Review by laerkefugl - King of Pride

laerkefugl 's review for:

King of Pride by Ana Huang

3.25

I’m not the only one who’s said this about King of Pride, but I’ll echo it: it was kind of boring, at least compared to the rest of this series and Ana Huang’s previous work. I felt the plot lacked momentum. I was initially excited by the promise of a forbidden romance (that trope usually works well for me), but the “forbidden” aspect was barely there. Neither Kai nor Isabella seemed to care much about the stakes, so I didn’t either. It’s a shame, because I had high hopes for this one.

As for the characters, I feel like we’ve regressed. King of Wrath did a fantastic job handling its characters, with real depth and presence. Here, it felt as shallow as a puddle on the sidewalk. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but some of the side characters could’ve been cut out entirely, and it wouldn’t have changed anything. I’m mostly referring to the siblings. Kai only has one sister, Abigail, who was barely mentioned and had maybe one line of dialogue. I don’t even know who she is. This is the least attention we’ve ever seen a main character’s sibling get. She might as well not exist. Isabella has a lot of brothers, so it makes sense to skip fleshing all of them out, but for a family that’s supposed to be close and supportive, they felt incredibly absent. Only Felix showed any real concern or support. The rest of the focus went to Gabriel, who wouldn’t stop pressuring her to finish her manuscript. I know it came from love and concern, but it still feeds into my ongoing perception that Ana Huang struggles to write characters without family issues. Or maybe I’m just privileged and can’t relate, since family problems have never been near the top of my list of life concerns. Regardless, it bugs me. I’m now hyper-aware of this trend. And don’t even get me started on the dead parents again—I repeat that complaint so often, I feel like Sloane critiquing every rom-com.

Speaking of trends, why is it that almost every FMC needs to have an ex-boyfriend who either comes back to cause drama and/or hinder the FMC in her love life? What was the point of Isabella's crazy relationship experience? It didn’t add anything to the story. Her hesitance of getting into a new relationship was thrown to the side, together with the forbidden romance aspect. It completely threw away the conflict. I felt like it would've been SO much better if her hesitance about getting into a relationship was only based on her wanting to keep her incredible job and the fact that she still has her own personal things to deal with before feeling ready for a relationship. It's just a shame that Miss Huang included so many reasons for why Kai and Isabella should stay apart that never ended up the least bit important.

As for the romance, it could’ve been worse. I do enjoy an opposites-attract setup. But I found it funny how they just kept running into each other. I know that kind of coincidence is inevitable in romance books, but it happened so often here that it became a little ridiculous. Some of the date scenes were cute, though most were forgettable. I barely remember them. The one in the paint studio confused me a bit. I haven’t seen The Princess Diaries, so the reference didn’t help, but I think I still got the gist.

In terms of steam, there wasn’t as much as in previous books, but the scene in the secret library definitely stood out. That’s the one that stuck with me—and honestly, that’s all I need. If you know, you know.

I think what I liked the most was Isabella and her writing journey. It felt real, and probably reflects some part of Ana Huang’s own writing history and struggles. I especially like how her creative block was shattered by some encouragement and people believing in her personally and professionally. Sometimes, a little validation is good against procrastination.

Kai’s work life, on the other hand, didn’t interest me. He spent so much time worrying about the streaming service, and it barely got mentioned again except for a quick note in the epilogue. Most of his arc centered around the CEO succession and boardroom politics. In hindsight, it had some value, especially as a contrast to Isabella’s story. Where she lacked support, Kai had too much. He was told over and over, “You’ll win the vote because you’re a Young,” which inflated his ego and made him resistant to help. I actually liked that dynamic, but in the moment, it felt a bit dull.

So, yeah. I’m giving King of Pride 3.25 stars. If I’m being honest, it probably would’ve been lower if it weren’t for the audiobook narration. That carried a lot of weight here.

|—TL;DR—|

Focus Genre: Romance

Nostalgia: Disqualified

Personal Enjoyment: 2⭐

Plot: 2⭐

Characters: 3⭐

Relationships: 3⭐ (includes friendships, rivalries, etc.)

Writing: 3⭐

Audiobook Narration: 4,5⭐ | David Lee Huynh and Emery Erickson | English |

Romance: 3,5⭐

Chemistry: 3,5⭐
Fluff: 3,5⭐
Steam: 3,75⭐

Pacing: 3⭐
Ending: 3⭐

=Overall=

3,15-stars⭐ ≈ 3,25-stars⭐

~23/05/25~

Content Warnings