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kayxoxo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
Please check the Trigger warning! Themes of SA, rape and abuse.
Loved this! This is the beginning story of Penny -a young math wizard- and Damon Scott -the son of a notorious criminal- two people with less than ideal father figures. They form a bond at a young age and their father's lead these two together.
The King is dark romance at its finest. I highly suggest reading the Pawn, The Knight & The Castle before delving into the Masterpiece duet. The whole story will make better sense!
The book is really sad but the characters make the story really fantastic. Skye Warren writes beautifully!
Please check the Trigger warning! Themes of SA, rape and abuse.
Loved this! This is the beginning story of Penny -a young math wizard- and Damon Scott -the son of a notorious criminal- two people with less than ideal father figures. They form a bond at a young age and their father's lead these two together.
The King is dark romance at its finest. I highly suggest reading the Pawn, The Knight & The Castle before delving into the Masterpiece duet. The whole story will make better sense!
The book is really sad but the characters make the story really fantastic. Skye Warren writes beautifully!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, and Rape
tiffmipark's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
The main character is literally 15 and is treated like a sex object. Super disgusting.beamasalunga's review against another edition
3.0
The King is the first novel in Endgame's spin-off series, Masterpiece Duet. It's about Penny and Damon Scott and majority of the events took place from The Castle. I like it but it didn't lived up to my expectations. I'm kind of bummed with that because I love Penny and Damon more than Gabriel and Avery. The romance between them fell flat but it's understable because Penny was still a minor and Damon doesn't like to take advantage her vulnerability. You can tell Damon fancies her but he's waiting for the right time.
I uplifted my rating because we get a history of their first encounter. Penny was a bright girl and she has a great future ahead. She's so good in Mathematics, my least favorite subject. Haha. While Jonathan Scott is around no one is safe. I am careful with my words to avoid spoilers. Since I didn't miss a lot (except from Damon and Penny's past/first meet up), I could have skipped this and jump to next one.
I uplifted my rating because we get a history of their first encounter. Penny was a bright girl and she has a great future ahead. She's so good in Mathematics, my least favorite subject. Haha. While Jonathan Scott is around no one is safe. I am careful with my words to avoid spoilers. Since I didn't miss a lot (except from Damon and Penny's past/first meet up), I could have skipped this and jump to next one.
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
4.0
All the books in this series are similar so basically the same comments apply. They are always a fantastic representation of the story found within. The author has a theme that continues through both series. So that creates a nice unity. The typography is eye-catching and interesting. That said it loses a star for the author's name being larger than the title.
Hmmm...I am trying to put my thoughts into words on how I felt about this one. I enjoyed it A LOT there is no doubt about that, but I also felt a little bit disappointed with the lack of connection I felt between this couple. Or maybe it was more the lack of intimacy. I'll explain more in a bit.So, let us start with the good stuff. This author certainly knows how to spin a good tale. The writing was fantastic. The pace was excellent. I never grew bored or felt the need to skim. There was plenty of angst. No OW/OM drama. All wrapped up in a nifty little cliffy that will surely have you dying to get your hands on book two.
So what didn't work for me? And I am not even sure I would say it didn't work so much as I felt something was missing. There is no sex in this book at all. Just a kiss. Now I get that the heroine is only 15, and I don't know if I forgot or it was never mentioned, but I was a bit taken back by how young she was. For some reason, I thought she was older when
Spoiler
Johnathon Scott attacked herBut like I said I still found myself sucked into the story and I am hoping that a lot of the things that bothered me about this one will be worked out in the second book (fingers crossed). This still earns a two thumbs up from yours truly.
bookscoffeeandpassion's review against another edition
5.0
Skye Warren wrecked me with the Endgame Series and she did it again with The King, the first book in the Masterpiece Duet.
Damon and Penny’s history is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. Penny’s life is very far from easy, she never had a normal family life and her genius mind, her only hope to achieve more for her future, ends up attracting the wrong kind of attention. And she’s only a seven year old. That’s when she meets Damon…
Damon is the son of a criminal, his dad, Jonathan Scott, is a ruthless sociopath and Damon’s on the run when he meets Penny. Their lives entwine and soon Damon chooses to make an ultimate sacrifice to save “baby genius” from a terrible fate: falling in his dad’s hands.
The story fast forwards: Penny’s now working at a dinner, trying to keep her dad from gambling but sometimes life comes full circle… And suddenly Penny is in danger of falling in Jonathan Scott’s hands again. What exactly are the odds that Damon can save her again?
