The highest stakes…My father gambles every night, falling deeper and deeper into debt. When he hits the bottom, he places a new bet: his daughter. I’m his entry bet to the biggest underground poker game.Every kind of danger circles the velvet-covered table, but only one man makes me tremble.A trailer park princess.The son of a criminal king.We don’t belong together, but I’m caught in a twisted … together, but I’m caught in a twisted game.
His eyes meet mine with dark promise. And when he puts down his cards, I know I’m going to lose more than my body. I’m going to lose everything.
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5 royal stars! Only the Prince with the help of the Knight will destroy the King.
Holy Batman! The King by Skye Warren is a darker bomb. I can’t still savour this book. I couldn’t put it down. I loved every minute of it. This book is the first part of the Masterpiece Duet. The plot is deeply dark and it makes my heart beat faster. The author delivered an intense story that will leave her readers breathless.
The King is a about Damon and Penny’ story, characters introduced on the Endgame Series. It’s told by the heroin’s POV. In this book you will read how much trauma suffered Damon Scott, all inflicted by his father. He has a dark soul. He is a wild boy with a golden heart. Damon is like a fallen angel: dark and bright. Darkness is trying to consume his broken soul, fearing to be like his father. In the past he tried to Scape his father’s claws but someone made him sacrifice himself. Being a heartless criminal will be his fate and the only way to save his baby genius is to eliminate any threat for her.
“It’s so much more interesting than a princess, don’t you think? A pretty face has its appeal, but a sharp mind is a goddamn aphrodisiac.”
Penny has going thought a bad life. She lost her mom and she has to move with her Daddy, and irresponsible father, who has a game addiction. She feels alone in the world. As a child she suffered hungry. She was a smart little girl who caught the attention of a monster. To survive, she will follow the advice of a wild boy who is also the son of the monster. She will hide her ability with numbers.
“My sweet Penny. So smart. So pretty. So fucking little. And you’re right.” His words are low, bouncing off the bricks as if they’re coming from the night itself. “I lived so long underwater that I became a part of it. I rule this place.”
Penny and Damon have a rough start in life and later on they will share the same trauma which will be inflicted by Jonathan Scott.
“And when I win, what will you give me? I think you know the answer to that. You’ll stay here with me. You’ll be mine. Mine to keep, Penny. Mine to protect.”
Only the Prince with the help of the Knight will destroy the King.
“Because I did dream of you, Penny. I dreamed of you and I watched you and I wanted you. Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn’t stop. It isn’t about how old you are—it’s you. It’s only ever been you.”
Many scenes took my breath away. I felt myself deeply immerse in the story. The intensity level was overwhelming. Warren is one of the best writers of the genre dark romance. She always delights us with her elegant writing.
Oh my goodness, Penny, a little girl with so much grief, betrayal, and abandonment in her life! She comes from the wrong side of Tanglewood, but she keeps getting caught up with the rich and famous from the good side.
Damon, a character who has been in so many of Skye Warren’s books, is having his story told and it’s a sinister one. His father is a monster, and Damon once tried to get away from his dreadful father, and then he met Penny.
Such sadness and sorrow in this book, I am feeling emotionally drained from it.
And as usual, I highly recommend this series in it’s entirety.
4.5 stars for me.
I couldn’t read this fast enough – I binged this book in one session. I could not turn the pages quickly enough to see what was going to happen with Penny and Damon. It was so well written with glimpses into their past and the possibility of their future. The story is fast paced, dark and wonderfully twisted. Be ready for some awful things to happen and for a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting more. Definitely recommend and cannot wait for the second book in this duet.
Penny’s father gambles every day until he owes ALMOST everyone in town. The only way to pay his debts is to enter the big game but the entry fee is $10,000.
Damon is the son of a criminal king and has paid a hefty price for that title. He’s grown now but does he have any humanity left?
I truly am in love with these characters and sub characters in this series. Sky Warren has taken her readers on such a journey through a maze of trials and emotions that have brought each to life beautifully.
This series has been a gripping and intense one. I read this book in one day, it’s only a short book compared to the Endgame series, but was still just as addictive. I’ve been waiting for Damon’s story for forever.
The first part of the book gives us the background to Damon and Penny; who we first met in The Castle. The second part of the book runs concurrently with the The Castle with Damon and Gabriel on the hunt for Jonathan Scott. Told entirely from Penny’s POV. The stakes are high with Penny trying to protect her father from the gambling debts he keeps racking up. The heat between Damon and Penny is electric but she is only 15 when they meet up again so nothing really comes of it; the passion is there smoldering away underneath. Both Damon and Gabriel are bad boy alpha males, both of them are dark and dangerous. After reading about Damon’s upbringing and the way he was abused by his father was disturbing and twisted. I would’ve liked to more about Jonathan and why is was like he was. He did mention a lobotomy and Damon mentioned he was always crazy but it just wasn’t clear enough to me if he had been tested as a mental health patient.
