Lords of Pain (The Royals of Forsyth University #1)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my first book by either of these authors, and I will likely be looking for more by them.
I’m kinda torn on this because while I enjoyed the story, also the unique aspects this duo added to make this differ from other books in this trope was great, but in my opinion there were some parts that seemed unnecessarily drawn out, and moments I skimmed because the inner monologue of the heroine seemed to go on and on without really adding anything as far as the story.
Story has shown up on the doorstep of the frat that holds 3 men from her past, none of them invoke any warm fuzzy memories, but they are the only ones who can give her what she’s in need of, and it’s definitely not the same thing they need.
Story was innocent in many ways, and hardened by life in others. She was willing to play a part, in the face of what they stood for, not to others, but what being surrounded by them meant for her. There were times that my heart ached painfully for what she had been through and what she was going through, and other times I wanted to shake her until she saw sense.
Killian, Tristan, and Dimitri are each a whole different brand of alpha-holes, more like alpha-holes wrapped up in douchey-canoes. If you aren’t sure how you feel about super dark situations then this may not be the book for you. They have less than zero effs to give about anyone, they are playing a game that one of them will win, but will it destroy others or forge a fire inside her that may just level the playing field.
Lords of Pain is a page turner, although at times I found myself skimming through parts, there’s a lot of things that the readers are privy to that not all the characters are, and that’s a whole 50 shades of intrigue going into the next book, since I’m super curious to see how this will play out.
After seeing the page numbers of the next books in the series my fingers are crossed that these will be worth continuing this series.
I’m trying to be as vague as possible as not to give anything away, this story is definitely best read without spoilers.
Lords of Wrath (The Royals of Forsyth University #2)
⭐️
First and foremost, I should mention that dark bully romance is one of my all-time favorite tropes. With that said, I believe there is a deftness in making the actions of these people credible, not in a real-life sense, but within the environment in which the story is set.
While reading Lords of Wrath, there were several occasions when I felt things were inserted for shock value rather than anything else, and instead of pushing the limits, it felt cringeworthy and contrived.
**Spoilerish below**
For instance, –, in Story’s vengeance, I believe she was aiming for the kill shot for each of the guys, but what was the point? She arrives at their door seeking protection from the unknown, but she concocts a scheme to cause the most harm to the people she expects to protect her.
In Lords of Pain and the early parts of Lords of Wrath, Story and Killiain make it clear that they do not consider each other to be siblings, step or otherwise. They were teenagers when their parents married, and they didn’t even live under the same roof for a year.
Story initially refers to him as “step brother,” which later evolves into “big brother.” It didn’t come across as “natural,” and it was an unnecessary reminder from the author about another “taboo” aspect of their relationship.
I really think the storyline could have been one that stood out against others in this category, but instead it became something meant for shock value and that took a lot away from what this story could have been.
I don’t see myself finishing this series. I love reading long books, but only when it feels like each word serves a purpose, and that’s not how I felt reading these. Instead of each word serving as a tool for the readers to begin piecing the puzzle together, every other word was meant to shock, not really adding anything to the story.
You can find the series HERE
