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A review by agrippinaes
Her Vengeful King by A.N. Stauber
3.0
Callum is the future leader of Boston’s most feared crime family, whilst Haley is a doctor who has swapped her military career for working in a hospital in Boston. She saved Callum’s brother’s life when they served together, and when she meets Callum, sparks fly. Callum is determined to have her, and when it becomes apparent someone is stalking Haley, he steps in to protect her. But Haley’s past has left her with deep scars, both physical and mental, that will make a relationship between them difficult.
I have complicated feelings about this book. On one hand, I found it very engaging and I wanted to know what happened. There were some interesting ideas in the book and the plot worked well for me. I thought the romance was enjoyable in its way; there was good chemistry between them and I was interested to see where their romance would lead. Callum’s character felt distinct to me and I really believed his feelings for Haley. However, I struggled to connect with Haley. It felt like her personality switched a lot through the course of the book and she made some choices that felt very hard for me to understand as a reader. I never really felt like I believed her feelings for Callum.
I also felt that some of the writing could have been a bit tighter. The pacing felt a bit off in a few places - some parts felt a bit slow whilst others felt rushed, and as a result some of the plot felt a bit disjointed, with some major plotlines being introduced and then ended quite quickly, and others that felt more minor taking up a lot of space. As I said earlier in this review, there were some interesting ideas, and I think if the author had narrowed the focus a little bit it would have worked better.
So my feelings for the book are conflicted, because I struggled to connect with one of the main characters and I found some of the writing a little hard to follow. Overall, though, the book was engaging with good ideas and a steamy romance, and I think a lot of people who like dark mafia romances would probably enjoy this. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.
Content Notes:
Other: On-page sex, virgin heroine.
I have complicated feelings about this book. On one hand, I found it very engaging and I wanted to know what happened. There were some interesting ideas in the book and the plot worked well for me. I thought the romance was enjoyable in its way; there was good chemistry between them and I was interested to see where their romance would lead. Callum’s character felt distinct to me and I really believed his feelings for Haley. However, I struggled to connect with Haley. It felt like her personality switched a lot through the course of the book and she made some choices that felt very hard for me to understand as a reader. I never really felt like I believed her feelings for Callum.
I also felt that some of the writing could have been a bit tighter. The pacing felt a bit off in a few places - some parts felt a bit slow whilst others felt rushed, and as a result some of the plot felt a bit disjointed, with some major plotlines being introduced and then ended quite quickly, and others that felt more minor taking up a lot of space. As I said earlier in this review, there were some interesting ideas, and I think if the author had narrowed the focus a little bit it would have worked better.
So my feelings for the book are conflicted, because I struggled to connect with one of the main characters and I found some of the writing a little hard to follow. Overall, though, the book was engaging with good ideas and a steamy romance, and I think a lot of people who like dark mafia romances would probably enjoy this. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.
Content Notes:
Spoiler
Warnings: Violence, gun violence, torture, blood, murder, organised crime, alcoholism, child sexual abuse, stalking, child abuse, miscarriage (in past, side character), attempted rape (on-page), human trafficking / sex trafficking, PTSD, panic attacks.Other: On-page sex, virgin heroine.