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pattyfgd's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first Natalie Bennett book, and I can't wait for the next in the series. Dark, bully and devious, this high school romance is like no other. Rhiannon is surprised by her parents her senior year to attend Pesdallia Prep, the school her best friend attends. Excited, she has no idea what she is in store for. This school has deep mafia ties, and Judas Barron runs the children of the families. Young, yet knowledgeable of the life, these kids are dark and dangerous. They have been numbed to destruction lives they destroy. Judas has his eye on Rhiannon, and the pull between them is strong. Will she go with him? Does she have a choice? Bennett has given us a good foundation of the story. We get Rhiannon's naivete, and need to be accepted. Judas is definitely disturbed and controlling. We can hear the inherent secrets that are not being told, adding to the building suspense. I am looking forward to what is next!
Lacy Laurel and Connor Crais are the narrators and give us all the feels. Laurel is so good as Rhiannon, giving us her personality with a little fearfulness, yet a curiosity that can't be stopped. This is my first Connor Crais listen, and I love his voice! He is amazing as Judas adding that dangerous tone. He makes me want to know him better.This team is a good casting for the series!
Lacy Laurel and Connor Crais are the narrators and give us all the feels. Laurel is so good as Rhiannon, giving us her personality with a little fearfulness, yet a curiosity that can't be stopped. This is my first Connor Crais listen, and I love his voice! He is amazing as Judas adding that dangerous tone. He makes me want to know him better.This team is a good casting for the series!
jqduskrose's review against another edition
2.0
This book left me thoroughly disappointed and frustrated. The plot was a mess, filled with clichés, and lacked any originality. The characters were one-dimensional, making it impossible to connect with or care about happens to them. The writing style felt forced, with awkward dialogue and predictable twists that failed to engage me. The world building was shallow and unconvincing, leaving me questioning the author's ability to craft a compelling story. Overall, Lawless Kingdom failed to deliver on its promises, and I found myself struggling to finish a book that felt like a mediocre attempt at a genre already saturated with superior works.
thebookplatypus91's review against another edition
5.0
Holy fuck. I need some damn ice water.
Judas Bennett.
Even his name his gorgeous.
“He looked like the personification of sin and heartbreak.”
This is a short book that like Natalie Bennett style, gives us no fucking answers as to what’s going on.
“We were a sick, savage youth. The offspring of modernized and clandestine ‘crime’ families. Paragon assets, so to speak.” -
We know Judas is part of some underground cult/mafia type group. He laid claim on Rhia. She literally has no idea what the fick is going on except now how this gorgeous boy and his damn riddles are confusing as overbearing and .. an alphahole.
“Rhiannon Clermont was a goddamn siren. Too damn beautiful for my world of depravity and sin. Yet, at the same time, so fucking right for it. All I wanted to do was consume her entirely, drag her into it and make sure she’d never find a way out.”
I’m dying for more.
I need more.
People aren’t who they say they are. No one will speak.
“ my family has skeletons about to pour from the closet, and I was in bed with the monster for my daydreams, a sick addiction”.
No worries. I’ll sit back and wait to watch Rhia’s world to blow the fuck up in the next book.
I have a feeling she’s going to do the same the one and only Judas Bennett.
5/5 stars
Judas Bennett.
Even his name his gorgeous.
“He looked like the personification of sin and heartbreak.”
This is a short book that like Natalie Bennett style, gives us no fucking answers as to what’s going on.
“We were a sick, savage youth. The offspring of modernized and clandestine ‘crime’ families. Paragon assets, so to speak.” -
We know Judas is part of some underground cult/mafia type group. He laid claim on Rhia. She literally has no idea what the fick is going on except now how this gorgeous boy and his damn riddles are confusing as overbearing and .. an alphahole.
“Rhiannon Clermont was a goddamn siren. Too damn beautiful for my world of depravity and sin. Yet, at the same time, so fucking right for it. All I wanted to do was consume her entirely, drag her into it and make sure she’d never find a way out.”
I’m dying for more.
I need more.
People aren’t who they say they are. No one will speak.
“ my family has skeletons about to pour from the closet, and I was in bed with the monster for my daydreams, a sick addiction”.
