“I’m going to have fun breaking you, beauty queen.”They call him kingpin. A blond titan with the looks of a god, the wealth of a king, and the influence of the mob. Lance Johnson is the guy you go to when you want anything on Woodcreek University’s campus. And I mean, anything. He’s got more than one dean in his pocket, as well as nearly all the university’s staff–the professor I’m a TA for … staff–the professor I’m a TA for included.
He’s got grown men and respected scholars by their balls, but he doesn’t have me.
I have a direct hand over his academic future and not only does he know that, he gets off on it. He tests me in any ways he can. He plays with me and pushes our boundaries to the point of their brink. He doesn’t care that I control his grades.
And definitely doesn’t care that I have a boyfriend.
He says I’m nothing but a perfect, little beauty queen. A plaything he can’t wait to break. He sets his sight on me and I’m a target of the most powerful man I’ve ever seen.
He has to be if I let him kiss me.
Warning: Kingpin is an NA enemies-to-lovers romance that contains dubious content and situations some may find triggering. It’s recommended for readers 17+ and is a standalone novel with no cliffhanger. It’s book two in a series of standalones titled Court University, which is a spin-off series about characters featured in Eden O’Neill’s Court High books. Reading the Court High books first is not necessary for the enjoyment of Court University. The characters origin stories merely begin in Court High and can be referred to at any time if the reader so chooses. Enjoy!
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I’ve never thought to leave such a critical review, and never based on content. I review strictly on writing style and the like. I hate character and content based reviews. Like when someone doesn’t like a character so they give a low rating. I’ll never do that but after only getting 18% through I can say I didn’t like Billy, hated her of the bat. Not why I stopped reading.
I wish I had read some reviews before hand because I could have tried to prepare myself. I, like many others, could NOT get past the mom thing. I’m sorry but there were so many other things that could have happened and I would have got past them. This was probably for shock value and it worked. I’ve had to read such things in the past and it didn’t sit right then either. Having a relationship with someone who has slept with your parent is the hard limit I didn’t know I had until recently. Probably because this is only the second time I’ve come across it.
I have LOVED these books, I have been dying for Lj’s story from the beginning, he’s my favorite. It’s upsetting that this is where his story went. I actually picked up Brutal Heir in a reader challenge and was frustrated to find there are FOUR books before this series. It’s passed off that these are stand alones and that those books aren’t necessary to read first and I heavily disagree. I’m sorry but If you’re here before reading any of these, go back to ‘They the Pretty Stars’ and start there. The entire ‘Court’ thing is explained there and the guys are much easier to connect to and understand with that knowledge.
I do not understand why we were led to believe these are OK to read by themselves. Having read those Lj seems to be an entirely different character than in the previous books and I’m just at a loss right now. I hope eventually I can get over it and read the book so I can finish the series but right now I’m just uncomfortable.
The writing style and flow is great, I’ve always said if an author gets a reaction they’ve nailed it and deserve the 5 stars, and I’ll agree with that here to a point. I’m just not seeing why that was the chosen route for Lj to mess with Billy. It was cheap and realistically impassable. I don’t see anyone moving past something like that and for now I can’t.
3/15/21 ETA
Well, to update, I finished the book a while back. It earned a 4th star from me and I’m glad I finished it. Lj was just too great of a character to give up on. It took some time but I was able to ignore what happened in the beginning of the book and move on. Billy is still not a favorite character of mine but I encourage those who cut out early to double back and finish the read.
I can not get enough of the stories from this author. Eden you have done it again!! I have to admit that LJ was my favorite from the court series, so i had really high hopes for this book and you did not disappoint at all! LJ was everything I expected and wanted him to be, the moody, possessive, sexy alpha….and Billie didn’t half put him through his paces, I’m so glad they got their HEA!!
This book has everything…suspense, action, lust, hot sex scenes and it also brings out lots of emotion! It also introduced us to some more fantastic characters. It seriously captivated me from the first page until the very last!!
If you have not read this book or any books from Eden yet then I highly recommend you start now…..5 huge stars!! It was brilliant!!!
Thank you so much for allowing me to read an ARC of this story.
“I’m going to have fun breaking you, beauty queen.”
Oh Lance, how very wrong you were. I suppose you could call Lance a stereotypical alphahole that thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but you’d be missing out on a major part of who he is then. Yes he’s a jerk, yes he uses women, and of course he does rule the campus, but underneath the façade he’s built is oh so much more.
I positively loved Kingpin which I suspected would be the case after reading Brutal Heir (SO GOOD!) but if I’m being completely honest… Kingpin EXCEEDED my expectations! I don’t know how Eden O’Neill did it but I fell even harder for Lance and Billie than I did for Knight and Greer!! Which is incredible considering how much I adored them and their story!
Kingpin was packed full of heat, twists & turns, and passion. The PERFECT enemies to lovers romance!
