was sat. I devoured those chapters in class. Their first introduction was everything!! The way Yulian brushed his bloody palm on Vaughn gave me a hard-on, and I am a girl whoosh. Yulian, with his restless energy throughout that camp, was hilarious. When Yulian and Vaughn were fighting and then Yulian did that chest-to-chest thing with Vaughn, I was dead. Vaughn freaking out because Yulian eas messing his things with blood was funny af🤣 And don’t even start with the cave scene. Yulian taking a bullet for Vaughn and then Vaughn carrying Yulian to safety gave me butterflies. The tender, caring side of Vaughn had me melting. Sasha raised a boy like her!! And that brush of the lips had me gagged omg omg omg😭🤭.

The hygiene hazard is in my goddamn face.
I throw my fist in order to shove him away, but he’s already stepped back, my hand barely connecting with his chest.
A dark glimmer shines in his mismatched eyes. “Hope that’s clean enough for you, Mishka. You know, because you’re such a baby.”
Then he turns toward Nikolai, who’s chasing him.
And I’m left behind, my fists clenched, my blood boiling, with literal blood handprinted on my face.
That’s it.
I officially hate the bastard.
And I will make his summer hell. am I suppose to find this whol scene hot or irritating?👀

I don’t care that he’s a year older than me; I’m the one who’ll dominate this relationship. Vaughn was already thinking about this stuff after their first interaction🤣

“But how will we figure out who’s the top?” guys, you are fighting here but great future thinking🤣

Vaughn, with his meticulous personality, was very hot. I am a person who loves her things organized, so I was vibing the whole time with his OCD tendencies🤣 I did not expect him to have a praise kink, but the way he went all gooey whenever Yulian praised him had me on the edge of my seat. It was very sweet. The way he was randomly kissing Yulian is such a me thing because I am always kissing my family members on their forehead, arms, and cheeks—literally anywhere—made me feel seen lol. Also, Yulian keeping count of when and where Vaughn kissed him randomly was so wholesome. They both were so down bad for each other that I was loving it so muchhh😭💗 Yulian was giving Nikolai a run for his money the whole book. He is the perfect combination of Damien and Nikolai on drugs, and I was having the time of my life. Yulian’s inner monologue had me laughing out loud. Boy was only thinking about his libido or how can he make Vuaghn/Niko fight him🤣🤣.

“No, no…” I slap both his cheeks. “You need to remain awake. Keep talking, okay? I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.” Vaughn was dedicated to keep yulian alive at that time🥹

See, I was of the view very early on that vaughn is supposed to be straight and not with a guy but Rina build the storyline perfectly. she gave us past chapters and justified it very nicely and not as a spur of the moment thing. at that camp, they both were teenagers and that is the time when someone is exploring their sexuality so, it did fit the story!!

I snap my eyes back to his, an uncomfortable rattling sensation coiling in my stomach.
Revulsion. It must be revulsion. poor baby couldn't understand his own emotions🤭

Vaugh and Yulian's relationship was very tender🥹their first kisses and just the reverent mindset they both have for one another was very wholesome. These two are very young so, being insecure/ petty is in their nature. Yulian is the DEFINITION of pathetic🤣 he himself realised that he would do anything Vaughn asked him to do and he doesn't give a single fuck about it. we all love obsessive and down bad mmc so, I am not going to judge him for that. YULIAN LITERALLY JUMPED OFF A CLIFF TO SEE HIS DEVOTION AND DESPERATION FOR VAUGHN🫶🫶though in the beginning of the book, I will def say that it was yulian who loved vaughn much more than Vaughn loved yulian (yes, there was a imbalance and you are blind if you can't see that) but it was all because of how much Vaughn was not ready to accept the fact thay he was with a guy and not a girl; it was because of his closetedness (and if you can find fault in this and then blame bran also because we know niko loved him more in the start). Vaughn roaming around with the bullet keychain; and the coordinates of his thigh did show he was as unhinged about Yulian as Yulian was for him. plus, the tattoo on Yulian's left pectoral in Cyrillic Я с тобой (Ya s toboy). I’m with you. had me feeling all the feelz❤️‍🩹

I stare square into his creepy eyes. One is pale blue, and the other is dark brown, like a drop of ocean in the middle of a forest. A touch of mud on ice. (vaughn about Yulian's eyes)