No worries. I’ll sit back and wait to watch Rhia’s world to blow the fuck up in the next book.
I have a feeling she’s going to do the same the one and only Judas Bennett.
5/5 stars
tayablackhousefarm's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
la_vampiresa's review against another edition
4.0
"It’d been natural for the wolf to seek me out since I had gone as Little Red. Letting the wolf taste and claim me was another story."
Rhiannon went to a party, while one thing led to another and she ended having the best night of her life with a masked stranger. Fast forward a few years, she lived a pretty simple life. Moved to a new place, making her way to through school, best friend and boyfriend, although, they were from different worlds, never left her behind. It wasn't until her senior year, when all the fun begins.
Jude Barren, an arrogant, possessive, alphahole. His family is one of the elite families that make up the underground crime world. At such a young age, he's already specializes in murder, torture, and disposal. Once he staked his claim on Rhiannon, that was it. Nobody is to touch her, but him.
"We were a New Age Romeo and Juliet, but for one of us our curtain call would come with a much more satisfying ending, and a sinister twist."
I really loved this. I didn't really know what to expect. I am such a sucker for academia, bully, mafia/crime stories (especially together) and it all fit perfectly! I have to admit (besides the prologue), the build up was a tad bit slow but definitely couldn't put it down. This was an incredible prequel and backstory. Natalie Bennett can literally do any trope. There were so many unanswered questions and twist, I NEED MORE!
yoroxygrl's review against another edition
4.0
*Audiobook format read*
Quick and dirty and just what I needed in the FMC department! YUM! Rhiannon was such a realistic and intelligent FMC, yet also very willing to bend to her carnal desires to meet Judas in his. Ugh, why can’t more FMCs be written this way?!
And Judas…the MOUTH on him
Quick and dirty and just what I needed in the FMC department! YUM! Rhiannon was such a realistic and intelligent FMC, yet also very willing to bend to her carnal desires to meet Judas in his. Ugh, why can’t more FMCs be written this way?!
And Judas…the MOUTH on him
bookish_kayy's review against another edition
5.0
A bully romance with a Natalie Bennett twist? Sign me up immediately!
I loved this couples backstory, and their ride to a relationship. Well, I use relationship loosely here, but they definitely took quite a journey to get to it, and it most certainly had some bumps in it that others don’t.
Judas is building an empire in a sense, on a mission to become, not merely a King, but a God amongst his peers. And what he needs is a Goddess molded perfectly to his brand of mayhem.
Rhiannon doesn’t want to be the queen, but she can’t seem to stay away either, not by choice anyways. She definitely has conflicting feelings about what Jude brings out in her.
Absolute perfection in these pages.
I need the next book after that ending.
I loved this couples backstory, and their ride to a relationship. Well, I use relationship loosely here, but they definitely took quite a journey to get to it, and it most certainly had some bumps in it that others don’t.
Judas is building an empire in a sense, on a mission to become, not merely a King, but a God amongst his peers. And what he needs is a Goddess molded perfectly to his brand of mayhem.
Rhiannon doesn’t want to be the queen, but she can’t seem to stay away either, not by choice anyways. She definitely has conflicting feelings about what Jude brings out in her.
Absolute perfection in these pages.
I need the next book after that ending.
kfriend's review
5.0
What an intriguing and captivating start to a new series! And, a surprising turn for our beloved savage queen of darkness- we mostly have a (light) bully romance here- but with a dark and twisted future ahead. Natalie is also a great creator of worlds (Savages) or dark sub-worlds within a contemporary one (Dahlia series), but this one is 100% contemporary and 100% a high school bully love-hate, and I am here for it! (and we do have a few twisted scenes (not as graphic and grotesque as Natalie’s usual- mostly implied vs. described))
“We were a new age Romeo and Juliet, but for one of us our curtain call would come with a much more satisfying ending, and a sinister twist.”
