A standalone romantic suspense novel in the USA Today Bestselling Impossible Series My father gave me to him as a bargaining chip, as though I was nothing more than flesh to be traded. I hate him for that, and I hate the man who took Javier Santiago, a member of the violent Latin Kings.
Even though I don't want to belong to him, he is fiercely possessive of me. And when his ownership is threatened, his enemies aren't the only ones to suffer. He says my freedom is the price for my safety. I think he just wants to keep me all for himself.
King is Book 7 in the Impossible Series, but it is designed to be read as a standalone novel.
Julia Sykes is a USA Today bestselling author of edgy, emotional romance. When she's not writing, she's usually reading.
Other than reading, her obsessions include iced coffee, unicorns, charcuterie, aged Manchego cheese (or any cheese, really), and fancy dresses.
An American expat, Julia now lives in her adopted, beloved home of York, England. Most days, you can find her wandering the cobbled streets and daydreaming about her next novel.
BLURB: My father gave me to him as a bargaining chip, as though I was nothing more than flesh to be traded. I hate him for that, and I hate the man who took me: Javier Santiago, a member of the violent Latin Kings.
Even though I don't want to belong to him, he is fiercely possessive of me. And when his ownership is threatened, his enemies aren't the only ones to suffer. He says my freedom is the price for my safety. I think he just wants to keep me all for himself.
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King is book seven in the Impossible series, and I’ve been curious about this story since the characters were first introduced to us a few books ago. Although this one can be read as a standalone novel, as all the books in the series can be, you do get a better appreciation for things if you read the books in order. You will also find, like myself, that you end up rather excited to see how certain things play out.
As with all the books, I really enjoyed this one. I went in with quite a few ideas of how things would play out in this one, notions of what was to come, meaning I was pleasantly surprised by the story I was given. Some aspects were expected (the typical things you will find in these kinds of stories), yet there was plenty to keep me on my toes and engaged. In fact, there were a few unexpected elements that I really enjoyed watching play out.
This one also adds further promises for the future of the series. Things are slowly developing, and aspects that came to light, or were simply paid more focus, in this one have left me super intrigued to see how a certain story arc will play out. In fact, I’m rather excited to see certain stories now, ones I originally wasn’t crazy about seeing.
I admit, King is not my favourite book in the series. However, it is another great read and worth grabbing if you have enjoyed the other Impossible books.
Nayeli - per RFS . Mi aggrappai alla mia rabbia. «È questo che vuoi?» sibilai. «La mia gratitudine? Grazie mille per esserti alleato con quel pezzo di merda di mio padre e avermi portata via come un fottuto uomo delle caverne, così che tu possa manipolare mio fratello per rovinargli la vita. Sei fantastico, amico. Davvero fico.»
(Tratto dal libro)
Charlotte è la figlia di un boss della malavita irlandese, che l’ha maltrattata fin da piccola.
Ha ventun anni ma, anziché avere il carattere duro che ci aspetteremmo da una donna che vive in questo mondo e con questo passato, è una ragazzina capricciosa e ingenua che desidera solo cambiare vita: vorrebbe essere popolare, fare parte di una confraternita. Sogna di innamorarsi come nelle favole, e si concentra sulle frivolezze per negare la realtà e la brutalità del suo passato, incurante del fatto che dalla mafia non si può scappare.
Un personaggio che stona un po’ con il contratto di provenienza ma al quale viene data abbastanza consistenza da renderlo credibile. Purtroppo, nonostante gli sforzi per vivere una vita normale, l’ambiente pericoloso e violento tornerà a gamba tesa nella sua vita facendole perdere tutto e costringendola a fare scelte difficili, ad abbandonare i sogni per cercare dei nuovi compromessi, ad esempio quello di appartenere a un uomo che l’ha reclamata per sé, salvandola da esperienze peggiori.
Nella sua ingenuità Charlotte continua a sperare a lungo di poterne uscire, ma il mondo attorno a lei e la sua relazione con Santiago si evolveranno così velocemente da distruggere definitivamente la vita glitterata dei suoi desideri.
