its_aislinn's review against another edition
5.0
“Beautiful Fiend”…I couldn’t have phrased it better myself!
This dark romance follows two rival gangs caught in the crosshairs of war and love. The story begins with Billies gang, NSC, losing to a fight with the Kings, the rival gang in their town. The rules of the fight state that the winning gang becomes the leading gang in that area. On this particular night, Billies gang loses their first fight in a while, and Billie must find a way out of the area before the Kings catch her.
If you’ve read any dark romance, you already see where this is going. Suffice to say, Billie is caught and thus begins the whirlwind relationship with Caden King.
I won’t try to fluff up this book, it’s dark. There are multiple scenes that left me uncomfortable and shocked, if not borderline read to close the book. However, that’s exactly what the author warned us about and, when you read dark romance, you know that’s par for the course. Despite the revulsion and shock, I did enjoy the book the farther along I read. The character development is very well done and I loved that Caden is given the chance to redeem himself. King says it best, “Caden King is not morally gray, he is morally pitch black”. Do not go into this book expecting a bully who’s simply misunderstood. That isn’t what you’re going to get out of Caden.
This is the first book I’ve read from King and it won’t be the last! I can’t wait to go through her backlog so I can better understand the town and the gangs. If you enjoy interconnected series with appearances from other characters, and don’t mind a pitch black romance, then give this book a chance. You’re going to love it!
Merged review:
“Beautiful Fiend”…I couldn’t have phrased it better myself!
This dark romance follows two rival gangs caught in the crosshairs of war and love. The story begins with Billies gang, NSC, losing to a fight with the Kings, the rival gang in their town. The rules of the fight state that the winning gang becomes the leading gang in that area. On this particular night, Billies gang loses their first fight in a while, and Billie must find a way out of the area before the Kings catch her.
If you’ve read any dark romance, you already see where this is going. Suffice to say, Billie is caught and thus begins the whirlwind relationship with Caden King.
I won’t try to fluff up this book, it’s dark. There are multiple scenes that left me uncomfortable and shocked, if not borderline read to close the book. However, that’s exactly what the author warned us about and, when you read dark romance, you know that’s par for the course. Despite the revulsion and shock, I did enjoy the book the farther along I read. The character development is very well done and I loved that Caden is given the chance to redeem himself. King says it best, “Caden King is not morally gray, he is morally pitch black”. Do not go into this book expecting a bully who’s simply misunderstood. That isn’t what you’re going to get out of Caden.
This is the first book I’ve read from King and it won’t be the last! I can’t wait to go through her backlog so I can better understand the town and the gangs. If you enjoy interconnected series with appearances from other characters, and don’t mind a pitch black romance, then give this book a chance. You’re going to love it!
This dark romance follows two rival gangs caught in the crosshairs of war and love. The story begins with Billies gang, NSC, losing to a fight with the Kings, the rival gang in their town. The rules of the fight state that the winning gang becomes the leading gang in that area. On this particular night, Billies gang loses their first fight in a while, and Billie must find a way out of the area before the Kings catch her.
If you’ve read any dark romance, you already see where this is going. Suffice to say, Billie is caught and thus begins the whirlwind relationship with Caden King.
I won’t try to fluff up this book, it’s dark. There are multiple scenes that left me uncomfortable and shocked, if not borderline read to close the book. However, that’s exactly what the author warned us about and, when you read dark romance, you know that’s par for the course. Despite the revulsion and shock, I did enjoy the book the farther along I read. The character development is very well done and I loved that Caden is given the chance to redeem himself. King says it best, “Caden King is not morally gray, he is morally pitch black”. Do not go into this book expecting a bully who’s simply misunderstood. That isn’t what you’re going to get out of Caden.
This is the first book I’ve read from King and it won’t be the last! I can’t wait to go through her backlog so I can better understand the town and the gangs. If you enjoy interconnected series with appearances from other characters, and don’t mind a pitch black romance, then give this book a chance. You’re going to love it!
Merged review:
“Beautiful Fiend”…I couldn’t have phrased it better myself!
This dark romance follows two rival gangs caught in the crosshairs of war and love. The story begins with Billies gang, NSC, losing to a fight with the Kings, the rival gang in their town. The rules of the fight state that the winning gang becomes the leading gang in that area. On this particular night, Billies gang loses their first fight in a while, and Billie must find a way out of the area before the Kings catch her.
If you’ve read any dark romance, you already see where this is going. Suffice to say, Billie is caught and thus begins the whirlwind relationship with Caden King.
I won’t try to fluff up this book, it’s dark. There are multiple scenes that left me uncomfortable and shocked, if not borderline read to close the book. However, that’s exactly what the author warned us about and, when you read dark romance, you know that’s par for the course. Despite the revulsion and shock, I did enjoy the book the farther along I read. The character development is very well done and I loved that Caden is given the chance to redeem himself. King says it best, “Caden King is not morally gray, he is morally pitch black”. Do not go into this book expecting a bully who’s simply misunderstood. That isn’t what you’re going to get out of Caden.
