My first crush. My first heartbreak. My brother’s best friend.The butterflies in my stomach turned into full blown eagles the second our lips touched. A kiss under the stars that changed our relationship forever.After a lifetime of wishing, I stared up into Ford’s eyes with his fingers caressing my cheek and my heart racing.The evening ended with my heart bleeding on the ballroom floor.He … on the ballroom floor.
He destroyed my heart two years ago…but now he wants back in my life.
This time I won’t fall under his spell. I’ll resist his sexy, scruffy beard, and panty-melting smirk.
I thought I was over him. Hell, I fully planned to wave to him through my rearview mirror…but with one text, in the middle of the night, I know I’m in over my head.
Ford: I need you.
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Fearless King made a great addition to the Kings of Rittenhouse series. Ford and Olivia’s kinda unrequited love kinda second chance with a bit of family drama thrown in was a good, slightly angsty read.
Maya Hughes has once again captured my heart with another emotionally engaging and wonderful story about friendship, forgiveness, family and love. Fearless King exceeded my expectations and I’m honestly running out of amazing things to say about Maya and her books because I LOVE them ALL so damn much.
Ford is Colm’s best friend and has a reputation in bed with puck bunnies. Liv, Colm’s younger sister, has had a crush on Ford since she was a little girl. On their friends’ wedding night (Declan and Mak), Ford and Liv share a steamy kiss they both will never forget. With unexpected interruptions and an unwanted surprise, their evening was ruined. What should have been the beginning of something more between two friends became their worst nightmare and they haven’t spoken since that night. Will Ford and Liv find their way back to each other? And if they do, how will they deal with Colm’s overprotective and controlling personality? Can Ford and Liv be fearless enough to fight for their love?
There’s nothing juicier than a forbidden romance trope and falling for your big brother’s hot best friend. This book is absolutely juicy… no doubt about that. I loved all the sexy scenes between Ford and Liv and trust me, they’re sinfully titillating. I loved the chemistry between them, their playful bantering, delicious flirting and so much more. Their romance is everything I imagined it would be. It’s intense, swoony, sweet, and really fun. I enjoyed the slow-burn as Ford and Liv tried to ignore their desire and feelings for each other and savored every moment they shared. Ford and Liv simply belonged together and I could not get enough.
That being said and as much as I enjoyed all the fun and sexiness, I loved that this story is also beautifully affecting and had me in tears quite a few times. I liked the drama, the tension, the humor, the angst, and all the heartwarming moments not only between Ford and Liv, but also between the other characters. Maya has proven time and time again that she is incredibly passionate about her stories. She writes fun and entertaining romances that are also amazingly meaningful and filled with so much HEART. I love reading about supportive, caring, and awesome parents like Ford’s mother, Sylvia. I love the brotherhood between the kings and the friendships between their queens. I also love the inspiring and important messages weaved throughout the story that really touched my heart. Maya also creates strong, realistic, and lovable characters who’ll become your book best friends and you’ll care about them as much as she does. Maya just makes me feel so many wonderful emotions and I honestly can’t rave about her enough.
The Kings of Rittenhouse Series is one of my favorite sport romances and I don’t know how I’ll be able to say goodbye to these awesome characters. But, I don’t really want to think about that yet. Colm’s story is up next and I just have this feeling that Maya is going to end this incredible series with an emotional ride I would not easily forget. I may not want everything to end, but I am so READY for Colm’s story and to meet the queen that will thaw his heart and break down those damn walls. It’s going to be a sensational read for sure! Oh, and I just want to say that I totally squealed when I read the crossover between the Fulton U series. It was such a fun little treat to get a glimpse of LJ and the Brothel.
Fearless King is absolutely delicious, angsty, emotional and fun. It made me laugh, swoon, breathless, cry, and just so darn happy. You really need to meet the Kings of Rittenhouse and their queens to experience the adorable steamy romances, the fabulous friendships, the delightfully emotional moments, and all the hilarious and playful bantering between all the characters. Everything about this book and series is just so amazing and will make your heart ache in the best ways.
