Which Dostoevsky Book Is Best For First-Time Readers?

Rich girl Daniella De Luca had plans to spend spring break partying with friends abroad.Instead, she's been kidnapped by the Russian mafia and dragged halfway across the world. Their leader, Alexei Nikolin, is asking for ten million dollars in ten days. Now, Dani has to find a way to get out or stay alive. After all, she was also a mafioso's daughter, and one man couldn't possibly bring her family down. Nevermind that he was dangerously charming. What was the worst one Russian man could do to her anyway?

“Louder,” he said while watching me like a predator ready to strike, “I-I belong to you,” I stuttered while swallowing the lump formed in my throat. “To?” he gritted his teeth, “Nikolai Vasiliev,” *** Nikolai Vasiliev, the most feared and respected don of the Russian mafia. He was known as the ruthless king of the mafia whose world revolves around blood and lust. Love is forbidden to him as he promised himself not to love again. Juliana Mitchell, a brave, stubborn, hardworking and beautiful woman leaving her normal life, dreaming to find her happily ever after. All her life she was constantly reminded that she’s useless and ugly compared to her younger sister which made her doubt herself all the time. One encounter with the Russian don changed her life completely, pulling her into a web of lies, manipulation and pure torture. She’s ready to do anything to get away from his clutches but the question is, Will he let someone walk away from him the second time?

Dr. Alessia Russo's life is spiraling out of control. Drowning in debt and desperate to help her imprisoned brother, the brilliant ER physician makes a decision that will change her life forever. One moonlit rendezvous in a shadowy alley catapults her into the dangerous world of the Bratva, where loyalty is everything and one wrong move could be her last. Enter Nikolai Zhukov, the enigmatic and ruthless boss of the Russian mafia. With eyes that pierce her soul and a touch that sets her skin ablaze, Nikolai offers Alessia an irresistible proposition: become his personal doctor, no questions asked, in exchange for more money than she ever dreamed possible. As Alessia navigates the treacherous waters of the criminal underworld, she finds herself drawn deeper into Nikolai's web. By day, she saves lives in the ER. By night, she tends to bullet wounds and knife fights, all while trying to keep her moral compass intact. But Nikolai is no ordinary crime lord. Behind his cold exterior and calculated moves lies a man with hidden depths and unexpected vulnerabilities. As the heat between them intensifies, Alessia realizes she's not just risking her career and freedom – she's in danger of losing her heart to the very man she should fear most. With enemies closing in and loyalties tested, Alessia must choose between the safe life she's always known and the exhilarating, perilous future Nikolai offers. In a world where passion and danger collide, can their forbidden love survive? Or will the price of entering Nikolai's world prove too high for the good doctor to pay? "Code Black: A Bratva Billionaire Romance" – a heart-pounding tale of love, loyalty, and the thin line between right and wrong.

“What could I possibly use you for?” Don Antonio asked as he walked towards her. He lifted her chin, his gray eyes staring deep staring into hers burning with a mixture of curiosity and desire. He immediately left her chin and snapped his fingers. He had an idea. “If you are willing to be my companion for three years, I'll let your father go.” Her eyes widened at the sound of the word “companion”. The word tasted like hell. “I’m willing.” Giulia knew fully well that she was walking into hell, but did she really have a choice? Her father, Ricardo Moreau, a compulsive gambler, accumulated debt after losing big in one of Antonio's underground casinos and was locked up. She couldn't bear to see her father locked up and offered herself in exchange for him. Antonio made life unbearable for her, and at some point, she felt the urge to run away, but how possible was that? Giulia decided to stay calm and constantly reminded herself that it was only for three years. She was both physically and mentally abused. At some point, Antonio begins to look at Giulia in another way; he begins to see a side of her that he had never seen before, and Giulia, on the other hand, begins to fall for a man whom she had considered her enemy. Things then begin to get complicated when the boss of a rival Mafia family asks for Giulia in exchange for a deal. Will Antonio hand Giulia over to his rival, or will he do everything within his power to keep her safe? Will they put away the hate from the past and let their love blossom? Or will they break up when the contract expires, leaving their passion behind?

He promised to protect him from a killer. He never said he was one. When journalist Ian Parker witnesses a brutal murder, he should have been the killer's next victim. Instead, he wakes up in the hospital, saved by Zhedya Hunter…a brilliant forensic pathologist, a reclusive CEO, and a man with chilling grey eyes that feel hauntingly familiar. Charismatic and dangerously possessive, Zhedya offers Ian shelter in his opulent penthouse, a gilded cage where every comfort is a chain. As Zhedya's obsession deepens, Ian's career skyrockets, with damning evidence against the city's most wanted criminals mysteriously falling into his hands. But each exclusive story comes with a price: a fractured memory, a drugged haze, and a growing pile of bodies connected to anyone who threatens their twisted paradise. Now, Ian is trapped in a nightmare of luxury and lies, unraveling a truth more terrifying than any headline: his savior is a predator, his sanctuary is a crime scene, and the man who claims to love him is the most prolific murderer he will ever interview. Learning how to love a murderer is easy. Surviving him is the real story.

A priest has shown up at my first birthday party. He claims that I'm a cursed soul—that my presence will bring doom to those close to me, and my existence itself can snatch everyone's luck. The only way to counter this is to give me up to an orphanage and let me live a life of poverty and suffering. Without a family, I'll be able to overcome my fate as a cursed soul. Daddy has the priest cast out of our home immediately. Meanwhile, Mommy hugs me tightly. "My son is the luckiest boy in the whole wide world!" But everything has changed when my younger brother, Andy Lawson, has fallen off the 20th floor. His body is completely shattered from the fall. I can only stand by the window uneasily. Fear is evident in my eyes as I wave my hands with all my might. "It wasn't me! It really wasn't me!" The wind that day is very strong, but it can never drown out Mommy's cries. Daddy hoists me up and stuffs me into Andy's coffin. I keep latching onto the sides of the coffin to the point my fingers are all bloodied and trampled over. At the same time, I keep screaming for Mommy. Mommy stares at me blankly at first. But her hollow gaze is soon filled with hatred. "Why aren't you the one dead? That priest told us that you'll have to stay in the coffin for seven whole days and nights just to atone for your sins! Only then can Andy's soul rest in peace! "This is your fate and your sin, Adam!" The heavy lid slowly covers the coffin, soon sealing my hoarse cries and screams away. A long time later, a few voices ring out amid the sorrowful melody played by the organ. "Why is there a tiny gap in the coffin? Hurry up and nail it shut! We can't afford to have misfortune spread to us!" When the final nail is bolted onto the lid, I close my eyes. Mommy, Daddy, I'm no longer a cursed soul.