Review: Twisted Kingdom by Rina Kent

Twisted Kingdom by Rina Kent

Series: Royal Elite #3

Publication date: January 22nd, 2020

Pages: 358

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

The kingdom isn't supposed to fall.

The truth screws you over before it sets you free.

Masks drop.

Secrets unravel.

Elsa's race after the past blinds her from the present.

I'll fight for her.

I'll bring her back.

I'll promise her even if it's the last thing I do.

We made a promise.

She's mine.

Are you ready for one final game, sweetheart?

Twisted Kingdom is book three of Royal Elite Series and should be read after Deviant King & Steel Princess. This is a dark high school bully romance, mature new adult, and contains dubious situations that some readers might find offensive.

This book is the final part of a trilogy and is NOT standalone.

Available at:

Review:

In the final installment of the trilogy all the secrets are laid to rest and all the questions are answered. Or so they should be. There were still some areas were I was a little perplexed. Without giving away any spoilers, one vast issue I found was in the person who started the fire that nearly claimed Elsa and her father's lives and the lengths to which they went to try to keep their secret. It seems as if they were determined to keep their secret under wraps even at the detriment of their main focus's wrath but then just gave it all up in a flash like it didn't matter at all. Their transition from being so dead set against anyone else knowing the truth to the point of starving and harming others then to just blowing the whistle on their own actions in a roundabout way, it was a bit unusual. I honestly thought that they were going to be revealed to be an evil twin like in one of those cheesy soap operas on daytime television within a few times in the book. 

I felt that all the lead up to Elsa rediscovering her memories was a little bit disappointing when she finally got to that point. I felt that all the things she discovered could have just as easily been told by the parties that experienced them firsthand with her. Aiden, her father, her Aunt and Uncle, all of them could have just laid it all out for her from their viewpoints and let her fill in her own impressions along the way. I didn't feel her grand reveal that she remembered everything to be that drastic a change from a story told by witnesses. That is where the book fell a little short for me.

Aiden and Elsa seem to cement their relationship, though, after suffering yet another set back. I swear, those two seem to run into more problems that make them suddenly untrusting of each other so many times that it was getting to the point where I was just heaving a sigh and going "what now?!" The problem seemed to lie in the fact that they both were stubborn and wanted to play each other's game until one or both of them inevitably got her. Aiden maybe less so since he is, by the author's final declaration, a sociopath. I suppose I mixed psychopath and sociopath up a bit. I found the couple to be dynamic in the fact that even though Aiden didn't feel things the same way that normal people did, Elsa was willing to not only accept that he was different but fully love him for it. She didn't care if he pampered her or wooed her. She just wanted him to be authentically himself with her. Which is something that a lot of relationships in reality could take a page from.

I was really enthralled with this trilogy overall. I found the mysteries to be those that I could speculate about over and over again but never fully solve until the author laid them out for me. I found the fact that she took a male protagonist that was by societal standards completely unlovable and made him not only the stuff of fantasy but shed light on the capacities of emotion those who lack empathy naturally may reach. Aiden was a completely unique character model that you weren't supposed to completely like. The reader was supposed to look at him with anger and resentment when was possessive or demanding so they could feel what Elsa felt. But overtime we get to watch him grow little by little, not for himself, but for the woman he loved. He changed to be who she needed him to be. And Elsa also started accepting some of her darkness to meet him half way. They were truly idyllic characters.

I think if you are dipping your toe in the Rina Kent world, you should start from the beginning. Bear witness to the growth of the characters as they harken back to each other and give perspective on what may be happening with the characters lurking in the shadows while you focus on the main attractions. In Levi's book we only saw glimpses of Aiden and Elsa's interactions. And in this trilogy we saw what was really happening. I look forward to reading the rest of her books as the horsemen all find their women and we get to see what we may have missed while we were distracted by others.

Review: Steel Princess by Rina Kent

Steel Princess by Rina Kent

Series: Royal Elite #2

Publication date: December 10th, 2019

Pages: 346

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

The princess isn't supposed to dethrone the king.

Elsa

He said he'll destroy me, and he did.

I might have lost the battle, but the war is far from over.

They say it starts with one move to dethrone the king.

No one mentioned he'll yank me with him on the way down.

Aiden

If Steel's little princess wants a war, then war it is.

There's only one rule: my rules or none at all.

By all means, show me what you got, sweetheart.

Steel Princess is book two of Royal Elite series and should be read after Deviant King. This is a dark high school bully romance, mature new adult, and contains dubious situations that some readers might find offensive.

This book is part of a trilogy and is NOT standalone.

The entire trilogy is available.

Available at:

Review:

I will admit, I jumped straight into this second book after finishing the second. I was desperate to find out what happened and try to unravel the mysteries surrounding Elsa. I am still perplexed even after finishing the last book. I will never understand the aristocratic world that Rina Kent created within her series. It isn't that I don't believe it to be as chaotic and cutthroat as she depicts, it's the fact that it is so possible that it is a bit sickening. Rich people do some odd things in the pursuit of remaining rich. All these people in this book are ruled by power and prestige to the point where they will become people of their parents' creation without even realizing it. They will look down their noses and be determined to destroy people just by the sound of their surnames alone. It is so utterly real to how I would see most of the upper-crust doing that I can't even tear it apart as being a fantasy world the author went a bit far in creating.

This next installment delves deeper into Elsa's past as she slowly starts to allow herself to lean on Aiden. The push and pull is still there and they keep faltering in their movements together because they always seem to want the upper-hand. That can really be tied back to the entire reason they are linked where their families were in constant competition to best each other. I found myself wanting to shake the both of them. If Aiden and Elsa would just learn to melt a little bit more together instead of wanting to be the sharper, quicker, and the one with all the power, maybe they'd have already been chugging along the Happiness Express. 

