After reading before I let you go, I knew I needed more Kennedy Ryan in my life. This was better in my opinion! Loved the age gap, loved the slow burn. So excited for the next book!

I absolutely devoured this book!

I've been in a bit of a reading slump recently and this fully drop-kicked me out of it.

I love a second-chance romance, and Lennix & Maxim definitely delivered on this front. I really liked the format of past > future with their love story spanning over so many years.
I was hooked from the first chapter and finished in a day!

Off to go and start book 2 now as I NEED to know what's happening next after that cliffhanger!!

Thank you so much to Kennedy Ryan, Bloom Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a fast paced romance that I enjoyed reading. The author has a way of drawing you in from the first page and when she drops you off at the last, you’re winded and exhilarated. I loved that this story talked about Indigenous culture. It brought their modern plight into focus. Lennix was a strong character as was Maxim. They both had goals and dreams and were very determined in seeing them through. Although Maxim’s family drama was as sold as time, it felt new in the way it was written. I definitely look forward to reading the other books in this new series.

This book is SENDING ME!! I was on the edge of my seat for every SINGLE page!!

Lennix is such an amazing heroine - passionate and strong and brilliant and driven...but also hurt and sad....but also connected to the people and the land in a way I don't see enough of in books. The loss of her mom and all the other Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women weighs heavily on her, but it's such an important topic to highlight.

Ok and can we talk about our alpha hero Maxim? Who hurls himself into danger for Lennix without a thought, before he even knows her? Be still my heart!!! I love his crusading - for her and for the planet.

Enough raving, I gotta go find the next in the series!!!

Beautiful attention to details and respect to indigenous culture. Super sexy and sweet. The MCs have tons of chemistry. Great side characters.

* 3.5 stars✨

Thank you to the author, Kennedy Ryan, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on May 23, 2023.

I loved Lennix as a strong and ambitious heroine who cared about bringing justice to marginalized communities. Arrogant men are only great to read about only if they have a reason to be and Maxim did hit all the marks. I don’t know what it is about intelligent men but they’ll do it for me every time. I believed their connection from the jump and the first ~30% of the book was to die for!

I really enjoyed the issues that the author brought to attention with this book! I’m glad she brought awareness to Indigenous people getting everything stolen from them ranging from their scared grounds to their women. I also liked the talk about climate change and switching to clean and renewable energy sources.

While I did love the issues the MCs were so passionate about, after a while it got repetitive and made it feel like what they were fighting for was their only personality trait and made them one-dimensional. For a good ~50% of the book, it was focused on their careers and the MCs had no contact, which I didn’t mind, but I would’ve wanted to see more of them interacting with each other, together or not.

Also the cliffhanger??? Wow. I’m about the read the ARC of the next book right now.

I’ve been reading Kennedy Ryan for years now, but for some reason her work just hits different for me now than it did when I was younger, likely due to my growth and changes, but her work is spectacular. I love how easily she weaves in political plot lines to show that these things matter and how they can affect communities as a whole but as an individual as well. The research she takes in each of her books is astounding too.

Maxim and Lennix had me hooked from the beginning, and I loved how their story weaved through decades of their lives, they were clearly meant to be. I loved how they fought the same fights just in wildly different ways and how their connection comes off so strong while reading.

I spent the entire book trying to figure out what the cliffhanger would be and did not guess it at all, but thankfully I can read next book immediately! I can’t wait to finish Lennix and Maxim’s story

I absolutely loved this book. I fell in love with the characters and the story and I was intrigued and hooked the entire time. Lennix is an indigenous young woman who is brave, passionate and fights for the rights of her people. Maxim is the son of the head of an oil empire, with whom Maxim doesn’t see eye to eye. Lennix and Maxim’s paths connect during a protest that Lennix organized in an attempt to stop a pipeline from being built on scared grounds. They met in a way that was both intense and meaningful.

Despite their strong connection, nothing happens between them until years later, but Lennix still doesn’t know an important fact about Maxim’s family that would definitely change things between them.

Both Lennix and Maxim have goals and causes they are passionate about, and the story takes places over the span of 15 years, so I feel like I watched these characters grow not just romantically but into their own person in ways that ensures their purpose is fulfilled.

I definitely learned more about indigenous people and their history, so much of which is filled with injustice and heartbreak.

The book ends in a big cliffhanger which I love/hate. I am dying to know what happens next but hate having to wait.

I loved this book and I am eager to read the second one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary:
Maxim Cade is the son to a very wealthy family that controls oil production, but refuses to follow in his family's footsteps and chooses to become an environmental scientist/capitalist. Lennix Hunter is an Indigenous activist who hates the Cade family with all her heart.

Years ago, Maxim and Lennix meet at a protest against the implementation of another oil pipeline through sacred lands. Lennix was leading the protest and Maxim was there with his father, but he tells Lennix that he was there for the protest. Fast forward a few years, they meet again and start their relationship, but Cade omits the fact that he is a Cade, which Lennix eventually finds out.

The story takes place over a decade, starting from when the couple first met to how they end up together again.

Thoughts about this book:
✔️ Diverse representation (LBGTQ+ and POC characters)
✔️ Love how the author spoke with many indigenous people to ensure that the story was not inaccurate or portrays indigenous people in a negative manner
✔️ Pro-save the planet & pro-indigenous people have rights too & pro-use your power to vote for change
❌ Some of the main characters lacked personality outside of the relationship
❌ Not a huge fan of "guy and girl pines for each other for 10+ years and hardly enters a relationship with anyone else"

Overall, it was a fun and easy read! This one ended on a cliffhanger, so the next book should be very interesting.

