The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell REVIEW

 

The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell

3.78 out of 5 Stars

 

The Dark King is described on the cover as being, "Neon Gods meets Fifty Shades . . . Deliciously dark and sexy!" -- #1 NYT Bestselling Author Helen Hardt. Bryn Meara is sent a promotional offer to stay at the most high-end hotel and casino in Vegas which is owned by Caiden Verran, who is also the king of the Dark Fae. None of the early events that led Bryn to Vegas, or to her and Caiden's marriage, have been purely organic, and as Bryn and Caiden grow closer, they also realized that they have been thrown together by someone with ill intent toward the Dark Fae and Court. 

 

I really liked this book! It was a bit on the simple side, but sometimes, that's not too bad when the character development is really good, which is the case for this book. It's a little edgy, a little sexy, and a little sweet. For anyone looking for a romance book like this, which, I can definitely see the similarities to the romance books compared to in the blurb, definitely check out the full description on the back of the book or online to see if it sounds like something you'd be interested in. If so, I'd say go for it! The Dark King is the perfect romance novel escapism for a handful of hours.

Plot:

Beyond the scope of the romantic development between Bryn and Caiden, there is a legitimate plot about the politics of the fae world with actual stakes that are in addition to the longevity and health of the romantic relationship. We love to see it, but we really only started to see it until the middle of the book. The first half of the book, suspicious things took place, but the were more just oddities and didn't raise any suspense like the developments in the second half of the book. For the overall development of this story-line, I think I would have liked those earlier moments to be more ominous or sinister in tone instead of just curious so that this story-line had more room to grow and breathe properly. 

The romantic plot was spot on perfect. The development was gradual, with each character reaching their own mental internal progress about the relationship by reasonable increments, and together, they meshed really well without one overpowering the other at all times. 

Characters: 

I really liked all the characters, but, the dialogue was waaaaayyyyyy too cheesy at times, mostly in the beginning of the book, and damn near entirely with Bryn's dialogue. Everything else about the characters was fabulous, but why why why could the dialogue have not been solid at all times? It feels like cherry picking for flaws, because it really is, but the cheesiness was off the charts to where it took away from the book for me.

Writing:

This is definitely a book about the characters, and the author does an excellent job writing them. On the whole, I think the writing was nice and smooth, which is great, but nothing really about it stood out (excepting the dialogue moments mentioned above). The character development is great though, including for a handful of key minor characters. So if you love reading for the characters, this is definitely one of those books you'd enjoy. 

A nice little new romance! I think I came across this title from the online marketing, which looking back on it, may be a little exaggerated in tone compared to the actual book, but hey, I still found a copy of this book to read, so marketing did their job right. Definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a romance with this description!

Thanks for reading!