A Quick & Steamy Read

The story has an intriguing concept but lacks character development and plot. If you're into steamy reads, then this is for you. But if you want a story with more meat to it, you might want to pass on this one.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Penelope Barsetti, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This book started so strong and I thought there were so many places the plot could go, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it. The book started to feel very repetative about 1/4 of the way through and not much changed. Any plot-driving moments or decisions were over in the blink of an eye and the story went back to saying nothing.

I also didn't enjoy the Death King as a character at all. I know we are supposed to sympathize with him as we learn more of his story, but to me it seemed like justification for justification's sake. I actively disliked him throughout the book and the main female character wasn't much better. I think she was supposed to be experiencing an internal struggle with her thoughts vs. her desires but it read as if she was totally sane and then did exactly the opposite of her thoughts with no justification. Also, the spice was super repetative and felt out of place in most instances.

The only part I did enjoy about this book was the world it was set in. The backstory was interesting but not anything revolutionary. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me but may be for someone newer to fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went in with high hopes for this book and I really enjoyed it until about 1/2 way through. Set in a region ravaged by a dragon king, we have an incredible heroine who falls from grace and becomes enslaved after the dragon king destroys her kingdom and kills her family. When she has a chance at freedom she takes it and becomes the dragon king’s apprentice and his new desire.

SPOILERS:
The audiobook was well done but the enemies to lovers for this couple really creeped me out. she has endured years of physical slaver and sexual slavery and when she goes from one captor to the dragon king he just wants to fuck her too. So then he starts touching her in her sleep without consent just like the guy who r*ped her did! Like wtf, this poor girl. So i stopped at that point since it was a bit much for me.

Thank you netgalley and the author and narrators for this audiobook!

Just wasn’t for me. The storyline started off with potential but fell flat and stayed there. I think we were supposed to find the Death King desirable and powerful. But he just gave off predator vibes with his actions and cringe worthy comments. I made it about ¾ of the way through before I gave up listening.

*I received an alc of this audiobook from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, author Penelope Barsetti, and NetGalley for granting me an ALC.
Publication Date: September 24, 2024

2 STARS

I feel so torn over my experience with this book and what to rate it.

Let's start with the positives. The Death King starts out with a bang! The female MCs whole world is upended in the first few pages, when the Death King rides in on his dragon and conquers her kingdom. Her father, the king, takes his own life. The author is clearly a seasoned, skilled storyteller. The plot was not the most outlandish, intricate, or inventive, yet I was engaged every step of the way.

This is dark fantasy. Be aware of triggering content. In particular, the heroine is brutalized. Her experiences being raped by a conqueror, General Titan, are part of her present reality in the first portion of the book and also referenced later. (There aren't graphically depicted scenes, but it is certainly not a glossed over as a topic. The character's trauma and survival are central to the book.)

One nitpicky thing I struggled with was the anachronistic language. The world feels ancient, but the use of modern swearing is quite frequent.

Speaking of the world-building, I would have liked to see more of it. The lack of scenery and details didn't hinder the story being told, but I would have liked better frames of reference and atmosphere. I did love when the dragon was introduced and the complex relationship our FMC builds with him. In this first book, I can wave away some of the ambiguity by chalking it up to mysteries that will hopefully be resolved in later books.

Finally, we come to the central "romance." OOF. The male MC is hard to take. "The Death King" caused the heroine to lose everything, to be forced into brutal slavery, and to suffer at the hands of a general obsessed with her. Once the would-be lovebirds cross paths, he takes her away from the general to an upgraded captivity. The MMC then becomes obsessed with her and forces non-con activity. Even the full consummation seems dubious. The way the MMC talks to the FMC and coerces her is gross; they have no chemistry or commonalities to build on other than shallow attraction. At that point in the book, I felt like the plot was falling into an unearned romance. I either wanted the darkness of their dynamic to be explicitly reflected in the tone of the relationship and the dubiousness to be called out. (The spicy scenes read 100% as romantic/positively toned btw.) If the MMC is ever supposed to become the romantic lead, then there needs to be a LONG redemption arc and some heavy groveling to the FMC before she can even consider a flirtation. I don't even think the MMC can make it right with the society he bulldozed.

In connection to the previous point, the fmc acts stupid. She knows who the man is and what he has done to her and to the world, yet her feelings nearly do a 180 after they have sex. WHOA. How did it even get to that point?! She's explicitly saying no until the MMC wears her down. NOT A ROMANCE. The only way I would accept this retroactively is if trauma responses and healing are deeply fleshed out in her character arc.

