I really rather enjoyed this one. It reminded me a lot of my all time favorite series ROCK CHICK. It had the same type of vibe to it. I found it to be well-written and nicely paced. It had angst. It had no OW drama. It had some OM drama. It had adorable hero-kid action. It had an excellent cast of secondary characters. Who doesn't love hot alpha men with guns? That said I am a little on the fence about the next book (Neco & Ruby's). I am not really a fan when one-half of the potential couple wants the other and has to sit around watching him sleep with OW. Fingers crossed at least Ruby got herself some as well and wasn't sitting around pining.

It also had two very likable main characters. The first 30% of this one will make it hard for you to like Hunter. He took his anger too far (IMO) with Lulu. I also found it hard to buy into that in all those three years he sat in prison it never ONCE crossed his mind that MAYBE just MAYBE all wasn't as it appeared. If I had been Lulu, I would have never given him a second chance. NOW, when he does finally pull his head out of his ass he is very much an impressive, smokin' hot, alpha male. The likes of which I eat up by the spoonful. Lulu was also extremely likable. I felt for her. She had a lot of shit happen to her and kept moving forward.

So this would have been a total 5-Stars read had it not been for two things. One, he was way TOO over the top mean and cruel to her for the first 30% of this book. I get he was angry and hurt and thought she screwed him over but causing physical injuries and treating her like a whore especially in light of what we learn happened to her three years prior, turned me off of him. The author took it a bit too far for my liking.

Second, was the unnecessary mentions of her hooking up in a bathroom once with OM during the three years he was in prison and the whole OW scene with a stripper where we find out he was screwing her off and on since he got out of jail. We find this out at 65% and by that point, I was harboring the belief that they both hadn't been with others since before he got sent to prison. I failed to see why that needed to be added to the story as it causes ZERO issues with the couple. I was quite happy thinking they had both remained celibate and I would have rated the book a half star more had that been left out.

So ya, like I said I enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't perfect and I wish the author had used a lighter hand in the beginning and left out the seemingly unnecessary details about them hooking up with others, but it still gets a two thumbs up from yours truly.

I'd never heard of the author before, so I went in blind when I started this book. The synopsis sounded very interesting, intriguing, lots of potential there for a great book. And it didn't disappoint. The book started great. I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Sadly, everything happened at an extremely fast pace, too fast in my opinion. Had the book been longer, the storyline would've been more believable. I didn't believe the connection between the characters, didn't have enough information to understand them. Which is sad because I really enjoyed the plot and writing style.

Overall, this was definitely not a bad read.

A new series always excites me, though there’s always some trepidation because many of them don’t quite hit their stride until a few books in, especially when the starting one is full of establishing plotlines, histories and characters. ‘Shattered King’s’ blurb drew me in immediately: betrayal, secrets and lies all tangled up in a hard, brutal second chance romance after Hunter King’s life takes a turn for the worse when Lulu—the only woman he’s ever loved—sent him to prison.

My first impression of ‘Shattered King’ was the overall grittiness and the barely-leashed edge of violence that Sherilee Gray excels at here, in which hard sex plays a major role. Her characters stay just at the boundary of the wrong side of the law, crossing these lines sometimes with no qualms and are the anti-heroes who would keep you safe at any cost just as they keep your panties constantly wet. But there’s also a load of high drama and a considerable number of triggers here that might go down on the wrong side of some readers’ sensibilities.

It was hard however, to see anything beyond the overflowing lust that supposed proves compatibility, because it seemed to trump even their volatile personalities and apparently, solve most problems. The copious amount of sex replaced actual communication, because by god, it was what both Hunter and Lulu needed to do but didn’t, as body parts suddenly spoke louder than words and that proved frustrating. But this is suspense as much as it’s erotica, so I was in a way, expecting more than just sex to eclipse everything else.

I think ‘Shattered King’ would have worked better for me if the story’s protagonists weren’t always on the verge of going off the deep end at the slightest push of a button. Hunter’s sudden switch from pissed-off alpha male to possessive alpha male was too abrupt, just as I couldn’t entirely trust Lulu not to stop running, which seemed to be her only modus operandi throughout the entire story, either from her hellish stepfather or for the sake of her son. Held at ransom for so long, I’d expected a gutsier female lead despite the amount of abuse she’d faced but her tendency to not want to face things couldn’t make me warm up to her enough, especially when she couldn't seem to take active steps to sort out the mess she’d made of her own life as well as Hunter’s. The long and short of it is that Lulu does run in the end and predictably ends up in the hands of her worst enemy like the damsel constantly in distress, even as Hunter bails her out at the last minute.

