Lovers once. Enemies now. How hot does hurt and hatred burn before the flames consume everything?She was the ruin of his heart, the reason he swore he’d never come back to Illinois. Yet when a commanding officer sends Judah Grane on obligatory guard-detail to Chicago for the Quarterly Council of Kings, nightmares from that past come back to haunt him. And God has a funny sense of humor…Maive … sense of humor…
Maive Greene has worked hard for the life she has. There’s been no one along the way to help. Now, engaged to Chicago’s City King, she can finally see her future and everything she hopes to accomplish.
Until the man she once loved appears.
Betrayed by each other years ago, yet suddenly thrown together in a strange twist of fate, neither can see how this will end…
Scandal threatens and hearts never healed might break anew! Get lost in this wildfire dystopian second chances romance!
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This is a fast paced dystopian novel from Bree M Lewandowski. I was enthralled with this book from the very get go, having been hooked with the synopsis before I even dove into the actual novel. I am so happy that I picked up this book. It was the perfect read to keep me entertained for an afternoon that I wanted to disappear from for a while.
Maive and Judah are the two main characters that we get to know in this book. These two just love to hate, and hate to love, each other. To me the relationship between them resembled a lot of a sibling, or very long married couple, type of relationship. They bicker with each other but in some ways it is a cover merely for their true feelings. You could tell that they had some unfinished business or feelings for each other that needed to be explored more. I spent a lot of the novel cheering for them to get the chance to see if they could make their relationship work a second go around. Will they get that second chance at love together? Or is the damage too much for them to overcome?
The dystopian world that this takes place in is a bonus element of danger and adventure. The way that Bree built this world with her words was so intricate and mind-blowing, you felt as if you were right there with the characters, experiencing it.
I had not had the pleasure of reading anything before by Bree M Lewandowski and I am glad that I picked up this gem. I will have to go back and read more of her other novels now that I have loved this one!
I really enjoyed this book I am giving it a 4 out of five star review.
The store opens up to Judah a soldier who seems to be void of emotion, makes you want to know what happened to him in his life to make him this way. His story becomes becomes interesting when he is sent off on an assignment to work for the king of Chicago. Judah is upset that he has to go back to Chicago so it makes the reader want to keep reading to find out if this is where Judah will open and tell his story . The story shifts to maive a dancer in Chicago where she works as a dancer . as she is at work one night she see Judah sitting in the dance club where she works and she becomes very nervous . This is where you really get hooked to know what has gone on between the two . Judah is there on assignment me but it didn’t expect to run into the women who broke his heart and is now engaged to the king of Chicago that Judah now is working for. Judah is now working for the king to Guard mavie as she sneaks alway from the castle at night, Judah is not happy at all to have anything to do with being around mavie . As the story unfolds so does there long ago love.
This author knows how to get your attention from the first word to the last. Maive and Judah – Thinking that they would never see each other again and both having their own lives are brought back together and of course the past will return. Old feelings and emotions return as well as new feelings. How do you deal with the past that could destroy you? How do you deal with the new? This is a dark and emotional second chance at love. The author has set this book in the future. After a catastrophic natural desaster were there is no petroleum or any fuel souce. She makes you think what if this were to happen to us – how would our lives change? How would we survive? The story is very well developed. As you are reading you can picture what Earth looks like. WIth the description of the government and culture and the pieces of history that are given you are there with the charactors. The charactors are very well written and believeable. This is a quick read and is a MUST READ!!! She will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
This story takes place in 2024. I had a hard time getting into this story. I liked the characters Judah and Maive, their relationship is complicated, sometimes confusing and entertaining at times . The story line was ok and flowed from scene to scene with little or no issues. Judah and Maive have that entertaining love / hate relationship and the tension is higher then ever when they are forced to not only be in the same state again, but also in close quarters constantly. I enjoyed it most of the time
I’ve always been a huge fan of Ms. Lewandowski’s writing style. Her imagery is so beautiful. You can always envision everything down to the tiniest detail in her books. I definitely recommend checking out her work!
