Native American Culture. Politics. Fiery Collision. Angst. Burning Desire.

This seems to be a trend for me of writing a review before I've finished the book. Currently sitting at 60% on this one, and I'm only putting it down long enough to tell you to RUN to this title. Kennedy Ryan is a goddess with prose, pulling you in and making you lose sleep over Lennix and Maxim. I feel as if I am standing on the sidelines or a fly on the wall, watching this story unfold before my eyes. I am finding myself frantically reading at top speed trying to figure out if Lennix and Maxim can work through their challenges and what other obstacles they will face. Both characters are fierce and lovable, while dealing with their conflicting interests. Fate crossed lovers similarly to a Romeo and Juliet trope, I'm hoping for the HEA of their dreams!

While the topics and CW of loss, missing persons and dirty politics may be a warning for some, this is a story worth questioning your beliefs over. The Kingmaker has been previously published and is in new publishing with SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books. The version I read will release May 23. Thank you Kennedy Ryan, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an advanced digital copy. This review is solely mine.

This book is exceptionally well written, The dynamics, exquisite, The drama 10/10. The characters I hate to love
them. I love nothing more than characters who hold grudges.


The plot twist was hella left field though Ms Ryan...

Great book! Such a great love story even though they were only together for a week. The only thing I didn’t like was that it ended on a cliffhanger and now I have to wait a couple months for the next book to come out. But it gets me excited for the second book. I can’t wait to read that one!

Genre: romance
Series: All The King’s Men # 1
Setting: around the globe across a span of 15 years
POV: dual, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: insta love, second chance romance, billionaire, “touch her and die”, virgin, age gap (~6 years) 
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes

What I Liked: I had a hard time putting this down! The political setting and strong FMC was giving me Olivia Pope from the show Scandal vibes, which I loved! I thought the MMC was intense in the way that most billionaire, perhaps morally grey men are. Kennedy always delivers beautiful writing and the tension between these two was palpable, even as the years went on! The cliffhanger on this was shocking and I can’t wait for the next book!

What I Disliked: While the main characters have a ton of great chemistry when they’re together, they spend a good portion of the book apart and pining for each other after knowing each other for a very short period of time.

Read This Book If…you want to see snapshots of the world through the lens of two very driven characters.

Memorable Quote: “I’m proud of my body, not because it’s a a certain size or because I’m fit but because it’s what I have to offer him.”

A review of The Kingmaker by Kennedy Ryan

Another great story by Kennedy Ryan! The story of Maxim and Lennix is compelling and relevant to today’s current events. Lennix is an Indigenous woman fighting for her people’s way of life and dealing with Corporate America and their obsession with oil. Maxim comes from a wealthy oil company family at odds with Lennix’s beliefs. Maxim and Lennix meet and are immediately drawn to each other, and over the course of 14 years find that they belong to each other. The question is can they stay together? This story is a fabulous mix of suspense and steam. The secondary plots of politics and missing Indigenous women in America also bring lots of tension and stakes to the story. This is a 5 star read, and I recommend everyone read this wonderful story. It ends on a cliffhanger and is part 1 of a duet. Now I must wait, not so patiently, for part 2 – Rebel King which is due to release in June 2023. I really need it NOW!!!

I loved how necessary this book is to read, especially for the younger generation. This book had representation of global issues, and indigenous peoples. I think Kennedy Ryan did a fantastic job by keeping us hooked with the two main characters through time jumps, while highlighting the importance of their beliefs..

This wasn’t my cup of tea.

I struggled with a few things.
-lack of chemistry between the mc’s
-the time jump
-the mmc was sleeping with every woman that breathed while the fmc was pretty much celibate.

I love Kennedy Ryan’s writing for the most part but this one missed the mark for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was the first book I read by Kennedy Ryan. I keep seeing everyone on TikTok talking about Before I Let Go so when I was accepted to read this book I jumped for joy. I enjoyed this book so much. I can't wait to read Before I Let go now. I was hooked from the beginning til the end. I fell in love with Maxim and Lennix right off the bat. I Can't wait for the next book in this series. This is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for allowing me to read this ARC in advanced for my honest opinion.

This was my first book by this author and I can’t wait to read more from her. I loved Lennix and how strong, brilliant, and resilient she was. The chemistry with Maxim and their pull to each other and their angsty journey was a perfect combination. The whole story follows the conviction of the two main characters on their crusade to make the world better and their own growth separately but never being able to move on from the connection they felt.
It does end on a cliffy so I’ll be waiting impatiently for the release of the second book!

Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

If there was ever a book that made consent sexy it’s this one! The romance scenes were great, but what started out as a promising premise quickly veered into cringy, politically correct territory. It felt like the author was trying to be everything at once: by this I mean offend no one and appeal to everyone. It really took away from any chemistry or character development. It’s hard to get activism right in a romance and I applaud her for trying, but maybe focus more on the story and less on politics?

This book was really well done when it comes to the political aspects going on in the story. It touches on things that Lennix has to deal with everyday. And it is important to her.

