He’s no fairy tale king.LeviHere, little princess. I’m your king.You have three rules. Bow. Break. Bend the knee.Fight me all you want, but soon enough, you’ll be chanting long live the king.AstridOne day I’m Royal Elite School’s small fly, the next I’m hunted and left to die.He doesn’t only shred my life to parts, but he’s also coming after my heart.He thinks he broke me, but the new princess … also coming after my heart.
He thinks he broke me, but the new princess will bring the king to his knees.
Aside from the previously published book, this version contains a never-published-before bonus scene.
Cruel King is a complete standalone in Royal Elite world. No book should be read prior to this.
Disclaimer: This is a mature new adult romance, and contains dubious situations that some readers might find offensive. If you’ve been looking for a hero, then you won’t find it in Royal Elite. If you, however, have been itching for anti-heroes and villains, then welcome to their royal court.
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A prequel that is a perfect series appetizer!
This story is everything I love about bullymances!
Strong plot with strong characters, especially the heroine. She’s feisty and she knows how to fight back. Knows when to battle and stay cool. She’s also not annoying (thank God for that!). And I love that she may hate the hero and also weirdly and unwantedly attracted to him, she still knew how to hold on to her sanity even just a little bit. I cheer her for her shenanigans and little big vengeance against the hero. It was fun to watch a heroine holding her own fort.
The hero, on the other hand, is my favorite kind of bullymance hero. Jealous and possessive that borderlines crazy. An alpha and and an rude and menacing to everyone but goes crazy-in-love with the heroine. I dig that! He doesn’t stop making the heroine his and he won’t be backed down. That is an ultimate book boyfriend material!
I also love the mystery that surrounded their story. I also love the introduction the author made for the four horsemen (which will have their own stories as a spin-off) in the book. Each characters are interesting and definitely TBR material!
Overall, this prequel is a great series starter/appetizer and will absolutely get you ready for the next books!
I first read Cruel King in the Noble Savages box set and I fell in love with Rina’s characters and the world of the Royal Elite School! I was immediately hooked on the entire verse and have been eagerly tearing my way through each release in the series.
Cruel King was my first book by Rina Kent but will not be my last. Cruel King is one of the best bully books I have ever read! Rina Kent knows how to write the mean asshole hero.
Welcome to Royal Elite School! Secrets, lies, and betrayal lay behind every door. Power is gained with the secrets you know. Kent has delivered a world that sucked me in right from the start. And when your last name is King you rule the world.
Levi King is the big man on campus. He’s the hot as hell, asshole, alpha jerk we love to hate. Astrid Clifford doesn’t know know what she’s walking into when she enters the doors at RES, she wanted to finish the school year under the radar of everyone. She doesn’t back down when challenge.
Kent delivered an angsty, dark, bully romance that had me needing to turn the pages more than breath. I could not put this book down. My decision to read Cruel King second to last in the box set was definitely the right decision. There are not many books that could hold up against it.
Rina Kent wrote absolute perfection with Cruel King! Everything about it was beyond amazing. The plot. the characters, the writing all left me needing more. This may have been my first book by Rina Kent but it will absolutely not be my last! I cannot wait to see what she gives us next! I will be first in line to read no matter what it is.
Rina Kent did a FANTASTIC job with Cruel King. I am a sucker for bully romance and possessive hero’s and that is exactly what Rina gave us.
Levi King is one fine specimen of man. **insert drool face emoji** Like, his possessive attitude made my SWOOOOON. Nothing makes me happier. He was so brutal and mean but so loving and selfless.
The twists and turns of this story through me for a loop. I thought one thing was happening and then Rina completely threw me off course with the actual story.
I am diving in to Deviant King as soon as I have another break in my schedule. I love this world and I can’t wait to see where Rina takes Aiden’s story.
Levi and Astrid…..wow. Levi did some cruel things but I liked this man. This book had chemistry coming off the pages. Some good, some not so good. This book was really good to read.
This story is full of anger secrets betrayal emotional drama revenge pain mystery and suspense.
