Review: The Professional: Part 1 by Kresley Cole

Title: The Professional: Part 1

The Professional: Part 1 is the first installment of an erotic romance by Kresley Cole, author of the Immortals After Dark and Arcana Chronicles series. The book is being published in 3 parts, with each part being a little over 100 pages. This is my first Kresley Cole book and I wasn’t sure what to expect. While it has its faults, I found this story to be sexy, entertaining and extremely addictive.

Life is pretty normal for grad student Natalie Cole. To make ends meet, she works 3 jobs when not at school. This leaves little time for romance. But even if she did have the time, Natalie isn’t interested in any of the men she meets. Then one evening, tall, dark and Russian wanders into her bar and the attraction is immediate. But Aleksandr Sevastyan isn’t an ordinary customer but a hit man and bodyguard sent to protect Natalie. Stevastyan informs Natalie that the biological father she’s been searching for is the head of a Russian mafiya clan. As his only heir, she is in danger and Stefavtyan whisks her away to Russia and introduces her to a life of wealth and forbidden pleasures.

Part 1 of The Professional throws you right into the thick of things. To say that the plot moves quickly is a bit of an understatement. One minute Natalie is cozy in her Midwestern house and the next, she is given a new life in a Russian palace, complete with jewel and a new wardrobe. I generally enjoy fast paced plots, but I wish we could have slowed down just a little. Natalie seems to accept her new life a bit too quickly and I would have liked to have seen a little more of her internal struggle. Though, to be fair, if a hot Russian came up to me and told me I was a millionaire Mafia princess, I might not argue either.

Natalie and Sevastyan are not the most original characters, but I liked them. Natalie is feisty and funny and loves pushing Sevastyan’s buttons. Sevastyan is your typical alpha male. He’s domineering and possessive, and also very sexy. I was a little annoyed at how hot and cold Sevastyan was. One minute it’s “you’re mine” and the next he’s sworn off of her. Natalie is quite frustrated with these mixed signals and I can understand why.

While there isn’t anything groundbreaking about this story, it’s a fun guilty pleasure read. The love scenes are hot and I have a feeling that they’re going to get even hotter in the next installment. I am not sure if I am sold on the serialized format. I do not see the point of it, though the cliffhanger ending does leave you wanting more. And I’ve already downloaded Part 2, so Cole must be doing something right. Now to read Part 2 and find out what happens in that sauna!