The ruling alchemists of the Midwest, the Kings of Darkhaven, have nothing to fear from anyone or anything. Until their mothers give them an ultimatum of marrying or abdicating their thrones.
The moment King Ronan’s mother decrees he must marry or abandon his throne, he knows exactly who will be his bride. The woman he’s been obsessed with since they met as children. The utterly brilliant and beautiful Reina . . . who despises his very existence. Minor issue, though. The bigger problem will be that she’s an elemental, and no alchemist will quietly accept a non-alchemist as their queen. But he’s not a King of Darkhaven for show. Power, intimidation, and, of course, proving to everyone that Reina is the superior choice is all that’s needed.
Elementals are little better than servants to their alchemist overlords, and all King Ronan has done to Reina since they day they met is torment her. So why is he suddenly insisting she marry him? She may have pledged to both herself and to the Elemental Council of Darkhaven to do everything in her power to better the lives of elementals, but marrying one of the Kings of Darkhaven is asking a bit much to accomplish that goal. Especially if that king is Ronan.
Unfortunately, ‘no’ isn’t a word King Ronan is very familiar with—at least, not if he’s not the one saying it—and he’s determined to have all of Reina, heart, soul, and body. And the more time she spends with him, the more difficult it is to remember why she hates all alchemists. Too bad powerful factions among both the alchemists and elementals would rather see the pair dead than ruling together.
Dark Obsession is a no spice romantasy featuring enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, and a morally gray hero. While the books all take place in the Darkhaven territory, each book can be read as a standalone.
The story started out a little stiffly, but that's because it introduces Reina's world first. The juxtaposition of earnest Reina & the solemn elementals with Ronan's wild quirkiness was pretty entertaining.
I didn't find Kai's mouthiness after he had been spared to be at all believable. Dax's either, for that matter. There might be a few other minor quibbles as well, but the outspokenness of Kai & Dax were the only parts that actually bumped me out of the story. Ok, well, my eyebrows were raised by the fates of Dax & Felix, too.
Still, it was such an amusing tale that it was easily backgrounded, & I'm eagerly looking forward to Genesis's story now ...
*Romance Level: passionate kisses, but nothing graphic
I absolutely adored this book! I deeply enjoyed the inner thoughts of Reina and Ronan!
Reina was just SO SMART! I loved that she held her own and that she easily rivaled all those around her. She was compassionate, but also sassy. She was so articulate, and I loved her underhanded jabs.
It was so precious that Ronan absolutely ADORED her. He was OBSESSED (although he would fervently disagree with the word). Ronan had me laughing at loud. He was a delightful character. I enjoyed watching his opinions shift. Sometimes, I thought it was ridiculous that he was an actual king. But he was politically savvy and knew how to phrase things too. I loved how he slowly chipped away at the walls he had forced Reina to build. He was truly upset about the way he had treated her before. And the groveling was just SO GOOD.
Also- their first “kiss!” The fact that this author could make a kiss of the cheek just…so…perfect? Each of their interactions had me GIGGLING. 🤭
I also LOVED Genesis! I am so excited for his book! I’m just upset that I have to wait until January to read it! I’m so looking forward to this man being distracted by a woman 😂.
I liked this book, but I would have preferred to see something of the interaction between Ronan and Reina at the Academy. There are a couple of instances in flashback, but not enough to explain her anger at him, and her quick forgiveness. Too many inner monologues explaining the characters´s feelings and assumptions. Luckily, the writer does not resort to misunderstandings. Both characters are quick to communicate their worries, and the quarrels resolve rapidly. I liked Ronan´s devotion to Reina and her recognition of his qualities despite having believed him a ruthless bully for most of her Academy years. As for world building, the three races of magical beings and their powers are very well described, little by little, by showing, not by telling. The moments expended in making and experimenting with their magic are interesting to read, and all of them are justified by the plot. And the plot builds to a satisfying ending. I will certainly like to read the next book in the series, which I suppose (and hope) will be about Genesis!
I really loved this book! I‘ve always been a sucker for marriage of conveniences but it is still hard to do them well and this book did. I appreciated how manipulative the MML was in the beginning because it gave him room to grow and gave her a valid reason to not initially like him. I‘m not someone who really rates off of whether the grammar was good or bad like some, but I do rate off of how much the book made me crave for more like it/for it to be longer. This book definitely did!
I went into this book with a bit of trepidation because I'm not a fan of romances where a victim later falls for their school bully, but this book did an excellent job of building the pair up and establishing the world. I'm interested to see where the other kinds will go with their inevitable romances.
This was not a dark romance. He falls first. Like a bully romance but we skip past all the bullying. Funny. Would very much recommend. It was clean without feeling like it was missing something.