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A review by geethr75
King of the Dark by Ariana Nash
5.0
I started this after finishing Twisted Pretty Things because I wanted more from the author and decided to read something else before the second book in the Shadows of London. To say this book sucked me in would be an understatement. It took my soul, and I am still dealing. I pulled an allnighter to finish it, and am half way through the second book.
How dare you, book and author.
The story is told from the POV of an ex soldier named Nikolas Yazdan who is angry and bitter after eight years of war, and what he perceives as the King's betrayal when he decides to sue for peace when they finally had the upper hand. Nikolas has seen his family, and comrades including the man he was in love with, die in the war, and he hates the royals for it.
When a royal approaches him in a brothel and offers him money to assassinate someone, Niko is angry enough to break his wrist, and he's thrown into prison. From there he is caught up in a world of intrigue, magic and secrets, with Julian, the bodyguard of Prince Vasily, his tormentor, the only bright spot.
To be honest, I was so intrigued by the character of Vasily who's as morally grey as they come and proud of it. Niko is both attracted and repelled by him, which is a counterpoint to the sweer romance that he has with Julian.
I don't want to spoil, but soon the three find themselves on the run, and from there on, it's all downhill, and everytime things seem to settle down, something goes wrong.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes high and grimdark fantasy, but be warned that there are some very disturbing themes including r**e.
How dare you, book and author.
The story is told from the POV of an ex soldier named Nikolas Yazdan who is angry and bitter after eight years of war, and what he perceives as the King's betrayal when he decides to sue for peace when they finally had the upper hand. Nikolas has seen his family, and comrades including the man he was in love with, die in the war, and he hates the royals for it.
When a royal approaches him in a brothel and offers him money to assassinate someone, Niko is angry enough to break his wrist, and he's thrown into prison. From there he is caught up in a world of intrigue, magic and secrets, with Julian, the bodyguard of Prince Vasily, his tormentor, the only bright spot.
To be honest, I was so intrigued by the character of Vasily who's as morally grey as they come and proud of it. Niko is both attracted and repelled by him, which is a counterpoint to the sweer romance that he has with Julian.
I don't want to spoil, but soon the three find themselves on the run, and from there on, it's all downhill, and everytime things seem to settle down, something goes wrong.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes high and grimdark fantasy, but be warned that there are some very disturbing themes including r**e.