I am king here. And I always win. When a thrilling one-night stand turns into something deeper and darker, I find myself drawn into a world where he is king, that I never knew existed and makes me wish that I didn’t. He wants to make me his queen but I’m not cut out for the life he wants to give me. When one of his brothers arrives, throwing me into danger, I have a choice to make. Or do I?
Dark King is a dark mafia romance. This is a fast burn, Slow Build Reverse Harem throughout the trilogy. Contains triggers and content warnings. Please check the Preface for these.
The writing here is excellent and I want to commend the author for being so prolific. The reason why I’m giving it 1 star is that the plot was bothersome. Spoilers and trigger warning for SA.
The MMC SAs the FMC. Meanwhile her only real contact besides previously hooking up with him, was him stalking her and then SAing her. And then suddenly she’s forgiving him and despite what he did to her AND her not knowing him, is attracted to that?!? I don’t mind a good stalker romance book, but he straight up SAed her and FMC goes on to say that she didn’t feel like it was SA bc maybe she wanted it even thought she clearly didn’t and was traumatized by it?? This whole plot point was unnecessary and completely took away from my ability to enjoy or even finish the book.
"Dark King" by Eve Newton was a bit darker than my usual reads, but surprisingly, I didn't mind it. The plot kept me hooked, though I'd advise readers to take note of the trigger warnings. Overall, a gripping tale that pushes boundaries.
The H was hot and on fire, give me an unhinged obsessive stalker who carves up his arm any day. The heroine was annoying as f¥ck. See my highlights on her thoughts after he raped her because she went on a date and carved his name into her back. She wants to save him and then convinces herself that if she’d said no, he wouldn’t have raped her. Again, loving psycho Caeran, the heroine is making me dnf.
Also this guy’s name is the same as one of the mafia guys in the last series but has different brothers and girlfriend so was very confusing. I’m done with this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My main issue with the book is that the writing was all over the place. The stoey was really fast paced and went from dub-con/non-con to insta love fairly quickly. I did not understand why Summer wanted to save Ciaran and Cathal after what they did to her without them even making it up to her. I am not going to continue with the series.
I was really loving this book until the very end. I felt like things happened between ciaran and his brother way to quickly considering the amount of times it was touched on how much they hated each other. Unfortunately this had made me not want to carry on with the series
I thought of giving this book one star... But I've actually read worse, and the first couple of chapters of this book were actually pretty decent. And I’m not going to comment on the insta love thing, because the author does warn us like two times that this book is a fast paced romance and slowburn poly romance. As in; she will quickly fall in love, but slowly over time the relationship will turn into RH.
The story; The premise of the story is fine, and could have actually worked out very decently. And I know the author has that capability because the first few chapters were actually super well done. Was the MMC head over hills with just one - night stand, and immediately the same night creeped into her house? Yes, but like I said, I knew it was going to be insta lovey (or rather insta obsession.) The MMC is a mafia leader who inherited the position from his father, and had a falling out with his two brothers over it. With the book just over two hundred pages long the entire premise of the book is just the MMC stalking the FMC, FMC gets kidnapped by one of the brothers for revenge and leverage etc. (Surprise, surprise; the brother also thinks the FMC is super special and adorable and starts to develop his first feelings while he had her kidnapped.) FMC gets rescued, eventually FMC and MMC open up the relationship - which they only established they are for like a day - and then the book ends up on a cliffhanger. So overall, not the most literary masterpiece of all time, but for a dark romance that, like I said is around 200 pages long, it is the standard and often works.
But now;
My problems with the book;
If I took a shot everytime I read “He/you sees/see sex and power as the same thing, and I made it my mission to save him/you” (because she actively says this to the MMC to his face), I would be in a coma right now.
Now I get why people hate the; “Rape/non-con to move the story forward” trope. Because that is basically what the MMC does. The FMC goes out with a guy, and he decides to show her he’s his by just taking her. She ends up sobbing on the ground, and telling him to go away, but a few paces later she makes the realization that “he sees sex and power as the same thing and this was just how he wanted to show that he cared” and she forgives him in like two pages.
The whiplash I got when the book started to get around the 180 pages. I swear in like 30 pages, they’d establish they are in a relationship/can’t be without each other, they go to his club to teach some traitors some lessons. He beats them up, they sit down, a guy at a bar flirts with FMC, he beats the guy up, the brother shows up, they go to MMC house, and suddenly they are opening their relationship to the brother as well, and are the MMC and the brother going to “rule” side by side as equals. The argument that they had for years was solved in a 2 page (so five minute) talk all because FMC “changed them.” The last few pages are just one final sex scene with the brother watching because he can’t deal with fysical touch yet (because at the end it’s suddenly revealed that the brothers have been sexually abused by being “rented out” by their father, that’s why - according to FMC- the MMC sees “sex and power as the same thing.” (If I have to read it 30 times, so have you.) And then it’s even a bunch more confession time in which the FMC calls them her soulmates because she knows she meant to save them…
The random evil aunt that had raised MC, (and has almost used her as a servant according to MC) that just suddenly appeared in the end of the story to be mean to MC so the guy could save her.