Levi is a football genius and rules the school with an iron fist.
Astrid is a shy interverte quiet and keeps to herself to avoid drama.
When Astrid is dragged to a party by her friend this is where she bumps until Levi. Levi notices that she’s been drugged and shoves her out the door.
Their attraction to each other is a love hate hate love relationship. Their chemistry is hot but there’s so much jealousy running around that school Astrid may not make it out alive. Levi is a dark soul but Astrid brings brightness to his life but he may not be able to keep her safe from those who wish to harm her. When she is struck by a car the suspense and mystery behind who did it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Will they get a HEA?
4.5*
Another great story from Rina Kent. I really loved Levi and Astrid’s story. All Astrid wanted was to finish school under the radar, but having a popular jock as a BFF is kind of hard. At a party she comes face to face with Levi and the chemistry between these two are instant and both are curious as to why they were told to stay away from each other. Some events happen at the party and Astrid ends up getting hit by a car. Levi has a secret that he is afraid will get exposed if Astrid keeps trying to find out what happened the night of her accident, so he decides to bully and scare her into dropping it but she doesn’t back down. This story is full of secrets, lies and deception. Astrid and Levi’s story left me wanting more and I can’t wait to read Aiden’s story.
I read this when it was part of Noble Savages box set.
This story sucked me in at page one and didn’t let go! Cruel King is a different read than the previous stories I’ve read by Rina Kent and she did a fantastic job! This is Astrid and Levi’s story and it is definitely full of bullying, darkness, secrets, lies, mystery, danger, and so much more. These two both have painful pasts and I loved the push and pull between them and their undeniable attraction. Can’t wait for more!
This book was awesome! It is completely out of Rina’s normal assasin/mafia dark romance! This New Adult Bully Romance was full of angst and drama! Yet it wasn’t petty or annoying! I loved how mature these characters were. The issues they had were real & it was fun!! I loved Levi and Astrid
I am so excited for this series!!
I really enjoyed Astrid and Levi´s story but wished it would have been a bit darker. I love my bully romances to make me feel angsty while reading the bully scenes and that just fell a bit short in this story. Nethertheless I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one in the series.
Cruel King by Rina Kent. I started reading this story thinking I really wouldn’t enjoy it that much because it was about Teenagers. Was I ever wrong!! I should have known that Rina Kent would make it awesome and boy, did she ever ! This story had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. I loved it! The characters were all very intriguing and so evolved that you actually picture them in your mind as older than they are. The storyline between Levi and
Astrid have such an exciting plot. This is more than reading. It pulls you in and actually plays like a movie in your mind. Another hit for Rina Kent!!
I agreed to review this story honestly and was provided with a copy before all platforms had been released
This book was fantastic. It isn’t more normal genre but if Rina Kent writes it I will read it. I was disappointed at all! Astrid and Levi have unusual situations and circumstances. This book sucked me in from the beginning and kept me wondering throughout. I love the ending and can’t wait for the bonus!
I thought the book was great. Dark and angsty. There was dynamics to the book and a healthy progression to the story. I also loved all the interactions between the characters.We look into the life of privileged teenagers and see how dark their lives are. I loved Astrid’s strong and tough character and Levi’s dark and mysterious one. As one of the “Kings”, Levi seems to never lack in anything, but underneath the good looks and riches, he’s out for his uncle’s blood. Astrid, newly a confirmed daughter of a lord, is not finding herself fitting in to the Royal Elite School. When she gets into a hit-and-run, she is determined to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Levi is determined to silence her.
This is a wonderful read. Astrid and Levi’s story really sent my emotions on a roller coaster ride. There is nothing quite so tempting as what you are not supposed to have and that is exactly the case as these two meet and sparks begin flying. Big secrets, emotional turmoil, drama, tension and sizzling chemistry create a couple and a book that will consume your mind and heart.