This may sound odd but I really loved how Penny and Damon met, she’s a child and he’s a young boy but they met exactly when they needed each other. Their connection as two damaged souls is so heartbreaking. Trust me, it’s amazingly perfect. I loved both Damon and Penny, their strengths, their weaknesses and especially how Penny’s resilience is truly inspiring.
Even though The King can be read as a standalone, it is a spin-off of the Endgame series so I would highly recommend that you read that series first, it’s definitely worth it!
Dark, gritty, powerful, angsty, deeply compelling with complex characters, fantastic writing, a perfect pace and a cliffhanger from hell! Mind blowing! I loved every word of The King and now I just don’t how am I going to survive until September for The Queen’s release.
Damon and Penny’s history is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. Penny’s life is very far from easy, she never had a normal family life and her genius mind, her only hope to achieve more for her future, ends up attracting the wrong kind of attention. And she’s only a seven year old. That’s when she meets Damon…
Damon is the son of a criminal, his dad, Jonathan Scott, is a ruthless sociopath and Damon’s on the run when he meets Penny. Their lives entwine and soon Damon chooses to make an ultimate sacrifice to save “baby genius” from a terrible fate: falling in his dad’s hands.
The story fast forwards: Penny’s now working at a dinner, trying to keep her dad from gambling but sometimes life comes full circle… And suddenly Penny is in danger of falling in Jonathan Scott’s hands again. What exactly are the odds that Damon can save her again?
This may sound odd but I really loved how Penny and Damon met, she’s a child and he’s a young boy but they met exactly when they needed each other. Their connection as two damaged souls is so heartbreaking. Trust me, it’s amazingly perfect. I loved both Damon and Penny, their strengths, their weaknesses and especially how Penny’s resilience is truly inspiring.
Even though The King can be read as a standalone, it is a spin-off of the Endgame series so I would highly recommend that you read that series first, it’s definitely worth it!
Dark, gritty, powerful, angsty, deeply compelling with complex characters, fantastic writing, a perfect pace and a cliffhanger from hell! Mind blowing! I loved every word of The King and now I just don’t how am I going to survive until September for The Queen’s release.
somanybooksineedmoretime's review against another edition
5.0
​​Method: audiobook
Rating: 5/5 stars
H rating: 4.5/5 - Damon. Freaking jerk! Lovely lovely douchebag..
h rating: 5/5 - Penny. The sweetest girl I've ever read about!
Drama: 5/5 - How much drama can I go through with this author/series!? I love it.
Thoughts: Super upset with him at the ending, but happy we went through this history. Obviously I will be reading The Queen!
shahlasworld's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a suspenseful slow burn dark romance. I loved Penny’s character so much. She was strong, resilient, smart and yet had that vulnerable aspect to her. I love her connection with Damon and how Damon affected her. As for Damon, you can’t helped but love him. He had this magnetic persona and aura that drew you to him. You wanted to know more of this mysterious and quiet man. And so, I can’t wait to discover what layers of Damon will be revealed and how far will he go to make Penny his.
bookedinsideout's review
2.0
CW: Sexual assault (off-page, but some details given), torture/scars/repeated drowning
I guess I’m going for the double (quintuple?) feature. Unfortunately this was a little disappointing. I read The Prince as a prologue novella (detailing how Penny and Damon met prior to the events of The Castle) and then when I started The King found out that The Prince is actually Part 1 of this book. That was fine and I skipped forward, except then the last two thirds of the book were mostly the events of The Castle but told from a different perspective. There were some new details given and we got some insight into a different relationship, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t just read The Castle this morning. However, I'm not sure what the age gap is and Damon seemed quite a bit older (from the last books too) than Penny's 15/16... I was not expecting her to be so young.
I guess I’m going for the double (quintuple?) feature. Unfortunately this was a little disappointing. I read The Prince as a prologue novella (detailing how Penny and Damon met prior to the events of The Castle) and then when I started The King found out that The Prince is actually Part 1 of this book. That was fine and I skipped forward, except then the last two thirds of the book were mostly the events of The Castle but told from a different perspective. There were some new details given and we got some insight into a different relationship, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t just read The Castle this morning. However, I'm not sure what the age gap is and Damon seemed quite a bit older (from the last books too) than Penny's 15/16... I was not expecting her to be so young.