Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥'s Reviews > King of the Dark

”Your love is worthless. It’s your hate I need.”

Ahh don’t you love that quote? I for my part do! It’s so typical Vasili and I love this man so much! <333 But I’m getting ahead of myself here, so let’s start at the beginning! XD I went into this book expecting an m/m romance that would be similar to “Captive Prince” and in some ways it was but in others it totally wasn’t. I mean there are a few similarities. Vasili being a seemingly cold-blooded and cruel prince that fights against his family and their machinations and Niko an ex-soldier being his doulos (some sort of pleasure slave) who has to serve him because he offended Vasili at a tavern.

”Niko shoved the man off his stool and trapped his body against the bar, pinning him rigid. Long, lean legs and hard muscle didn’t yield. He felt like a drawn bow, but he had enough strength to capably resist. Niko leaned hard into him, ramming a knee between his thighs. The royal’s chest heaved, breaths ragged.”

That’s where the similarities of those two books end though. For one Niko’s love interest is obviously Julian who was already mentioned in the blurb and the fantasy element with elves and magic is certainly something entirely different than the plot in “Captive Prince”. Plus Vasili as well as Niko might seem to be similar to Laurent and Damen on first glance; once you dig deeper they are different though. For instance Vasili gives off a really dangerous vibe and he’s more predator than Laurent ever was and Niko is definitely not as innocent as Damen was. *lol* Anyway, let’s jump right into the fun of this book and talk about the characters because they were amazing and I loved Vasili to bits and pieces! XD

”You’ve thought about killing me,” the prince said. “Many have. Many more dangerous than you. Yet here I stand, very much alive.”

I LOVE and ADORE Vasili Caville so damn much!!! Here’s a prince who’s fiercely loyal to his people and this even though they are certainly not loyal to him! He’s an enigma and everyone who knows me, also knows that I love myself some good puzzle. *lol* So ahh, Vasili is kind of my kryptonite and I just wanted to get more of him. My scarred and partly blind prince that looks like a faerie! <33 Alone the fact that he’s not perfect and has visible as well as invisible scars made him so damn intriguing for me! XD What fascinated me the most was that we sometimes even got a glimpse at his true self. A moment when he smiled or a situation in which he showed kindness even though you would have never even expected him to be kind.

”Look at me.” An order.
Vasili’s gaze drilled into him. The prince was intimately close now, his eye observing, reading Niko’s face, studying him. Looking for the best place to thrust a blade, no doubt.
“Thank you,” Vasili said.
Nico didn’t know what to say.

Of course his relationship with Niko is sort of strained (understatement of the century) which is to be expected if you take an ex-soldier and force him to serve you. *lol* I mean Niko is a strong and fierce character, maybe sometimes naive but certainly not innocent and he is at least as stubborn as Vasili! Add his blunt and brutally honest nature into the mix and you’ll know why he got into trouble! XD Still, no matter how hot-headed and strong-willed Niko is, deep down he’s an honourable soul and I think that’s exactly why Vasili was drawn to him.

”Hm,” the guard said. “I’ve watched you a great deal. Seen you furious, stoic, repulsed. I prefer you like this.”
“Scrawled on my back, at your mercy?”
“Exactly.”

Unfortunately Niko’s attention is drawn towards another and Julian – Vasili’s trusted guard – and Niko start a relationship. So as good as all the m/m action we get is actually between Julian and Niko instead of Vasili and Niko, which is a shame because damn, the few moments they had together were as charged as the air after lightning. <3 You could basically feel the electricity sizzling! *lol*Also I got kind of annoyed by the pedestal Niko put Julian on. XD I like my men not perfect but with character, baggage and a thoroughly tortured soul! Thank you very much! ;-P (view spoiler)[Though after everything Julian did in the end he might actually be one of those tortured souls. Or just an evil one. XD I’m not sure about it, but I think now we’ll never find out, will we? (hide spoiler)]

”Afraid of me.”
“Yes, I’m afraid of you, and that prison you call a palace. How’s that for honesty? You fucking terrify me. I’d rather face an elf than look you in the eye sometimes because there’s something in you, Vasili. Something dark. Something you keep bottled up and hidden, but it’s waiting, and I do not want to be nearby when you lose control of it.”

This said I loved the conversations between Vasili and Niko. They had so much chemistry and I loved the fact that they always seemed to gauge each other’s reaction yet could be totally blunt while they were in each other’s company. As for the other characters: I hated King Talos (Vasili’s father) because he’s a really vile creature and I detested Amir (Vasili’s brother)! I’m sure we’ll get to see more of Amir in the next book though and I’m pretty sure my hatred for him will only grow even more. Especially after everything that happened at the ending of this book! (view spoiler)[I mean for me that rape scene with Niko, Amir and Julian was way worse than anything that happened to Damen in “Captive Prince”. In a lot of ways “King of the Dark” was tamer than “Captive Prince” but this particular chapter close to the ending was actually a whole lot worse. Julian raping Niko while Amir watched was ... for lack of a better word – horrible and heavy. Especially because Niko still loved Julian but knew about his betrayal and this made everything even worse and more intense. So urgh... that scene was just revolting and terrible. >_< (hide spoiler)]

”Vasili kissed like he wanted to carve Niko open and devour him from the inside out. He tasted of citrus and bitterness. Of Caville poison. And Niko had never wanted so desperately to fuck a man raw as he did this prince. How could it be that he hated someone so passionately and yet wanted to ravish him?”

I really hope that we’ll get more of Niko and Vasili in the next book and I can’t wait to meet Adamo – Vasili’s horse – again! I loved his connection with Adamo and I think he’s probably the only creature Vasili actually trusts. Well, aside from Niko of course. ;-) THAT KISS between them screamed for more and the fact Niko defended Vasili against the people who spread rumours in his village is a good indication that I’ll probably get a few hot and steamy scenes between them in the next book?! ;-P

So excuse me while I run off to Amazon and buy the second book in the series! XD

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[drug abuse, physical as well as emotional abuse, torture, rape, PTSD, slavery (hide spoiler)]

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This was ridiculously intriguing. *lol*
No, seriously it was great! I loved Vasili and Niko so much. And yes I still think “The Captive Prince” vibes were strong in here.
I'm pretty sure this was more tame than CP but at the same time I can also say it was worse?!
I need to collect my thoughts, but I can already tell you that I’ll read book 2 as soon as it’s out!

Full review to come soon! ;-)
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I already know this will get me on Santa’s naughty list but I just couldn’t resist this:

- An m/m high fantasy
- The enemies-to-lovers trope
- A war against elves
- A cruel prince
- An enslaved former soldier
- Court intrigues at every corner
- super dark content (18+)
- And it’s described as “Game of Thrones” meets “The Witcher”. (Even though I get a lot of “Captive Prince” vibes from the blurb too)

I blame my sudden urge to read this on Devanshi! *lol* ;-)

To my young audience: Ignore the updates, though I’ll try to keep them as G-rated as possible.
To my adult audience: Read my updates if you dare to. *lol* ;-P It might get you on Santa’s naughty list as well though. XD