In a future after oil reserves have dried, the world has reverted to generating steam out of plants as fuel. The world has become drab, and inequalities abound but love is never limited by such things. It is a tale of second chances, of paths life takes us, and mad egotistical kings. A tale beautifully woven with words, a poetic detailed story, where the images depicted burst from the page before your eyes, it’s immersive and surrounds you in love, despair, the beauty of recovering history and art, of finding beautiful things in desperate situations, and solutions when none seem possible.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wow! Very intriguing dystopian love story.
There are many speculative views on “after” the big something happens. This one makes much logistical sense. No sudden appearance of magic. Humanity in need of leadership. Some justice some corruption. Yet still hope and inspiration needed for all.
This was not in my normal reading genre, but I really enjoyed this book. I found myself turning the pages to see what happened next. I did find that the ending was a little abrupt, but would still recommend this book to anyone who’s interest it has caught.
If you like dystopian books this is the book for you. It is political in nature but has a romantic underbelly. I enjoyed that the story was not overtly sexual but that it was riddled with sexual tension and full of innuendos. I loved the playful banter and snide comments between the soldiers, it made the story more realistic. This book gave new light to the dystopian genre for me. It was a story full of intensity, scandal and mystery. I enjoyed this authors point of view and would love to read more about these characters in the future.
Bree M. Lewandowski got herself a new fan with City of Kings. Since it is the first book I have read of hers, I was hoping it was good, but didnt have high expectations. I am happy to report, I loved it. The story was original, and well written. The characters were great, and have strong personalities and were fun to read about their past and unfolding present. It takes places in the future, and is written similar to a utopian society. There are pieces from history tied in, but also has a whole new world created. Their fuel source, government, and culture are fictional, and described good enough to imagine it.
Judah is military, and is sent to assist in security to Chicago’s King, during a two week event he is hosting. Little does he know, his childhood girlfriend, Maive, is now engaged to the king. Both Judah and Maive are torn between feelings of lingering love and hate from 10 years ago. Is this fate, or just plain cruel bad luck? Read to see how things turn out in the end.
5 Star
City of Kings By Bree Lewandowski is a fantasy book in the dysopian world.This is a short read that I couldn’t read fast enough. I was hooked from the very beginning till the end.This is my first book by this author but I can see myself reading more. The authors attention to detail had me feeling like I was part of the story right along with the characters. This story is set Into the future where things aren’t as they are today.Judah and Maive have the kind of love hate relationship but are tested when they are not only forced to be in the same state in very close quarters. These two have both made mistakes which makes them much more relatable. Find out what happens next. I recommend this book,especially if you want to know what happens next. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
City of Kings, by Bree M. Lewandowski, is a dystopian/science fiction romance. The author sets the stage into the future where things are not as they are today, many shifts to include who is in power and so forth, as we see in many dystopian themed stories. The pace is strong throughout the story bringing in Maive and Judah. The ways these characters lives are laid out and then overlap was interesting to watch unfold; I really liked how Bree M. Lewandowski did it – it seemed effortless. I would love to see more from this author and storyline.
The story City of Kings by Bree M. Lewandowski is a fantasy book set in a dystopian world. I had a really hard time at first getting into this story. About the end of chapter 2 I did get a little more into it. I normally really like dystopian setting stories but this one was a dragged out heavy on ‘details’ book and I really just wanted more of a plot to keep me going.
It may have just been me that day so don’t just go off my opinion of it.
After reading the blurb I did not know what to expect. It drew me in and intrigued me.
When I started reading this I though that it would not be something I would enjoy. However, I am so glad I kept reading because I actually throughly enjoyed reading this.
I really liked the female character Maive. I felt that she was a strong character and I thought that I connected with her. Judah was awesome too. Both the characters together had so much chemistry.
I have not read anything from this author before and I know that this will not be the last because this impressed me.
Have I ever mentioned before that I like reading Dystopian books? I love everything that they have to offer.
