“Power is not only in what we do, but in what we don’t do,” Anna says calmly.

I recently discovered I am a fan of dark academia, and this book delivered the perfect brooding, tense energy I was hoping for. The story line was laid out well and the dynamics between our characters was electric. The setting felt like a Hogwarts full of mafia children who had rivalries with each other. I really appreciated the character perspectives (I usually read books with one perspective, so this was pleasantly surprising for me), and the contrast between each character. They each had their own strengths, flaws, and quirks, which made it so much easier to personify each of them. I didn't feel like any of them were 2D or fell flat. Sophie really created these palpable traits that most of us can relate to in one way or another.

I have only recently started getting into romance and "spicy" books, and this book didn't overdo it, I feel. Hey! If you love the smutty stuff, all the power to ya, it just isn't my thing. The spicy scenes weren't over the top (shed scene at the end was a bit weird?? but maybe that's just me??) and they didn't drag on for 5 pages, potentially taking away from the storyline. I felt like Kingmakers had the right amount of spice, tension, romance, action, slight comedic relief, as well as wrapped everything up in a neat bow at the end.

I will definitely be reading more of Sophie's books! Thank you to NetGalley for this one, I can't wait to read more.

Anna and Leo….swoon central but also OMG! This world is darker and more depraved than their parents. Oh goodness a school where the children of the most ruthless attend has got to be a bad idea but also we wouldn’t have this gem of a book and the ones to follow so I AM HERE FOR IT ALL!!!

This book was addicting and very hot! It’s hard to start a new series and lay the ground work but I think this book does it in a fantastic way and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans lie ahead!!

I loved Anna’s gentle soul but the fact she could be ruthless if needed. Her and Leo compliment each other perfectly and together I feel will be a powerhouse!

This one didn't quite hit the mark for me. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Sophie Lark books and I think that maybe it's time I just gave up with them because I feel like I'm really struggling to connect with her characters and storylines.

It is a shame that I waited so long to read this series because it is totally engrossing and well done. I find, as an older reader, that I often don't do well with college-age characters, but there is an exception to every rule, and this is one of them. Great prose, wonderful pacing, and the art included in this version is stunning. 💖

🔥ARC Review 🔥

Kingmakers: Year One by Sophie Lark
Release Date: August 20, 2024

Pages: 432
Format: 📱

Kingmakers
💙 Kingmakers: Year One

⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.

What to Expect:
🖤Academia
🖤Attempted Mûrder
🖤Boarding School
🖤Bully Romance
🖤Childhood Friends
🖤College Romance
🖤Contemporary Romance
🖤Crime
🖤Dark Romance
🖤Dub Con
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🖤Forbidden Romance
🖤Friends to Lovers
🖤Love Triangle
🖤Mafia Romance
🖤Multi POV
🖤New Adult Romance
🖤Noncônsensual Drûg Use
🖤Other Man Drama
🖤Secret Tattoo
🖤Slow Burn
🖤Suspense
🖤Virgin FMC
🖤Virgin MMC

🎵Playlist 🎵: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7uMlYlVMrueTL5xxApDIcb

Book Description:
Leo Gallo (son of Sebastian & Yelena)

Mafia families from around the world send their children to Kingmakers Academy to learn the skills of criminal enterprise.

Under the rules of Sanctuary, students are forbidden to fight or kill. But rivalries are high, tensions inflamed, and forbidden love arises in the most unlikely places…

Welcome to Kingmakers

Quote:
“You will have everything you want in this world, Anna,” he says. “I knew it from when I first held you in my arms. I knew you would take it all, and hold it tight.”

Ratings:
FMC: ⭐⭐⭐.5
MMCs: ⭐⭐⭐.25
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐.5

BWBH Review:
The Kingmakers takes us “back” to the Brutal Birthright series. We meet Leo, the son of Sebastian and Yelena, and his close friend Anna - both attending Kingmakers for college this year.

Anna and Leo are inseparable - they have been for as long as they remember. But as they get older, they start to realize feelings for one another that weren’t initially there. Do they act on it before they go to Kingmakers? Of course not.

From the beginning, you can tell Leo and Anna are end game, but we get gratuitous love triangle throws in which feels forced. I actually wanted to see Anna show some interest in Dean, another student at Kingmakers, but instead, she always kept him at arm's length citing Leo as the reason. Dean is by no means a “good guy”, but he is treated as an afterthought and a way to make Leo jealous.

I saw several reviews that refer to the story as “Mafia Hogwarts”, but the similarities begin and end with it being a boarding school.

Kingmakers: Year One is perfect for readers who enjoy fierce competition, a slow burn love story, and other man drama.

Thank you to Sophie Lark and NetGalley for the ARC.

Characters are well developed. You can feel the tension between the main characters. Side characters are well done as well. I already downloaded book two. I want to see where the intertwined stories go.

The setting of Kingmakers really sets the premise for not only Year 1, but for the other installments as well: put the children of the worlds different mafia and crime families on a secluded island for specialty schooling and watch the entertainment begin.

It’s filled with tension as different factions clash and relationships form. With the biggest rule for the academy essentially being an eye for an eye, every interaction has the potential to turn deadly.

I really enjoyed this friends to lovers story, part of me is a little sad regarding how other relationships transpired (trying to keep this spoiler free), but the journey we follow was absolutely necessary. The introduction of competitive games for the student body kept the academic plot points fresh. I also really enjoyed a lot of the side characters that came out of this and excited for their potential stories to continue.

Overall, this is a great read if you’re into dark romance, college setting, mafia, etc. Please check the trigger warnings before reading as there are some themes that could potentially be triggering for some.

Review to be posted on Amazon and Instagram to follow.

[ 🅐 🅡 🅒 • 🅡 🅔 🅥 🅘 🅔 🅦 ]

#tropes

Friends to Lovers
Love Triangle
Slow Burn
3 POV
Dark Mafia Meets Dark Academia Meets HP

Such an incredibly fast read. I love Sophie Lark and when I saw this I thought immediately yes because I hadn’t read this one yet. The characters I loved, they were each well developed and the story line was perfect for me personally and just always well written books when Sophie releases new gems.
This review is going to be vague because I have so many spoilers but I will put these over on my bookstagram. This book has 3 POV which I love and was fun to venture through. We get the point of view from Anna, Leo and Dean). I loved watching Leo and Anna’s friendship through this book and I love how the sp!ce level is moderate with this. I would call this a slow burn actually, possibly good if you are just wanting to take a jog with romance! I def recommend reading all of Sophies writings.

Be ready to read this on its release August 20, 2024

This is a mafia dark romance with the kids from the original mafia series. I absolutely loved this and can't wait to have my pre-order come in, which I immediately went and purchased as soon as I was done!

If you like a slow burn friends to lovers romance with dark themes this is the perfect read for you!

Mafia romances usually don’t draw me in, but this was great. The college setting added a layer of interest for me, and I loved how much we learned about all the characters. Dean is wild but I’m here for his development throughout the series. I will absolutely be starting book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc

Oh my Sophie Lark has done it again, My first ever mafia books were the Brutal birthright series and I absolutely fell in love with all the characters so to now be able to follow their children in Kingmakers I am SOLD!!

I devoured this book so quickly after starting it, I was looking for a bit more at the ending however I’m hoping as the series goes on I’ll get what I’m looking for. I feel the Kingmaker series has so much to give and I will be picking up the rest of the books as soon as I can.

4.5 Stars

This was soooo much fun! Mafia hogwarts vibe, Sophie Lark is seriously a genius. I loved the beginning and the end of this book, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the middle! I wanted more Anna and Leo… and I almost found myself shipping Anna and the third POV Dean for a minute there. I also have to mention how I loved the cameos from the OGs from the brutal birthright series, especially my bestie Miko.

Mafia academia vibes all around. This was really good. Sophie lark can do no wrong though so I’m not surprised.
This is like a spin off from her other mafia series. This follows the kids of the mafia. So might be an idea to read those first, but it’s not technically necessary.
Riveting read 🤩

Not for me. I haven't read any Sophie Lark before and subsconsciously I think I knew not to. Her books are just not for me.

Did I read the whole book? Yes, yes I did. Did I enjoy it? I don’t actually think so. But was it extremely readable escapism? Absolutely!

Kingmakers is an alternative college for the children and rising stars of the mafia families. Instead of psychology, biology, or journalism, students are studying tax evasion schemes, mafia don history, and combat skills. Sounds fun right? But that’s when you remember all these families have History and Feuds and Hate each other!! The school is technically a safe zone, with anything you do to someone else, done back to you- which just leads to more sneakiness and “accidents” as they vie for power amongst peers.

While most of the characters are over the top and seem like quite annoying people to be around (Dean, I’m not sure you’re redeemable), the best part of this book was the FMC, Anna, heir to the Chicago polish mafia. She’s a dancer, physically and emotionally strong, and willing to put herself first even when it hurts. She’s vulnerable, yet tough and I only kept reading because I wanted to see her find her happiness!!!

Thanks to Sophie Lark and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review

3.75/5
I’m gonna be so for real I was hesitant about this book 🤣 mostly because of the “we’re cousins but we’re not cousins” but it’s fine we can get past it, not gonna like I was a little root it for dean in the beginning there but wow that went out the info fast. I love the idea with university setting I think it’s such a fun way to see the mafia world that is in so many books in a completely different light, I had a good time with it I’m excited book 2 is about miles and will definitely be picking up a copy!

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for allowing me to read an e-ARC of Kingmakers Year One. I am newer to dark mafia romance, but I feel like that was a great one to start with. Anna and Leo grew up together as “cousins” in Chicago. While not related by blood, they were raised to be family. Leo follows Anna to the elite mafia college Kingmakers, where the best crime families around the world send their kids. Also attending is Leo’s actual cousin Dean, who has an actual vendetta against Leo for the death of his grandfather and disfigurement of his father. Although Anna is falling in love with Leo, she is unsure of how he feels about her. One horrific night late, Anna and Leo are barely friends and Dean has found a way to get close to Anna. I was all about Dean at first. I understood his tortured backstory and wanted him to find love. I was not OK with how he treated Anna and Leo throughout the book. Anna and Leo are both suffering at the loss of their friendship. In the end, their friendship is too strong for Dean to break apart. Dean sure tried, though (roofies, attempted murder, etc.). Selfishly I hope Dean has a redemption arc of sorts, as his POV throughout the story made me think he really needs love. In the end, I enjoyed this one and if you are a fan of mafia romance, you probably will, too. I really enjoyed the college aspect of this book and cannot wait to see what Year 2 brings.

I was committed to finish reading this one in a day and I did. I was very into it with the tension and mix between dark academic vibes and mafia. Very interesting combination that keeps you engaged. I liked the mystery and games for sure. Leo and Anna’s relationship was cute as friends to lovers. It’s usually not my favorite but this one I really enjoyed. Definitely a dark inheritance games and I would definitely keep reading this series to know more about the characters.

5 ⭐♾️

Omgg, this was like a mafia Hogwarts, and I loved it!

I loved The Brutal Birthright series and ever since Bloom announced that they would be re- second gen series, I have been holding off on reading until its release, but now, thank you eternally to Sourcebooks Bloom Books for gifting me with an early copy of Year One, because I devoured this!

I'm still so giddy from seeing everyone as parents and settled in their lives; Year One follows Ana Wilk and Leo Gallo; the children of Nessa and Miko Wilk and Sebastian and Yelena Gallo. It also follows Dean Yenin, who Yelena's nephew. This was such a solid start for a new series, and a second generation; from the plot, which is heavily tied to a 20-year feud, but it also doesn't overshadow with the Kingmakers, a place that serves the children of mafia families from around the globe.

Throughout this, I was so torn because on the one hand, I absolutely loved Anna and Leo; childhood friends, to lovers, which I loved. The on page raw emotion from them pulled on my heart strings, but then Dean and Anna were equally intriguing together. I'm such a sucker for the villain getting the girl, even if Dean didn't really care for Anna; in an alternate reality, they would definitely be a great match, although, I'm sure Miko wouldn't be happy about it.

Saying that, I loved Dean, they could never make me hate him, minus of his actions towards the end; he's the most interesting and complex of characters; angry at the world, alone and wants for someone to blame and that someone is Leo. Not that I was rooting for him, but I could understand why he felt so angry, and the last 10% was really something; I cannot wait for Dean's arc redemption in his book to come!

Daddy Miko was everything and more; I could literally read about Miko and Nessa all day; past, present and future, and I fear, it still would never be enough. I just really love when the villain gets the girl.

I'm so excited for Miles and Zoe's book next!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the e-arc, I'm so eternally grateful!

Tropes

Childhood friends to lovers
Dark academia vibes
Mafia romance
College romance
"it's always been you"
Mutual pining

I am so thankful to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I was excited to give Sophie another shot as I’ve only been exposed to her through Anastasia. The fact that this was a Mafia Academy caught my attention and I was excited to dive into this world.

It was curious that the author warns us at the beginning in a forward regarding one of the characters. I wonder if this forward affected my thoughts about the character before I had a chance to meet him. I did like him at the start, but I fell into her warning and halfway through the book hated him with a passion. Granted, he ended up being a truly awful character, but I wish I could have come to that conclusion without outside implications. I think Dean is just a seriously layered character and while I do hate him, I hope he gets past his trauma in later books and becomes a decent man.

I wish that we had more school scenes in the book than we did. It was somewhat lacking in the academy feel but when the tournament started, I was intrigued at each of the challenges. The tournament was predictable and I kinda wish it had a different outcome, as it did come across fan-servicey. Otherwise, each of the challenges were some of my favorite parts.

The relationship between Leo and Anna was a childhood friends to lovers with a bit of “strangers” in the middle. This relationship is the perfect example of “you don’t know what you have till it’s gone” as both of them floundered at losing the other in varying ways. They were truly better together, but they needed to lose each other to realize they needed each other.

This book had some decent character development and the side characters set up future books in the series. Some of the side characters stole the show every time they were on the page and I had a few moments of laughing out loud.

A decent read for a future heirs of Mafia having to work together despite the fact that later in life they will be enemies. Watching them have to put their differences aside was well written and I do hope to see how the school affects them later in life, though we probably won’t.