Would I recommend this book? Sure!

4.5 out of 5 stars! Why did I wait so long to read this book?!!? Maxim and Lennox were complete fire and ice! I get why Maxim omitted important details about himself but it was ultimate betrayal for Lennix. The author’s attention to detail about the Yavapai-Apache Nation provided great insight into their sacred rites and traditions and depicted the atrocities they suffered with respect. The passion throughout this book was palpable, both between Lennix and Maxim and the causes by which they stood. I can’t wait to find out how Maxim and Lennix fare in the next book.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan is a fantastic read. Maxim and Lennix have unmistakable chemistry from the start. The only problem is that Lennix hates his father, and Maxim is unable to tell her who is family really is.

But this book is SO much more than a predictable romance story between the haves and have nots. This is a genuine and heartfelt portrayal of Indigenous Americans who have suffered so much at the hands of the government and its people. Betrayed in horrible and on-going ways, this didn't just happen in the 17 and 1800's, it still happens today.

The pipeline, women's rights of passage, and the true story of the missing women , known as MMIW (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women) is all heartbreaking. But there is love. Will Maxim and Lennix get their happy ever after, or will the truth destroy them?

This book is the first in a new series called "All The King's Men", and I am here for it all!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, Bloom Books, and Kennedy Ryan for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review of The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan.

I think this is a case of good book, wrong person. I wasn’t really the best reviewer for this one because the cover led me to believe that this was going to be a different type of book.

I will say I REALLY loved our FMC, Lennix was incredible. She was driven, independent, and almost felt effortless. I think she was set up so well and I enjoyed her throughout. I was pleasantly surprised with the first half of the book. Unfortunately, the second half lost me a bit because I felt like the time jump was a bit much. I also didn’t love the age gap when they initially met because Lennix was underage.

I do feel like the author really championed the rights of First Nation peoples throughout this book and that is super commendable to me.

Lennix was my favorite part of the book. From knowing who she is from such a young age and never giving up on her morals the whole way she was a breath of fresh air.

There was history and culture weaved beautifully through the story without it feeling like an info dump.

Where the story fell a little for me was the time jumps. The story spans over a decade and at some points it took me a bit to catch up. Maxim was also a bit of a mystery to me. I never felt like I fully understood him or his reasoning for his actions. All in all though a wonderful book I would highly recommend.

Kennedy Ryan never fails to amaze me!! Her writing is so purposefully loving yet heartbreaking simultaneously.

Lennix first meets Maxim at a protest against the pipeline that’s trying to invade her Native people’s sacred land. Little does she know, Maxim is the son of the man ordering the pipeline to be funded and built. There’s something about the two of them that draws them to one another but neither acts on it until they encounter each other by chance (or fate). They promise to live in the moment with each other if only for a week then walk away. However, the bond they build is so strong that it’s nearly impossible for either party to go their separate ways but there’s also the fact that Maxim hasn’t been exactly truthful about who he is. So will love prevail distance, time and the truth?

Lennix is such a strong female character and Maxim is her perfect match! I really enjoyed this book. Kennedy Ryan always delivers with every book she writes. I am anxious to read the rest of the story in “The Rebel King”.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kennedy Ryan is one of my favorite authors! The Kingmaker is an unpredictable story! The characters are unforgettable and beautifully flawed!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan. I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to The Rebel King. It was a quick and easy read with an interesting storyline. There were some rather unrealistic plot lines but overall I liked it. Be warned that this books leaves you on a cliff hanger.

The story has completely sucked me in and I loved the characters so much. At first I was wondering why did the author have to give us such a big time skip, but when I followed the story the time skip actually made the story even better. Lennix and Maxim they have succeeded in their career and both have grown and matured emotionally, and they were ready to sort out their unfinished business! This book ends in a cliffy and I'm dying to read the next one!

Thanks to Negalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying that I really like the cover of this book! this is one of those covers i would pick up at the store.

the story itself wasn't quite my cup of tea. the story of climate change and politics was a bit too much for me personally. and I sometimes had trouble with the big time jumps. I thought Maxim and Lennix were both nice and strong people.

this is my personal opinion and says nothing about this book or the author. I'm sure there will be a lot of fans of this book!

The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan is a brilliantly written & unique romance chalked full of interesting characters, fascinating stories, drama, mystery, politics & emotions galore. Kennedy Ryan knows how to write phenomenal stories with beautiful characters that have such depth to them. I also appreciate how they deal with heavier subjects, but they are handled with such grace.

The Kingmaker centers around powerhouse activist, Lennix Moon Hunter, proud member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation. The story showcases young Lennix fighting against a pipeline all the way to her flourishing adulthood & the man destined to cross & disrupt her path ahead, Maxim Cade. The two main characters were such passionate individuals that both had their eyes set on changing the world. They are both awe-inspiring in their crusades. I appreciated the fact that this covered climate change & also that there was even a part of the book in Antarctica. I have never read a book set in Antarctica before, so I found that to be really cool!

I would like to warn any reader that this books ends an epic cliffhanger that had me clamoring for the second book in this duet. I cannot wait to see what happens. To say I am curious is an understatement!

For anyone looking for an interesting & different romance with confident characters, wicked chemistry, sizzling spice & enough emotional depth to fill a ship, this is a great recommendation for you!


Massive thanks to NetGalley & Bloom Books for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I will post to social media & Amazon this week & add links once I do. .