Delaney Mills is haunted by darkness. Not of a spiritual kind, but a terrible past that all the rum in the world cannot chase away. Enter Valentine King, a sexy and irresistible man with connections to the world of Voodoo—a world that Delaney is desperately trying to break into. Chicago-native Delaney follows her dissertation research all the way to the streets of New Orleans. With King’s help, … King’s help, she uncovers a covert group called the Bondye Saints. The group wants to remain a secret and will do whatever it takes to keep the two quiet. But threats and attacks on her life don’t deter Delaney’s desire to expose the Saints’ sins.
While she’s willing to risk her own life, Delaney hates that the one man who can chase away her darkness is put in danger. But Valentine King refuses to let her go. Because in his world built on faith, Delaney Mills is the one thing he believes in.
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New Orleans, voodoo, and a hot, steamy, read! It’s my first Season Vining read, and I loved it!
Season Vining is an author I’ve been familiar with for quite a while, but never had the opportunity to read. I’d always heard good things about her and her novels, so when I was offered a chance to read an ARC of King Me, I said yes without hesitation.
As a stand alone novel, it turns out the King Me is a great place to dive into Season’s catalog. The story centers on Delaney Mills, a graduate student desperate to escape her tragic past in Chicago. She relocates to New Orleans, throwing herself into the research deep end of her thesis focus – modern day Voodoo. Her guide on this supernatural journey is Valentine King, a local whose family roots are firmly planted in the mysterious religion.
Delaney is the quintessential Yankee. She’s a loner, she’s always overdressed for the Louisiana heat, and casual country music references go right over her head. So it comes as no surprise when she must rely on King to introduce her into the close knit community of VooDoo spiritual leaders. Delany’s goal is to publish a dissertation about the importance of the subculture of VooDoo in modern day New Orleans. Instead, Delaney and King find themselves swept up into a decades old mystery surrounding a local fringe group known as the Bondye Saints. The more they dig into the seedy activities of the group, the closer they become.
For me, there were several refreshing elements to King Me. True to the New Orleans setting, several of the characters are African American, including the hero Valentine King. Readers looking for diversity in their fictional characters will be pleased with King’s intelligence and commitment to his family, his heritage, and to his new friend, Delaney. Delaney is a strong and complex female lead. She spends much of this novel haunted by her past, reluctant to share her secrets with anyone while wholly determined to unearth the secrets of the VooDoo community she is studying. And finally, there is the city of New Orleans as the setting. Its neighborhoods and residents are described in extraordinary detail within the page of King Me, adding an extra layer of enjoyment to the story.
In addition to King Me, Season Vining has published 4 other novels with another one on the way. If you’re looking for a new author to invest in and especially one that adds a bit of supernatural suspense into your reads, I happily recommend her.
Living in Mississippi and so close to New Orleans, you always hear about Voodoo and things that might have happened because of it. But do you really believe it’s true? Well this story will make you think about it more and have you wondering just how true it might be.
Delaney Mills goes to New Orleans to finish her dissertation research and she finds so much more. With Valentine King as her guide and as it turns out he is also connected to the world of Voodoo. But when she stumbles upon a covert group that wants to use Voodoo for the wrong reasons. The Bondye Saints seem to be dissolved until Delaney is threatened a few times.
Valentine King offers to help a Chicago native with her dissertation on Voodoo a few days a week but what he didn’t expect was Delaney Mills. She took him by surprise with her pale skin, dark hair and blue eyes, she looks like Snow White. While he is drawn to her, he sees the darkness around her and knows that she has a past that is filled with pain.
Can Delaney and King find out who is involved with the Bondye Saints before someone else comes up missing? Will Delaney and King give in to the feelings that are pulling them towards each other? Can Delaney move from her dark past and have a future with King?
I fell in love with King, Delaney and this story-line and I could not put my kindle down until the battery ran down and it shut off. This story is full of romance, suspense and enough who done it to keep you guessing. I want another book to see what happens with King and Laney next. This is the second book from this author I have read and I can’t wait to read more from her.
**I received a free copy of this book to read and review and this is my honest opinion**
5 Cranky Stars
This is a thriller set in New Orleans and it revolves around Voodoo. The author has done a superb job of describing the New Orleans’ vibe. Our heroine, Delaney has been through a very rough time and is working on her PHD. Since she has always loved New Orleans, she has been researching the Voodoo religion. At 27yo, she sets out from Chicago, with the help of a college friend to live the life as a native. Her friend sets her up with Valentine King, an expert on the Voodoo culture. Little does she know, he is part of the elite in the religion.
Other people don’t want her investigating this religion. A rogue band that was banished in 1969 is reforming. They threaten Delaney and eventually steal her work. In the meantime, Delaney and King develop an intense passion for each other. Things are not what they seem in this lively tourist town. Of course, Delaney is determined to get to the bottom of it. A definite page turner, edge of your seat kind of book with some supernatural thrown in. I loved it.
OMG… what a book hangover. This book had EVERYTHING! A sexy hero named Valentine King who is swoon worthy, loyal— and did I mention HOT, HOT, HOT? A feisty, determined yet damaged heroine named Delaney Mills who has a multitude of issues but retains her resilience and sense of humor. Throw in some steamy sexy, VooDoo, a mystery and the third character… the city of New Orleans itself and you have one fantastic read. I’m already bugging the author for more. The ending… had me going WHAT, I didn’t see that happening!
