Review by koistyfishy - King of Envy

koistyfishy 's review for:

King of Envy by Ana Huang

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4 Bingo Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5

Okay, this is probably one of the best Ana Huang books I’ve ever read. It just had everything I adore in this "dark romance", and I’m honestly a little obsessed.

“But with Ayana, there was no walking away. No negotiation. She was mine, and I would die before I lost her.”

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
This story follows Ayana Kinkade, a supermodel engaged to Jordan. While the world believes their relationship is real, it’s actually a business arrangement. Jordan needs a wife to secure his inheritance, and Ayana needs money to buy herself out of a toxic modelling contract. Then there’s Vuk Markovic, Jordan’s best friend and best man. He’s silent, broody, emotionally guarded — and completely in love with Ayana. But because she’s engaged to his best friend, he’s forced to keep his distance, leading Ayana to believe he hates her. And as the wedding gets closer and closer and the two of them are put into more and more situations alone, they start to realize that they might actually have feelings for each other... and things get complicated, fast.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
It should be noted, I jumped directly from book 1 into book 5 and I didn't miss much. There are obviously other characters from her universe that feature in the book but I appreciated it was an actual standalone!

Ayana is the definition of a strong, independent woman, and I adored her. What stood out most was how open she was when it came to communication, especially with Vuk . Any time there was tension or awkwardness between her and Vuk she tackled it head-on. No dragging things out, no letting miscommunication fester. She was brave in how she confronted him and honest in expressing her feelings. Yes, she had moments where she struggled to stand up for herself in other areas of her life. But when it came to Vuk, I liked that she was brave with Vuk and willing to challenge him and she didn’t shy away from difficult conversations. That showed just how much he empowered her by simply being in her life.

Vuk, on the other hand, is definitely the deadly silent type. Given that he doesn't speak after a traumatic incident where he was nearly killed and lost his brother, he chooses his words very carefully. He mostly uses ASL or deep broody stares to communicate, so when he does use his voice, you know it matters. But I think what I loved about this is that for once he wasn't just this alpha male type, to throw a credit card at a situation to try to solve it, which is a typical thing that I normally see in an Ana Huang book. Yes, he does have money and is super successful in business but he has this morally grey aura that meant this book leaned more into mafia energy than a typical billionaire romance. Vuk will kill for his own version of justice. Unlike the normal formula where the MMC throws money, Vuk uses knives, guns and bullets...

The romance in this is a highlight. I adored that Vuk Markovic didn't just love Ayana... he yearned for her. He was wholly and completely besotted and obsessed with her. He was so devoted to her that you could feel his yearning and aching heart as he pined for Ayana. It's like he's obsessed to the point that thinking about her makes him feel pain. And I love the fact that she wasn't really scared of him. He couldn't scare her away with looks and his broody attitude or when she finds out about the true him. And once she confronted him about how he felt that way about her, their dynamic really changed FOR THE GOOD! I love how the two of them were just drawn together!

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Billionaire Dark Romance - "Mafia Vibes"
▶ Interracial Romance
▶ Best Friend's Fiance - Forbidden Romance
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Burn the World for You
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ One Bed
▶ Cheating
▶ Obsessive MMC
▶ Enemies to Lovers

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Obsessive MMC
▷ ASL Representation
▷ "Greedy Girl"
▷ Hand Necklaces and Breath Play
▷ Banter
▷ "Stop the Wedding"
▷ Biting
▷ "Beg Me"
▷ "Mine"

Overall, I adored this. This just hit on a different level and is quite possibly and quite frankly the best Ana Huang book I have read.

Thank you to Johnathan Ball Publishers for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own

Content Warnings