Playboy King

Underworld Bride Trials #1

by Meg Xuemei X

LOKI

She walks in on me banging another woman for sport.

Her blue eyes burn like twin suns at daybreak when they train on me.

One sniff in her direction, and I know she’s mine.

Ice to my pyre.

Scenting its fated mate, my wolf beast awakens for the first time and roars with hellfire.

Heat sears through my veins. I’ve never been so aroused by any other female.

But Tessa Morrigan can’t be my queen.

She came too late.

I’ve started the Underworld Bride Trials. All the contestants must fight to the death until the last one stands by my side to claim the crown.

Morrigan

Loki, the hot new boss of Hell, is hosting a bachelorette contest. He thinks it’s funny to have a troop of women fighting to the death over him.

But he doesn’t expect to attract the most lethal assassin and a rejected queen to his selection game. I didn’t come to ride the playboy king’s sexy body or be Queen of the Underworld. I promised Lucifer his son’s head on a gold platter.

I’ve been burned before and vowed never to let a handsome, powerful man touch me again. Yet when Loki and I lay eyes upon each other, sizzling chemistry scorches us. Under his ruthless bad boy exterior hides another man, one that ignites flames inside my icy heart.

Playboy King is the first of the Underworld Bride Trials series, set after the Great Merge. It’s not necessary to read the Half-Blood Academy to enjoy this sinfully steamy enemies-to-lovers romance starring a cruel yet fun demon king and a badass heroine.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Demons, Fae, Enemies To Lovers, Magic

274 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

Meg Xuemei X is a USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of paranormal and fantasy romance. She loves writing badass heroines and hot psycho alphaholes.

Join Meg’s mailing list for new releases, giveaways, and fun stuff: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...

Reviews

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fire and Ice!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘
World building: 🌏🌍
Character development: ☺️😮
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The Hero: Loki - He is the new boss of Hell and Lucifers son. Loki knows Tessa is his fated mate the moment he first sees her, while he is hooking up with someone else. She couldn’t be his queen though, since he already started the underworld bride trials, where all the contestants fight to the death till only one is left who will be his bride and claim the hellfire crown.

The heroine: Tessa - She is a lethal assassin who leads a team of assassins and is able to open portals to other worlds. Her ex-mate is the current Ice King Ragnara, the illegitimate son of the Giant Frost God of Udgard. Ragnara had stolen her kingdom and has been hunting Tessa since she escaped from him eight years ago.

The Story: when Ragnara finally caught up to Tessa and her team, she was depleted after a fight in another realm. Tessa has ice and water magic and fought her exes bloodhounds that would never rest until Tessa was delivered back to Ragnara. The creatures were created by Ragnara and were tenacious and could come back from death due to Ragnara’s magic. They told her that if she was hurt or died in the fight, Ragnara would just bring her back as well because she was his obsession.

Tessa was tasked by Lucifer to go to a new realm and get into Hell before the gates closed and to bring him Loki’s head. Tessa agreed to the plot because there was a prophecy that said she would find a fire deep in the center of Hell that would help her defeat Ragnara. Though she didn’t expect Loki to be running bride trials to find his queen who would be granted the power of Hellfire. Tessa knows immediately that the Hellfire power is what she is looking for. She knew she would have to join the bride trials.

This book was told in dual points of view via dual narration. The narrators are Victoria Mei and Travis Baldree. Victoria has a pleasant voice though doesn’t have a very good range of different voices for different characters. Her voice for male characters doesn’t sound much different than her voice for female characters. Travis is a good narrator, though his voice isn’t as deep as some of my favorite narrators.

The story was interesting and I do like a fierce female main character and Tessa was all that. There was a lot of action and fighting in this one. Tessa had to fight demons, vampires, valkyries, and more. She was a great fighter, but everything didn’t come easy and she did have to battle to get through it and there were a few dicey situations. However, it did get a bit boring for my tastes. I nearly gave up at one point but only had a few hours left so I stayed with it.

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[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and though not perfect for me it still had more positives than negatives.
It’s a dual POV paranormal/fantasy romance. The heroine Tessa is an assassin for hire and also the rightful Queen of an Ice Kingdom. Her former mate betrayed and stole her throne and she’s been on the run from him ever since.
Her latest job takes her straight to hell itself she’s been hired by Lucifer to take out his estranged son Loki.