The book takes on a steady pace, with some very fast paced moments that have you holding your breath. I was on edge for most of this book. I was happily reading away when the book finished and I’m like WTH, you can’t end there!?!? Damn! I am just so over cliffhangers, they are the worst!! I need The Queen now. I’m looking forward to seeing which direction that book takes us as we have now gone past the part where the Endgame series finished.
If you haven’t read the Endgame series, then you absolutely need to before reading this duet as there a references from that series that you will need to be aware of. If you have read them then you will absolutely adore The King as the journey continues.
I honestly had no idea we were going to get Damon Scott’s story. Maybe I’ve been living under a rock since The End Game Series ended. Who knows. But the moment I found out and got my hands on The King, I knew I was in love. As stated by Warren, you do not have to read The End Game Series in order to read The King. It is a spin-off of that series, however. And I’ll be honest, I think you should read those first. Sure, you’ll be fine if you don’t but the stories and time frames do coincide. Plus, that series is amazing and you shouldn’t miss out on it anyway!
This story is raw, gritty, intense and painfully broken. The struggles that both Penny and Damon have gone through in their lives is emotional and painstakingly heartbreaking. Yet, it has shaped how they are now.
I knew I was going to love Damon because I wanted more of him from The End Game Series. He was dark and mysterious and The King gives us his background. I had no idea just how broken he really is and there’s something about him that tugs my heart for him. I just want him to find the love that he never got as a child.
What I didn’t know was how much I was going to like Penny. Some may think she is weak in this book (if only by a few actions) but if you peel back the layers and really see her for who she is, she’s intelligent, beautiful, and very loving. She’s stronger than she looks and her bravery would stand above any other girl her age. I just felt for her and connected to her. Of course, I’m pulling for these two and praying for a happy ending for them.
Overall, I love this book. It’s everything that I could of thought I needed when it came to Damon Scott and his story. It’s dark and sad but beauty shines in the most unexpected places. I can’t wait to get my hands on The Queen and find out what the rest of Damon and Penny’s story is.
This story was so hauntingly beautiful, I loved every minute of it. It’s dark and damaged in such a gut wrenching, heart pounding way that it grabs you and draws you in and drowns you with each word.
Penny just tears you up she’s so strong yet so damaged and Damon is so tortured that you don’t know whether to love him, hate him or pity him.
I don’t know how Skye Warren does it but she constructs such beautifully dark masterpieces and I can’t wait to read the conclusion of Damon and Penny’s dark and deadly yet enchanting story.
****I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review****
I can hardly wait to read “The Queen!” I started this book thinking it would be a horrible read, just because it starts from a 7-year-old’s point of view. It was like reading a book for a child, but the theme was a bit mature for a child to be reading and I was debating putting it down but I am so glad I did not!
Once Penny reached her teens, it dragged me in by my mind and kept me reading! There are some dark parts and some parts about both Penny and Damon I just want to smack some sense into them, but oh, I just want to jump right into the next book! This left on a cliff-hanger and I usually hate those, but man, I am so ready. I lucked out and the next one just came out and I purchased it.
This is also the first book I have read by Ms. Warren and her writing style is just amazing and I am definitely planning on checking out her other series!
Paranormal novel, great read, story line and characters. Read it twice already
The King is the first installment (a duet) in the spin-off of Skye Warren’s Endgame Series, where we first met Damon Scott and Penny. It mirrors that portion of the story where Jonathan Scott, Damon’s father, gets what he deserves, from Penny’s POV, and all the events leading up to that and the resulting emotional aftermath. Jonathan Scott was a vile, evil monster…did he get exactly what he wanted all along?
I’m always blown away by the amount of emotion I experience with a Skye Warren story, at various times throughout the story I was elated and happy, frightened and angry, raw and sad, appalled and vindicated, resolute and resigned.
This is Damon and Penny’s story. Penny, so young, but so strong. Having to deal with adult problems way before she should, she’s naive and scared, but plunges headlong into the responsibility like no child should. Damon, still watching out for her, still protective, has become someone she doesn’t want to care about, but he made a sacrifice, a choice for her, a long time ago, one she is well aware of but hates how it’s changed her “wild boy”.
There’s a big cliffie, we leave Damon and Penny at a crossroads, did he cheat? No not that kind, but Damon is making a choice again…if you love someone, set them free, if they come back again….well, you know the rest, but I don’t think Damon sees a happy ending.
I love these characters, Damon is rock solid and all bad boy, but sometimes you have to play the cards your dealt and Penny is age appropriate and believable as written, I’m so anxious to see where The Queen takes us. PS…thanks for giving us a little more Gabriel and Avery!
