Hello friends! 🫂 How are you all doing today? I hope the week has been kind to you. Thank you for dropping by my little blog for another book chat. I am back with the third book of Neva Altaj’s Perfectly Imperfect series, Hidden Truths. You know by now that I treat this series like comfort food. It is not a masterpiece, but when I want something dark, fast, and a little spicy, these Russian mafia romances are exactly what I reach for.
This time, the story follows Sergei, one of the Bratva men we have seen in the background of the earlier books. From the start, he feels different from the other male leads. Sergei carries a heavy past and real trauma. He is dealing with nightmares and panic attacks from his time in the military, and his PTSD is not just a quick throwaway line. We watch him wrestle with memories, push through flashbacks, and slowly let someone close to him again. That made me care about him a lot more than I expected. Compared to the previous heroes, he has depth and scars that feel real.
Angelina, on the other hand, tested my patience almost every chapter. I tried to like her, but she acts like a child whenever things do not go her way. It is not the tough kind of stubbornness I enjoy in a heroine. It is more like pouting and running off when the world gets hard. In a life as dangerous as the Bratva, that attitude is exhausting. She has moments of bravery, and she stands with Sergei when things reach the breaking point, so I give her credit for that. Still, she stays my least favourite woman in the series so far.
The plot brings all the expected mafia chaos. Angelina is the daughter of a man who betrays the Bratva, so Sergei is sent to keep her hidden and under control while the Russians figure out how to deal with the fallout. Her father’s deals have put both of them in danger, and the Italians are hunting them. There are ambushes, shootouts, and plenty of tense moments where it feels like they might not make it out alive. Their romance grows right in the middle of this mess. Even when Angelina was irritating me, the chemistry between her and Sergei was impossible to ignore. It is intense and reckless, and exactly the kind of dark energy that makes these books fun.
What really worked for me was how Sergei’s trauma never disappears. Even during the action, his past still claws at him. There are scenes where he freezes, where old memories take over, and you see how hard he fights to stay present. Watching him slowly trust Angelina and build something real gave the romance a deeper note, even if she drove me crazy half the time.
Overall, the third book was a good but not amazing read. Sergei’s depth and his fight with PTSD kept me turning pages, while Angelina’s childish streak kept me from loving it completely. The action is sharp, the romance is hot, and the Bratva world stays addictive. I ended up giving it 3.5⭐️ because Sergei truly carries the book on his shoulders. If you have been following the series, it is worth picking up for his story alone.
Until I see you in my next post, take care, friends! 🌷
Luster of Books 