And, holy depraved kink- that first chapter pulls you right in and warns you of the twisted, toxic attraction to come. Our story centers on the explosive and dynamic chemistry between our two main characters- Judas and Rhiannon. Rhiannon is witty, dry, and feisty- but, the best part about her is she’s instinctual and open- she doesn’t second guess her attractions or gut instincts, she doesn’t try to put herself in some box, she just goes with it- and this makes her character development interesting and leaves a lot of space for us to explore the darkness Judas apparently sees in her (we are left wondering more!). Judas is your class dark, demented alpha king- moving al the chess pieces around, wickedly good looking, excellent at concealing his true nature, somehow sinister and charismatic all at once. He both loves and hates Rhia- and the start to form a toxic interest and codependence that is magnetic. He both dominates her and lusts after her- and she likes it. He makes his intentions to keep her clear, but what exactly that means time will tell.
The bully part is light both because we blissfully have a dual POV and because Judas makes his intentions clear early on- which I appreciate. We get in both character’s heads straight away, and we aren’t left second guessing motives- rather, we are just trying to figure out everyone’s secrets, understand what the true reality is in the world that Judas inhabits, and are deeply invested in Rhiannon’s reaction to it. There are still secrets to unpack, including just what Rhiannon is willing to do. (you can sense the chaos and darkness starting to spark within her)
If you are a Natalie lover like me, you’ll find the darkness, depravity, and grotesqueness that is the undercurrent of her twisted stories is much lighter here than normal- and it still works for me, both because you can see there is much more at play than what we learn in this first installment and we have tiny snippets of the brutality we can expect from Judas and gang as well as the darkness that lies in Rhiannon…..and, we also have the book snippet, in which Natalie full out warns us that more darkness is to come. Be warned, this is the first of a series, and it will leave you wanting MORE. I can’t wait for Book 2 and the tangled, depraved, toxic web that is the story of Judas and Rhiannon:
Judas: “Even after I destroy your world, I promise I’ll be there to help you pick up the shattered pieces.”
Rhiannon: “…why would you put it back together.”
Judas: “Because I get to rebuilt it however I want.”
No one does toxic, dark, and depraved relationships like Natalie- SO excited for this series!
“We were a new age Romeo and Juliet, but for one of us our curtain call would come with a much more satisfying ending, and a sinister twist.”
And, holy depraved kink- that first chapter pulls you right in and warns you of the twisted, toxic attraction to come. Our story centers on the explosive and dynamic chemistry between our two main characters- Judas and Rhiannon. Rhiannon is witty, dry, and feisty- but, the best part about her is she’s instinctual and open- she doesn’t second guess her attractions or gut instincts, she doesn’t try to put herself in some box, she just goes with it- and this makes her character development interesting and leaves a lot of space for us to explore the darkness Judas apparently sees in her (we are left wondering more!). Judas is your class dark, demented alpha king- moving al the chess pieces around, wickedly good looking, excellent at concealing his true nature, somehow sinister and charismatic all at once. He both loves and hates Rhia- and the start to form a toxic interest and codependence that is magnetic. He both dominates her and lusts after her- and she likes it. He makes his intentions to keep her clear, but what exactly that means time will tell.
The bully part is light both because we blissfully have a dual POV and because Judas makes his intentions clear early on- which I appreciate. We get in both character’s heads straight away, and we aren’t left second guessing motives- rather, we are just trying to figure out everyone’s secrets, understand what the true reality is in the world that Judas inhabits, and are deeply invested in Rhiannon’s reaction to it. There are still secrets to unpack, including just what Rhiannon is willing to do. (you can sense the chaos and darkness starting to spark within her)
If you are a Natalie lover like me, you’ll find the darkness, depravity, and grotesqueness that is the undercurrent of her twisted stories is much lighter here than normal- and it still works for me, both because you can see there is much more at play than what we learn in this first installment and we have tiny snippets of the brutality we can expect from Judas and gang as well as the darkness that lies in Rhiannon…..and, we also have the book snippet, in which Natalie full out warns us that more darkness is to come. Be warned, this is the first of a series, and it will leave you wanting MORE. I can’t wait for Book 2 and the tangled, depraved, toxic web that is the story of Judas and Rhiannon:
Judas: “Even after I destroy your world, I promise I’ll be there to help you pick up the shattered pieces.”
Rhiannon: “…why would you put it back together.”
Judas: “Because I get to rebuilt it however I want.”
No one does toxic, dark, and depraved relationships like Natalie- SO excited for this series!