Scan barcode
A review by kfriend
Lawless Kingdom by Natalie Bennett
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!