Review: Bratva Jewel by Sabine Barclay
BARCLAY JEWEL
BOOK SIX IN THE IVANKOV BROTHERHOOD SERIES
Barclay Jewel by Sabine Barclay is the sixth and final book in the author’s Ivankov Brotherhood series. It is a spicy, dark mafia romance and contains frequent use of profanity, multiple explicit open door sex scenes with light bondage, toys, spanking, and other BDSM elements. While there is no age play, the couple has a Daddy/baby girl dynamic, so definitely be mindful of those elements when diving in to read this book.
BOOK REVIEW
Bratva Jewel is the sixth and final book in Sabine Barclay’s Ivankov Brotherhood dark mafia romance series. It is an interconnected, standalone romance. So, if you’ve read the previous books in the series, you will no doubt love this one and know, from the onset, exactly who is who. I, however, have not read this series or author before so becoming fully immersed in the book’s story world took a bit longer. But I chose to read this book because I wanted to branch out and try a new to me author, as Barclay is, and I can’t say I’m disappointed by the decision.
I may not have known characters from previous books or what occurred within those reads, but Barclay writes her characters with enough darkness and depth that it is easy to get a feel for who these people are pretty early on in the reading. They are not perfect people, by any means, and they aren’t meant to be. They are raw, real, passionate in the things they do, and protective of those for which they allow themselves to care. Especially family. Born, chosen, and found.
Both Misha and Katerina had strong character traits and were quite protective of those they care about and love. I enjoyed their interactions together, though I have to admit, the daddy/baby girl dynamic did not always come across in the vein that I had hoped that it would here. While some moments were spicy hot, there were other times the scenes didn’t work for me at all. It felt overused or out of place to me in some instances, though they were not poorly written or crafted scenes by any means. They just didn’t register as authentic as I would’ve liked given the characters and their personalities, as I understood them.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Yes, there were moments that took me out of the story. I chalk most of my discontent up to not having read the previous books, and that’s on me because it is an interconnected world, and I didn’t quite realize how interconnected before I started reading this. I don’t know if this book would feel different if I read the other books first or not, but I am considering checking those out and coming back to this one afterward, to see if my overall opinion of this book changes any. Because like I stated previously, this is a new to me author and a lot of my issue with this read is that I didn’t know who everyone was or the true depth of the story world prior to starting this story. Again, that’s on me.
Bratva Jewel is a deeply complex yet well-written story with strong character and an intense romance. I liked the author’s writing style enough to know that I will read her work again. I will also check out the previous books in this series to better understand the world and the side characters in this one.
RATING: 
Read Bratva Jewel if you love spicy stories with themes of power, control, obsession, betrayal, family, relationships, retribution, belonging, love, and acceptance.
Bratva Jewel is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains extra-steamy scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. This is book six in The Ivankov Brotherhood, a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night.
I received an advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book from the author, publisher, or publicist. The receipt of this ARC did not influence my choice to review the book on this site. It also did not influence how I felt about the book or its characters, storyline, and overall feel. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. As such, they only deal with what is written on the pages of the book and how what is written and otherwise presented made me feel during and after my reading of the book.
Bratva Jewel by Sabine Barclay Series: The Ivankov Brotherhood #6
Published by Oliver-Heber Books on January 24, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Mafia Romance
Pages: 409
Format: E-Arc
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon | Goodreads | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon UK
RATING:
I can’t resist her. I don’t want to…
She’s tried to leave our life behind, but no one walks away from the bratva.
She can run, but she can’t hide.
I’ll be the one to catch her when she falls. And she will because she’s walking a fine line.
I’ll be there because she’s mine.
I’ll go to the ends of the Earth for her. She’ll discover her limits and realize only I can please her.
She’s my soulmate, and I’m hers. Heaven help anyone who gets in the way.
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