Book: Hunted by the Dead King by Mallory Benjamin
Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy
Rating: 3/5
๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข
โ๏ธ๐ป๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐- hunted by the dead king
๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จr ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค.
โ๏ธโ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค-
๐ฃ (out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.25 / 5
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ/ 5 -๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐
Which books have I also given this same rating? (๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐)
5โญ๏ธ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5โญ๏ธ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4โญ๏ธ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3โญ๏ธWe Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex
โ๏ธ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ :
Genre- Fantasy romance
๐ 468 ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐
Dual first person ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ- 21 May 2026
๐ฃ๐น๐ผ๐ or ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ driven? ๐ โณ๐พ๐
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ & ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ป๐ผ- standalone, part of the Immortal hunters collection
๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ on ๐๐จ? โ ๐ดโฏ๐.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ- ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐น ๐นโด๐๐
๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ? โ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐, ๐โด, ๐โด๐ ๐๐๐พ๐๐โฏ โฏ๐โด๐๐๐ฝ, ๐พ๐๐ ๐โฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐พ๐๐โฏ๐ ๐ท๐๐ ๐น๐พ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐น โด๐๐ โฏ๐โด๐๐๐ฝ ๐ปโด๐ ๐โฏ ๐โด ๐โฏ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ 6 ๐โด๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐พ๐โฏ.
๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)โ
โณโดโด๐น๐; ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐บ๐๐ , ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ซ๐๐๐, ๐ป๐๐๐๐
๐๐พ๐น ๐พ โฏ๐๐ฟโด๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐?โ
๐ฒโด๐๐๐น ๐พ ๐โฏ๐ถ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ โฏ๐๐โฏ ๐ท๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฝโด๐? Maybe
โ๏ธ๐โ๐ผโ๐๐ผ๐ ๐โ ๐๐๐โ๐:
๐งโโ๏ธ๐ฝ๐๐
๐งโโ๏ธ แฐOแีTแดแแ
โ๏ธ Gods
โ๏ธ๐โ๐โ๐ผ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค & ๐น๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ค
๐งญโ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ค
๐๐ก๐ธ๐๐ช๐ต ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฝ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐พ๐ฎ
โฏ๏ธโ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐/๐ป๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค
๐ชฆ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐งธ๐น๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ
๐งฉ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โMythical beasts
Mythology
Magic
God bonds and deals
Trauma and Grief
Villains
Spice
Courageous and resourceful FMC
trauma healing
touch-starved romance
fated mates
life/death magic systems
โจ Tแผแดแฐแดี โจ
Think Hercules retelling for this one
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐:
Ok, in all honesty, this one took a while to really hook me. This edition of Immortal Hunters has dragons, death magic, trials, trauma healing, and a whole lot of emotional damage in the best way.
This was a good atmospheric read with strong character dynamics and a very engaging final stretch. Thereโs a constant sense of unease, like something is always watching, which gives the story a really immersive and slightly suffocating tension. It does a great job of keeping you on edge, even in moments that should feel calmer. The worldbuilding really was one of my favorite parts. The mythology, magic, dragons, and lore all felt rich without becoming impossible to follow, however some of the side characters blurred together at times making me pause to remember who was who.
The pacing is a little uneven, with a slight lull where it dragged on in the middle and when the lore/info dumps were a little dense, but it picks up again toward the end. The final third really delivers, with plenty of twists and turns that make it hard to put down, and I thought the ending was satisfying. Also, while I loved the emotional tension, there were points where the repetitive push/pull conversations between Hael and Nollie started to lose me.
๐งโโ๏ธ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค:
Nollie really did a nice job carrying this story for me. Her trauma is felt in the way she moves through the world, and just watching her slowly start taking pieces of herself back hit hard. Arrik was also exactly my type of MMC. Protective, touch-starved, morally gray, but still actually respected her boundaries.
Another reviewer wrote this-
The Dead King is an interesting and compelling presence, and I liked the idea behind him a lot. That said, I did find myself wanting just a bit more depth or insight into his motivations at times. The mystery works in his favor, but occasionally it felt like it held things back slightly. - and I canโt agree more, the idea of him was great, but in practice he just didnโt do it for me
๐ชง๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
Dark, emotional, and addictive, this standalone delivers atmospheric world building, layered characters, romance, action, intriguing magic system, and some genuinely brutal emotional moments. The story handles heavy themes throughout, so do check your trigger warnings before starting.
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ;
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
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*
๐๐ช โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!
๐ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!
SPICE SCALE:
๐ถ๏ธโ segsual language and a little on-page action
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.