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A review by lifeinthebooklane
King of the Dark by Ariana Nash
4.0
In the red corner we have Niko, in the blue corner we have Vasili and in the rainbow corner we have Julian.
I have to admit to being as gullible as Niko, believing in the lies, fooled by the smoke and mirrors and devastated by the betrayals. This is such a twisty story, that sometimes it was difficult to know which way was up. Whilst this isn't truly a love triangle, it is one heck of a complicated situation. It also goes to show that there is a very fine line between love and hate. Niko's scenes with... well you'll have to read and find out.. they were in parts tender and sweet, but also scorching hot and passionate. So unexpected from such a reserved and aloof man.
The story is written entirely from Niko's point of view, and whilst I would have liked at least one other point of view, it was necessary to retain some mystery and an element of the unknown. Strangely enough, I felt as though I knew Julian and Vasili better than I did Niko, even though I'd only seen them through his eyes. It also turned out that both of them managed to surprise me more than once! I'm not sure why I struggled to connect with and understand Niko for a chunk of the book, though I suspect it was partly because he was so adrift and didn't really know himself anymore.
There's a part of me thinks Niko should just stay at his smithy, but that man is a soldier through and through. Loyal to his country, if not the crown, and determined to honour his fallen comrades. Just thinking through that last scene at the castle and it made me realise that Vasili has a long way to go before I like him. We can see throughout that he is a slippery fish, but he was prepared to I have a feeling there is a lot more to learn about our erstwhile heroes, not to mention a lot more deceit, manipulation and heartache. Role on Reign of Darkness.
I have to admit to being as gullible as Niko, believing in the lies, fooled by the smoke and mirrors and devastated by the betrayals. This is such a twisty story, that sometimes it was difficult to know which way was up. Whilst this isn't truly a love triangle, it is one heck of a complicated situation. It also goes to show that there is a very fine line between love and hate. Niko's scenes with... well you'll have to read and find out.. they were in parts tender and sweet, but also scorching hot and passionate. So unexpected from such a reserved and aloof man.
The story is written entirely from Niko's point of view, and whilst I would have liked at least one other point of view, it was necessary to retain some mystery and an element of the unknown. Strangely enough, I felt as though I knew Julian and Vasili better than I did Niko, even though I'd only seen them through his eyes. It also turned out that both of them managed to surprise me more than once! I'm not sure why I struggled to connect with and understand Niko for a chunk of the book, though I suspect it was partly because he was so adrift and didn't really know himself anymore.
There's a part of me thinks Niko should just stay at his smithy, but that man is a soldier through and through. Loyal to his country, if not the crown, and determined to honour his fallen comrades. Just thinking through that last scene at the castle and it made me realise that Vasili has a long way to go before I like him. We can see throughout that he is a slippery fish, but he was prepared to