Non mi violenterà. Non mi farà del male. Le sue azioni gentili mi toccarono in un modo in cui le parole non potevano. Le bugie uscivano facilmente dalle labbra degli uomini, ma la tenerezza era più difficile da fingere.
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Santiago fa parte di una gang rivale. Per ruolo e indole è un ragazzo decisamente virile e dominante, ma con Charlotte si mostra da subito anche molto dolce, attento al suo benessere e protettivo.
All’inizio non capiamo bene il motivo per cui la vuole e la rivendica, ma anche se lei lo odia perché limita la sua libertà, gli riconosciamo da subito l’armatura e il cavallo bianco: lui è il miglior compromesso per poter ottenere un margine di autonomia nell’ambiente pericoloso e ostile in cui si muovono, e la sua protezione e accudimento risultano fondamentali per la tutela di questa ingenua ragazza.
Ana mi ha consigliato di dirti quello che provavo, ed è quello che sto facendo. Sai quanto spesso ripenso al nostro bacio? E a come mi hai stretta quel giorno al Decadence?» Un muscolo ticchettò nella sua mascella, e intorno ai suoi occhi apparvero delle linee di tensione. «Non mi approfitterò di te, Charlotte. È il mio lavoro prendermi cura di te, e…» «Se vuoi prenderti cura di me, allora mi aiuterai ad alleviare questo dolore che sento dentro. Sto impazzendo di più ogni giorno che non mi tocchi.»
(Tratto dal libro)
Tra i due ragazzi scatta subito l’attrazione ma Santiago si trattiene, essendo lei praticamente vergine e così candida. Iniziamo a capire che qualcosa non è allineato e scopriremo che si tratta delle sue perversioni. Ma Charlotte è implacabile nel suo candore, e si fa iniziare a questo mondo nuovo di cui conoscere solo l’acronimo BDSM.
«Il tuo corpo riconosce il suo padrone. E dopo questo, non lo dimenticherai mai.» Qualcosa tra un gemito e un singhiozzo disperato mi sfuggì dalla gola, una risposta animalesca alla sua grossolana dichiarazione. Mi diede una leggera stretta al collo. «Resta così.» A parte il leggero brivido che danzò sulla mia pelle, non mossi un muscolo quando lasciò la presa. Sentii il fruscio dei suoi vestiti che colpivano il pavimento e lo strappo dell’involucro del preservativo. Desideravo girarmi e guardarlo, ma rimasi esattamente dove mi aveva lasciata. Quell’inebriante leggerezza provocata dalla mia resa riempiva tutto il mio essere tanto che avrei cominciato a galleggiare se non fossi stata legata alla volontà di Javier. Il desiderio di dargli ciò di cui aveva bisogno mi consumava, facendomi soffrire per lui. Mi aveva già dato un orgasmo, ma i miei muscoli interni fremevano nell’attesa.
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Il percorso attraverso cui Charlotte scopre la sessualità, in primo luogo, e il BDSM, successivamente, è a tratti brutale, perché Santiago è tanto rude quanto dolce, tanto selvaggio/intenso/passionale nel sesso quanto amorevole nell’aftercare.
Lei viene introdotta alla sottomissione in modo poco trasparente, manipolata e indotta a essere dipendente dal suo carceriere grazie all’appagamento dato dai piaceri del sesso, attenzioni, e tenerezze ma anche tramite l’isolamento e il deserto affettivo che Santiago riesce a creare attorno a lei, con la scusa dell’istinto di protezione, per coprire una insana ossessione nei suoi confronti.
Nonostante l’empatia per questo uomo magnetico, le sue azioni o motivazioni rimarranno velate da un alone di ambiguità e mistero, pertanto manterremo il dubbio sulla buona fede del suo ruolo in tutta la storia.
La manipolazione funziona e presto Charlotte si dichiarerà innamorata di lui. Dal canto suo, Santiago ha ormai perso la testa per lei, ma ora è dilaniato dal senso di colpa per aver indotto un legame affettivo morboso che potrebbe non essere reale affatto.