The writing was just not it, read more like a wattpad story.
The first spice scene was actually good, the rest was just meh and I actually skim read most of it because I just didn’t really care.
So why did I continue;
In the hopes it got better since I knew it could be done since the first few chapters were great. And eventually I got so far in the story I was going to see it finished, because of my pride. Luckily I got this for free on stuff your kindle day.
So two stars in the end: one for the decent start, and one for the fact that she did warn us this was going to be an insta love/obsession thing so I had been warned. Will not be continuing the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
✧ 𝐉𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐞́𝐞 sur cette saga complètement au hasard, et je ne regrette pas, je l’ai trouvé incroyable. ⚠️ 𝗖’𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, pour public averti. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲́ 𝗮̀ 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲 𝟭𝟴 𝗮𝗻𝘀. Dans cette histoire, nous avons une intrigue qui est vraiment très intéressante, elle mêle romance et suspense. L'auteur exploite audacieusement des thèmes sombres et matures.
✧ 𝐋'𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐫𝐞 Nous suivons l’histoire d’un trio qui ne se connaissent pas et pourtant sont attiré comme des aimants. Tout se déroule bien jusqu’au moment où le moment crucial arrive la découverte de l’univers. Nous entrons dans un endroit sombre et surtout dangereux ou violence et secret sont la clé. L’histoire explore les thèmes comme le pouvoir, la possession et la dualité entre le bien et le mal. C’est un joli 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲́.
✧ 𝐋𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 J’ai tout de suite adoré les personnages de ce roman. Notre Clochette est une femme forte, déterminée. Elle va être confrontée à la beaucoup de situations difficiles au cours de sa vie qui vont la pousser à dépasser ses limites. Les deux frères que nous suivons, les frères Gannon, sont tous les deux très charismatiques et complexes. Ils mènent à la perfection la danse et apportent une 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 au livre.
✧ 𝐋𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 La plume de l'auteur est un vrai 𝗿𝗲́𝗴𝗮𝗹. Son style d’écriture direct et immersif rend la lecture très fluide. Les scènes sont décrites avec une précision qu’on pourrait croire qu’on regarde un film. Les dialogues et l’humour sont également présents. L’immersion dans l’univers des trois rois est parfaitement maîtrisée.
I'm only on page 51 and the authors already got me confused. The writing is kinda disjointed. I like the thought of the plot but I'm not much liking the execution. But I'm going to try to continue on even though the fmc is already getting on my nerves with her mutterings all day thinking about the guy and when he shows up you freak out? Like she kinda seems wishy washy. But like I said I'm going to try to continue on but only because of Ciarán OK so I don't really care for the authors writing but it's like a bad soap opera I just want to know what happens but it's not even good I'm more invested in the plot then the people. Ciarán kinda lost my intrest as a lovable psycho character cuz I was all for the creeping but then it's like he got a personality transplant. If the books are on unlimited then I'll possibly read them but if it costs something than that's a no for me. I'm not 100% finished reading it there's still like 20 pages left. So I don't know if they're free or not yet. Now I'm finished. They are in fact on unlimited. And I found out its kinda interconnected with the bleeding hearts series and I know I've read those in the past so now I'm doubting my rating on those. I guess my reading likes have changed over time cuz I remember loving the series. Anyways yeah I'd rate this a 2.5 star. OK so I started to try and read book 2 but I'm just not invested I've already skipped multiple pages so imma leave it where it stands.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A poor girl that managed to break free from mean, cold clutches, just to several years later end up being stalked by darkness just because one mistake on her birthday where she tried to be free.
It is a good intruiging story told from both perspectives, but start out from hers, and that quite early starts both hot and dark. But there are too much repetitiveness to make it good. In the first pages there are 4-5 times she says, or thinks the same thing over and over. For me, it ruined the flow of the story. And it continues a bit into the book. However, the story does get better, and I got intrigued to learn what happen next. The cliffhanger is indeed special and makes me want to continje reading the next book.
There are some triggers, and I find it very positive that the author SE Traynor has made a list of all the triggers in the beginning of the book.
However, due to the repetitive streak in the beginning, several misspellings, and that the closing up of some threads in the end was not believable, I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book for people who are into dark romance and enjoy a really, really slow burn of reverse harem.
