Summary
My boss. My hell.
When I slept with a faceless jock as a teen, I didn’t think I would become pregnant.
I also didn’t think I would lose that child.
Several years later, I find out that my daughter is alive and I’m given a second chance.
One problem, though.
The faceless jock isn’t so faceless anymore.
He has a name everyone fears; Kingsley Shaw.
A ruthless bastard. A heartless devil. And most importantly, my daughter’s father.
Oh, and he hates me as much as I hate him.
We’re out to destroy one another with all methods available.
Including a dangerous game of lust that might lead to our downfall.
Excerpt
It’s the night of mischief.
Commonly known as Devil’s Night.
My mother used to tell me that the gates of hell open tonight and the demons are allowed to roam the earth and spread their evil.
It was one of the few occasions I saw my mother excited, smiling, humming a happy tune.
She made it a habit to hand-sew me a costume and take me trick-or-treating while wearing a huge grin on her face.
That was my mother in a nutshell—innocently childish, irrevocably naïve, and stupidly in love.
And that love? It cost her her life.
And mine, in retrospect.
Because ever since she died four years ago, I’ve turned into the cynical little monster she tried to save me from becoming.
Maybe she didn’t try hard enough.
Maybe she didn’t care enough.
Because nothing she could’ve done would’ve made a difference. I have my father’s genes, after all.
The chilly autumn air penetrates my skin and embraces my bones with ominous persistence. As if that’s not enough, it blows my hair and jams it against my eyes.
Thanks to Mom, I was born with naturally bright, excruciatingly attention-grabbing red hair. At times, it resembles the horns of the devil.
Extremely fitting for this night, if you ask me.
“You stand out, and not in a good way, Aspen,” the blonde angel to my right says. Clearly fake, unless wearing a costume with wings makes you one.
Caroline is a friend I met in middle school when I first moved to her neighborhood after my mother’s death and Dad’s disappearance. We’ve been close ever since because her abusive household mirrors mine. We often find refuge in each other’s company, despite having extremely different personalities.
She’s the bubbly type who likes being at every party.
For instance, this one.
I didn’t really want to come. Not only am I an exemplary student who spends every free moment studying so I can get out of the custom-made hellhole my aunt and uncle have made for me, but I’m also not good with people.
However, after having a pan thrown at my back because I didn’t heat dinner to my drunken uncle’s liking, I was like “fuck it” and asked Caroline to give me the address to the party.
Obviously, I had to sneak out of the house by climbing down a tree from the attic I use as a bedroom.
My friend jacks up a hand on her tiny waist that serves as the wings’ belt holder. “When you said you were coming, I thought you’d be in a costume.”
“I don’t have one.” Nor do I want to hide behind anything. I already have a mask I wear in public; I don’t need another one.
Review
(audiobook) Since the first book, I wanted to know King and Aspen’s story. I wanted to read about their one and only time together–of which Gwyn is the result–and see how their obvious hatred for each other as adults would morph into love. It was the enemies to lovers romance I needed, with open animosity and strong attraction.
I wasn’t even disappointed when the love I was waiting for looked a lot like lust. It’s the big struggle with the trope, and it almost succeeded. Let’s say it half succeeded–the successful half being Aspen. She shows respect and admiration for Kingsley even when they bicker, and flashbacks show that she felt something for the boy she met when she was young. On Kingsley’s half, it’s more dubious. Sure, he hasn’t had a real relationship since he slept with Aspen twenty years before, but he’s also quite rash with her and we don’t see a lot of feelings on his part until he admits to them. It’s okay, I accepted it.
Because they were scorching hot together! The whole series is kinky, and this one was doubly so. Maybe because of the side of hate. Maybe because, in the middle of their tornado of lust and hate, they don’t have much consideration for the people around them. Public encounters don’t bother them. And at the same time, they’re trying to keep their affair secret. Hot, I’m telling you.
I loved that their feelings for each other mostly develop because of a third party’s intervention. Their daughter isn’t trying to set them up, no. But she wants them to at least get along, because she loves her father, and she wants a relationship with her mother. The resulting tension between the three of them leads to some change in their dynamics. The fact that Gwyn is now a married woman had also an influence, especially since she married her father’s best friend and associate.
This book was really Aspen’s story. How she reconnects with her daughter. How she starts something with Kingsley. And how she deals with her past. She grew up in an abusing home, while her father was in prison. Because he was a criminal! There’s a whole mafia slash family intrigue that was quite gripping. The book is about Aspen dealing with her past to make herself a better present.
Narration was exceptional. The female narrator was capable to show Aspen’s strength as well as her more vulnerable side, and the male narrator did Kingsley’s constant rage and arrogance perfectly. A great book, and a great audio to go with it!
Quickie
- Series: Empire #4 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #billionaire romance #office romance #erotica #second chance #enemies to lovers #mafia
- Triggers: mention of violence, murder and suicide, domestic abuse, bullying, underage sex
- Main couple: Aspen Leblanc & Kingsley Shaw
- Hotness: 5/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + it was volcano hot
- – always a bit doubtful about love with the enemies to lovers trope
Stalker mode
You can subscribe to Rina Kent’s newsletter on her website.
You can also follow her on Facebook.
Vero Ticker 