Until Her: A Mafia Romance Novel The third installment in the King Family Series. It is recommended that you read the series in consecutive order.
Adam King He may not be the lead King but as first-born King, he takes his duty of being a single dad, a brother, and a crime boss as serious as a heart attack. Deemed the most cunning of the four Kings, plotting and planning are his forte. It's his contribution to keeping the Kings on top. He's as ferocious with his brain as he is with a gun in his hand. He'll plot. He'll kill. He'll do what it takes to keep his family on top...and together.
But when does the cost become too high?
With recent events sailing them into a bigger ocean where bigger sharks swim, every move should be calculated. Otherwise, the King empire that they've shed blood to build could be facing some changes. With their hands tied for the fight, his ability to think things through tough situations should be their best weapon.
It would be if he can have one peaceful thought. Focusing on the problem and shooting their way out has never been a problem before...until her.
With the lives of his precious daughter and his brothers on the line, sacrifices need to be made.
Ami Van is a romance author based in Las Vegas, where she lives with her family and an undisclosed number of cats (none of whom consented to their early role as captive storytime audiences). Her love for storytelling started young—complete with dragons, space-traveling dandelions, and a captive feline fanbase—but it took a winding path through an Information Technology degree and real-life plot twists before she found her way back to the written word.
Now a chart-topping author with a flair for emotionally charged, character-driven romance, Ami writes stories that blend heart, heat, and a little chaos. She believes there’s no such thing as “too late” when it comes to chasing your calling—and that a well-written kiss can fix just about anything.
I know this is Adam's story but I'm sure glad Stella's fiercness came back full force here. I do want to know what happened after the ending.
Ariana's story and "family" was very hard to read. Not that it was written badly. It was just horrible that the character had to go through so much. But she did and is so much stronger for it.
Can't wait for the next book in this series
Favorite quote of course is from my girl Stella: "Keep reaching for your crown, Queen. I'm a ****ing King"
Long Live The KINGS!!! I’m so in love with this series. Ami has done it again. Fantastic book. I love how she brought Stella and Derrick and all the brothers into Adam and Arianna’s story. I cried along with Arianna through all her struggles. She is one strong lady to go through all she did and with Stella by her side she will become another badass. I so happy Adam found love after his disaster of a relationship with Jazzy’s mom. I truly can’t wait for more books in this series. I read this book in 24 hours. I just couldn’t put it down. Until the next King.
3rd Book in series Previous ratings in series, 3, 1 and now this one is a 2. (I did rate her a 4 in another series) I am notoriously hard on authors and especially so on authors that I think have a lot of creative potential. This A noted some hard times recently in the book, and I hope things clear up for her and she continues writing, even with tough reviews. Spo ile r ish con tent be low! Her writing has improved! It’s still slightly awkward with the 3rd person switch around. There were some obvious errors still, but not enough in this book to really distract from the story. I enjoyed the little brief parts of Ben, Gaston and Brooks. The bits with two of the brothers Rory and Chase, kept me interested in them enough that I want to see what their future stories are, but not too much info on them that I feel like they’re old news. Glad this story was a different King brother, Adam and a newly introduced heroine, Ariana. Adam was a good brother choice to highlight now in this series. He does have a daughter and the interactions were sweet. Thankfully the book wasn’t overly children focused or involved as sometimes that can subtract from the romance angle. Ariana. Definitely took some points off for the heroine. Her personality seemed sweet and friendly. But she wasn’t tragic or as troubled as I felt the character should have been considering the 15, YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, 15 years of torture she endured. I felt like she should have been more damaged mentally from the experiences or she should have had more fight. I kept wondering, WHY did she never fight them or escape? I couldn’t buy into the whole mom said she owed them angle. And then in the book when we learn more about the mom and the why…I just couldn’t buy into it. Ariana had no backbone and that is frankly what annoyed me the most. How stupid / dense can you be that you don’t even try to escape because your dead mommy dearest said you owe them…yet you don’t know why. Wasn’t a fan of the whole forced drug addict angle on the heroine, but thought it was handled fairly well and did showcase some struggles addicts might endure. In general, I just wasn’t feeling the romance or magic between these characters. By the middle of the book I found myself getting bored and thinking come on already, where’s the action?! More points subtracted for the Kings even entertaining the arranged marriage angle with that witch. They should have KNOWN there was an evil scheme going on with Isabella. I get that they were treading carefully with the Dom part, but I just couldn’t believe they’d behave so densely. I was not a huge fan of the heroine being present in the beginning of the story and witnessing Adam hook ing up with another woman. Big sp oil er! The H is R worded, at one point and DERRICK IS ALSO THERE AND ASSAULTED. Not to the same degree and Stella refuses to forgive him. She gets all bent out of shape, even after she knows the truth behind it and the extent of what really happens she just