Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Kingdom Duet #0.5

Rule of a Kingdom

Rate this book
His kingdom. His rules.

My name is Jonathan King.
They call me ruthless, brutal, and heartless.
It’s all true.
Power is my chessboard and people are my playthings.
I might appear like a refined gentleman but I’m the villain of this story.
Everyone who defies me belongs on their knees.
Including her.

Available for download from author website

This is a prequel to Jonathan King's duet and is NOT standalone.

41 pages, ebook

First published September 17, 2020

166 people are currently reading
16296 people want to read

About the author

Rina Kent

57 books61.5k followers
Rina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 bestselling author of all things dark romance.
Better known for writing unapologetic anti-heroes and villains, Rina weaves tales of characters you shouldn’t fall for but inevitably do. Her stories are laced with a touch of darkness, a splash of angst, and just the right amount of unhealthy intensity.
When she’s not busy plotting mayhem for her ever-expanding Rinaverse, she leads a private life in London, travels, and pampers her cats in true Cat Lady fashion.


You can find her below:

Website
Newsletter
Instagram
Bookbub
Amazon
TikTok
Facebook
Reader Group
Twitter
Pinterest

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
4,333 (27%)
4 stars
4,842 (30%)
3 stars
5,023 (32%)
2 stars
1,096 (6%)
1 star
365 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,388 reviews
Profile Image for Lilyya ♡.
653 reviews3,726 followers
August 29, 2023
3.5stars

❛ Jonathan King.
A ruler in this world.
An actual king who holds more power than the queen herself.
My worst enemy. ❜


see, the novella exceeded my expectations, it has the perfect soupçon of suspense and blurred plot lines to get you hooked on the duet. however, i find some disturbing resemblances —plot and characters wise— with 'The Deception Trilogy' that i can’t overlook, such as :
the dead wife.
the dead wife’s doppelgänger.

what’s new in this duet? the doppelgänger being Johnathan’s late wife’s little sister. (so far i don’t know how i feel about this specific detail but I’m not found of it especially knowing he has a son with his wife) I know that the duet was released before the trilogy but at this point i think i made it a point to read all RK series in the non-chronological order but, when comparing both series, it appears that they are identical in the big lines. hopefully the duet deliver tho!


❛ Everyone who defies me belongs on their knees. Including her. ❜

Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,945 reviews2,673 followers
October 21, 2020
I Want More!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: N/A
Heat/Steam: N/A
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📓
World building: 🌎🌍🌏🌎🌏
Character development: 👤👤👤👤👤



The setting: The King Estate

The Hero: Jonathan King – I didn’t think it could happen, but Rina Kent made me actually like Jonathan King within the first few pages. Though we know he is ruthless and somewhat cold, she showed a side of him that I didn’t expect.

The heroine: Someone from his past. She fears him, but we are not sure why. He already wants to destroy her but it is also unclear why. All I can say is I can’t wait to find out more, I hope the next book comes quickly.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
Profile Image for FictionalDen.
256 reviews273 followers
September 17, 2020
So we didn’t get Alicia but we got her sister. I am excited for the duet, let’s see how that turns out to be.

But like Aurora or Clarissa, looks EXACTLY like Alicia that even Aiden confused her for his mother.
So now I hope Jonathan doesn’t actually get attracted to her because she reminds him of his ex, you know?

Last week I read a sisters ex boyfriend.
This week I got to read about a sisters ex husband.
What’s next?

Profile Image for Ri ♡ .
572 reviews2,200 followers
March 21, 2025
3 stars

“Jonathan King.
A ruler in this world.
An actual king who holds more power than the queen herself.
My worst enemy.”


Well, this was a strong and interesting start to Jonathan’s story. I must say, this 40-page novella exceeded my expectations after many disappointments with Rina Kent. The suspense and mystery are compelling and intriguing enough for me to continue this duet, and I have high hopes because of the age-gap and forbidden romance trope.

I was always curious about Jonathan and his past, so let’s see how this duet turns out.
Profile Image for ✨ Lucy ✨.
328 reviews91 followers
October 25, 2020
"Power isn't about winning .It's about never losing .It's about one win after the other to the point that suffering a loss becomes a foreign concept. Power is snatching the first move in a chessboard so the opponent always follows your lead, not the other way around."



This was a really mind-blowing Prequel...
Let me tell you this: We are not ready for Jonathan King .
He will destroy us , I'm sure of it.
In this little amount of pages , I think we have finally the opportunity to start to understand a bit about how the real King's mind works.


" Contrary to common belief , I'm not heartless. I'm relentless. I don't stop until both the war and the storm end in my favor "



And yes , Aiden is definitely his father's son .
I think there's a lot more than a ruthless king behind Jonathan 's mask, and finally we now meet the person who maybe will bring him to his knees .
And yes, Rina once again played us so well , we were so wrong about the mysterious women .