Realising that the hell-fire she needs to defeat her enemy and reclaim her kingdom is within her grasp Tessa changes tack and finds herself entering the bride trials the prize is the king of hell himself Loki and Tessa will also gain hell-fire Just what she’s after.
There’s just one catch the trials are a fight to the death and only the winner can walk free to claim the prize. Loki swiftly realises when he catches Tessa’s scent that she is his true mate but the trials cannot now be halted.
Tessa will have to put herself in great danger to win and Loki’s hands are tied he cannot assist her.

So I liked this but there was still some stuff that I wasn’t a fan of the biggest thing for me was how these two first meet when he is literally banging another woman out in the open from behind not in my top-ten meeting scenario’s that’s for sure.
There was also a lot of back characters included that I assume are from another series.
This can be read as a stand-alone I mean it was technically all there but I’m sure it would add more if you’ve read the previous series just because of the huge backstory.

There also wasn’t a huge amount of prior history regarding Loki and Tessa there was just enough included here but it wasn’t very expansive. I did like all the kick-Ass behaviour from Tessa though she definitely kicked some butt that’s for sure. Loki well, he was kinda sweet disregarding that first eye-bleach impression that is.

Whilst I’m not yet completely sold I will be continuing on this was only the first part with the next book out in another couple of weeks For the moment I’m invested enough, for now, to continue on.
This definitely has a great deal of potential in regards to the plot and I’m intrigued to see where it goes next.




Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[Naia Pard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not start badly.

Well, that is because it did not catch me unprepared.

I had seen from the table of contents that this was to be a book parted in two POVs (his and hers). From just that tidbit of info I had already deduced that the book will short and so, the romance part will be depicted as intense out of nowhere (the reader will be regaled with long tales of desperation and obsession in face of his lust towards HER).

So, I started from the premise that the romance will feel artificial, but I was okay with it.
Or at least, I could overlook it more easily. And that was the case until the trials (there were trials to win the heart/crown/hand of Loki/hell/the king of hell—a not unusual rendition of a known tv show in which several women compete for one guy, but this time, all of that was imagined in the context of a fantasy/paranormal world). During these trials some acquaintance of Loki dropped by. I think she was the main character in another installment by this author because this one character had more backstory than both protagonists put together.
That I did not love.

I also could not close my eyes at the hyper sugarcoated scenes of amour. There is a difference between having intense erotic scenes and dragging some lukewarm sexual description ten pages after the respective scene had finished.

Overall, not bad, but not “wow”.

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[Kenzie Labadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowwwwww. Was not expecting this AT ALL. I saw a review for this that intrigued me but put off reading it bc of the cover and synopsis just didn’t do it for me. I went into it thinking it would just be a fun, quick read but now I am HOOKED.

The story is just 🤌🏽 *chefs kiss*. The MC is a total bad ass. She’s this powerful princess from her realm who is forced into an engagement with an ice god who kills her family and wants her throne.

She escapes and is on the run from him, looking for the tools to kill him for good. Then she meets the king of hell….. woah buddy let me tell you this is some GOOD STUFF.

So here I go, off to read the 2nd book!

[Sarah Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just no!

This was a little amateurish in its writing. Some of the banter just made me roll my eyes and ask why.

[Pene|ope • Temp Hyperfixation: WC & OMV · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew what to expect regarding the FMC finding her mate while he's fcking another woman because it's in the blurb and thought I'd give it a try in case the author dealt with it well....but that didn't happen. He gets harder when he scents his mate and starts fcking the woman even harder while inviting her to join them. And that's after he's told the woman he's fcking (who's way into him and causes OW drama because she thinks she owns him) that he's fcked thousands of women and he's never cared for any of them (but he continues to invite her to dinner, dance with her first, lead her on, etc). Oh and of course the FMC is turned on by watching him fck another woman instead of being appalled because her jealousy conveniently doesn't kick in until later, so I guess it's ok??? (Nahhh.) And she's not like other women (they say this multiple times), and she's also a virgin of course and will twerk and drop it low in the middle of an actual waltz to put this playboy king in his place (not sure where that logic came from but ok). There's also the bride trials going on but that's just the side story to everything else the characters feel like introducing us to, including what has to be the entire backstory and plot of a separate series involving side characters that are annoying asf. Action scenes pausing for the characters to talk about dumb things in the middle of a fight or to comically stand there gaping just so the FMC can show off her skills or talk some more internally about how well trained she is that she has to hold back or something. I finished this hoping it would get better and it got worse.

EDIT: omg and at the end of the book he tells her that she's the first woman who has ever made him cum (confirming the rumor that some demons can only cum for their mate--she wasn't sure because he's only half demon) so WHY has he been fcking thousands of women when he doesn't care about them or even if they get off? What purpose does the manwh0re trope play here? Make it make sense???