I did like seeing a little more growth from Aiden. He is a textbook psychopath but seeing him kinda learn to feel a bit with Elsa makes me second guess my initial assessment of the man. Psychopaths do not understand empathy nor do they want to. Aiden, while seeming completely comfortable in his skin, would burn the world down around them to protect Elsa. I don't know if a true psychopath would be capable of that. 

The twists and turns that Kent delivered in this second book has made me even hungrier to understand the full picture. There are still some stones left unturned and still some obstacles for our duo to overcome. I would have liked a little more forward movement with the characters. It feels like they were knocked back and this book was all about them trying to build their way back to where they got to in the first book together. I have faith they'll find a way through it if they learn to fully trust each other to have each other's back, but they haven't done so well so far. I expect nothing but more of a rollercoaster from our quick witted author. 

Review: Deviant King by Rina Kent

Deviant King by Rina Kent

Series: Royal Elite #1

Publication date: October 21st, 2019

Pages: 364
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

The villain isn't supposed to be king.

I have a simple plan.

Finish Royal Elite School and get into my dream university.

One glance from the school's king blows my plan up in smoke.

One glance and he suffocates my air.

One glance and he issues his death sentence.

His first words spiral my life into irreparable chaos.

"I will destroy you."

Everything about Aiden King is black.

Black mind.

Black heart.

Black soul.

I should've remained quiet and endured the time I have left.

I didn't.

I made the irrevocable mistake of provoking the king on his throne.

The devil in his hell.

And now, I'll pay the price.

Being hated by Aiden King is dangerous.

But being wanted by him is lethal.

Deviant King is book one of Royal Elite Series. This is a dark high school bully romance, mature new adult, and contains dubious situations that some readers might find offensive. Aiden isn't the normal romance hero. In fact, he's not a hero at ALL. So please don't read this if any of that bothers you.

Royal Elite Series:

#1 Deviant King

#2 Steel Princess

#3 Twisted Kingdom

This book is part of a trilogy and is NOT a standalone.

The entire trilogy is available.

Available at:

Review:

The synopsis of the book does not do the book justice and sets an odd tone for the reader going into it. It makes it seem like Elsa decided to pluck up some courage and suddenly stand her ground with the King of Royal Elite. On the contrary she had never been cowed by him. She kept her head high and her confidence firmly in place. The fact that bullying and harsh words didn't seem to ever touch her was why she had earned the nickname 'Frozen'. It was like she was an ice princess that felt nothing and was just bitterly cold towards anyone but her best friend. What changed was Aiden's determination to just sit back and watch her move through the school without interacting with her. But when senior year rolled around it seems like he finally decided to make a move. Suddenly he wants Elsa with a vengeance and she is doing everything in her power to try to keep away from him. The push and pull of their relationship in the beginning was great. I kept waiting to see what new way he would try to push her and what new way she would try to push him back. Aiden doesn't seem the type of character to deal well with people standing up to him. He just sees it as a red flag waved in his face enticing him to do his worst. Which he does with Elsa, of course.

I found Elsa to be an interesting character. She can't remember her life before she came to be adopted by her aunt and uncle. At least, I think they are her uncle and aunt. The author has a tendency to have her characters call all their friends' parents Uncle or Aunt and it really confuses me. I understand that the uppercrust type are not opposed to incestuous relationships to keep their bloodlines pure but I don't think that is what the author was going for. I think, since it was written in U.K. English that maybe its just a term of endearment for close members of family? I could be very wrong, but... Elsa, all the same, lived with her aunt and uncle in blissful ignorance of her past lift. The animosity that Aiden had towards Elsa from the beginning clued me in that there was going to be some sort of connection between them that went far beyond their interactions in school. But Kent has a terribly awful way of really keeping her readers guessing.

I think this was a really good introduction to Aiden and Elsa and all the mysteries that go along with a psychopath and a damaged girl. There were times I really didn't like Aiden. And other times where I really wished Elsa would chill the hell out and let things be good when they were actually good. I do think the two compliment each other really well and I look forward to reading the next installment in the trilogy.

Release Blitz with Teasers: Oil & Water by Indie Sparks @GiveMeBooksPR

Oil & Water by Indie Sparks

Publication date: December 26th, 2024

Synopsis:

It's not like I intended to get naked at the rehearsal dinner for my brother's wedding.

In the parking lot.

With his best friend.

In my defense, he has a beard now. And I was soaking wet.

In our combined defense, we weren't doing anything other than drying off. In further defense of my own actions, I was merely gazing at the pool, wishing I could go for a swim, when my brother's lunatic best friend, Malcolm, ran up behind me and shoved me in. Hence, the need to dry off in the parking lot. The high beams that spotlighted us could hardly have been anticipated.

My brother has the perfect job, and he's marrying the perfect woman. The wedding will also be perfect. As will the honeymoon and the immaculate offspring they will no doubt spawn to carry on the family tradition of normalcy.

I'm the misfit--a professional mermaid in a family full of traditionalists. And if I don't get an audition with the pod of my dreams soon, I'll have to rent out my tail to make my car note.

The last thing I have time for in my life right now is a man, especially Malcolm.

Okay, so he grew up and grew a beard. And being an olive oil broker might be a cool job. But he's still that same obnoxious guy who was always hanging around our house, eating all my good snacks and making dumb jokes.

I mean, come on! The guy rides a skateboard to work!

How long can two misfits deny how well they fit together?

Available at:

INDIE SPARKS lives just outside Austin, Texas where she spends her days arguing with her dog about whether or not he really needs to go outside again and writing strong heroines whose knees go weak for cinnamon roll heroes with dirty mouths and the skills to walk the talk. She believes steamy rom-coms are the answer. The question is irrelevant. 

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | BLUESKY

Hosted by: