I just could not get into this book. I felt like it took a long time to get to a point where I was invested in the story. I can see how this would be a great teen drama but I just wasn't drawn in. The writing is good and there is a lot of potential with the characters but I'm not sure the overall plot is for me.

The premise seemed extremely compelling, but the plot fell very short to me. There was too much telling and not enough actual scenes between characters. A lot of brooding. I also would have liked more class scenes to understand why they needed to be at this school. It seems like they could have learned this stuff from their parents.

Kingmakers by Sophie Lark is a perfect book for a new adult romance reader.

This book is about the love story between Mikolaj and Sebastian children. If you both of theirs story, you will absolutely curious to know about their families story. However, I'll admit the storyline are less intense.

✅ Childhood friend to lover
✅ School
✅ Dark romance
✅ Action
✅ High sexual tension
✅ Plenty of Spicy scenes

I'll definitely be looking forward to read the next book by Sophie Lark.

Ive been loving this author for a long time..
She's the absolut queen of mafia stories..
There said.. this one isnt the exception
Perfectly crafted, Year one follow the story of Leo Gallo and Anna Wilk.. if you havent read the brutal birthright series by Sophie, you definitely must, so you can have all the context about the story ..
I loved the artwork inside, all the illustrations were magnificent.
.
Read if you like
Dark romance
Childhood friends to lovers
Mafia
Academy vibes
Slow burn


Thanks to Netgalley, Author and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this arc

Definitely make sure you have read the Brutal Prince series before jumping into this book! My favorite part of this book is definitely the family trees and artwork. Sophie Lark’s illustrations make the books come alive

I'm pretty sure I will devour anything that Sophie Lark puts out into the world and this book is no exception. I loved getting into this series for the first time, not knowing what to expect but knowing that I was going to love every minute of it!

This book was interesting and the plot was good, I wish we got more from our two main characters and less of the third POV of someone who wasn't going to be romantically involved with either of them, but overall the book was fantastic and I can't wait to read more!

Thank you NetGalley of an eARC!

I'm annoyed that I'm annoyed by this book. Usually Sophie Lark has me by the neck with her works, but this one just didn't hit anything I was interested in. That is no fault of her or the book though. It was well written, the spice was quite nice, the plot had no obvious holes and it definitely will hit the spot for other readers, just unfortunately not me.

I absolutely loved The Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark, so when I saw this one on NetGalley, I knew I had to get it. Little did I know that one, it is about the children of the characters in the brutal birthright series. And two, that it was actually a pre-released book under a new name.

While I usually love a good Mafia romance, this one didn’t really hit for me. I had to spend the first five chapters continually going back to the multiple family trees illustrated in the beginning of the book in order to figure out who was who. Once they got to school, I loved the whole school part! But I needed more romance and it just didn’t come until the book was almost over. I really wanted to love this once so I could keep going with the series, but I’ll probably stop here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blooms Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an ARC of this book.

This is the first book in Sophie Lark’s Kingmakers series, which is the next generation of her Brutal Birthright mafia series. In Year One, we follow Leo and Anna - childhood best friends (practically non-blood cousins) at their first year at Kingmakers Academy - the school for all mafia children wanting to follow in their parents' footsteps. While we follow the developing romance of both our main characters, the plot is thick with suspense and action. It’s very atmospheric, and Sophie has done an excellent job in dropping the reader into the world. I also tend to love next-generation series and seeing our fave couples’ offspring.

While I did love this read, I found it to be quite long and some parts were a little drawn out for my liking.

Solid 4.5 stars for this one! I know this technically falls into contemporary dark romance, but I really got a fantastical vibe from it. I think it's the slight farfetchedness of a school only for mafia families. The challenges and the 2 boy 1 girl trio gave off massive Harry Potter vibes. I couldn't shake it, even the dynamics seemed to work out similarly.

Overall though, I enjoyed the world, the classes, the uniqueness of this book. I love, love, love best friends to lovers. I'm excited to read the next from Sophie Lark!

I didn't really feel a connection to any of the characters or their romance. It felt like the romance took a back seat to the plot. That's totally fine, but not for me when it begins to feel like an afterthought. Leo and Anna themselves aren't very interesting. Dean was the most interesting character for me and his story was my favorite.

The plot overall was very interesting and kept me engaged. I just wish I felt the same way about the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was my first introduction to Sophie Lark, and based on this, I'm ready for much more!

Kingmakers Year One immediately pulls you in, and makes you feel like you are watching a TV-show in a different universe - that is a lot more exciting than your own. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the main characters of this book, Leo and Anna, the set up for the entire series including the side characters were making it even better, and me anxious to get to Year 2 to learn what happens next. The world building is incredible. The idea of a school for mafia children is so fun to me, and I just loved the creative ways the school was different from a "normal" one and the tournament they're participating in as a team was amazing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and can't wait to continue this series.

Thank you so much Netgalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the advanced reader copy & the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

You should add this to your TBR if you love these tropes:

- Friends to Lovers
- Mafia Themes
- Interconnected Standalone
- 2nd Generation

Thank you Sourcebooks, Bloom Books & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED the Brutal Birthright series so I was super excited to read about the next generation. Kingsmaker: Year One has a very different vibe compared to the Brutal Birthright books. It's set in a college, on an island, in the middle of no where (very Hogwarts vibes) where only children from Mafia families from around the world are allowed to attend. It was soooo fun to read about this new setting in a world I love!

I really enjoyed Anna and Leo's story. Childhood friends to lovers, slow burn, lots of jealousy, it was *chefs kiss*. I also enjoyed the trio POV, i've never read a book like that before. I feel like we were not supposed to like Dean, and i'll be honest I didn't like him throughout 90% of the book, but i would be lying if i said I wasn't intrigued on what's next for him in the series...

If you're in the mood for a Hogwart's x mafia type of book, I'd highly recommend this one!!

Tropes:
- childhood friends to lovers
- trio POV
- slow burn
- mafia

Kingmaker: Year One: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

Pub date: August 20 - preorder now for the new cover & new title!!!

I enjoyed this book!

A Mafia University is something I have never read before in a book and it is something that immediately caught my attention when I first read the book summary.
It was a great book and I loved the characters. Leo and Anna are well-developed and are amazing characters. The story was great and it had me hooked the entire time.

I cannot wait to read more from this series. It is a must-read for mafia romance fans!

Thank you Netgally and Bloom for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This didn't quite meet my expectations. I was really drawn to the concept of a mafia world with a college for mafia kids and heirs, which sounded like a lot of fun, and the setting itself was definitely exciting. However, the romance fell flat for me, even though I usually love a good friends-to-lovers story. Anna and Leo just didn’t have any chemistry. Honestly, I was more interested in seeing Anna end up with Dean, our third POV character, until his involvement with the date rape drug came to light. The romance didn't really take off until around 80% into the book, and by then, I was already checked out.

Kingmakers: Year One
By: Sophie Lark

The first thing that I have to say about this book is that it is compulsively readable. It was hard to put it down and I finished it in two sittings. The premise is fairly simple, but SO interesting. Kingmakers is a college for mafioso children from all over the world. The work that these young people put in will not yield a degree, but it will prepare then to inherit the family business… whatever that might be. Although there is a mandatory truce while on campus, that doesn’t prevent the students from waging silent wars against one another. The allegiances and blood feuds that you would expect, make for an interesting backdrop to what is most definitely a romance. To be fair, the romance was my least favorite thing about this book. It wasn’t bad; I just was not invested in it…at all. I enjoyed the characters; even the ones that I didn’t particularly like. I am a sucker for found family and friend groups; which were both prominently featured in this story. I also enjoyed watching some characters find redemption, while others grappled to come to grips with their true nature. If you enjoy a bit of a darker romance, this may be a good one to check out. A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Kingmakers is what you’d expect a school for the children of mafias to be. It is a foray into the competitiveness of the most brilliant minds in the criminal world. There’s underhandedness, age-old hatred, rivalry, revenge, and sex - the kind you’d imagine only these non-normal kids to have.

Then, there’s the love side of it all. The wrong type of love that obsesses and wants to possess. The sweetest kind of love that wants to protect and give as much as it takes. The love stories within the pages of this book will let you get a glimpse of the lives of the men and women who many may see as criminals, but who are human afterall.

So, if you are looking for a read that has love, action, competition, sinister plans, and sex all rolled into one, then Kingmakers is definitely it.

This review was made voluntarily and in appreciation of NetGalley and the brilliant mind of the author.

This was a fast and solid read that skirts the line a little between having YA Romance pacing with some NA content--it didn't completely work for me, but that's probably a me problem.

I was super interested in the idea of a dark academiaeque setting where young adults go to what's essentially mafia college. I mean, who WOULDN'T be invested in that? But unfortunately, that was more of the secondary story to one of my least favorite plot devices--"The entire conflict would be resolved if people would talk to each other instead of playing silly games."

This is a multi-POV book, and I do enjoy getting multiple perspectives. The unfortunate side effect is that it just caused me to internally scream at multiple characters to just TALK TO EACH OTHER instead of wallowing in their feelings. Two of the characters are supposed to be besties and closer than anything in the world, yet somehow the second they stepped foot in this castle they REFUSE to talk to each other.

It was interesting enough for me to read the entire book despite not being a huge fan of the plot organization, and I LOVED the family tree at the beginning, and all of the character art interspersed within the chapters. It definitely adds to the story, and honestly made me want to keep reading because I wanted to keep seeing more of it. Definitely a 10/10 feature for me!

If you liked Emily Henry's Happy Place but want it with a mafia twist, you'll LOVE this! If you screamed the entire time you read Happy Place, then....maybe skip it.

Thank you Netgally and Bloom for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“Year One” is a dark contemporary romance set in a unique college for mafia families, told from the perspectives of Anna, Leo, and Dean. This choice of multiple viewpoints enriches the narrative, providing a comprehensive understanding of the story’s dynamics. Although love triangles aren’t typically my favorite, this one captivated me with its complexity, despite some imperfections in the male leads. Anna’s character is particularly compelling, balancing her dual roles as a dancer and a mafia heir. The side characters, including Leo and Anna’s other friends, add a welcome balance to the intense main plot. The Kingmakers school, with its specialized roles and competitive tournaments, brings an intriguing element to the story. While some aspects are predictable, the challenges and the setting kept me engaged. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next book unfolds.

This book has a really fun premise. Mafia families send their college age kids to Kingmakers- an old-world style university that teaches them how to be mafia members. The MCs are shipped off the the university via planes, boats, and horse & buggy. Hogwarts for mafia is a very apt description.

The book has 3 POVs. The FMC, Anna, and two MMCs, Leo and Dean. All darlings and spoiled "heirs" of their respective families. We follow them through their first year of school, most of the story centers around the rivalry and competitions. Think "house cup".

The 3rd POV felt unnecessary. Its very obvious from the beginning who the main love interest is going to be and who FMC is going to end up with. The 2nd guy would have been a fun addition if he was anything other than an absolute a-hole. I didn't quite understand why he had a place in the book.

:::Trope spoilers::::

Slow burn, virgin friends to lovers, with a little enemies to dating. The spice is appropriate for the age of the MCs.

Worth reading for the unique story. It was easy world building and character development. Again, appropriate for the age of the characters and the setting. The characters are a bit too immature and juvenile to hold my interest through a whole series, but that's personal preference only. Overall, I think its a good book!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free ecopy to review.