«Perfetto, muñequita.» La sua voce aveva assunto quel tono più profondo che sembrava risuonare fin dentro le mie ossa e fui di nuovo colpita da un senso di pace che non era solo mio, ma anche suo. Proprio come io trovavo liberazione nel suo controllo su di me, tutta la tensione sembrava abbandonarlo quando mi sottomettevo a lui.
(Tratto dal libro)
Si tratta quindi di un romanzo che racconta le emozioni di un innamoramento, quelle di un rapimento, ma anche un viaggio alla scoperta del BDSM, con poche scene ma significative.
L’addestramento di una ragazza che non sa niente del sesso ed è neofita della sottomissione, pur avendo una predisposizione, e non sa riconoscere in lui i gesti e le espressioni con cui entra “nella scena”.
Charlotte scopre le cose pian piano, trova molta soddisfazione nel suo ruolo, nelle modalità di controllo di lui, nel fatto di compiacere un Dom, di avere un legame affettivo. Nonostante questo, a causa dei modi decisi e dominanti di Santiago, ci si chiede diverse volte se lei sia consenziente, se sia consapevole di quello che sta facendo. Il modo di pretendere accesso al suo corpo acerbo in tutti i modi che vuole mi è sembrato un tantino borderline, e mi ha fatto riflettere sul fatto che in alcuni casi il consenso non sia sufficiente, e che l’acronimo SSC abbia davvero importanza.
Se mi fossi fermata a pensare, mi sarei resa conto che ero diventata dipendente da lui in modo malsano, ma la beatitudine che provavo per il suo affetto incondizionato mi manteneva chiusa nel mio mondo dorato. Javier si prendeva cura di me e non chiedeva nulla in cambio. Tutto ciò che gli davo – il mio corpo, la mia fiducia – se li era guadagnati, non presi.
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Aggiungiamo a tutto questo un pizzico di brivido per il fatto che si tratta di un mafia romance, che lui fa parte di una gang e lotta contro le altre che si contendono il dominio sul territorio con la dose di violenza di cui c’è bisogno, e che per questo lei rischia di mettersi in pericolo: un filone adrenalinico non molto approfondito ma interessante che dà quel tocco di suspense che ci fa battere ulteriormente il cuore.
«Non sono più sicura di quello che voglio,» risposi. «Una volta sapevo cosa non volessi. Non volevo più essere una ragazzina spaventata e non volevo essere la figlia di un criminale. Ora so solo che voglio te.»
There is lots to this story. I liked the premise, Charlotte and Javier were interesting characters, but as I said above, there is a lot in this story.
I wanted to have the characters actually FEEL their way through some of the harrowing situations they were placed in, but their reactions were very Blasé. I felt completely detached from the characters, and their experiences and was hoping for more character development and less dramatic events that the characters were constantly thrown into.
I’m going to avoid giving any detail and making this review a lot longer than it needs to be.
To put it simply, I was hoping for something more.
This was the first book that I've read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I loved the story. I loved the characters.I loved how the whole thing played out. I kind of guessed early on there was to Javier than we originally pictured, but it didn't take anything away from the story or the relationship between he two main characters. I'd definitely recommended this book.
My actual rating is a 3.5 for this book. Charlotte's character was at times tiring, immature and Javier's character came on very strong the last 1/3 of the novel with his BDSM lifestyle. I like how the author took a cartel/mafia story and gave it a new twist. I read some of the series so had some back story on some of the characters in series 7. I like my female heroines to be strong characters or have a good reason as to why they are not. Charlotte's character was a roller coaster ride for me sometimes liking her and other times getting annoyed with her.
I really liked Javier's character until he got into BDSM with Charlotte. He is a very possessive, overly protective character whose initial main goal is to protect Charlotte from her father. Javier went from not touching Charlotte or having sex with her to having a BDSM relationship with her. She calls him master and he collars her very quickly. I have read many lifestyle novels, but this one came out of nowhere and and continued to be the main focus until the end. Charlotte, who was not experienced in the lifestyle took to it almost too quickly becoming his "submissive" over night while he became her Dom very quickly. BDSM and love are two different things with two different purposes which can for some people intersect. They both admitted to loving each other at the end of the book, but you wonder how much of that is their involvement in BDSM and how much of it was actually love.