‘Shattered King’ is not a bad start to the series, but it’s probably better suited for those who like the MC-type of stories and a HEA that comes amidst bloodshed and shady activities. But just because I couldn’t really feel Hunter/Lulu’s connection doesn’t mean that anyone else can’t, and I’m simply going to continue reading because there are stories that I know Gray can write that I’ll love. It’s just not this one.

I really loved this as an opening into a new series. The characters are great, the drama is through the roof, and the suspense kept me turning page after page.

This is Hunter and Lulu's story and it is a doosey! Because I don't want to ruin any of it for anyone I'm not going to detail this story for you, but you won't be disappointed be these characters and this story. It is not the easiest to read, and had abusive and rape triggers so be aware of that. It also has all consuming love and amazing strength in the men and women in this story.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional rollercoaster of a book, deals with betrayal, love and ultimate forgiveness. This book ends in a HEA.

This is the second book I've read by Sherilee Gray and I've enjoyed both of them.

Shattered King is the first in the Lawless Kings series. It was a good, suspenseful story that does contain some triggers, which could make it a tough read. However, I was able to get past that and sink into this story easily. I don't want to go into too many details here, but there were a few plot devices I thought a bit unbelievable. Luckily I was able to suspend reality (I'm great at that) and just enjoy the book as a hot, suspenseful summer read.

All in all, I will be looking forward to the next Lawless Kings book, which I'm assuming is based on Neco and Ruby - their story sounds great too!

Shattered King is the first book in a brand new series by Sherilee Gray, Lawless Kings. I have long been a devoted fan of Sherilee’s books. I have read every single book she has written. I’ve been so anxious to get started on this new series, to see what she has in store for us this time. And I was blown away. In my opinion, this is a little darker than some of her other books. Her writing is intense, suspenseful, and amazing. I couldn’t put it down.

Hunter King spent three years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s out now and working with his brother at their Private Investigative business. Hunter is consumed with anger, hatred, and the need for revenge for the person that put him in prison, the person he had loved and trusted more than any other, Lulu. Now, he needs information from Lulu but more than that, he wants answers. He wants her to look him in the eye and tell him why she did it. To tell him that the two years they spent together, loved each other, was all a lie. So, Hunter kidnaps Lulu. Only putting himself within close proximity to the woman he loved more than life itself, the woman he now hated more than life itself, has an effect on his body he didn’t expect, an effect he doesn’t want. There is a fine line between love and hate, and he is walking that line like a tightrope.

“She was my drug, my poison. The best, and worst thing that had ever happened to me.”

Lulu has been gone for three years, running from her step father, a man who is made of evil itself. But she had to surface, to come back, for her mother. To see her one last time. But Lulu can’t let anyone know her secret, her reason for living, her little two year old son, Josh. A little boy with eyes the exact same color as Hunter’s. She knew Hunter was out of prison but all she wants is to see her mother, then she can disappear again. But Hunter has different plans for her. Seeing him again brought back everything, all the good and the bad. She never stopped loving him, would never stop. But Hunter hates her for what she did. He would never believe her even if she told him the truth about what happened.

This is a story about a second chance at love. These two people loved each other deeply. But an evil, possessive step father manipulated them both and took three years away from them. There is so much to work through for these two to find their way back to each other. Hunter stole my heart. Once he knew what was going on, once he understood what happened, he was fully committed to being the man that Lulu deserves, to being the father little Josh deserves. He was a tough as nails man, but he loved with his whole heart.

“I hadn’t given her many reasons to trust me since I’d been back in her life, but I’d make sure I proved I was worthy of it. I’d prove it to her every day, for the rest of our lives.”

This book has a little bit of everything. Sherilee writes smokin hot sexy scenes and this book has plenty of them. This book is also really suspenseful as Lulu, Hunter, and the other members of the agency, try to stop the man who has brought so much pain and darkness to their lives. Who continues to threaten Lulu and Hunter and won’t stop until he is caught. And Hunter has some pretty explicit plans for how he wants to make him pay for what he has done. There are also plenty of sweet moments, especially with adorable little Josh. I am over the moon for this book and can’t wait for the next in the series, Broken Rebel, which will be Neco and Ruby’s story.

An excellent romance by a new author for me. Good solid writing. Excellent plot.

I don't know how anybody could read this book and not be crazy about it. It is addictive and sexy as hell.