His are a blend of brown and green, that blurred edge where earth meets trees in a forest. But it isn’t the color—it’s the look. The untouchable, holier-than-thou weight they carry without effort. (yulian about Vuaghn's eyes)
you see how they both described each other’s eyes in the same manner? soulmate shit right there💗

My lips are merely touching his, but it’s as if a whole explosion is taking place in my chest. A goddam epic proportion of fireworks in the form of my erratic heartbeat and buzzing ears.
No.
No.
Fuck. No.🤭🤭🤭🤭

vaughn is burning so many of his precious brain cells just trying his best to please me. TURU LOB🫶

His hand that’s lying beside mine on the seat of the bike slides closer, and he interlinks his pinkie finger with mine. this did remind of Ilya-shane on the beach🥹

“It means I get all of you, or I walk away. I’m done settling for half.” did this break my heart? yes. but the next scene broke my heart even more🥹

Before going into the smut part of this book, I will say it again—Rina is still reading Wattpad BL books because the way these two were talking during sex scenes was something I wasn’t vibing with, but they were hot af. The ease with which they were constantly switching positions and them being verse made me see stars. I love when hot people date each other. Yulian's fav quote throughout the book was "fuck me sideways" and I am so sad that we did not witness Vaughn fucking him sideways. I was praying for this scene the whole time🤣😭 plus yulian's whole reasoning behind a fuckboy was very satisfying for a rina kent book ngl. her every mmc is a fuckboy because girls/boys are always frolicking around them and they have some god complex but yulian admitting that he was chasing the spark he felt in the cave when he kissed vaughn made me swoon ngl🥰

I can fix him.
Just kidding, it’s probably the other way around, and he has to fix me they both fixed each other🥰

before starting the book, I said that I want Vaughn to feel sad and anger over Danika cheating on him and sadly, we did not get much emotions out of that. Danika was a serial cheater and I seriosuly can't comprehend it because doesn't she know who Vaughn is? he can literally kill her and her entire family for disrespecting him like that. and you know I was sad that Rina did not explore Vaughn's emotions here but by the end I understood why! This was a 4 year situationship and Vaughn wanted a picture perfect family which Danika seemed to give him. and he admitted himself if it would have been okay to be a guy from the beginning, he wouldn't be in a relationship with Danika and we all know this is what is known as closeted mindset🤷‍♀️ The video Yulian sent to Vaughn was way tooo graphic for my liking😭😭 plus the way yulian was thinking at that time was disturbing to me😭

And I love Danika. I’ve loved her since the day we got together four years ago when she told me we’d make a great couple. quotes like this in the start made it very hard to understand where Vaughn was coming from🫠

Blood of My Monster is the first RK book I ever considered giving five stars to, but I slept on that rating and it turned into 4 stars lol. But they are my fav fav fav first-gen couple. They are the perfect match for each other’s ruthlessness. Sasha is the baddest of all, and she seriously doesn’t take Kirill’s bs (Rai kinda did, but I love her), so I ate every single crumb of theirs. Sasha really followed the mantra of ✨️walk him like a dog✨️ because we all know if it was any other couple, the FMC wouldn’t have gone on the suicide mission of saving Yulian from his father’s clutches. I absofuckinglutely love these two. Plus, they raised such a perfect child, so best parents award in mafia also goes to them. And I absolutely loved how they were so accepting of the fact that Vaughn is in love with a guy. see this is still very unrealistic in a mafia setting but acceptance is very important and as Kirill said it will be a very long time for when Vaughn needs to be the pakhan so, def by then world would be different (I am optimistic like that). He is the most considerate among Heathens, and I refuse to believe that the boy who is so tender and caring by nature will become the feared future Pakhan of New York🥹🥹.

Dad’s always said I have to take care of the woman I love. Put her ahead of everyone and everything. Always go the extra mile for her. kirill, the best rina kent husband?😋

Also, can you hear me screaming because we fucking got crumbs of Marx and Anton🥹🥹? These two really need a novel themselves. Idgaf that we know how they are in the future because I need to feel their tension. It would be so delicious😋😋. Plus, when Vaughn mentioned Viktor is his uncle, I mentally jumped up and down. Viktor and Karina’s heart eyes at the end of the Monster trilogy had me swooning😩.