Astrid’s goal is to be invisible. She’s got one year left and then she can leave her dysfunctional family situation. Levi is in a similar situation. They meet at a party Astrid’s BFF dragged her to. Needless to say, sparks fly! But, Levi recognizes that Astrid is drugged up! He pushes her out the door and locks it. Running from hooligans, Astrid is struck by a car. She seems to not have any luck, having lost her mom a couple of years ago in a traffic accident. Who hit her? Will the culprit be found. Levi is extremely possessive of Astrid. She’s bringing light into his dark life. Can he keep her? Is he too possessive. Can they have an HEA? I absolutely love the characters. I feel like I know them well. And expect, Ms. Kent can have follow-on stories! Kudos, well done!
Astrid is just trying to get by the last year of high school being invisible. Having lost her mother, she moves in with her father, stepmother and stepsister. Her father only had one rule which was stay away from the King’s. After running into Levi King at a party, Astrid is put on his radar. Levi gets what he wants and he wants Astrid to stop digging into what happened the night of her accident, the same night they met at the party. Astrid is headstrong and refuses to back down and so the war between her and Levi begins. I could not put this book down! I stayed up until 2am because I had to finish it. I loved this book!
I love Rina Kent. I have been on her ARC for a while now. This was her first dive into the YA/NA genre. YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW! She did an amazing job! I fell so quickly in love with Levi and Astrid’s story.
I’m so used to the Mafia/ Dark Adult dramas from Rina I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of this. I was so shockingly blown away. I loved this. YA/NA Bully is my Jam. Rina knocked it out of the park with this one.
Levi is this gorgeous, and popular. King on and off the football field. All the girls want him. He lives with his Uncle and his cousin and follows rules for no one. When he happens upon usually quiet artist Astrid lurking around in a forbidden area at one of his parties, he’s sure she overheard a big secret she shouldn’t have. He decided she needed to pay for snooping and it becomes like a game of cat and mouse. And this cat wants to play with the mouse before he eats it. To add to the appeal of tormenting Astrid, Levi’s uncle has forbidden him from having any contact with her because of who her father is. That just made this princess all the more appealing to the Cruel King who has set out to destroy her.
Astrid lives with her Dad, Stepmom and horrible demon of a stepsister. Since the death of her mom, no one really understands her except possibly her BFF, Dan. She is quite and beautiful. She has been issued one specific rule from her father, “DO NOT GO NEAR THE KING BOYS!”. When not herself she meets Levi king. Things go a bit awry however she finds herself drawn to him, but is he playing games with her? She is fabulous and gives as good as she gets. Levi doesn’t quite know what to make of that but he must destroy her to to the things she had to of overheard.
“You could’ve escaped the battle, but you asked for a bloody war.”
These characters definitely come off as more mature than high schoolers, but they are living their poshish lives! It it keeps it flowing and interesting and it’s never boring. It’s super hot!! Read this book for all the angsty back and forth banter between Levi and Astrid. GAH! The banter!! Delicious heat and suspense as long buried secrets are revealed and two families are at odds over the relationship of two teenagers.
*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book!
My cr8zysockbookblock blog wrap up for this book!
– As always Rina delivers a fantastic story. Levi and Astrid’s story starts off as a bully romance and does become a sweet love story by the end. This book has amazing secondary characters and I can’t wait to read more in this amazing new series by Rina Kent!
– This was hot. It takes a while to get to that stuff but when you do, it’s HOTT!
Cliffhanger Warning- No Cliffhanger.
My review-
What worked for me:
-it was a gripping read, I read it in one sitting
-for awhile, I didn’t know if I should love or hate Levi
-the steamy scenes were dark and sexy
-it had a Cinderella feel to it
-Astrid was a badass
Cruel King is one heck of a high school bully romance! It was dark gritty and oh sooo good! Aiden is a guy you really start out hating then he grows on you. Elsa is the strong quite type. It does end with one doozy of a cliffhanger but it was so worth it. I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2! I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading this arc.
This book is not the author’s usual genre but boy did she excel at it.
Wasn’t sure what to expect going in but was definitely hooked and wishing there was more.
The twists that occur within the story will blow your mind.
Definitely a must read.