"They say you always have a choice, but distinguishing between those choices is never clear cut"



I’m not gonna spoiler anything but after what I read I think this series will blow our mind

I gave it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I hope you’ll enjoy it like I did ✨

*ARC in exchange for an honest review *
Profile Image for youssra.
158 reviews893 followers
June 6, 2024
I EXPECT you to slap Jonathan mf king
Profile Image for Simran ..
Author 22 books1,346 followers
September 22, 2020
5 stars for this naughty teaser ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daddy Jonathan is FINALLY here. ♥️
Rina, you little tease. 🤤

Ever since I knew and saw that HE is getting HIS own book, I have been salivating ever since. My expectations are super high.

Age gap
Forbidden Romance
Office Romance
Erotic

Need I say more.

This short prequel has left me high and dry. The burning question was who is going to be his match. There were so many theories and guesses but never in a million years I could have imagined the heroine to be her.

Jonathan’s hot breath leaves goosebumps on my face as he whispers in a low, almost threatening tone, “Long time no see, Aurora. Or should I call you Clarissa?”

This only proves that Rina Kent is the master of suspense and you can never guess what or who she will come up with. The Queen to King’s throne is going to be none other than Alicia’s little SISTER, Clarissa.

The teaser happens at Aiden and Elsa’s wedding day where she came to strike a deal with Elsa’s father, Ethan to save her company. She took a big risk knowing Jonathan was going to be there but desperate time call for desperate measures.

What I loved the most about this prequel was getting a glimpse of Jonathan and how his mind works. The way he was with Aiden melt my heart a little.

For the first time in a decade, I don’t act first.
I stop.
I watch.
I savour the moment and the shock value of it.
She surprised me, I’ll give her that.
I don’t like surprises — unless I’m the one who issues them.
It takes me a moment to separate what’s in front of me from what I already know.
The reality from the past.
The truth from the imagination.
And it is her.


Even though not much happened you can still feel the tension and the chemistry pouring of off the pages between them. It was scorching hot. It felt good to know that there was someone out there who could ruffle his feathers. He definitely recovered fast.

Her first words to me were, “I’m sorry, sir.”
She’ll be more than sorry now.
She’ll wish she’d stayed far away from my kingdom.
The ghost.
The sneak.
My dead wife’s little sister.


Aurora has left me intrigued too. I can tell she will give him hell and is going to be the perfect match for him. The games between them will be Ruthless. Suspenseful. Erotic. Full of Secrets.

Jonathan has a presence that creeps up on you out of the blue and soon enough, it takes over everything in your surroundings. It’s the bombing from an aeroplane.
The sound of thunder.
The eruption of a volcano.


I know after reading this author’s books and how her mind works, this can only be the tip of the ice berg. Their story is going to be angst galore, full of darkness and suspense and so much erotic heat.

This prequel was not even close to satisfying my curiosity and instead has left me with so much more questions. About Ethan. Agnus. And Alicia.

October can’t get here fast enough. Let the countdown begin. ♥️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for gavie (busy with nursing school).
161 reviews373 followers
February 13, 2025
Rule of a Kingdom by Rina Kent is a solid read, especially considering it’s just a 40-page novella. The story left me intrigued and excited to see what happens next in the series.

While Jonathan wasn’t my favorite character in The Royal Elite series, I’m willing to give him another chance. His past and character development seem promising, and I’m looking forward to exploring more about him. Aurora, on the other hand, immediately caught my interest. She’s such a fascinating character, and I’m eager to uncover more about her backstory.

The suspense and the age-gap dynamic are definitely elements that I’m looking forward to seeing unfold as the series progresses. Overall, this novella is a great start, and I can’t wait to dive into the next book to see how the story continues!!


⋆˚✿˖° 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: I haven’t read a Rina Kent book in a while and I soft-DNFed Heartless Hunter by Kristen Cicarrelli since I didn’t want to continue so I’m hoping this series helps me get into a reading mood!!���🤍.
Profile Image for niteskycs.
384 reviews114 followers
September 23, 2020
so there’s this whole mystery about what happened to alicia and the relationship between her and jonathan in aiden’s trilogy (the only interesting part of that trilogy) and instead we get a random prequel of her MUCH younger sister who literally did not exist before this book and is a total lookalike of alicia?

this is literally jonathan and alicia 2.0 just make it age gap. it would have made so much more sense to just go with alicia .. following the trend of all the fathers in the series ending up with their first love/wife lmao.

at least with alicia you can explore a character that has suffers from depression.
Profile Image for Birjis.
457 reviews304 followers
September 19, 2020
I knew I shouldn't have read this because the suspense is killing me. The older version of Aiden, Jonathan King is merciless and ruthless. This novella is a must read.

'We both are silent but aren’t calm. Behind the façade, a whole world lurks inside — a world we keep exclusively to ourselves.'

She is from the past, hiding and is on an agenda.

'She’ll be more than sorry now.
She’ll wish she’d stayed far away from my kingdom.'

He is the devil who has her on his vicinity and won't let her escape.

This book is a teaser and I can't wait to find out what happens! It has all my favourite tropes and am excited for what Rina has for us!
Profile Image for sara.
808 reviews314 followers
July 29, 2022
‧͙⁺˚*・༓☾☆ 3 stars ☆☽༓・*˚⁺‧͙

“Those who bow down after defeat don’t know how to grab power by the throat.”

so it’s been like two years since i read Royal Elite and I was confused by everything cause I forgot about the parents’ plot 💀💀 it’s fine though, by the end I got the gist and now i’m intrigued.


╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

Kingdom Duet

Rule of a Kingdom #0 — 3 stars
Reign of a King #1 — 3.5 stars
Rise of a Queen #2 — 3.25 stars

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯
Profile Image for Mia S..
544 reviews38 followers
January 16, 2025
For a pre-qual pretty good! Sets up the interesting story… yes hooked!
Profile Image for Arini.
857 reviews2,148 followers
May 27, 2023
the more i read, the more unappealing it got💀

cause 1: apparently Jonathan King (H) is the father of Aiden King (Royal Elite) whose book/series traumatized me in 2019 and made me avoid this author at all cost... until this moment 4 years later.

cause 2: the h is the Hs dead wifes sister. as if thats not bad enough, she looks exactly like said sister and is 17 years (i think) younger than the H. im excited for the mystery/suspense, not really for the romance.

but im gonna push through. pray for me! ☠
Profile Image for ABookLover73.
375 reviews211 followers
September 17, 2020
FIVE KINGDOM STARS for Aurora and Jonathan 💛🖤💛🖤!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'm not okay!

That cliffhanger made me only for want more and I can't wait to read the next book, "Reign of a King" in "Kingdom Duet".

If you loved "Royal Elite" series and you also love dark romance, then this is the book you need ti read next!
Profile Image for Anastasija.
284 reviews28 followers
July 21, 2025
A prequel that introduces the compelling characters, paints the atmosphere of suspense and power dynamics and it has that “addictive” quality that makes you start the duet right away. #1 here we come.
Profile Image for Ash.
409 reviews124 followers
August 14, 2023
Well that was an introduction, seriously can't wait to read more on daddy Jonathan🤭 and aurora ooo what predator did you have to bring down?????
Profile Image for aurora❀༉‧₊.
103 reviews70 followers
July 22, 2024
ˋ°•*⁀➷ “He knows, He remembers.”

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ this review is short because it’s a 30 page book honestly a skip cause all the book talked about is how aurora is the sister of Alicia and I was just bored throughout the 30 pages it’s everything we already know
Profile Image for Huda.
314 reviews480 followers
July 15, 2024
oh I'm looking forward to thisss
idk i feel like i won't like Jonathan cz he's Aiden's dad and yk I LOVE Aiden too much? But yeah let's see if he gives daddy vibes or not.
Profile Image for Abstract ♥ Books.
1,281 reviews1,765 followers
September 14, 2020




ALL MY REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND ON MY BLOG: ABSTRACT BOOKS

line



Web-Photo-Editor I lift my head slightly and my smile disappears when my gaze collides with sinister grey eyes. Killer eyes.Jonathan King. A ruler in this world. An actual king who holds more power than the queen herself.


HOLY SHIT.
ladies, Jonathan King is coming at full force!! None of you are ready!!

Even through 7-8 chapters, Rina somehow managed to get an Infinite amount of What-the-fucks and Holy-shits out of mouth through this book! I am literally scared of what the actual duet will do to my sanity!!

I know most of you are here to see whether I have revealed Jonathan's woman or not. I have not, you sneaky readers! Wait for a few more days , but all I can tell you guys is that something huge and freaking phenomenal is coming at us in this duet!!! That moment when Jonathan's women Is introduced , it was a literal WHAT THE FUCK moment. It was me sitting on my bed with my phone in my hand , trembling fingers and my mouth agape! Why do you do this to me Rina??? You are lucky I love your books so much..

I thought some of my excitement for this series would lessen after reading this prequel , but seems to be intensified to a horrific degree. I NEED THE SERIES NOW!!!!! And the longest wait of the century till October begins…



My-Post-3
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Bookbub | My Blog
Profile Image for Sofi ♡.
330 reviews59 followers
September 24, 2023
3 ⭐ para Rule of a Kingdom, historia corta de la bilogía Kingdom Duet por Rina Kent.

📖 Este libro funciona como un mero adelanto de Reign of a King, ya que se compone de las primeras páginas de esa novela. Por lo tanto, si te lo salteas no te perdés de absolutamente nada porque se vuelve a narrar allí. Yo no lo sabía pero acá estoy para decirlo por si alguien estaba con dudas sobre si era o no importante leer esto para comprender lo que pasará después en las otras dos entregas principales.

➡️ Rule of a Kingdom fue liberado por la autora en su momento como un regalo de anticipación para los fans que buscaban conocer más sobre Jonathan y Aurora, su futura compañera. Por lo cual, como adelanto funciona bastante bien para generar intriga debido al cliffhanger con el que finaliza.
Profile Image for mariasbookss_.
197 reviews243 followers
October 28, 2020
Thank god i didn't read this one the second it was out, cause i would've lost my mind. Literally.
Couple more hours and Reign of a king will be in my hands, can't wait!!!!!

This was a delicious tease, i absolutely can't wait to see what's next in their story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,388 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.