Maxim and Lennix might be my least favourite Kennedy Ryan couple to date but Kennedy Ryan writes the best couples so they’re still above many couples I’ve read in the past

2.5⭐️ rounded up to 3

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

I wanted to love this book so bad, but it just wasn’t for me. I love Kennedy Ryan’s books and her writing never fails to impress me, but this book just didn’t hit the mark for me. The biggest problem for me were the two leads. I didn’t really connect to either of them and had a hard time rooting for the romance between them. There were also so many time jumps that it really didn’t give a chance for anything substantial to develop between the two leads. I loved the Native American rep and how Kennedy Ryan brought attention to the alarming rate that Indigenous women go missing. As always, Kennedy Ryan’s writing is great and she’s able to weave together a good story; it just wasn’t a story that was for me.

Also, this is the first ARC from Bloom that I have received that had so many formatting problems that it made it difficult to read the actual book. Chapters were connected with no space, the page numbers were inserted randomly into paragraphs, random spaces/indentations were in the middle of words/paragraphs/sentences. This didn’t impact my rating any, but it is definitely something to be aware of going forward in the future.

I cannot recommend this book enough ! I devoured it in one sitting . If you like fated mates , second chance romance and dual povs then this is for you !

I read the book and I really don't know where to start writing my impressions. The book is excellent and it fascinates me how much time has been invested in it to research and find information regarding Apache history or Antarctic research.In real life, I don't have a good opinion about spoiled rich people or politicians, about their privileged life. This book talks about that and I didn't have any high expectations, I thought it would be another one of those books that you read and forget.It's obvious that I was mistaken because this is one of the best books I've read and honestly, I can't wait to read the second part. Lennix and Maxim are perfect, each of them comes from different cultures and backgrounds, but that doesn't even matter when two kindred spirits meet who will unite the incompatible, who will break all prejudices and who will follow their hearts.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this opportunity, I enjoyed it from the very beginning and I can't wait to read the second part.

Had higher expectations after reading my first book firm this author, being Before I Let Go, but this was just not for me. I really love a well developed and deep romance, something I had high expectations with from Kennedy Ryan, but unfortunately this book fell very flat for me.

The Kingmaker was the second Kennedy Ryan book I’ve read, and once again, I felt all the emotions and didn’t want the story to end. I mean, my goodness, MY HEART. I was on the edge of my seat multiple times and held my breath. Also, I had NO CLUE THIS BOOK IS PART OF A DUET. That cliffhanger made my jaw drop. It felt like a Scandal season finale! I NEED to read the next book! 😍

I also learned a lot. It was clear that Kennedy did her research and handled all topics discussed with care. This book taught me more about the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the sunrise ceremony/dance, and the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women. It was an eye-opening experience that led to me doing more research because I wanted to learn more. Kennedy’s author’s note at the beginning provided excellent context for what readers would find in the story.

Last but not least, Lennix and Maxim. 🥹 Oh my goodness. They were PERFECT together. They must be protected. I’m rooting for them. This book is so much more than just a love story, but I LOVED their story.

OMG 😱 Kennedy Ryan just toyed with my heart in this amazing story…. Lennix and Maxim are explosive, with amazing chemistry and even bigger hearts. They each are out to save the world in their own ways and at first meet too young to start any kind of romance. Eventually they get their second chance and let the sparks start to fly.
Lennix was such an empowering character to read about through the story with her passion for her heritage. I was glad to read about a woman who isn’t some damsel in distress and instead stands for what she believes in. Maxim, I’d best describe as sweet and sexy. He was also great to read about but Lennix stole the show in this book for me with the strength of her character.
That cliffhanger ending has me absolutely shook. 😬 I’m already off to buy the next book. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It was amazing and I can’t wait to read the sequel!

So I want to start off by saying: I ADORE Kennedy Ryan. The writing is absolutely exquisite. The complexity of culture, heritage, nature vs nurture, first love, the pull of chemistry: every single line she wrote was perfection.
That being said...I thought the steamy scenes here were just a bit much. Sometimes I thought Maxim came off way too harsh, and I felt more uncomfortable than not when they were together. I can't put my finger on why...it just didn't connect for me and I found myself skimming.
But the inbetween sections were perfection, and for someone really into hot and steamy romance: this would easily be a 5 star for you.

Lennix and Maxxims story is one of Kennedy Ryans best ones yet!
I really hope to see more of both of them in future books.
I love how Lennix is such a strong Apache woman who wants to bring light to her people and help them in any way to retain their sacred traditions. She's got strong values and is going places. Maxxim also wants to save the world with renewable energy and follows his path to build his own company and create renewable energy for the future.
But neither of them can forget the other one and the time together in their youth. The incredible pull they have towards each other and the spark they have together is something they've never had with anyone else.
Drawn together again, they see where it might lead them.

An intense, empowering book.
This one hits you hard. Makes you think.  Makes you stop and pay attention.
These aren't just words. They are sadly true to most extents.
Lennix is such a strong, smart and powerful woman despite having her mother taken away at such a young age. Growing up in a reservation in  a world where the people supposed to help seem to do anything but that.
Maxim comes from a family whose wealth is made by taking what is not theirs  nor helping climate change. He does everything he can to not be anything like his father including going against his wishes.
These two have so many traits in common. Meeting under such horrific circumstances at such a pivotal point in their lives only to be distanced by age and priorities. 
Years later the pair are brought back together by Maxium's promise to come for her again when the time is right. Though it may not exactly  be just that.
I love the love, strength, passion and all around amazing characters this story has.
This is truly all consuming. It not only has information on how poorly people have treated natives but how strong and empowering they are.
It's a must read. 
5stars