[Jessica {Litnoob}]

Dnf 13%

[Mom2three · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a story starts off with a fight scene you know you're in for a wild ride. There's no buildup, no quiet introduction to the characters, or gentle scenery. You are thrust into the middle of a battle between life and death and it's not pretty. That's not the most common beginning to a story, and one of the things I love about this author. She takes risks with her characters and stories. She's not afraid of brutality and danger, but she also fills her stories with passionate heat and tenderness. I will be totally honest and say that some of my favorite Meg characters are her women who take no prisoners. They are violent from the get-go and don't apologize for it. They are fierce fighters, passionate lovers, and loyal to a fault. They have set directions and goals and nothing is going to stop them, even the guy they have the hots for. Tess combines all of those qualities. She's so incredible, and I knew from the first page that I was going to love her and this book. When you combine her with Loki, who was introduced in the Half-Blood Academy series, you get a pairing that makes me giddy. He is the perfect bad boy and he doesn't care who knows it. He takes advantage of his power and his looks without any remorse. Tess isn't going to be one of the women who throw themselves at his feet - she has a mission and she's determined to see it through no matter what. I refuse to give spoilers or rehash the blurb, but I will tell you that things don't go as planned. There is a slow burning love story, even though there is some sexiness early in the story, there is a lot of suspense, there is pain, fear, humor, friendship, lies, secrets, deception, and adventure. It's just the beginning, and I can't wait to see where things go, but it's a strong beginning. I can't wait to see who comes out ahead in the battle of wits between Loki and Tess, because you know their romance isn't going to be smooth, and I can't wait to see what happens in the grander scheme of the series. This one is a continuation of the Half-Blood Academy series, but you won't be too lost if you haven't read that one first. Although, you will probably want to read it after you finish this one because it's a fabulous book and it does make some things clearer.

There are very few authors who make me want to live in their stories, but Meg is one of them.

[Sydnee Birkeland · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst book I’ve read this year. The writing was terrible and clunky. So awkward

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that this book is terribly written. The word usage and techniques are AWFUL. It feels like someone's first attempt at writing, maybe a 14 year old's. The use of certain words and phrases like "you go girlfriend"....it screams teenager. The fight scenes are very anticlimactic and there is terrible tension and/ suspense building. There's a lack of the finesse with words and the story telling that comes with a seasoned writer. It has that distinctive Wattpad feel which personally can be very annoying. Not because I have anything against Wattpad, I grew up on it. But because when I pick up a novel I expect a well written and thought out book; if I wanted Wattpad I would've gone to Wattpad. However...I will say that the plot is incredibly interesting. I so badly want to stop reading this book because of how poorly it's written but the plot is very intriguing and I want to see where it goes. I would also like to note that the world building efforts are noticed but they fall a little flat because all of the information is given to us in word dumps or terribly boring ways with the main character telling us the readers the information. Rather than the author allowing things to happen and SHOW us the things that make up and form the world. I'm writing this review as I read the book. I'm now approaching halfway and these are my thoughts. I don't think it's going to get any better from here. I think it will either remain as it is being a very sub-par book or it will plummet with a terrible ending (which I think is unlikely seeing as to how it's a series).

3/4 way through and I'm struggling. A princess prefers for the main character and other people to call her "Icy Dagger"???? How much more cringe can you get. It again feeds into that whole Wattpad aesthetic. Honestly terrible. But I am determined to finish. I keep getting surprised by how good the ideas are for this book. This would be an amazing read if it was well written. The plot is so intriguing and I really want to know what's going to happen. ESPECIALLY because I'm almost to the end and they have not fallen for each other as yet. The attraction is obviously there but nothing crazy and unrealistic has happened that you would have to chalk up to the whole insta-love mate thing that's going on. It's a slow burn which I REALLY appreciate.

Right after I wrote that paragraph something happened🤦. I will say though that it was thoroughly entertaining. A lot still has to happen as expected with a series. I feel as though this book just set the base for the world and characters because nothing really crazy happened. It kind of just established the characters and the baseline of the plot (as the first book tends to do). It was definitely an entertaining and quick read. I would rate the writing a 4/10 though it did seem to improve coming down to the end of the book. It felt like the writer started to get the hang of it as the book came to an end. It was still terrible, but definitely improved. I would give the plot an 8/10 and give the book on a whole a 6/10. I will definitely start the other book because I am very curious as to what happens. Overall not a bad read I would assume for others but for me personally, the plot is the ONLY thing that kept me going because I HATE a poorly written book. Took me two days to finish because I had to keep putting it down out of annoyance.