I absolutely loved what Bree M. Lewandowski did with City of Kings. I absolutely fell in love with the characters from the very beginning. They most certainly had quite a lot to offer. The world development allows the reader to submerse itself within the pages.
We get to meet Judah and Maive and all that they have to offer. They definitely have history, which stems from betrayal. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for us, there is an existing emotion between them. They say that there is a fine line between Love and Hate.
I definitely enjoyed this story and all that it had to offer. Let’s just say that the author impressed me enough that I’ll be looking forward to reading more from her. This was a definite 4 Stars!
This is the first book I have read from this author and she blew me away. I love a good futuristic story but this book exceeded all my expectations. I was hooked on this book right from the start. These characters kept me up at all hours of the night. It only took a few hours to devour this amazing book.
This book is set in the future. There is no president anymore because now the earth is ruled by Kings. Maive Green was just a small town girl that fell in love. She thought that she had everything until she was betrayed by the person she loved. Now she is going to be the Queen of Chicago. Maive is now happy and content with her new life until she sees him.
Judah Granes is ordered to go back to Illinois to guard the Council of Kings. He swore he would never go back after his heart was broken. Judah is in complete shock when he finds out who the new Queen will be. He now has to work for Maive and he doesn’t like it at all. Judah starts to realize that he never stopped loving her. Will Maive and Judah find the love again or will they bring danger to one another?
I absolutely loved this book. The storyline has it all romance, suspense, and a little bit of mystery. You will fall in love with these characters right from the beginning. Maive is a small town girl that is just trying to survive. She is a sweetheart but she can also bring the sass. Judah is very strong and he loves to protect. He has been hurt from his past. You will love how Judah treats Maive. These two characters have some steamy scenes that will make your temperature rise. This talented author will keep you at the edge of your seat until the end. I hope we get to read more about these unforgettable characters.
This dystopian romance paints a very vivid picture through its character development and plot pace. I was invested and enthralled quickly and found myself readibg to find out what happened next. The futuristic setting helped add to the dramatic push/pull I felt while reading. This was my first book from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4 Stars
City of Kings by Bree Lewandowski is an original and intriguing story with an enemies to lovers/second chance aspect to it. There’s also dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and steam-punk elements to this romance that gave it a uniqueness, depth and interest. It is set in a re-imagined Chicago.
Maive Green is an erotic performer at “Paprika” men’s club where is a star performer. Her life seems pretty mapped out for her, a bright future awaits as she is engaged to the city King, and is set to become the Queen. All this is turned upside down when she looks up from a performance one night, to find the one man who broke her heart staring back….
Judah Grane is an Officer in the armed forces. He has been assigned to guard detail at the Quarterly Council of Kings. The last thing he expects to find while there, was to have the past come crashing back into his life. Things are about to get interesting!
This was a short story and is a very quick and easy read. The character development, world building and storyline are really well done.
I will definitely be reading more of Ms. Lewandowski’s work in the future.
Thank you, Ms. Lewandowski!
City of Kings by Bree M. Lewandowski
Five Stars
Its no longer the USA. There’s no president. Every city has a King. Judah joined the military to give the love of his life the life she deserved. That dream was crushed by her and her father. This story has some serious egos in it. Cal was a complete jerk and I think he is in the closet not knowing how to get out. I had to warm up to Maive and I somewhat still don’t like her character. Marriage is suppose to mean something but everyone has their own agenda and its all a political power game. Overall I liked the book. It was a quick read and didn’t drag or bore me. The story was little predictable with some parts.
“Those who do not pay attention to history, risk its repetition.”
This is a steam punk story set in the future where nothing looks like it once did yet resembles the distant past. Corrupt politics, selling of men and women to work the fields and a country that has been stripped and rebuilt in a not so fabulous way – CITY OF KINGS is a story with a strong beginning, middle and end.
The frightening thing for me, is the almost inevitable reality that if we continue to treat out neighbors the way we do this could be a foretelling of our future.
The story has a cadence set by the author that allows it to ebb and flow as the plot unfolds.
I enjoyed the story in a way I wasn’t expecting.