King of Pride is the second book in Ana Huang’s popular Kings of Sin series. She is known for writing dark and spicy romances and I was glad to see this one isn’t as dark as her others. The story has opposites attract and forbidden love tropes along with business and family drama. It’s my favorite of the series so far.
Isabella (Isa) Valencia is a free spirit with purple and black hair, tattoos, and lots of sass. She is working on a novel but is struggling with writer’s block. She also works as a bartender at the exclusive Valhalla Club where the rich and powerful go.
Kai Young is British, reserved, controlled, and proper. To relax, he likes to translate classics into Latin. He is a billionaire running his family’s media empire and is slated to become their next CEO. The vote is coming up but there are others that want the position and he is worried he might not win. He's seen Isa at the Valhalla Club and thinks her smile is like watching the sun rise.
The two have been flirting with each other for six months and the tension between them is intense. (They also belong to the same friend group so they often run into each other socially.) The problem is the Valhalla Club has a no fraternization policy between employees and club members. If they have an affair, Isa will be fired and it will cause a scandal for Kai.
But they can’t stay away from each other and they begin an affair. Whenever Kai takes off his glasses, things get super spicy. There are some steamy scenes--the most memorable is one involving feathers!
One thing I liked about this book compared to Huang’s others is that Kai is a moral business man. There are none of the shades of gray in him we usually see in her other books. When Christian from Twisted Lies offers to help him with the drama surrounding the CEO vote (he is a security genius), Kai stays true to his values –he refuses to do anything illegal. This, for me, was a breath of fresh air.
There were a few things about the second half of the book that didn't quite work for me. Once Isa and Kai are a couple, there’s more drama with both of their families and with Kai’s business plus Isa is keeping a secret about herself. There’s a third act break up that I didn’t love but I was captivated by this story and had a hard time putting the book down.
This is my favorite book by this author and I recommend it to readers who like spicy romances with billionaires. King of Pride stands well alone and fans will be happy to see lots of characters from her other books make appearances. Ana Huang is a very popular contemporary author right now and if you’ve ever thought of trying one of her books, this is a good one to start with.
Sensuality: Hot
Publication Date: 04/2023
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