can’t seem to act in a way that processes. I am glad she got revenge, but I don’t see how she felt Derrick actually wronged her. This book was 60 percent Adam and 40 percent Derrick feeling in my opinion. Really the most interesting parts were Stella and Derrick. So this is actually where a lot of points got taken away from the rating. One, Derrick and Stella should have had their HEA left alone at the end of book one. As stated before on another review, I think book 2 was a mistake, especially with Derrick having memory loss that wasn’t recovered. But now they’re back in this book WITH MORE ISSUES. And now Stella is not behaving in a way a supportive wife should IMO. She leaves him and then stays away even after she knows he had no control over the situation. YES, be mad Stella, even a little mad at him since he went to that club, BE MAD at what happened, be upset another woman touched your husband, BUT HE DID NOT PARTICIPATE WILLINGLY. So I just couldn't grasp while she was treating him as though HE acted on it. I will tell you, had the A made the decision to have Derrick be penetration R worded, I would not seek her books out ever again since that's just not something I could see that couple getting over!!!! It would not have been a decision that I could accept and over look. There’s just some lines you don’t cross in a regular romance. Which brings me to another point, these books keep bouncing back and forth between dark and non dark blurring lines. Pick a side and run with it. For example, the heroine having been altered during her years of torture time. Why do this to the heroine that ends up with the already family man? Because he already has a kid, so he's good without more? Just to add a dark torture element? WHY didn't the heroine right this? This was a HUGE detail that was unveiled that lacked detail around the event! It was not need IMO. Now Adam was R worded, and while I think this is a huge issue since he was in a relationship with Ariana already…..it made me mad, but I just wasn’t feeling the romance with this couple…so I kind of don’t care and that’s a problem with the story. I cared more about Derrick and Stella, even though I don’t want anymore drama and issues for them or them to have anymore spotlight time in this series, I was still more invested in their part of the story. Also, to have them included so much with such BIG issues, those chapters should have been from their POV’s. For this series going forward I hope the A: Better edits. They’ve been improving so far. Changes POV style. Leaves Stella and Derrick ALONE. In the next book be like they worked it out, they’re great now! And focus on the new characters. Give us more depth in the new characters internally. No cheating or OWD would be a nice change! This world and story line the A has created is really good. I want more after the first book, but I’m hoping more time is taken to consider leaving the OWD out.
I for one could not wait to buy this book. I just remember writing to Ami for a book on Adam and OMG 🤯 WOW! Loved it! Arianna life was not great for her but to find out history on who she was😟😬 not good either knowing this was Adam story with hope for more to come. Breaks my heart Stella n Derrick is not make up. 😵 This is crazy...along with the crazy Isabella and bro Cristian. Could not put down 🔥💥🍷🤯🤬🤯😱it has everything.
This is one of my favorite series okay!!!! People need to stop underestimating the King’s!!!! They do not play checkers they play chess and when they checkmate their enemies they never see it. I’m happy that Adam finally found love but I’m sad that Stella and Derrick are apart. I know that they will get it together once Stella stops blaming herself and realize she cannot control everything!!! Ami Van you never disappoints!!! Great book!!!!!!!
This has been a great series so far and I can't wait for book 4, I'm hoping its Rorys turn next. He's such a sweetheart!
I wish the author would leave Stella and Derricks marriage alone though, they've been through enough and their issues are still overshadowing the rest of the family even when the book isn't directly about them. I do love Stella though and how strong and capable she is.
Ariana is great and I love how she is with Jasmine. She has a real struggle on her hands but she comes out as a fighter. I only hope she continues to improve. I liked that the characters were set in a more realistic frame of mind too and Adam doesn't rush her through her recovery.
There are some issues with spelling or the wrong word being used i.e. stalk still instead of stock still or thrown instead of throne, however I haven't marked the book down for this as I still enjoyed it regardless. It would benefit from a better editor/proof reader though.
Overall a great book and a good continuance to the series. Can't wait for more!
I was on pins and needles for Adam's story and I feel so let down! The first two books in this series are amazing. There are so many twists and turns, the story keeps you guessing and engaged. I think what disappointed me the most was some of the dialogue between characters felt forced. The last few chapters are great because that's where the story lies, but I was really hoping for something different for Adam. With Stella and Derrick, I can feel the off the charts chemistry between those two. With Adam and Ari, it all feels forced. Also, I had a pretty good idea who Adam was from the first 2 books, but it's like Adam was a completely different character in this one, just so inconsistent with who he was in the previous stories. I mean Adam is supposed to be the "smart" one of the brothers and that's not who he was in his story. Also, how many times do we have to hear "I'm a King."
I liked getting a better glimpse of Chase and Rory's growing depth and substance with each story. Anxious to read Chase and Rory's story. Totally psyched about Rory. He's really becoming one of my favorite Kings. Who knows? Maybe he'll surpass all expectations and become the favorite King.