This author is new to me and I will definitely be reading more from her! The writing kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time with all of the suspense. Delaney is a hot mess and is beyond determined to get her life back on track and finally finish her thesis on Voodoo. So she goes to New Orleans and immediately immerses herself in the culture and nightlife. Valentine King is recommended to her as a guide by her friend. King and Delaney have an almost instant connection but neither of them act on it in the beginning. As Delaney’s research leads them onto a dark and twisted path and puts them into the path of some very bad people that will stop at nothing to not let their secrets become exposed. Will she continue to dig deeper or let this faction win? I highly recommend this book.
First I have to say that Season knocked it out the park with this one! She blew my mind with this story and I have to tell you I love reading about voodoo and hexes and New Orleans and its rich history. So I LOVED LOVED this story like crazy and I recommend it ONE THOUSAND percent!
In this story we get to meet Delaney who is doing research for her dissertation for college and Valentine who is helping her with her research into voodoo because he is a voodoo master. As they are doing their research Delaney stumbles upon a wicked group practicing bad voodoo. As she is threatened and her life is in danger because of this group Valentine is determined to keep her safe.
This is such an amazing story that will have you on the edge of your chair reading fast just to see what will happen next and how voodoo can be used for good and evil.
Mystery and intrigue down in New Orleans. This book had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t get enough. Getting into the history and sometimes, scarier side of the Big Easy and the voodoo scene, Season takes you on a journey with King and Delaney and it is a dangerous ride. Now, the epilogue might have some getting a little ruffled, but keep the story, as a whole, in mind. Awesome work!
I will say this AMAZING book starts off with a bang!! It draws you in & does NOT let go till the very end!! The story takes place in New Orleans…..add in some voodoo….(because face these two go together like peanut butter & jelly!! LOL) Season Vining has everything in this book that you could dare ask for from a great mystery….underline GREAT!!! And you will meet your new book-boyfriend Valentine!! All will say is SWOON!! LOL
I NEVER expected this story to be so jam packed to the rim, with one of the MOST fascinating stories I have EVER had the chance to read!!
I totally recommend this book, unique in it’s story line and SO consuming with every chapter I read!! I wanted to give more detail but was afraid that I couldn’t do it with really giving away spoilers, and I don’t do spoilers!! LOL All I will say is Delaney and Valentine are both everything you could dare hope for in main characters! Don’t miss out!!
King Me is another enthralling tale by the talented Season Vining. This author has the enviable ability to weave a world that captures your interest and doesn’t let go until long after the tale is finished. The characters of King Me are well thought out and developed, even the supporting cast are not one-dimensional stereotypes, instead, they have a presence all their own and are individuals in their own right.
Our two main characters, Delaney Mills (Laney) and Valentine King (King) are sympathetically drawn, especially Laney who is, let’s face it, running, from a personal tragedy. It was nice to see an older woman/younger man dynamic, and as for the inter-racial aspect, I didn’t even consciously recognise it until it was brought to the reader’s attention later in the book. It was always there, of course, but it wasn’t a focus of the story, which I liked. The reader became invested in the characters in their own right and not because of age or skin colour, and you certainly became invested. Both Laney and King seemed like old friends by the end of the story.
A word about the Voodoo element. I’ve read a few stories with the evil side of Voodoo as a theme and I always approach them with caution. It is a topic that spooks me very quickly, although I love it, and so I kept waiting for the worst to happen. This book is quite mild. There are a few moments where it gets a bit hairy, but it is certainly not overly gruesomely descriptive or frightening, and it will depend entirely on your individual sensitivity level as to whether this will bother you or not. It’s more of a race against time motif, rather than being heavily dependent upon the more ritualistic elements.
The final line in the book, honestly and cross my heart, it made me break out in goosebumps! So innocent in, and of, itself, but when taken in context with what is said earlier in the story…. Instant chills!!!!! It was amazing!
ARC received for an honest review
Darkness and mystery about in this thriller set in New Orleans (and man, has this also made me want to go back and visit NOLA).
When Delaney travels to New Orleans to research Voodoo, never did she ever believe in a) voodoo and b) that her asking around would put a target on her back.
From the minute Valentine King meets Delaney, he is hooked.
Mystery, intrigue, suspense. King Me was one of those stories that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading.
Throughout the story I thought I knew who the bad buys were, and I never really knew who I – or Delaney – could trust.
And I am not ashamed to say that I thought some bad things about some of the good guys!
I was completely drawn into the vibe of New Orleans, I could feel the heat, imagine the sights (and the smells – it can be a bit of a stinky place lol).
Now I want beignets, and I want more of Delaney and King.
I can’t wait to see what Ms Vining brings us next.
Couldn’t put this book down! The characters of Delaney and valentine are intricate and woven into the storyline. The storyline will leave you wanting more and will give you a massive book hangover! Excellent job!!!
King Me immerses you in the culture of what seems like a whole other world in the city of New Orleans. Filled with folklore that could very well be true, mystery, suspense, and a hot man, you’ll stay up reading way later than you planned because you just can’t get enough.
“Everyday my connection to Valentine King grows. What started out as curiosity and physical desire has bloomed into something more- something I can’t seem to define. Whatever it is, I know I want to grab hold of it, of him, and never let go.”
I loved this book. It was unpredictable in the best ways. I fell in love with the storyline and characters. This is not your typical romance book. It’s steamy, thrilling and thought provoking. I highly recommend reading it.
Great descriptive writing that pulled me into the story. Felt like I was in New Orleans living the books with the characters! Lots of emotion and perfectly paced!
Steamy romance combined with adventure, right up my alley!