I love Vaughn and Gaz’s friendship. Their crumbs in KTV were so funny, and I was looking forward to their Reddit interactions in this book as well, and I would have appreciated more of those😔✋️. The way Vaughn dissected Gaz’s personality was on point. Also, Vaughn had to ask a hacker who TooPrettyForThisMess was, while Gaz casually hit the nail by saying QuietRage was Vaughn🤣🤣 I’ll take what I can. Niko saying his gay radar was broken was funny, plus Vaughn waiting for Niko’s approval in the end made me laugh because Vaughn literally admitted that Yulian and Niko share one thing—and that is a single brain cell between both😂 ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW JEREMY IS THE ONLY STRAIGHT DUDE AMONG HEATHENS?? AND HIS SHIP WITH LANDON IS THE STRONGEST OF ALL THE SHIPS IN RINA VERSE?🤣🤣🤣

Now I know who Yulian reminds me of.
Nikolai.
Both spring into action first, both are reckless, and both share one brain cell......This Yulian, however, seems like an absolute nightmare.🤣🤣

I hate Yulian’s father. See, this is a second-gen series, so I expect every single character to have nice parents. Asher and Reina can go to hell for how they treated Killian. And since Yulian is from a very different family, I obviously didn’t know a single thing about his parents, and I was not ready to be whiplashed by how abusive his father was. I can never understand how parents can be this selfish and self-absorbed. Like, you fathered that child—don’t you have any feelings for him? Every fucking scene of his made me see red. That boy Yulian was broken again and again by him, and my motherly instincts toward him were raging. Also, the whole Chicago Bratva had so many plot holes, ngl. Like, his father married into the Chicago Bratva and he still holds all the fucking power?? He had two illegitimate children before marrying into the Bratva, and as far as I know, this is something to be frowned upon there. Plus, Chicago is mostly Italian territory in the fictional world of ✨️mafia✨️, so I understood where the misogyny was coming from😂 Also, Yulian is built like Niko at the age of 20, and it is slightly unbelievable that he would tolerate being beaten up by his father. Like, I understand he might not rise up against his father for his baby sister, but it was still something I did not vibe with. His mother and sister annoyed me, ngl.

Maybe that’s why I feel the urge to act—guilt. For judging him before knowing he’s been his father’s punching bag. Realizing maybe he talks too much because every time he opens his mouth at home, he gets hit for it.🥹🥹


I like that we don’t know a single thing about Cyrus. Yulian is his bff, but did he divulge any info about him? No. So he is still very mysterious, and I kinda love that. He is still an anomaly, so I can’t say what kind of book I can expect for him, but I am excited obv not as much as Yulian and Vaughn’s, and idts I will ever be this excited for any other Rina Kent book lol.

No one talked to him, and in the beginning, I couldn’t care less, but as the days went by, I felt bad for him, so I sat with him at lunch and yapped endlessly about the most random shit. At first, he ignored me, but I grew on him.
The first thing Cy said, months after he was fostered by my parents, was, “You talk too much, Yulian.”
After that, I adopted him. perfect extrovert and introvert combo

~~~~~~

I think I love MM couple in which one of them is russian and thinks the other guy is ✨️boring✨️ the russian is messy and chaotic while other has OCD😂 (niko-bran, Ilya-shane, Yulian-Vaughn🤣)

~~~~~

okay, I have the book now (started reading in the class lol) but I want only one thing from the book and that is vaughn to grieve over the fact that his gf cheated on him. we all know he loves her so before going on the revenge rampage, I want him to show emotions over this also.

~~~~~

WHY IS THIS BOOK STILL NOT OUT? IT IS LITERALLY 8.15 am😩😩 saying this as if I don't have back to back classes till 3pm😭😭 I HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS EXCITED FOR A RINA KENT BOOK!! DID ALIENS KIDNAP ME??

~~~~~

omg rina teasing this book on her instagram has me on my knees🛐 and everyone in the comment section of her posts are having the field day by asking her to release the book early cuz we are on the brink of ww3 has me wheezing🤣🤣 I am one of those gimme this book I cannot wait

~~~~~

Just finished reading kiss the villain and while I am still not so happy that vaughn is not straight, I liked how we were introduced to him being into guys! The build up is too good🤭Also, Yulian being dragged by Vaughn with chains around his neck while maniacally laughing was VERY hot😂🥵

~~~~~
VAUGHN was supposed to be a straight guy who was in love with Damien's daughter (childhood friends to lovers) or even Maya. As much as I love MM books, this one is a total cash grab. RK could have given Anton and Maksim a book if she wanted to write MM so bad. I don't know if I am happy or sad that Vaughn-Sasha and Kirill's son is getting a book😭