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fated mates, bride trials, dual POV, all thing I usually like. So I went into this expecting an easy comfort read, with a sassy main character, possessive alpha deal and fun banter.

What we have is a whole lot of info dumps, sub par conversations and characters which just made me fall asleep. I really don't like giving a 1 star to books, but after making sure I finished it as surely surely it would get better (spoiler: it didn't) I am honestly struggling to think of things I liked. Loki, I guess, had the whole tortured past,charming play-boy vibe going on, but even that didn't redeem it for me. I think the fact that Mari and her mates seemed to have more page time and a sensical storyline then Tessa and Loki irked me. Like, these people have already had a series (which, to be fair, I haven't read. If I had, I would probably not care that they got so much page time. I would probably enjoy it) so surely this should be setting up Loki and Tessa and THEN re-introduce a character from a previous series and not make most of this book about her?

I also just really struggled to get on with this authors writing style. I wasn't at all engaged or intrigued by what I was reading.
Sorry.

[Tai Nelson-Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

* First time reading author

Playboy King is the first book in the Underworld Bride Trials and what a beginning it is. Loki is the king of the underworld and he needs a wife. Tess is the rightful Queen of her world. Tess is in need of some fire to win back her kingdom so she goes down to h*ll to get some. But when she finds herself in front of Loki, she ends up being his fated mate.

I will say that I had no idea that this was a spin-off to another series. I went down a star because of that. It was mentioned ALOT and I didn't really enjoy that. Although I didn't feel like I was missing anything, it does make me feel like I have to go read it to find out the side story of what is going on since Loki does leave to go help the side characters. If this is going to happen throughout this series, maybe Meg needs to state that somewhere in the BLURB, that another series needs to be read before reading this one.


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[Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Corda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read. Lots of fantasy gods, demigods from various universes. Intriguing for sure but ends on a cliffhanger. I hate that.

[Briann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was super excited when Meg announced she was writing a spin-off to her series Half-Blood Academy. I didn't know what the storyline would be, but I didn't care. And I was not disappointed.

Playboy King was so good! This is Loki’s story, Lucifer’s son and Marigold’s stepbrother. He’s the new king of the underworld and is looking for a wife. He has decided to host the Bride Trials, think The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, and the winner will be his queen. But there’s a flaw in his plan; he finds his fated mate, who happens to be the assassin hired to kill him, the rightful queen of another world, and who is being hunted by the man that took everything from her.

Throw in a jealous vampire princess, a sassy Hell cat familiar, secrets, lies, lust, and so, so much more, and you have another must-read by Meg.

Basically, if you loved Half-Blood Academy or any other book Meg has written, you will love this book. And if you haven’t read any of her books, what are you waiting for?

[Debleena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, another awesome book by the author

This book was amazing, breath stalling and captivating.

I loved , loved and loved Tessa even with her throny ,jaded, and bitchy persona. She is powerful, strong, resourceful, resilient, vicious, whip smart, sharp and strong willed. I grew to respect this fmc ,with how even after all she went through, she stood strong, defiant and proud.
From the time I read Half Blood Academy I had wanted to read Loki's story and his chance at love. This guy is so strong, powerful and swoony but it's his strong sense of loyalty and adoration towards his family, even after the sufferings and tortures he went through that made me love him more.

Damn I liked reading about Marigold again, and tbh it seems that her mates have grown more cheesy (I legitly cringed with all the cheesiness Hector was showing towards his "lamb", even though I loved Mari and her 4 bloodthirsty, possessive, jealous, still mates) since now they didn't had to fight day and night simply to survive.

The best part was not overdoing the sex scenes. Usually in the author's books , there are a lot of sex scene, albeit smutty ,panty melting ones but still too many sex scenes dulls the story. Herein there was proper build up , plot line development and not overdone sex scenes, which made me like the book more.

Aaaaand the award for the most badass and cool character in the book goes to ........ Snow White. Yup the hell cat was an adorable menace. She was the real queen here, and her payments are next level awesome.

Gonna read the other three now, since I can't wait to see what happens next.❤️❤️

[Jianred Faustino · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted so bad to give this at least two stars but I keep thinking back to the book, searching for something, anything I like but came up with none.

I was just looking for some casual read and saw this, while the blurb is interesting about all that fated mate stuff, I went to this book with no expectations and the book still gave me absolutely nothing.

