4 ⭐️ Not gonna lie, I was skeptical about reading a story with fae in Vegas. But OMG, does Gina Maxwell deliver!!!!
I grasp her jaw as I growl against her temple. '' That is not the proper way to address your king, Beauty. Try again.''
'' Yes, Your...'' She pauses, and just when I'm about to berate her, she whispers, '' Yes, my king.''
Summary (from blurb):
For Bryn Meara, a free trip to the exclusive and ultra-luxe Nightfall hotel and casino in Vegas should’ve been the perfect way to escape the debris of her crumbling career. But waking up from a martini-and-lust-fueled night to find herself married to Caiden Verran, the reclusive billionaire who owns the hotel and most of the city, isn’t the jackpot one would think. It seems her dark and sexy new husband is actual royalty—the fae king of the Night Court—and there’s an entire world beneath the veil of Vegas.
Whether light or shadow, the fae are a far cry from fairy tales, and now they’ve made Bryn a pawn in their dark games for power. And Caiden is the most dangerous of all—an intoxicating cocktail of sin and raw, insatiable hunger. She should run. But every night of passion pulls Bryn deeper into his strange and sinister world, until she’s no longer certain she wants to leave…even if she could.
Thoughts:
From the very first page, I was hooked and could not stop! This story has everything I could ever ask for from a fantasy erotica novel!
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Interesting fantasy world - fae Las Vegas, hell yeah!
✨ Sexy, powerful, rich MMC
✨ Sweet, funny, book-loving FMC
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Multiple POV
✨ Witty banter
✨ BDSM spice
✨ Found Family
✨ Interesting side characters
✨ Surprising ending (I need book 2 now!)
This story offered a refreshing take on fae and mates. Recently, there have been A LOT of fantasy stories centered around fae. I blame this on the craze around Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass or A Court of Thrones and Roses Series. And these stories tend to share a lot of similarities with SJM's. So to read a fantasy novel with fae that didn't make me automatically think of ACOTAR or TOG was amazing.
This story definitely has a romance-driven plot, but the parts that did focus on the world-building and political dynamics were intriguing. I really enjoyed learning about Caiden's family history, the Dark Fae, and the Night Court. I'm hoping Gina Maxwell expands more on these things in the next book since we only really get a taste.
I absolutely LOVED the side characters. It was fun seeing the brotherly dynamic between Tiernan, Finn, and Caiden. I loved the friendship that blossomed between Fiona and Bryn. And Seamus, Connor, and Conall are side characters I'd love to see play bigger roles in the upcoming books.
The spice . . . hot damn. I’m really not into hardcore BDSM, but this was enjoyable to read, and overall well done. A lot of sex scenes in romance novels make me cringe either because of the dirty talk or how the intimacy is described, but that was not an issue here!
Overall, The Dark King is an easy-to-read, fun, page-turner, perfect for all you fantasy lovers looking for something with a lot more spice.
Thank you Entangled and Gina Maxwell for sending me an arc copy! As always, all opinions are my own.