Overall, it was a good read and would recommend you read it unless you are not into novels that delve into this lifestyle..
I ultimately couldn't finish this book. I read 90% then quit. This is super rare for me.
I wanted "King" to be a mobster story about a dangerous criminal who kidnaps and takes possession of an innocent woman. He becomes consumed with her. Maybe there's a BDSM twist.
That is not this novel. At first, it seems like it will be but then....NOPE. The hero, Javier, ends up being a stupid FBI agent. The heroine, Charlotte, is an annoying, whiney mess who has weak self control.
Then once the other FBI agents are introduced, we find out that they're all kinky. Is the FBI some kind of kinky BDSM sex club?!? Next thing you know, Sykes is acting like this is an a/b/o (omegaverse) novel with subs being omegas and Doms being Alphas. The characters start saying how all of the "Doms" will be upset if they find out a "sub" was in danger. Like...that's not how BDSM works. Just because you're someone's sub doesn't mean that every Dom you meet is in charge of you.
I had to quit the book. It was too painful. 2 stars for some of the beginning scenes when Charlotte and Javier were falling in love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I started this Series with the Impossible Box Set, which included Books 2-4, and only read 2 &3, (Savior & Rogue) and decided against reading Knight(4), as the BDSM sections were too much for my comfort level. With that being said, I was very curious about the relationship between Javier and Charlotte which is introduced in the books I did read. I was intrigued with their love story which starts out very slow and builds. It is a relationship built on respect,loyalty, and trust, which in their world is relative. Javier is deep undercover, so he can't be totally honest with Charlotte, but it is quite evident his love for her is real.
This book was ridiculous. The h's father GIVES her to the H as a bargaining chip. The H is keeping her prisoner but allows her to keep going to college. Instead of being worried about this, she spends her time worrying about being accepted by the "in" sorority and how it looks to them when she is not perfectly groomed and how these sorority members are going to react to the H picking her up at school because he isn't preppy enough. 🙄
Jules, an ex leader who had lost his gang, Collette’s father was giving her away to his rivals along with his son’s club. Neither of them knew what he was going to offer, he would do anything to get power back for himself. One leader reluctantly accepted his terms but had to fight others for her, he had a gut feeling she needed protecting, she didn’t want any of them. Great book, with a few surprises, gangs, kinky club and domination
Book 7 of the Impossible series is centred on Charlotte. Traded by her mobster father to secure his place in the Latin Kings Gang, she fears her life as a young, carefree, university student is over. Javier Santiago steps up and claims Charlotte, fighting physically to claim her for his own. She's torn between anger and fear at her changed circumstances, and gratitude and attraction for the man who saved her being passed around like a party favour.
Despite knowing what we do about the circumstances in the book from reading the rest of the series, I still couldn't put this down- the foreknowledge serving to whet the appetite, rather than spoiling the surprise.
Just stick with it. At first I didn't like Javier. Jonas I definitely despised. Charlotte....mixed emotions. Yet overall, put together, it was a good story. Well rounded characters and storyline with a twist. BDSM is introduced, but nothing over the top. No cheating or cliffhanger and you get a happy ever after. Enjoy 🤓
Unrealistic, boring, I didn't even read the whole thing. I rushed through it. The characters were uninteresting. It was a good plot idea but it fell flat for sure.
was interested in who Derek's sister was in previous stories....did like that put parts of previous stories in so know where this one fits in this entire bundle.
I really loved the story between Javier and Charlotte. This definitely stood out for me as one of the best of the Impossible series. Definitely my top 3 favorites.
I can't even adequately put into words how evocative this story is. The dark side of love making meets the dark side of the law and it's just... explosive.
Probably my least favorite of the saga so far, but still enjoyable. Perhaps I'm just getting tired of the series as a whole, but it won't stop me from finishing it. I think following all the back stories and characters and crimes is getting a little exhausting for me, but they are all entertaining with hot romance, suspense and a little bit of action. Onto the next book in the series.
Once again I really enjoyed reading this book just as much as the previous ones. Highly recommend reading and I'm looking forward to reading more of Julia Sykes Books.