I felt like I was reading some fanfic written by a 13-year-old. The words used, the description, was so repetitive and out of what the book is trying to establish with the character. The book shifts from Tessa's to Loki's POV and honestly their voice is so similar, they sound the same. Their own chapters are so surface level that in the 3 days I pushed myself to read this, I was still not able to establish connection with any of the characters.

And the conversations are just so awful. The word dump, the cringy effort to sound smart ass, the banter was so disappointing that I cannot comprehend their amusement with talking to each other.

I'm so glad this was over. I'm sorry but I'm definitely not reading the next one.

[Dru · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many parts I like to this book. I loved the FMC, Tessa. She was real, down to earth and a badass. Loki was a strong MMC, and definitely a cinnamon roll of sorts. His obsession with Tessa is unparalleled.

My issue? Read if you want a tiny spoiler:

This book only goes through one trial…and there are multiple trials to the bride war. The trial itself was a lame battle royal that basically got rid of 200 or so females from 1,000. It was ridiculously boring, and looking at the next books in the series…it seems to keep that same pace. I’m not about to read three more books and trials are in each book. I want more of a plot development so I’ll be skipping continuing the series.

If you like demons, urban fantasy, stabby FMC’s, trials abd modern language, you probably will enjoy this book. It’s short enough to pick up and decide if continuing the series is worth it.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story had potential, but unfortunately there are just endless pages dedicated to recapping a RH series that the author also wrote about someone named Marigold and her mates. I'm guessing this series was supposed to be a spin-off series intended to use Marigold as a minor character, but they literally recapped her entire series and just talked about how great Marigold is and how in love her/her mates are for pages and pages (and pages and pages). It was boring because I didn't sign up to read about Marigold. I swear there is more in this book about Marigold than the main characters of this storyline. I ended up skipping ahead numerous pages at a time whenever they'd go off on yet another tangent about Marigold. Really took away from the book.

[The Neighbourhood Suriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was going to finish this book. I really was.
Until I realized I couldn't do it.

What is it with me and my string of bad books lately?

I got to 40%. Told myself I would finish the series for the shear stupidity but nope.

I mean no disrespect but who the fuck let this book get published?!?!?!?

Like why?????

The only thing I got (because it was mentioned on every. single. page. was the fact that women are just lustful creatures who would kill to sleep with some guy who isn't even remotely cool.

[Diana]

Even though it says you can read this series as a standalone, I think I need to read the other series in this universe by the author before continuing with this one…

[Ridim Buk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a trial story and when it’s backed up with a prize of being the queen of hell… I’m right there with you.

For me, there were a few things that let it down. One was the part where he realises she’s his mate. That’s the best part about the fated mate trope and this one just didn’t hit. It was kind of more… I think she might be my mate… rather than when it hits you and YOUR WHOLE WORLD CHANGES!! (Why did I just have a flashback to Jacob imprinting on the baby vampire?) But also in the prologue it was instant? It just didn’t really make sense…

Secondly, I felt like everyone had the same personality. Like everyone was just a snarky asshole and they were bickering all the time. There was too much banter for the sake of banter.

Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Tropes: King of Hell/Queen of ice, trials to the death, fated mates,
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5 /5
Age suggestion: 18+

(The spice was hard to rate, ok. Like we started out straight from the start on a sex scene, which was then revisited later in the book from a different POV, but as much as they talked about doing it they didn’t do it that much 😂)

[Oᴄᴛᴀᴠɪᴀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I tell you, that I have read better fanfictions than this. I mean what kind of mess did we get here. Nothing made sense, everything was all over the place. Is the FMC a fae, titan? I couldn’t even try, to tell you all. Save yourself and don’t waste your time. I would have given this 0 stars if I could

[Giota Tzavela · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There’s time for grief, and there’s time for joy. There’s time for everything. We’ll never allow our enemies to take away a moment of small joy from us, and when we remember and do that, we’ll never be broken."

[Bryckk Wilkes-DuBois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by the author and I was encouraged to read it. I struggled to finish it.

I couldn’t really connect with Tessa or Loki enough to enjoy their courtship or the story. It was just OK.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the plot twists and how smart & stealthy Tessa was throughout - a true warrior & queen who has lived for centuries.

I'm curious what happens now that she posses hell fires inferno- will she ensure she reigns over her own kingdom once more? With she kill Raygnor? Will Loki & Tessa continue stand together?

Ps, I've only given this a 4 star as there are a few missed grammar issues and it bugged me while reading

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

porque la protagonista no para de comprarse con las otras mujeres y creerse mejor ? no hay q me de mas asco q eso 😋

[Becca Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jordan Weber · Rating 1 out of 5]

i can’t believe i read this

[LinaPo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25