As part of the Launch Team, I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
This book is edgy, and sexy and all the things a good dark romance book should be. I really enjoyed it!
I was glued to the page and could not put this down, can’t wait to read the next book to see what happens next.
Damon and Penny have a very long history. This story was full of heartache, despair and about sacrifices we make for those we love and protect. I couldn’t put it down.
I love Skye’s writing. I love the characters she wrote for the masterpiece series. In the King we get Damon Scott is ruthless but, is on a mission to save Penny. Penny is young and lives a life in danger and is captivated by older Damon. The King is edgy and dark. It has a connection of two souls needing saving. Skye gives us their story and depths of good verses evil.
The author always pulls me in and leaves me wanting more. This story was no different I need more of Damon and Penny. Once I began the story I couldn’t stop the twists and turns making me try and understand how the pieces will fall. Absolutely amazing and highly recommend!! Can’t wait to read the next piece of their story.
This lived up to expectations, and I’m jumping into The Queen. It has a rather cliffy ending so I don’t really have a choice 🙂
This book cannot be read as a standalone, the Masterpiece Duet series really needs to be read in sequence: prequel, book 1, and book 2. So far the prequel and The King have consisted of vignettes of major moments of the heroine’s life, all leading up to her joining Damon (I hope, at least). I’m looking forward to the payoff in The Queen. In the prequel both MCs were just children and while their relationship evolved in The King, it’s clear there’s still more to come.
I’m liking this series quite a bit, and I may end up liking it more than The Pawn and the Endgame Series. I became bored with Avery and Gabriel and did not even bother to read the last book, The Castle. So far I’ve found Penny and Damon compelling, likable, and complex characters
I like my books raw, dark, and a little twisted, and I can always count on Skye Warren to deliver. The King had me on the edge of my seat and flipping pages wayyyy past my bedtime only to see me immediately hit the Buy button on The Queen (book two). Loved every delicious minute!
You know that feeling you get when you are so excited you almost tremble. The undiscovered joy and fear when you are about to open a present. Is it something you have been dying for or just something to fill a box? The desperate need to know amps up your excitement so you are on the border of frenzied.
The King makes that feeling your normal. I was dying to know how Penny fit into everything since we first saw her wet body lifeless in Damon’s arms in The Castle. The edgy feeling had me on the edge the entire book. Because I want something…I need it to happen.
Yet Skye Warren leaves me on the edge of that feeling questioning if I really want to turn the page…Yes, I really do. You will need to as well. Almost like…an addiction…
Skye Warren is a siren. She uses her words to draw you in. She brings you to places you never would have gone. Her words lure you there with anticipation and a smile on your face. While you are caught up in the web they weave, she locks you into place with invisible chains. Now you can’t go but you also can’t stay…
You are left in between. Between the wanting and the waiting…for The Queen.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
The King is the first book in Skye Warren’s Masterpiece Duet. Notice duet ….that way your not left with your mouth hanging open when the book ends in a cliff.
Penny’s father gambles every night and is so deep in debt he will never get out of it. When he places rock bottom he places a new bet….his daughter Penny. She is his entry into the biggest underground poker game. The players are politicians, mafia men and so much danger lurks. But it is only the man that Penny once thought she loved that makes her shake. A man who betrayed her…..Damon Scott.
This story is absolutely amazing and kept me reading from start to finish. I knew that Damon Scott would have one heck of a story to tell but this is just the first half and I am so curious about what is going to happen next. Penny’s dad is in a mess to say the least but from some reason Jonathan Scott has his eyes set on Penny and Damon is not going to let that happen. His father is probably the most evil, although crazy, person on the planet. Damon and Penny meet in a unconventional way and Damon makes a huge sacrifice and choice to keep Jonathan away from Penny. Does it work? Is Penny in serious danger? What could Jonathan Scott want with a girl who has so many numbers in her head? Well…you just have to read the book and find out. It is nothing like I thought it would be. It was better. The story unwinds in Penny’s voice and head and what a story it is. That girl is unbelievably smart and really only has ever wanted to be loved in life. When your mom is an addict and your dad a gambler there just isn’t much love to go around. This poor girl had to grow up by the time she was six and Damon enters her life. I liked both these characters. But hey, who didn’t leave the Endgame Series not wanting to know more about Damon Scott.
Grab this book and just read. Skye Warren has woven a complicated, suspenseful story that will having you turning the pages as fast as you can. I so can not wait to get my hands on The Queen. When it comes to dark reads Skye Warren is right up there as a you don’t want to miss a thing she writes list.
All talk, no sexy. Rehab of The Castle and NO sexy parts. Very disappointing. I hope The Queen is an improvement.