If you love sports romances with addictively intriguing storylines, beautiful writing, charming characters, and adorably heartwarming relationships, then this series is simply perfect for you.
A milllion HUGS to Maya for sending me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, swoons, and opinions are my own.
This is the fourth book in the Kings of Rittenhouse Series, a forbidden brother’s best friend Romance. I love this Series. Olivia (Liv) and Ford’s slow burn romance is beautifully written, sweet, and emotional, filled with drama, and angst. Colm, Liv’s brother, and Grant, Ford’s brother are both complex characters. The push and pull between Ford and Liv, and the relationship with their brothers, complicated their love story. Their journey is heart wrenching, and heartwarming afterward, The supporting characters are great, and they have an important part in this story. Christian Fox and Mackenzie Cartwright did a wonderful job with the narration. This is a beautiful love story, and I enjoyed it. I HIGHLY recommend this Series. Looking forward to listen to Colm’s story in Heartless King.
These two have been dancing around each other for most of the series. I was so glad to see them together! This is a great brother’s best friend romance. Liv and Ford have grown up together and have always been drawn to one another, but Ford stayed away, until he couldn’t anymore. This book has a great supporting cast in the other Kings that show up in the book. I’ve loved all of their stories, so it’s nice to catch up with everyone. Liv and Ford try to deny their feelings to each other until they just can’t anymore. There is angst and there is drama throughout the families, but Liv and Ford come out on top. I’m curious with what happens with Liv’s brothers and I can’t wait to read his story which will be the last book in the series!
***** AUDIOBOOK REVIEW *****
Ford and Liv are the best! They’ve known each other for years and both are harboring secret crushes. Oh my lanta… the first quarter of this book had my heart all twisted into knots! Liv and Ford might have known each other for years now but they have no idea how to communicate… so many problems could have been fixed it these two would have just talked to each other! Communicate people! The Kings of Rittenhouse series is amazing! This group of friends are all so close, they’re like family.
The dual narration by Christian Fox and Mackenzie Cartwright was just perfect! Thess two soubs so good together. Fox was the best Ford! He oozed with a desperate wanton for Liv and I could feel it in his narration. Fox seemed to channel this character. Cartwright is perfection at pulling out emotion. The angst that these narrator’s pulled into the story was just impeccable to my ears!
4*
Ford is attracted to Olivia but she’s Coln younger sister and off limits.
Coln has high expectations of Olivia wanting her to follow in their deceased parents footsteps.
However Ford discovers Liv’s passion after Colm asks for his help.
Things aren’t going to be easy for them but can they overcome the obstacles?
I’ve enjoyed reading this series and love the characters and the friendships they all hold
I really enjoyed this emotional romance. I truly felt that Ford and Liv were perfect for each other and meant to be. However, the path to a HEA is often painful and rocky and that was surely the case in this book. There was a lot of drama, tension, emotional turmoil and angst as both of these characters struggled with their desire, history, family, friends, secrets and fears. A very moving romance. I am of my own accord posting a sincere review.
Ever since their parents have passed away it has just been Liv and her brother Colm. As a result, he is overprotective and determined to have her follow the dreams that their parents had for her even if it isn’t her dream. She has been attracted to her brother’s best friend Ford for as long as she can remember but the one time they crossed the line and shared a kiss it resulted in a separation of two years.
Not only have Ford and Colm been best friends since they were children, but they also play professional hockey for the same team. He is attracted to Liv but between Colm and the fact that his younger brother has feelings for Liv he has decided that friends is all that they can ever be.
This is a slow burning friends to lovers story that is full of emotion. There is no denying the connection and chemistry between them but for them to have a future together they will need to choose to live the life that they want not the life that others have chosen for them. I thought that the narrators did a great job of bringing out the emotion and angst of the story.