I am a reader, I'm not a writer, I have trouble with expressing myself..... This is delicious, dark and makes my black heart and soul sing with joy. The story was amazing and the character arc was superb...loved how he corrupted her desires and how she totally saw Ciarán and his brother Cathal - she is perfect for them, she loves them just the way they are, darkness included.
I particularly adored the mention of a certain other mafia boss and two of her twin lovers 🖤🕷️
This has a gorgeous shopping list of darkness so please don't read it and then complain it's dark, the clues in the title, if you do not absolutely adore the darkness then skip this book. Me? I blooming adored it and am gonna be keeping this one on my Kindle and I will be buying the paperback when I get money. And I've already Preordered books 2 and 3! Bring it on.
This title is perfect for the book - Dark King, if you're expecting rainbows and glitter then back away now. Her name might be Summer and she may be their ray of sunshine, but she has a darkness deep inside her that's begging to be seen.
This is my first book by SE Trsynor and I did enjoy the story very much. However, one thing I didn’t connect that much with was how fast everything spun. Have an interaction one minute and the next obsession with things. It just moved really, really fast. But, I enjoy Summer and her personality. She was sweet and caring. Then we have Ciarán. He is dark to her light. He rough but oh so protective but he is also fighting some darkness inside him. Then we have Cathal added to the mix. We don’t get to see a lot of him so I hope we eventually do. I absolutely love this dark story that just pulled me in and didn’t let go. It has possible triggers as this is a darker story. Some things have a very fine line. That cliffhanger at the end was absolutely major.
Oh my gosh. Dark King is right, but all in the amazing dark romance ways. I’ve always been a fan of mafia & dark romances and SE doesn’t disappoint!
The beginning of the story we focus on Summer & Ciaran. They meet one night at a local night club on Summer’s birthday! We get to watch how they interact and how the relationship develops between the two of them. And eventually we see Clarans brother Cathal join the duo and see that relationship form as well. Their darkness calls to each other and I loved that. These characters are as complex as the storyline & plot twists are.
I am so excited for the next chapter in their stories! Just double check the TW in this story.
I really wanted to love this book. The idea of the story was so intriguing after reading the blurb and preordering. The book started off with a crazy good scene, but it all started falling apart right after. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and their story just wasn’t believable to me. It felt as if pieces of the story were missing and then some parts were too rushed. It just didn’t come together for me. I’ll watch for reviews on the books to follow to determine if I’ll read the rest of the series.
Okay I was not prepared for this book at all. That being said I loved it. Beautifully written and definitely a good choice for the DARK DARK romance readers. Biggest recommendation is to read the trigger warnings because as I said this book is DARK.
Also, why was I slightly turned on by the warehouse scene? 😂
A heads up, it is part of a series and ends on a cliffhanger.
i feel like the story was really all over the place. one second it was dub con/non con and then next second they were instantly in love and then inviting his triplet brother to join in the relationship after having a strained relationship for years.
there was a lack of romance in the book and no development into the relationship. the mafia elements were there but unfortunately the execution really did not work for me
What the....what the what? Is this amazing? Repulsive? All of the above? This book sucked me in from the very start.
**spoiler, kind of ahead**
The only complaint I have is that he went from carving his name in her (also...did not like the SA scene...could have done without the straight up SA, not hot) to being like yeah totally, come share? Idk....I wish there would have been more of a fight.
First things first, I enjoyed and loved it. I must admit at times I felt there was a lot of talk about emotions when not much had happened yet and I'm not saying it was a bad thing, it's just something I noticed. Perhaps I'm not used to so much time spent expressing emotions. The possessiveness of the male character(s) was delicious and otherwise the story was good and the smut was hot.
This is a slow burn romance that will suck you in and not let you go. Once you start reading it, you will not be able to stop. The twists and turns will have you turning pages faster than you think and before you realize it....you have run out.
3.5/5⭐️ Rounded up. My first foray into mafia dark romance territory. I was initially intrigued because the reverse harem angle… little did I realize WHO would be a part of it 😆 I’ll likely read the rest of the series because I’m intrigued!
While the story line was a good thought I feel like there was struggle coming up with content. It felt to me like the same thing was said over and over in different ways to take up space like when you are trying to fill up the word count for an essay.
Not gonna lie, it took a cool minute for me to warm up, but it did happen, so hang in there. I love the brothers, and I know there is more to come with that. On to book 2 😜
Phew what a ride this book has taken me on. I was hooked on page one. It is a dark mafia book so please check for triggers. Can’t wait for the next book! That cliffhanger left me feeling.