This book centers around Lance Johnson aka LJ and Billie Coventry. Billie thinks she has it all with a great boyfriend, going to graduate school, being a TA. Billie meets LJ and he storms into her life like a wrecking ball and a man on a mission. There is definitely a slow-burning attraction and chemistry brewing between Billie and LJ. As the book goes on and circumstances change, their attraction becomes undeniable but outside issues threaten their relationship. Their relationship goes back and forth but the story lines that are developed throughout are great. This was a great book and can’t wait for the the next book in this series to come out.
I am so totally addicted to the Court University series, so hooked.
In Kingpin we have the story of Lance and Billie. Billie and LJ are new neighbors, who are each dealing with their own problems. They each have things to do without the added complications of each other. But chemistry does not let anything stand in its way. These two have such fire in everything they do together. When they fight and when they argue. Their banter back and forth had me needing more and more of them as a couple.
This series I believe has just moved to my favorite of Eden’s, and I cannot wait for more.
Neighbours LJ and Billie dont hit it off from the get go & that in itself kicks off a game of wills between the two of them. More so when Billie’s job & their way of rubbing each other up the wrong way come to a head. Which escalates into something more. The drunk email Billie sent LJ and her boss made me crack up. LJ is the definition of a confident, cocky, a bit of a p**t guy but you still cant help but like him. Big up to Niko though (liked him). The Blonde & The Brunette conversation on the sofa…………..swoon. For a minute there i was secretly hoping Billie would get both guys but that was only in my pervy mind lol. Still we definitely need more Niko!!! Anyway Kingpin is just another fab book in the Court University series. Im loving this series so much so far. LJ and Billie’s book was a totally great read. Counting down the days for Jax’s book now
This is the second book in this incredibly amazing series and I have to tell you it is so good. The story will grab you right from the beginning because there’s so much drama, intensity, out-of-control craziness and so much chemistry and steam. Once again Eden writes another captivating book that will knock you off your feet.
This is the second book of the Court University Series. The book can be read a standalone.
Billie is an Assistant Teacher at the university. And we already met LJ in previous books. Kingpin is a fast-paced and an enjoyable read. I loved Billie and LJ. They were so hot! She was a no nonsense girl and I really enjoyed the relationship between the two.
And their chemistry was off the charts.
So, let me start by saying I binge read this book after receiving an ARC.
Once you start, you won’t want to stop!
This is an enemies-to-lovers/bully/angsty book that has you wanting more.
Billie and LJ just have that crackle of chemistry that you are jealous of. But of course, LJ has priorities and Billie is in a relationship.
I absolutely love Eden’s books and this series is so amazing.
5 stars, definitely recommend!
This series just gets better and better!!! All kinds of craziness happens within these pages. Definitely in true Court style!! Billie is minding her business busting her bum as a teaching assistant at her university and moving into her own place. The very LAST thing she needed was to be woken by her house shuddering from the music blasting next door from a raucous party. Even less was what happens next after confronting them about the noise. The game has begun and this time it’s LJ on the hunt. Layers of family, secrets, betrayal and more find their way into this read. At the heart are two people loyal to the core, and what happens as a result of decisions to protect those they love. This series just continues to draw you further in, and I can’t wait for the follow up!
I Gotta be Honest, This Book (to me) was REALLY good!
This Book just hit the spot for me.
I personally loved the pacing, I liked how romance was and wasn’t the main focus, it’s kinda slow burn-y yet not.
I Will NOT Give Spoilers in this Book.
I really liked this book a lot and I cant wait to buy it!
I Can’t Wait for Niko’s Book! And I Actually would like to read a possible book of Billie’s Dad POV with HEA during this time frame.
I Received an ARC Copy of this Book from Author for Honest Review.
I Give this Book a 4-4.5/5 Star Rating, Listing as 5. This is one of my rate ratings, I usually go with my rating list, but I WAS truly satisfied with this read.
To Me it deserves a 5, cause it was exactly what I wanted to read.
HEA(?): Yes!
Heat: 4.5/5, it is a little fast and not lingering as I would’ve liked but, it didn’t bother me all that much.
Romance: 4/5
Drama: 3.5ish/5
Suspense: 3.5-4/5
Relationship Type: MF
I have loved these characters since The High Court Series (Royal and December’s story) and it’s such a treat to see different sides to them in their own books and LJ was no exception! This NA enemies to lovers college romance with have you completely captivated!
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Talk an emotional roller coaster! There’s no shortage of experiencing an array of emotion within a span of a paragraph or even a page. Laughing one second, crying the next, I feel wrung out but in the best way possible. I’ve been hella curious about LJ for the longest and this book gave me everything!
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Not gonna lie Royal will always be number one for me, but I can honestly say since reading the first book in the court university series the guys are proving they deserve a top spot! Not gonna lie took me a bit to connect with Billie, I’m not sure if it’s me or what but I had the same issue with Greer. But, in the end I did and I loved her growth and journey. She definitely got put through shit with this book but came out on top.
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A plot worth getting stuck into and one that just consumes you. There’s no shortage of angst, tension, drama and laughs with this book. I loved every minute and I can’t wait to see what Eden has in store with the next book, and I’m hoping like hell Nico gets his own book cause I want more of him! Definitely feel like there’s more we need to see there!
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Amazing work again Eden! Absolutely loved it!