Maya Hughes has a knack for writing characters you can connect and empathize with. Fearless King, book four in the Kings of Rittenhouse series, finally gives Ford and Olivia’s story!
Their journey is slow burn, emotional, and sweet. Things are complicated because Ford is the best friend of Olivia’s older brother, but their attraction and feelings for each other can’t be ignored. I always love getting to catch up with the Kings and seeing each of them fall in love. Ford and Olivia’s story is my favorite in the series yet!
Fearless King can be read as a standalone, but I definitely recommend checking out the rest of the series.
Thank you to the author for providing an ARC for an honest review.
Is there anything that Maya Hughes writes that I don’t fall in love with? The answer to that is NO!!! Fearless King is a story that I didn’t even know that I wanted since the brother’s best friend trope is not a particular favorite of mine, but Maya made it work for me.
We have all seen the sparks fly between Ford and Olivia in the previous Kings of Rittenhouse books. You just knew there was something more to them. They go from friends to enemies to friends to lovers and it’s perfection.
Olivia and Ford are both strong characters that are people pleasers. They don’t want to rock the boat and cause issues with their loved ones even when it hurts them. However, they soon find that keeping secrets is just as hurtful.
These two are sweet and loving and oh, so sexy. The heat between them is electric and singes the pages.
I was a bit frustrated with both Colm and Grant and wanted to knock them in the head a few times. Let people live their lives!!! That being said I am anxious to find out how Colm will repair his relationships.
Fearless Kings was an angsty, steamy, sweet story of forbidden love full of heat and love. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Fearless King, the fourth book in Maya Hughes’s Kings of Rittenhouse series, was one I was very much looking forward to reading. Hughes’s previous works have shown me her ability and willingness to write characters that are beautifully flawed and who possess a past that has left them scarred but not broken. Needless to say, I was anxious to see how she continued this theme with a new King couple.
This book centers around the strained relationship between Ford Atherton, the quietest member of the Kings, and Olivia “Liv” Frost, the younger sister of Colm aka Ford’s best friend. As the tagalong little sister surrounded by gorgeous, charismatic hockey players, it’s no surprise that Liv spent most of her childhood crushing on the quietly enigmatic Ford. The only problem is, he’ll never see her as anything more than a little sister and an extension of Colm, whose overprotective tendencies and inability to acknowledge her adult status is more than a little frustrating. But that hasn’t stopped her from looking at Ford with hearts in her eyes nor, apparently, has is stopped Ford from beginning to see her in a different light.
Declan and Mak’s wedding was more than just the joyous union of soulmates – it was also the beginning of the messy, complicated relationship between Ford and Liv. No matter how hard he tries, Ford just can’t shake the feeling that Liv is so much more than a little sister. In fact, she’s not his sister at all – she’s a certified grownup and too beautiful to handle. But after a huge misunderstanding leads to heartbreak before they can even really get started, it seems unlikely that Ford will ever get to be with Liv. Throw in a domineering (and slightly hypocritical) older brother and the unrequited love Grant (Ford’s younger brother) has for Liv, and they’re in one heck of a pickle. But when the stars – if not the timing – align, Ford and Liv are powerless to stop their feelings from growing.
I loved Ford and Liv’s story. It was a relationship that happened against all odds. After all, what’s more taboo than lusting after your best friend’s sister? It felt like Liv and Ford faced more obstacles for the sake of their relationship than the rest of the Kings. That’s not to say that the other couples of the Kings of Rittenhouse didn’t face their respective firing squads, but in Fearless King, Colm’s status as Liv’s older and way too pushy brother, Colm’s lack of trust in Ford, Grant’s longtime crush on Liv, Colm’s expectations of Liv, and Liv and Ford’s age difference all worked against them. That’s a lot of landmines to step carefully around.
Fearless King was angsty without being too angsty and it felt like the angst, for the most part, was warranted. As always, the majority of Liv and Ford’s problems could have been resolved with open communication – between them and Colm, between Liv and Grant, and between Liv and Ford themselves. But Hughes managed to make this more of an unfortunate byproduct of ‘love is blind’ syndrome rather than an annoying point of contention. I was more exasperated with Grant and Colm – especially Colm.
