Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Black Knight

Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Black Knight by Rina Kent

74 reviews

booklovinmamas's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Black Knight is the fourth installment in Rina Kent’s Royal Elite series. This was the one book in the series I was anxious to read because I needed to find out why Xander and Kimberly had a falling out. They used to be good friends when they were younger, but something happened where Xander ended up becoming a bully to Kimberly.

Rina Kent wrote an emotional story about Xander and Kimberly, and I felt for both of these characters in different ways. Kimberly stole my heart because there was a girl who just wanted to be loved, and she wanted to know why her best friend, Xander, started being mean to her. She also had so much love for her little brother and cared for him more than anyone else did, especially when it came to her mother, who I couldn’t stand in this book. Maybe it’s the mama bear in me, but I wanted to go through the book and hug Kimberly and be her mama because her mama was horrible to her, especially emotionally. What she went through in this book was hard to read at times. I don’t have any triggers, but there was one scene that was tough for me to read. My heart ached for Kimberly and I had to remind myself it’s a fictional story, but it hit hard at home for me.

Xander was horrible to Kimberly in the beginning, and there were times I was not too fond of his character. He was one of the Horsemen, and even the other horsemen were getting on him for how he treated Kimberly. I loved how Ronan was trying to make him jealous the whole time, and Xander would lose it. It was apparent Xander had feelings, even if he was mean to Kimberly. I was ready to find out why he was no longer friends, though, and it was finally revealed halfway through the book, and it was a doozy of a secret. I was in shock and now understood why Xander was upset. The poor kid found out something that others were keeping secret, and he had to keep it from Kimberly. I did eventually start liking Xander, especially when he was there for Kimberly after what happened. The best part was with him and Kimberly’s younger brother. Xander was there to help when she needed assistance with him.

This book was another emotional rollercoaster in the Royal Elite series. It was full of family drama, tension, and angst between the main characters while also giving a satisfying HEA that both Xander and Kimberly friggin’ deserved after so many years. Overall, I give this book four stars, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series, especially when Rina sets up their storylines. This is why I recommend reading these books in order. You’ll understand the world and characters a lot better if you do.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s an Interconnected Standalone in the Royal Elite Series, but take it from someone who read the previous books: You’ll want to read them in order.

Previous Books:
Cruel King (Levi & Astrid) (Prequel)
Deviant King (Aiden & Elsa) (Royal Elite Book One)
Steel Princess (Aiden & Elsa) (Royal Elite Book Two)
Twisted Kingdom (Aiden & Elsa) (Royal Elite Book Three)

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I recommend it to readers who enjoy Dark Bully Romances set in High School. Check your TW before reading, though, especially with this book.

Audiobook Recommendation: This series is best listened to if you enjoy audiobooks. The narrators, Keira Stevens and Shane East do a fantastic job bringing the story and characters to life.

What to Expect:
🖤Bully Romance
🖤Friends to Enemies to Lovers
🖤AntiHero
🖤Angsty & Emotional

Content Warnings

marygg3's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.0

Now we're talking.
I liked it, I totally flew through it and I'm already getting everything prepared for the next one.

This one was a bit more serious though. The difficult aspects of mental health struggles, body image and a toxic relationship with food on one side; alcoholism and toxic coping mechanisms on the other... I liked how Rina Kent went about these issues, never romanticizing them, never skipping over the actual work it takes to heal and always making the character, and not their partner, responsible for their own growth. Xander said it better than me:

I'll heal, like I'm sure you will. I won't fix you and you won't fix me. We’ll just hug each other like we used to do in the past.

And Kim, oh God, my sweet girl is all grown up now. I loved her arc and how much stronger she is now. The importance of asking for help and talking through her feelings was a hard lesson for her, but she made it.

I might be broken, but I’ll pull myself together. I might have fallen, but I’ll get up. There’ll be a day where I look behind and say I survived.

And survive she did, they both did.

Now, the main issue was so convoluted I got really scared for a second there, but everything turned out well and the romance was truly romancing from the get go, so I'm not complaning. Also, it was refreshing to have two main characters that were both virgins; I was starting to get sick of the glorification of FMC virginity.
On to the next one, for I can't wait to see inside our new couple's brains.

Content Warnings