This is the first book I’ve read from King and it won’t be the last! I can’t wait to go through her backlog so I can better understand the town and the gangs. If you enjoy interconnected series with appearances from other characters, and don’t mind a pitch black romance, then give this book a chance. You’re going to love it!
read_with_christy's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
5.0
6 ⭐- I am OBSESSED with this book!
Tropes:
👑 Enemies to Lovers
👑 Touch Her & Die
👑 Angsty
👑 Anti-Hero
👑 Blackmail
👑 MMA Fighter
👑 Forbidden (Rival Families)
I am completely obsessed with this book. It made me laugh out loud, cry my eyes our, and made my heart swoon. Billie was such a badass and I love that about her.
This book has the strongest “Touch Her & Die” vibes I’ve ever read. I thought Zade Meadows was bad. But Zade has NOTHING on Caden King. Caden is absolutely unhinged in the best way possible. I know I’m not supposed to like Caden but I am completely obsessed with him. This was the first book I read by Lola King, but if this is how she writes all of her heroes it will definitely not be my last.
I totally love how Caden sends song lyrics. I want more of that from books.
I need the story of Jade, Ethan, & Elliot. I know it’ll be good.
Tropes:
👑 Enemies to Lovers
👑 Touch Her & Die
👑 Angsty
👑 Anti-Hero
👑 Blackmail
👑 MMA Fighter
👑 Forbidden (Rival Families)
I am completely obsessed with this book. It made me laugh out loud, cry my eyes our, and made my heart swoon. Billie was such a badass and I love that about her.
This book has the strongest “Touch Her & Die” vibes I’ve ever read. I thought Zade Meadows was bad. But Zade has NOTHING on Caden King. Caden is absolutely unhinged in the best way possible. I know I’m not supposed to like Caden but I am completely obsessed with him. This was the first book I read by Lola King, but if this is how she writes all of her heroes it will definitely not be my last.
I totally love how Caden sends song lyrics. I want more of that from books.
I need the story of Jade, Ethan, & Elliot. I know it’ll be good.
literaryapologist's review
4.0
"i'm obsessed with a girl i barely know and should hate. i killed three guys because they touched her. i'm turning against my own crew for her and don't even know her fucking middle name. trust me when i say i don't understand myself."
please read trigger warnings before going into this because it is extreme.
when i tell you i want smut with a plot this what i'm referring to, enough spicy scenes that i'm not dying for it in between but enough to feel a connection with the couples. this cover really describes how broken everything is in their world. beautiful fiend follows two rival gang members that reside in some pretty bad areas and are friends with some pretty bad people and follows them and their deprived emotions as they encounter a relation with each other and hope not to burn the world down with them. i was a big fan of the book and would've rated it higher but the last three chapters just felt like unnecessary conflict and could've been handled WAY better in my opinion.
4 stars
tropes: bdsm, boy-obsessed, dark romance, forbidden, forced-proximity, jealousy, mafia, rivals, and smut.
please read trigger warnings before going into this because it is extreme.
when i tell you i want smut with a plot this what i'm referring to, enough spicy scenes that i'm not dying for it in between but enough to feel a connection with the couples. this cover really describes how broken everything is in their world. beautiful fiend follows two rival gang members that reside in some pretty bad areas and are friends with some pretty bad people and follows them and their deprived emotions as they encounter a relation with each other and hope not to burn the world down with them. i was a big fan of the book and would've rated it higher but the last three chapters just felt like unnecessary conflict and could've been handled WAY better in my opinion.
4 stars
tropes: bdsm, boy-obsessed, dark romance, forbidden, forced-proximity, jealousy, mafia, rivals, and smut.
lisabaebe's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
zoe38's review against another edition
5.0
This book is going to go into the category of books that broke me while at the same time giving me hope. I went through so many emotions while reading this book, I don't know which one to process first, you know the feeling you get when you go through a book slump because of a book, this book is book slump worthy, you may be able to move on to another book, but you are not going to forget this one, I feel like crying, screaming and laughing from joy at the same time.
Billie is a total badass, but she's also empathic at least she is with Caden, and she cares about her family even if they grate on her nerves most of the time, this woman is like a freaking storm, and you would be able to tell cause she doesn't hide it, I am forever obsessed with her.
Caden is deranged, in the scariest and most beautiful ways, this man killed for her, and he felt happiness and peace for the first time because of her, he is a man obsessed, did he do some stuff that would be unredeemable in real life? yes, but it's a good thing this isn't real life, I honestly didn't know how she was going to forgive him but damn I fell for Caden King just as hard as Billie did.
Billie is a total badass, but she's also empathic at least she is with Caden, and she cares about her family even if they grate on her nerves most of the time, this woman is like a freaking storm, and you would be able to tell cause she doesn't hide it, I am forever obsessed with her.
Caden is deranged, in the scariest and most beautiful ways, this man killed for her, and he felt happiness and peace for the first time because of her, he is a man obsessed, did he do some stuff that would be unredeemable in real life? yes, but it's a good thing this isn't real life, I honestly didn't know how she was going to forgive him but damn I fell for Caden King just as hard as Billie did.
kreadsoften's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
This is a dark bully romance, so check the trigger warnings. It follows Billie Scott, a girl from the NSC gang, and Caden King, a boy who belongs to the King gang. Their gangs are rivals, so naturally, Billie and Caden are not meant to be together, and they are enemies, at first.
When I started this, I truly thought there was no way I would like Caden. He was truly awful and just seemed like an a**hole. As the story went on, Caden had soft moments, but then his period of kindness could just snap. Honestly, he seemed pretty psychotic. But, he really brought the whole "touch her and unalive" in this book. He was very possessive of Billie. Now, while he was still cruel to her, he also did so much for her; it was just so sweet, especially considering how ruthless he was with everyone including Billie.
I admired Billie. She went through traumatic experiences, but still kept going and didn't give up. She had big dreams, and her key to achieving those dreams was by winning her MMA fights. First of all, I haven't come across many stories where the heroine is the MMA fighter, so I loved that.
This story just had so many dark themes, yet it was packed with emotional moments. It was a wild ride, and I enjoyed it. This was my first Lola King book, but it definitely won't be the last.
This is a dark bully romance, so check the trigger warnings. It follows Billie Scott, a girl from the NSC gang, and Caden King, a boy who belongs to the King gang. Their gangs are rivals, so naturally, Billie and Caden are not meant to be together, and they are enemies, at first.
When I started this, I truly thought there was no way I would like Caden. He was truly awful and just seemed like an a**hole. As the story went on, Caden had soft moments, but then his period of kindness could just snap. Honestly, he seemed pretty psychotic. But, he really brought the whole "touch her and unalive" in this book. He was very possessive of Billie. Now, while he was still cruel to her, he also did so much for her; it was just so sweet, especially considering how ruthless he was with everyone including Billie.
I admired Billie. She went through traumatic experiences, but still kept going and didn't give up. She had big dreams, and her key to achieving those dreams was by winning her MMA fights. First of all, I haven't come across many stories where the heroine is the MMA fighter, so I loved that.
This story just had so many dark themes, yet it was packed with emotional moments. It was a wild ride, and I enjoyed it. This was my first Lola King book, but it definitely won't be the last.
ginniereads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
astewey's review
5.0
This book was 4.5 stars for me!
"I'll do it again, and again, as many times as I fu*king want until you know that there's not point fighting me anymore. Until you understand that what I want, I get. Always."
This story is about Caden King of the North Shore Kings and Billie Scott of the North Shore Crew (NSC). They're both part of the founding families of the rival gangs. Caden King is ruthless. Billie Scott has dreams of getting out of North Shores so she's equally ruthless in the MMA ring, literally fighting her way out of there. Cade and Billie have always been enemies.
This book gripped me and I couldn't put it down. I felt so many emotions with this book. I was angry, excited, disgusted, hopeful, heartbroken. The only reason this book wasn't a solid 5 for me was because I had some lingering questions throughout the book, but they were more just my weird brain wanting to know then anything truly important. I loved that at the beginning of the book there was a playlist, and every chapter had a song at the beginning if you wanted to experience the book that way. I had audible reactions throughout this book and was even in tears at the end. Like I said before, this book made me feel some things! This was my first time reading Lola King and I'll be looking into more of her books in the future. This is book 1 of 4 interconnected standalones.
Tropes/Content: MF, enemies to lovers, touch her and die, gangs, gang violence, murder, drugs, MMA, bully romance, standalone, non con, dub don, villain romance
**CHECK YOUR TRIGGER WARNINGS!**
Thank you Lola King and Valentine PR for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
"I'll do it again, and again, as many times as I fu*king want until you know that there's not point fighting me anymore. Until you understand that what I want, I get. Always."
This story is about Caden King of the North Shore Kings and Billie Scott of the North Shore Crew (NSC). They're both part of the founding families of the rival gangs. Caden King is ruthless. Billie Scott has dreams of getting out of North Shores so she's equally ruthless in the MMA ring, literally fighting her way out of there. Cade and Billie have always been enemies.
This book gripped me and I couldn't put it down. I felt so many emotions with this book. I was angry, excited, disgusted, hopeful, heartbroken. The only reason this book wasn't a solid 5 for me was because I had some lingering questions throughout the book, but they were more just my weird brain wanting to know then anything truly important. I loved that at the beginning of the book there was a playlist, and every chapter had a song at the beginning if you wanted to experience the book that way. I had audible reactions throughout this book and was even in tears at the end. Like I said before, this book made me feel some things! This was my first time reading Lola King and I'll be looking into more of her books in the future. This is book 1 of 4 interconnected standalones.
Tropes/Content: MF, enemies to lovers, touch her and die, gangs, gang violence, murder, drugs, MMA, bully romance, standalone, non con, dub don, villain romance
**CHECK YOUR TRIGGER WARNINGS!**
Thank you Lola King and Valentine PR for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!