I was glad that after everything blew up (it always does in these types of situations), Grant and Liv got to have a frank conversation about their feelings. Although Grant had been crushing on her since the tender age of nine, it didn’t mean Liv owed him the same feelings. (view spoiler)
I spent the majority of the scenes Colm was involved in wanting to pull my hair out. He’s just so stubborn, not to mention hypocritical and ridiculous about Liv and medical school. He gets to live his dream but Liv can’t? As much as I’m not a fan of relationships breaking up siblings, in this case, Colm is to blame for his own heartache.
Despite all the road bumps, it was gratifying to see Liv and Ford get their shot at love. Fearless King was emotionally charged, well written, and an overall lovely read.
So Ford and Liv’s chemistry was enough to ensure I couldn’t put my kindle down but now I have to wait for Colm’s book. And that feels like it is going to be forever, or you know, a weekish but still I just devoured the rest of the series in four days I need it now.
Ford was the quiet one who made me want to know all of his secrets. And since I had just gone back and read the prequel book to this series (I had to see what happened with Emmett and Avery before I could read that) and seeing Ford leaving ladies unable to walk I was pretty desperate to read his story. And it didn’t disappoint. And neither did he.
Olivia was awesome. I feel like I have watched her grow up while I was reading the series. And I have watched her crush turn into infatuation and grow into love. I felt her devastation when she finally got her long awaited kiss from Ford only to watch it go up in flames.
Their story was the ultimate show of bad timing and a lot of small things working against them. Made even harder by those small things getting turned into issues through misunderstandings, mistrust and miscommunication. Which ordinarily would do my head in but everyone with the exception of Colm acted like normal people trying to do the right thing or just living life.
I adored these two finally getting together but their story feels unresolved with Colm not being reconciled. That said I am so excited for where I think his story is going and I am really looking forward to the conclusion of the series. Hopefully there is a seriously kick arse epilogue with more weddings and babies and some spin offs.
OMG and I just remembered we have LJ and Marissa’s book to look forward to. So maybe we will see more Liv & Ford in that one. WOO HOO
Ford and Liv have know each other for a long time, in fact Ford is her older brothers best friend. Liv is off limits but try to tell his heart that. I loved this series seriously the characters are probably some of my favorites and I can not wait until Colm gets his HEA.
Ford and Colm are best friends. Colm has a sister Olivia and he is extremely protective. Olivia has always had a crush on Ford. Ford always looked at Olivia has a little kid until two years ago he kissed her. A misunderstanding happens and they haven’t talked in two years. Colm is away in physical therapy and asked Ford to find out what’s going on with Olivia. Ford and Olivia knows there is just too many reasons they need to not explore their chemistry but what happens when they can’t help it. Great characters and storyline. Highly recommended. Amazing Book.
Yes!! Ford is finally here!!!
Fearless King, the fourth book in the Kings of Rittenhouse, is an incredible story of love, friendship, and family that is filled with so much emotion, steam, and sexiness! Ahh, I just couldn’t get enough of this story.
Ford & Liv had been attracted to one another for years, but with her being his best friend’s little sister, it made it difficult to act upon the feelings they had for the other. But over the years they shared many stolen glances, subtle touches, and a few hot & steamy kisses……and then that one phone call truly changed it all for them. The chemistry between them was undeniable – they could only hold back their feelings for so long. It was hard seeing those closest to Ford & Liv be hurt by them getting together, but the heart wants what it wants.
This book had a much different tone to it then the previous ones in the series, as both Ford and Liv were dealing with a lot of stress in their life. Liv was trying to live up to the expectations that had been placed on her for years, and Ford – he was always trying to protect those he loves, hiding the truth to save them from being hurt. My heart broke for them, as they both carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. It was only a matter of time before it all fell apart; but how many times can you sacrifice your own happiness just to please those around you?
