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9 June 2026
Lies of My Monster (Monster Trilogy, Book 2), by Rina Kent | Free Audiobook
9 June 2026Audiobook details
She is hiding who she is. He is hiding what he is.
Sasha has one reason to be in the Russian army: revenge. With her identity concealed and her past buried under bindings and a false name, she survives among soldiers who would destroy her if they knew the truth. The last thing she needs is the attention of Captain Kirill, a man whose reputation is built on control, discipline, and a ruthlessness no one questions.
Kirill sees through people. That is what makes him dangerous in the field and fatal in the Bratva world he was born into. He suspects the new recruit is hiding something, and his instinct to uncover secrets is matched only by his desire to keep them. What starts as a cold, unequal dynamic between superior and subordinate slowly shifts into something neither of them planned for.
The first book in the Monster Trilogy, this dark romance is set against the backdrop of the Russian military and its underworld. Rina Kent layers action, identity, and obsession into a story that refuses to resolve easily. The audiobook is narrated by Sebastian York and Brooke Daniels, who split the dual perspective across the 9 hours and 14 minutes of the recording.

I came to this one having read a couple of Rina Kent's other series, so I knew what to expect in terms of tone. What I didn't expect was how much the military setting would change the texture of the story. The Bratva angle is familiar territory for dark romance, but placing the two leads inside a Russian special ops unit, with Sasha passing as a man, gives the whole thing a pressure that's different from a ballroom or a boardroom.
Sasha is the kind of heroine who earns your respect before she earns your sympathy. She is not waiting to be saved. She is there with a specific goal, she has made sacrifices most readers won't fully understand until later in the trilogy, and she is holding herself together through sheer discipline. The tension with Kirill builds slowly, which is the right call. It would not work if it moved faster.
Kirill is harder to read, intentionally. Kent gives him enough interiority that he doesn't feel like a cipher, but she also holds a lot back, and that restraint pays off. The moments where his control slips even slightly carry real weight because you've been watching him not slip for chapters. There is one scene during a training sequence where his suspicion about Sasha becomes something else entirely, and the shift is written without any announcement. That's the kind of craft that separates her better books from her average ones.
The story ends at a point that will frustrate readers who need closure. It is a true part one. Nothing is resolved. If that's a dealbreaker, go in knowing it. If you're fine with a slow burn that carries across three books, this is a strong start.
Sebastian York and Brooke Daniels handle the dual narration well. York's Kirill is controlled and slightly cold, which is exactly right. Daniels brings Sasha's wariness without tipping into victimhood, which is a harder balance than it sounds. At 9 hours and 14 minutes, the pacing never drags, partly because Kent writes in short, punchy chapters and partly because both narrators know when to pull back and when to push.
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Blood of My Monster by Rina Kent is the first book in the Monster Trilogy, a dark mafia romance set inside the Russian military. Sasha is hiding her identity among soldiers who would turn on her if they knew. Kirill is her captain, an heir to the Bratva who reads people the way others read maps. The two narrators, Sebastian York and Brooke Daniels, split the story across 9 hours and 14 minutes in a dual-perspective format that keeps both leads fully realized.
The free trial is cancellable at any time. Sebastian York and Brooke Daniels bring the tension of this story to life in a way that printed text simply doesn't replicate: the cold distance in Kirill's voice, the controlled fear in Sasha's. Both performances are exactly suited to the tone Rina Kent builds across the book.
The audiobook is yours to keep even after the trial ends. The free trial also opens access to thousands of other titles, with no commitment required. Start listening now.
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US-based editor & staff writer focused on audiobooks. Honest reviews, curated “best of” lists, and practical guides with an accessibility lens.

















