



The Dark Fights
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Escaping a traumatic childhood, Sasha finds peace, sanctuary, and purpose in a martial arts dojo whose sensei teaches her the ways of the samurai warrior. An accomplished black-belt fighter, she now happily dwells in the dojo, tucked away from the streets of Manhattan, until a midnight call sets her on a path into an underground world.
Struggling to pay off a gambling debt, her brother Danilo is severely injured in a no-rules club fight run by unscrupulous Russian Mafiosi. To settle the debt, Sasha volunteers to perform in one of these “dark fights,” vowing it’s for one time only. But her beauty, skill, and martial arts mastery bring her to the attention of powerful men who see her as a big meal ticket. Seducing her with money and drugs, they draw her into their sordid scheme until she becomes a big and glamorous draw, enriching herself while enriching her handlers and leaving behind a pulverized host of vanquished rivals. But she realizes how addictive the lure of brutality has become. As the stakes rise, she must become more and more violent to satisfy her handlers’ bloodlust.
Can she pull out before destroying someone? Can she pull out before destroying herself? Two fascinating men offer love and escape. But how true are their intentions? Genuine feelings and betrayal, violence and glamour, sex and martial arts all go hand in hand throughout the book. The Dark Fights introduces you to an unknown and frightening world and pins you to the mat until the very last page.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in Vinarov's promising debut, martial artist Sasha brings her older brother, Danilo, home to her tiny walkup Manhattan apartment; he'd been in the hospital, where he was treated for broken ribs and other injuries sustained in a fight. Since their parents' sudden, violent deaths, Sasha has been the strong, responsible one, while the untrustworthy Danilo, a part-time model, has indulged his vices and was hurt in a Dark Fight, a no-rules underground cage match, which he participated in to erase his gambling debt to Russian mobsters. To settle Danilo's debt, Sasha agrees to take part in one of these fights, which are popular with the elite of New York City who thirst for vicious blood sport. Sasha thinks she's in control after she becomes intoxicated with her subsequent success as a fighter and the money it brings, but a shady Russian operator knows otherwise. Vinarov's authentic view of this sinister subculture more than compensates for the familiar plotline. Readers will want to see more of the appealing Sasha.