Hunter King was in love with Lulu. She broke his heart to save him. He did hard time in prison because of her lies. Now he is out and pissed as hell. Hunter wants revenge but he doesn't know the whole truth about Lulu.

Sherilee Gray blew my mind with this awesome story. I fell in love with the characters and the raw emotions of everything they went through. Hunter was a true bad ass and so are the rest of his crew. Lulu was so strong and gutsy. She broke my heart but what a set of lady balls. Everyone in the series has a story just waiting to be told and I cannot wait to read them. So bring on Neco and Ruby and tear my heart out all over again .....

Hunter King loved Lulu, they were going to spend their lives together, that is until he is put away in prison for a crime he didn't commit, and Lulu was his alibi, she was with him, but she didn't admit it and now he had to serve three years.

Visiting time in the prison and when Hunter walked into the room, there was Lulu sitting there at the table waiting for him. She nervously looked at him, couldn't speak a word, tried to get out how sorry she was, told him she was leaving for good, not coming back, but Hunter was having none of it. He walked away screaming "Why?"

Lulu hated her step father, this was all his fault and she was getting as far away from him and his evil as she could, it was the only way she could protect Hunter and her family. It is amazing what can happen in three years though and just as she thought she had gotten away from everything bad in her life, fate steps in and starts it all up again.

This was a great book, fast paced and addictive. Will definitely read more in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and voluntarily review this book.

Excellent read

I was really willing to give this book a try but I have this awful problem of not being able to read in the first person format drives me nuts.

Hunter is such an alpha. When he's in a mood, he sushes Lulu. If he'd be the one to shut up and let her have her say, maybe he'd actually get the answers he wants. Lulu has the patience of a saint to put up with him. Or maybe it's love. Yeah love, that's the only answer I can think of.
Shattered King is great, I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

A taut, heartbreaking opening scene had me rooting for Lulu and Hunter from the first page. The first third of the book was equally exciting: their explosive reunion compounded by Lulu's agonizing revelation made the pages fly by. Unfortunately, even with hot sex scenes liberally peppered throughout, the pace of Lulu and Hunter's story began to drag mid-way and then kind of sputtered to its drawn-out end. Also Trigger Warning: I was unprepared for the graphic attempted rape scenes.

The author is new to me, and it was clear, after just a few pages, that palpable sexual chemistry and steamy sex scenes are certainly her forte. The problem was that Lulu and Hunter weren't fleshed out enough as characters to sustain their many, many sex scenes. I actually found myself wishing they would stop having sex for just a minute and talk out their issues instead.

While Hunter is the classic uber-alpha possessive male, his patience and forgiveness are practically saint-level. Lulu is exasperatingly immature, indecisive, and stubborn. They literally have the same conversation over and over: "You belong to me." "I don't know." "Yes, you do." "I need to think."

Two things really bothered me: that Josh is a plot-moppet and no more (I think every other character spent more time with him than his own mother) and the visceral descriptions of attempted rape. I think I would consider reading more of the author's works but only with the right plot trope where I could be certain not to encounter either.

"She was my drug, my poison. The best, and worst thing that had ever happened to me." 

 Sherilee Gray is a new author to me, and I can not wait to discover more books from her. 

Told from dual points of view, Shattered King takes you on one intense and thrilling ride. From the moment I picked up this book, my eyes were glued to the pages. I was totally sucked into Lulu and Hunter's story. Their story wasn't an easy one. It hurt and pulled at my heart. I found myself so frustrated with Hunter. I couldn't wait for him to wake up and see Lulu's truth and to see that everything is not as it seems. 

Shattered King is a fast paced and entertaining read. This book pretty much hits the ground running and never stops. It is filled with lots of action, danger, intense moments and sexy good times. Shattered King is a fantastic second chance romance that will not only leave your heart pounding, but will have you turning the pages quickly to see just how the story will play out. I loved everything about this book, from the characters to the story-line to the intense moments and all of the twists and turns along the way.

Overall, I thought this book was a great read and look forward to continuing on with this series.

Wow I haven't read an emotional book like this one in awhile. Sherilee Gray became one of my favorite authors a few months ago when I stumbled onto her books. Had to read them all. Happy to read a new one. A MUST READ.

Shattered King was such a surprise! I could not put this book down. It had a great storyline that just hooks you in and kept you wanting more. I really fell in love with the characters. I had a bit more of a love / hate relationship with Lulu because some of her actions had me wanting to smack her upside the head but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book. This is a first in a series I'm hoping? And can't wait for more!