Each book in this series continues to get better and better and I just can’t get enough of the Kings and their queens. And even though Colm isn’t my favorite at the moment (I know I’ll forgive him eventually), I am so curious to see who steals this broody and angry King’s heart.
Another absolutely fantastic book by Maya Hughes.
Ford and Liv’s story lit up my kindles like the lights on a Christmas tree.
I completely LOVED it,I adore this series and adore ALL of the ritten Kings,each story has warmed my heart and Ford and Liv was no exception.
A forbidden ,best friends sister romance there were many ups and downs and what seemed like bad timing and numerous obstacles that prevented this couple being together.
Ford has been Liv’s crush for as long as she could remember being her Brother Colm’s best friend they basiclly grew up together.
Liv was always just Fords best friends little sister always tagging along until she wasnt and became the Beautiful woman he was frobidden to touch and have feelings for….Until He did.!!….And then thats when ALL Hell breaks loose and the effects of his growing affection for Liv brings about many problems that they didn’t bargain for.
Fearless King was such a captivating read, it reeled me in and I couldn’t put it down,
Steamy,sexy and romantic you will fall in love with this story,its a marvellous book and I highly recommend it.
I have read every book in this series and I have got to say that they are pretty entertaining, so far I have enjoyed all of them. I definitely feel like I could read another 10 of them…maybe even more 😉
Now, I also have to be honest and say that this right here, is one of my least favorite tropes….the “brother’s best friend”. I am not a big fan. There is always some form of fighting and most of the time…I agree with, and feel sorry for, the brother. I just can’t help myself… As was the case with this book.
So as much as I loved Ford and Liv to finally be together, I kept thinking how Colm was gonna feel about all this. And them being together wasn’t the only issue either. So many secrets are about to be revealed…
I do understand that Ford and Liv really belong together…they definitely burned up those sheets, but now all I want is for Colm to be happy !!!
Which means I am gonna be on pins and needles until I get to read his book. Thankfully the author is not making us wait too long. I have a feeling Colm’s book is gonna be my favorite out of them all…I have always liked him best 😉
That said… Ford and Liv were quite lovely together and I am glad they finally found their happiness together.
I highly recommend this series !!
An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review
I loved the fourth book in the Kings of Rittenhouse Series and it can be read as a standalone. This is Ford’s and Olivia’s story. Even though it’s a standalone you will get a better enjoyment if you’ve at least read book #3. A brother’s best friend troupe that will get your attention right at the beginning and have you page-turning and wanting more. Well written with strong characters and an entertaining story. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Another wonderful addition to the “Kings of Rittenhouse” series. MH did a wonderful job of sprinkling Ford and Liv’s story throughout the previous books making this another highly anticipated pairing for me. For that reason, even though this can be read as a standalone book, you truly learn about their history through reading the earlier books so I would highly recommend reading the whole series first to truly appreciate the journey to Ford and Liv’s HEA – you won’t be disappointed when you do.
UPDATE (Spoiler Alert): I will admit, though, that there was one thing I was a little disappointed about and that was that the story did not include their first kiss. The story just jumps right into the drama that ensues AFTER Ford and Liv supposedly have their first kiss. Personally, I felt not including their first kiss was a missed opportunity to have us readers truly feel the loss of their potential relationship at this initial stage before they separate for the next year and a half. That being said, you can imagine how giddy I was to discover this short on MH’s blog that includes that first kiss and wanted to share the link:
https://www.mayahughes.com/blog/2019/5/9/fearless-king-chapter-1
If MH ever decides to do a rewrite or reprint to Fearless King, I would definitely include this in the story. Now that I’ve read this, the story feels complete.
All the other King books take place in college, but this book takes place afterwards. The hero and heroine met in college but after a bad breakup, they go their separate ways. Maya wrote another great King book that has characters that are well developed and writing that keeps attention. Hope there is another book!
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read.