How can being bad feel so good? Katee Robert makes it easy to love a bad boy. Dimitri is used to being in control. It's kept him alive and at the head of the class all his life. Keira is about to show this dangerous man that giving up control can be a pleasurably tempting experience. In a world where darkness haunts and danger prevails, two guarded hearts may end up rescuing each other from the shadows. The Bastard's Bargain presents a seductive escape and a fulfilling fantasy for that bad boy craving a girl can never outgrow. ( )

Kiera O’Malley had been slowly losing herself in a world of booze and drugs after the death of her brother Devlin. Dmitri Romanov, one of her families enemies, and a man who’d like to see them in ruin, he’s been plaguing her to marry him, to finally except seems a no brainer to complete her self-destruction plans. But a hard, cold Dmitri she expected is not how it was at all.
Dmitri Romanov has had his eyes on Kiera for a longtime. It became an infatuation of sorts and he’s carefully watched over her from the sidelines so she doesn’t go overboard with her self-destruction and finally kill herself. When she finally agrees to become his wife, he does every thing in his power to heal her broken heart, make her feel strong, her own person, help with her addictions and make her his beloved.
A fitting conclusion to a fantastic series. This story has to be steamiest of them all, but it tastefully done, and I didn’t think I was going to like Dmitri much but this is going to become one of my favourites. I highly recommend it! ( )

Wow.

Reading the rest of the books in this series, I would have never guessed that Keira and Dmitri's book would have even been in contention for series favorite. Dmitri always seemed so cold, so hard...such an evil bad guy. Sure, his interactions with Keira in the last few books was intriguing, but she was so damaged and hell-bent on self destruction, surely their relationship--and therefore their book--would be a disaster?

So. Wrong.

This book grabbed me from the first page and wouldn't let go. From the first few chapters when their relationship seemed rather doomed until Keira came into her own as temporary de facto leader of the Romanovs because of...reasons, I couldn't put this one down. Dmitri and Keira are absolutely made for each other, even if it took them more than half of the book to realize and accpet it. Getting glimpses of the lives the other O'Malley siblings are living along the way was pretty much the icing on one heck of a delicious cake.

The O'Malley series is one that really should be read in order, because each story builds on the one before it and there are many threads which weave in and out of all the books, culminating in the events that take place in this one. So, no--this is not the book to start with. Yes, you'd probably be able to follow along with what is happening just fine and it is a story all on its own, but trust me, you won't be satisfied with knowing just Keira and Dmitri's tale.

I'm sad to see this series end, but anxious to find out where Ms. Roberts will take us next!

Rating. 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )