Scan barcode
hanreadssbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
not usually a friends to lovers fan, but i loved this book. definitely had a harry potter feel to it, especially with the challenges and friendships, and i loved that. the epilogue seemed a little out of place for how the characters were written, especially because it was really spicy/intense and there weren’t too many of those scenes in the rest of the book. over all, i loved it and i can’t wait to read the rest of the series! also, i’d love to know more about the librarian, so hopefully she’s in the next ones :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death, Torture, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 Fainting Goat Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
This is the type of book I would recommend to somebody who is slowly putting their toes into the stormy ocean of what "dark romance" is. It will give you slight elements of dark, with the whole "organised crime and powerful men" thing, but you're still dealing with basically very new adults and so they're not taking it as far as it could go. I think only 1 person gets murdered... in like the first chapter
Basically with very little finagling, this could lean either way to not being dark at all or completely dark. SOOOOO if you are looking for something that is going to give you darkish vibes and be a litmus test to see if you would like to read more dark romance... this would be perfect.
IF.... you are somebody who is a hardcore dark romance reader and you fall for that EXTREME villain that is darker the better, this is going to be disappointing. It's not going to hit that mark or scratch that itch. So for me (cause I love them dark), I felt that it was lacking, but then I also don't think this was meant to scratch my DARK ROMANCE itch...
This is a triple POV following Anna, Leo and Dean. All three are about to start at a prestigious university called Kingmakers as Heirs. Kingmakers is Hogwarts without the magic and a neutral ground where all the criminal families - Mafia/Brava/**Insert ANY OTHER ORG here** send their kids to learn how to be criminal masterminds. Anna and Leo are practically family (even though they are not technically related in their weird family tree) - they have been raised as "cousins". But something between them has changed and the two start to develop feelings for each other. Dean, who is Leo's ACTUAL cousin wants to kill him because Leo's dad messed with his dad and maimed him... So he tries to do the only thing that will truly hurt Leo... making Anna his.
Anna, Leo and Dean are very disconnected and disjointed and almost fall into stereotypes of what you would think their characters should be. The benefit of this was that you could very quickly tell apart the different POVs based on the style, tone and internal monologue (which is a plus because books annoy me when this is a problem).
Anna just felt like a prissy princess who acted and spoke almost like a 16-year-old child. She's pretty much had everything handed to her on a silver platter and so comes across as spoiled, even though she is trying so hard not to be preserved as spoilt. Her tone just read very naive and innocent with no true idea of what being the Heir to a Criminal Organisation is going to be. She jumps to conclusions very much to the point that it's annoying and irritating and her "Not like the other girls" mentality is frustrating. I know she's a goth princess who likes to wear grunge clothing and be all badass but it felt fake and I don't see what the guys found so amazing in her all the time. Kudos to her as she DOES grow and learn a lot about her personality and mature so I didn't hate her too much - it just only happened very late towards the end, so for a long while we had to deal with her being....
Leo read like an arrogant arsehole, from the very first chapter of him I was rolling my eyes at how arrogant his mind was and how much he thought of himself. His ego was GINORMOUS and very much the typical "Jock" where his whole personality is he's cocky, big, and good at sport. It made him almost pathetic and since I don't like Jock's didn't vibe with him AT ALL. Though again - Kudos to this man too cause he too realised what an ass and arrogant dickwad he was and changed - being far more humble and able to play nice with others at the end.
The BEST character was DEAN - and he is meant to be the worst! (Blame my dark romance little heart) - He was broody, he was alpha, and he was very very skilled with his fists and his knife. He wasn't afraid of blood and staring danger in the eye. I loved his cockiness and arrogance because his arrogance didn't feel like it stemmed from a childish reason, but rather that he's lived through something dark and if he wasn't arrogant and a dick - he would not have survived.
The vibes of Kingmakers was EPIC. Giving perfect dark academia vibes (which was not something that I was expecting going into this book). I know I would kill to have gone to a university like this, living in a tower and taking fighting lessons, learning how to murder and poison someone and excel at tax evasion. It sounds like a dream college and while it was a little bit far-fetched obviously and bordering on fantasy it painted a compelling world. It was super evident that Sophie Lark conducted a lot of research into the different types of Mafia families and their hierarchy and history. It made this world seem plausible and believable.
Some more aspects that niggled me...
1. As much as the vibes of the College were there, I actually wanted to see a little more of the content that they were studying - this was kept vague and almost diluted - implying they had learnt it, but besides showing a few practical classes wasn't touched on much.
2. The miscommunication and assumptions were a little annoying, making the relationship between Anna and Leo draw out, becoming unnecessarily angsty and drama-laden. - This ISNT too bad cause there is a reason people love drama shows on the CW...
3. I wanted her to choose Dean - Friends to lovers is not one of my favourite tropes and I just like a bad boy - which Dean gave me ALLL the tingles...
The Tropes:
▶ College/University Romance
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
▶ Mafia/Organised Crime Romance
▶ Alphamale
BUT OVERALL I stayed for the other drama - I stayed to see what Dean would do next and I stayed for the vibes. It was an enjoyable time that I didn't mind - and if I separate the wanting more dark from it- it was kinda cute how Leo and Anna were together and their little romance... AND I WILL CONTINUE... Just because I wanna see who Dean ends up with eventually!
Thank you to Sophie Lark, Source Bloom Books and Netgalley for my gifted copy!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
This is the type of book I would recommend to somebody who is slowly putting their toes into the stormy ocean of what "dark romance" is. It will give you slight elements of dark, with the whole "organised crime and powerful men" thing, but you're still dealing with basically very new adults and so they're not taking it as far as it could go. I think only 1 person gets murdered... in like the first chapter
Basically with very little finagling, this could lean either way to not being dark at all or completely dark. SOOOOO if you are looking for something that is going to give you darkish vibes and be a litmus test to see if you would like to read more dark romance... this would be perfect.
IF.... you are somebody who is a hardcore dark romance reader and you fall for that EXTREME villain that is darker the better, this is going to be disappointing. It's not going to hit that mark or scratch that itch. So for me (cause I love them dark), I felt that it was lacking, but then I also don't think this was meant to scratch my DARK ROMANCE itch...
This is a triple POV following Anna, Leo and Dean. All three are about to start at a prestigious university called Kingmakers as Heirs. Kingmakers is Hogwarts without the magic and a neutral ground where all the criminal families - Mafia/Brava/**Insert ANY OTHER ORG here** send their kids to learn how to be criminal masterminds. Anna and Leo are practically family (even though they are not technically related in their weird family tree) - they have been raised as "cousins". But something between them has changed and the two start to develop feelings for each other. Dean, who is Leo's ACTUAL cousin wants to kill him because Leo's dad messed with his dad and maimed him... So he tries to do the only thing that will truly hurt Leo... making Anna his.
Anna, Leo and Dean are very disconnected and disjointed and almost fall into stereotypes of what you would think their characters should be. The benefit of this was that you could very quickly tell apart the different POVs based on the style, tone and internal monologue (which is a plus because books annoy me when this is a problem).
Anna just felt like a prissy princess who acted and spoke almost like a 16-year-old child. She's pretty much had everything handed to her on a silver platter and so comes across as spoiled, even though she is trying so hard not to be preserved as spoilt. Her tone just read very naive and innocent with no true idea of what being the Heir to a Criminal Organisation is going to be. She jumps to conclusions very much to the point that it's annoying and irritating and her "Not like the other girls" mentality is frustrating. I know she's a goth princess who likes to wear grunge clothing and be all badass but it felt fake and I don't see what the guys found so amazing in her all the time. Kudos to her as she DOES grow and learn a lot about her personality and mature so I didn't hate her too much - it just only happened very late towards the end, so for a long while we had to deal with her being....
Leo read like an arrogant arsehole, from the very first chapter of him I was rolling my eyes at how arrogant his mind was and how much he thought of himself. His ego was GINORMOUS and very much the typical "Jock" where his whole personality is he's cocky, big, and good at sport. It made him almost pathetic and since I don't like Jock's didn't vibe with him AT ALL. Though again - Kudos to this man too cause he too realised what an ass and arrogant dickwad he was and changed - being far more humble and able to play nice with others at the end.
The BEST character was DEAN - and he is meant to be the worst! (Blame my dark romance little heart) - He was broody, he was alpha, and he was very very skilled with his fists and his knife. He wasn't afraid of blood and staring danger in the eye. I loved his cockiness and arrogance because his arrogance didn't feel like it stemmed from a childish reason, but rather that he's lived through something dark and if he wasn't arrogant and a dick - he would not have survived.
The vibes of Kingmakers was EPIC. Giving perfect dark academia vibes (which was not something that I was expecting going into this book). I know I would kill to have gone to a university like this, living in a tower and taking fighting lessons, learning how to murder and poison someone and excel at tax evasion. It sounds like a dream college and while it was a little bit far-fetched obviously and bordering on fantasy it painted a compelling world. It was super evident that Sophie Lark conducted a lot of research into the different types of Mafia families and their hierarchy and history. It made this world seem plausible and believable.
Some more aspects that niggled me...
1. As much as the vibes of the College were there, I actually wanted to see a little more of the content that they were studying - this was kept vague and almost diluted - implying they had learnt it, but besides showing a few practical classes wasn't touched on much.
2. The miscommunication and assumptions were a little annoying, making the relationship between Anna and Leo draw out, becoming unnecessarily angsty and drama-laden. - This ISNT too bad cause there is a reason people love drama shows on the CW...
3. I wanted her to choose Dean - Friends to lovers is not one of my favourite tropes and I just like a bad boy - which Dean gave me ALLL the tingles...
The Tropes:
▶ College/University Romance
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
▶ Mafia/Organised Crime Romance
▶ Alphamale
BUT OVERALL I stayed for the other drama - I stayed to see what Dean would do next and I stayed for the vibes. It was an enjoyable time that I didn't mind - and if I separate the wanting more dark from it- it was kinda cute how Leo and Anna were together and their little romance... AND I WILL CONTINUE... Just because I wanna see who Dean ends up with eventually!
Thank you to Sophie Lark, Source Bloom Books and Netgalley for my gifted copy!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death, Torture, and Death of parent
zapndoubletap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Leo, Anna, and Dean are headed to the exclusive Kingmakers, the most brutal college in the world, where mafia heirs are trained. Rivalries are created and bonds are broken.
This book is bringing Hogwarts for Mafia vibes. This series needs to be read after the Brutal Birthright series. This book features Leo (Sebastian and Yelena's son), Anna (Miko and Nessa's daughter), and Dean (Leo's cousin).
At first I really felt bad for Dean. He seemed really misunderstood and like the underdog. He is understandably angry at Leo's family for killing his grandfather. My empathy for his situation only lasted for a few chapters. He was out for revenge and would do anything to get it, including persuing Anna. He treated her like a pawn in his revenge plot, like she was an object to be had and manipulated.
I really loved Leo and Anna's relationship. They grow and mature considerably throughout the book, both individually and as a couple. I hated how, eventhough they had such a strong connection, miscommunication drove them apart in a day. I guess that does show how young and immature they are.
I wish that instead of the love triangle, we had more of Leo and Anna growing as a couple.
Tropes: childhood best friends-to-lovers, family rivalries, love triangle, mafia
This book is bringing Hogwarts for Mafia vibes. This series needs to be read after the Brutal Birthright series. This book features Leo (Sebastian and Yelena's son), Anna (Miko and Nessa's daughter), and Dean (Leo's cousin).
At first I really felt bad for Dean. He seemed really misunderstood and like the underdog. He is understandably angry at Leo's family for killing his grandfather. My empathy for his situation only lasted for a few chapters. He was out for revenge and would do anything to get it, including persuing Anna. He treated her like a pawn in his revenge plot, like she was an object to be had and manipulated.
I really loved Leo and Anna's relationship. They grow and mature considerably throughout the book, both individually and as a couple. I hated how, eventhough they had such a strong connection, miscommunication drove them apart in a day. I guess that does show how young and immature they are.
I wish that instead of the love triangle, we had more of Leo and Anna growing as a couple.
Tropes: childhood best friends-to-lovers, family rivalries, love triangle, mafia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
andeng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
psyched_np's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ceruleanshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I just found a mafia book I like?!?! I'm shook.
I picked this book up to get to the third book of the series, The Bully (because I'm a sucker for bully romance), but all the reviews kept insisting on readers starting from the first so I begrudgingly abided.
I found myself impressed by Sophie Lark's ability to pull me into this world she's built; granted, the setting is at an academy, and I love academy so that probably explains it, but I tip my hat to her.
Secret isolated academy? Check.
Beautiful Mediterranean setting? Check.
Tournament-esque plotline? Check.
Admittedly, I do not love that they're cousins - "by marriage, not blood." Why can't y'all just have their parents be besties like they already are and leave it at that lol but I guess that's adding the forbidden romance factor?
You can bet that I'm diving right into book two after I post this.
Check TWs
I picked this book up to get to the third book of the series, The Bully (because I'm a sucker for bully romance), but all the reviews kept insisting on readers starting from the first so I begrudgingly abided.
I found myself impressed by Sophie Lark's ability to pull me into this world she's built; granted, the setting is at an academy, and I love academy so that probably explains it, but I tip my hat to her.
Secret isolated academy? Check.
Beautiful Mediterranean setting? Check.
Tournament-esque plotline? Check.
Admittedly, I do not love that they're cousins - "by marriage, not blood." Why can't y'all just have their parents be besties like they already are and leave it at that lol but I guess that's adding the forbidden romance factor?
You can bet that I'm diving right into book two after I post this.
Check TWs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Fire/Fire injury
shaipanda's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Okkk so I read this cause Kendra_reads recommended it on booktok (well recommended Bully and I figured I should start with the first one) and I’m not mad ? But also I had issuessss
1. This was so longggg - not that it wasn’t without reason but like damn I was not expecting that at all and tbh I don’t know if it was entirely necessary
2. The fact that they’re cousins?? Fucking weirddd
3. I really disliked everyone but Anna tbh and *maybe* some of the other girls like Zoe and Chey
4. Absolutely no discussion of condom use or birth control or safe words when doing more kinky stuff or anythinggg
There were definitly other things too but those were the most significant for me besides the spoiler which im gonna add in a second and in the TW’s
ok so why was there like essentially no discussion or even realization really about the fact that Dean sexually assaulted and manipulated Anna on multiple occasions and also that even if she didn’t fully realize that he was drugged, Sophia Gallo also sexually assaulted Leo like wtf <spoiler/>
1. This was so longggg - not that it wasn’t without reason but like damn I was not expecting that at all and tbh I don’t know if it was entirely necessary
2. The fact that they’re cousins?? Fucking weirddd
3. I really disliked everyone but Anna tbh and *maybe* some of the other girls like Zoe and Chey
4. Absolutely no discussion of condom use or birth control or safe words when doing more kinky stuff or anythinggg
There were definitly other things too but those were the most significant for me besides the spoiler which im gonna add in a second and in the TW’s
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Torture
psydneigh's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. They felt like young adults. I kinda wish they were in their 20s but its college. I get it. Now I really could've done without the tearing in the sex scene Jesus. Not needed. I also wish Sophie Lark would discuss contraception more in here books because I can't tell if they are risking it for the biscuit or if she's on the pill and there are no worries.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment