Book: The Knight's Queen by C. Hallman
Reviewed by Michele (spicysithreads)
Thank you to the author and to Quirky Heart PR for the gifted copy!
The Knight’s Queen is the latest dark enemies to lovers romance from C. Hallman.
Aurora Blackwell was nothing more than a pawn… until she became the Queen.
Liam
I spent the last twelve years of my life planning Donovan Blackwell’s downfall. When the pieces finally fall into place, I execute my revenge perfectly. I walk away with everything I ever wanted, including my very beautiful but reluctant bride, Aurora Blackwell. She is nothing more than a means to an end, collateral damage in a war for power… or so I thought.
Aurora
I’ve been confined in a gilded cage my whole life, dreaming of freedom. Instead of setting me free, my white knight shoves me into a new prison, one he rules with an iron fist. I play along with his deviant games until the lines of dark attraction and twisted obsession blur together.
This book pulled me in right from the start with it's dark world setting and it immediately grabbed me and threw me into this world of organized crime and dark romance. I liked the FMC's (Aurora) journey and background. She is so strong and quiet, yet resilent for all that she has been through. It was so beautiful to see her grown from a "pawn" and basically nothing, to the absolute queen she became while she reclaimed her life. I loved her strength and determination, even after everything.
Liam (MMC) is a dark, brooding character. He is cold and calculating and is hell bent on revenge. He doesn't care about anyone, until Aurora. Slowly, he starts to unravel from the darkness, and their relationship becomes very intense. Their chemistry is really unmatched, and the way that the author uses forced proximity and forced marriage in this book are really perfect. They start off hating each other, and slowly it shifts to something deeper and very dangerous and powerful. Their love is very much earned!
I have always had a soft spot for mafia romance - not sure why. I love the tension and the strategies these types of books have. It feels like with one wrong move, everything can come tumbling down and destroy everything. The world-building here is wonderful!
I found this book to be emotional and raw, and also totally addictive! Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes, and C. Hallman does it tremendously in The Knight's Queen! You should read it today!
Tropes:
Pawn to Queen FMC
MMCs Downfall
Revenge
Collateral Damage
War for Power
Organized Crime
Enemies-to-Lovers
Forced Marriage
Forced Proximity
Found Family
Captivity
Dark Romance
Mafia
Standalone
HEA
3.75/5 stars
3/5 spice
As always, please review trigger warnings before reading any book. YOUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS!!