3.5⭐️. THE KINGS ARE BACK!! This time Stella unintentionally starts something that will end up causing great pain in her family, especially in her marriage. Adam will be forced to engage to Isabella Romano, a ruthless power-hungry woman, who doesn’t hesitate to try to end the King family if it means more power for her. Thanks to Isabella Adam meets Ariana, a girl who is enslaved and drugged by the Romanos. The Kings rescue her, detoxify her and take her to live with them, where she ends up winning the heart of Adam, his daughter Jazzy, Stella, and the rest of the family. Bc of Isabella and the damage caused, we will see Stella’s most cruel and dark side come to light, which I ❤️❤️❤️. With each book Stella shows how badass she is. 2 brothers have already knelt and surrendered their hearts but we still have 2 more to go. I can’t wait to read Chase and Rory’s stories.
This book got me from the start ! I thought their was no way it would top or come close to stella & Derrick but it was right up their beside them ! I LOVE that she brought Derrick n Stell back into this book as well to let us know how they were doing ! I LOVE that she took Adam's wife & Didnt make her just like stell but a badass none the less. These 3 books will FOREVER be my favorite! They had me crying bawling laughing and loving. You could feel everything she wanted you to feel. Im starting over at the beginning as we speak with Derrick n Stella now then goingnto work my way threw all 3 books. This was a book I couldn't put down a book that let me get lost , Which is what we all need sometimes. Thank you Ami Van for ANOTHER amazing read !
Ami! Thank you for writing this book! I read your acknowledgement and it brought me to tears!! I read to take away my physical pain and my emotional pain. Without you authors I would have little to get me through my hard times so from the bottom of my heart don’t ever stop f**king writing!! (To who ever said those words to you!) Loved the book and especially adams story as I totally love the kings!! I haven’t read a follow on in a series that includes so much from the previous couple and I really enjoyed that and would love to see other authors do that.... spoiler alert!!
I was a bit disappointed that Derek and Stella didn’t have a happy ending! However I’m holding on for the next books to hopefully see why you didn’t give them a happy ending! ❤️
This was a bit of a disappointment. It didn’t have all the detailing as book one, and it really missed its mark with the lack of depth for the two main characters. I did love that they included the whole family in this book but it didn’t feel like there was a fine line tread and started to feel a little like this was still Stella’s story. Even ending with Stella still in conflict for being mad at herself yet still taking it out on her husband. It’s frustrating.
There were still a lot of grammatical/spelling errors that continued on through all three books. I don’t know how this author still doesn’t have an editor? Idk could’ve been a better developed story.
Going to make this short…cause book 4 is screaming my name! If you like this Genre… ( heck even if you are like me and not a dedicated fan to the usual plots regarding Mafia…)GO and get book one. It’s amazing.! Ms. Van is a bit scary at how well she writes the “family” life? Like maybe her name is Gotti? Finally..STELLA..!!! OMG, best female character EVER! So..GO. Read book one..l will see you at the last page of the series, and we can weep together that it’s over..
Adam King's journey to love wasn't easy but most journeys aren't. Ariana has a heartbreaking life but her will to survive and rebuild - filled these pages with hope for a life of not just survival but rebirth into who she was meant to be. Ami Van has built this world of power and wealth in a criminal enterprise but with a solid foundation of love, strength in family bonds, and loyalty to friends. Two Kings left and I can't wait!
Ami Van! You own my soul with this mafia series! It has so many twists and turns. And even with Ari not being as “badass” as Stella, she is just as strong. I’m excited for the continuing of this story. I cannot wait for Chase and Ro to have their stories told soon too.
My recommendation. Read this series. You won’t regret it. It’s gritty, fun, heartbreaking and swoon worthy.
This was an emotional story and I loved every word of it. The King family love and care about one another good or bad. In the story Isabella got what she deserved.BURNED!!!! The author Ami Van did an awesome job. When you read the book make sure you read the author notes.
Great book! Can't wait for the next king to fall!! I love how its not only about a couple but the whole family is included throughout the whole book not just here and there.
Can not express how much I love this series! I wish we found out about Derrick and Stella’s situation a little more at the end, but that leaves home for another book! Amazing author and an amazing series! What a ride Derrick and Adam have both had!
i so 💘love this series and this brilliant author i love the kings stella is a kick ass lady please dont keep us waiting long for next one and never give up your readers love how you write
Oh my the story of Adam and Ariana, what an evil pair Isabella and Christian, Ariana had to go though so much because of them, even Stella and Derrick had problems because if them,
DNF 30%. I really enjoyed the first two in this series and was definitely interested to read about the brothers finding their love. But I just couldn’t get into this one. The way it started - seeing this side of Adam did not make me like him at all. I just couldn’t connect with it.
I loved reading this series. The characters, plot and storyline were great. I loved the hot Alpha men from the Kings Mob. Even the gals that each one chose.
Dark yet sweet. Adam is the calculated, thoughtful one of the bunch. Until he meets her. His world and his thoughts get jumbled upside down & he cannot even think straight. However, she is everything he does not want.