The ending was great! The state of equilibrium achieved by our main pair was upset, and we got some really exciting action scenes.

My final impression of this book is upset, conflicted, and TBD, dependent on how the author writes the next book. I need to see whether the MMC's heinous atrocities, hypocrisy, and treatment of the FMC are adequately and gravely addressed. I need to know whether or not the FMC will have self-respect, start healing from trauma, and see the relationship through healthy eyes. The ending of the book gave me some small hope that the author knows what a twisty path she's written...?

P.S. The audiobook is fantastic! Michael Ferraiuolo is a unique male narrator voice I've never heard but really appreciated. It was not a generic timbre, and therefore, I felt like the Death King and his singularity in the world was embodied by the performance. Ramona Master is a pro and did an excellent job with the FMC's POV. Dreamscape Media delivered superb sound quality and production.

DNF at 33% - this book started off so strong. I initially loved the premise and Ramona Master did a wonderful job at narrating. But as soon as she started having longer interactions with the Death King, I lost interest. He seemed only one sided and also no offense to the male narrator, but I found his voice for Talon very creepy and off-putting.

There is no list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the audio, all that’s said at the end of the blurb is “this book contains dark themes with subject matter that may be difficult for some readers.”

The FMC is repeatedly r@ped & then when she encounters the Death King, he assaults her while she’s asleep. The dragon Khazmuda was the only good character until even he tried to justify the SA because obviously she must have liked it if she came. Excuse me what?

Also, in the audio version, when the dragon roars, the narrator literally growls “roar” and I legit laughed out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Death King was suprisingly dark! Or maybe not, giving the name, but watch out for trigger warnings!

Even so the story was very intriging, well written and interesting and VERY spicy!
And defently a DARK romantasy... Oh and dragons!!!

Post on IG (One_fairy_tale_at_the_time) the 19th November 2024

I really enjoyed the book's deep writing and detailed story.
And I believe the book has more to develop, because that ending was fantastic!!! I loved it.
But half of the book was dedicated to the sexual tension and sex between the main characters, only leaving more development at the beginning and end of the book. And it focused more on the characters' past, not letting them be who they were at the present moment of the book.
I loved the dragon, all the mysticism and the intrigue that is developing, and so I really want to read the next book to see how things will develop.
I liked the characters and I was fascinated by the potential of the story for the next volume.
And the narrators were the perfect choice for the book, letting all the nuances of the characters' personalities shine through with their voices. It was very good.

I was really looking forward to delving into this one as social media posts and theories are rising for the upcoming release of another dragon riding romantasy series. This one may not have checked all the boxes in that regard, but it was well worth the read.
A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Dreamscape Media for the AudioARC in return for an honest review! All thought and ideas are my own.
The Death King has taken everything from a 15 yr old Calista and after overthrowing her father (leading to his death) and releasing her only to be enslaved in a brutal work camp sifting through sand for seven years to find onyx diamonds, she once again is captured by him. This time as a cherished prisoner he can't seem to stay away from. Along the way there is some dragon riding, a mysterious bigger bad that the Death King is trying to fight against (which unfortunately turns out to be not as bad as was built up to be in my opinion) and Calista, now 22 yrs old, must make a decision.
Here's where I am just...mehhhhhh! Cover your eyes if you don't want spoilers.
Calista was raped repeatedly by the man who ran the dig sight in the work camp she was imprisoned in. He was her only sexual experience and after being freed from that grizzly place by the very man who was responsible for her being there in the first place, not to mention the reason her father killed himself, the Death King starts pushing her to share his bed. NOW, I know this is a kink for some spicy lovers but the trauma here is glanced over. The MMC pushes her and takes from her without asking after telling her he wouldn't push her to do anything she didn't want to do. All while telling her what she wants and that it was inevitable she would give in to him. There is also so many open ended plot points that it feels like too much time was taken in certain points of the story while the bigger, plot heavy points were given paragraphs and pages. I like spice, but I need you to explain some points. What has happened to the general who raped her? Would any normal woman be able to handle this much manipulation and trauma? There are more, but I won't go into it.
That said, I did enjoy the spicy scenes. I did enjoy what bits of the story I was given in between the trauma scenes and hard core edging scenes in which the author tries her best to explain away Calista's acceptance of said trauma with her bodies carnal desire and attraction.
for the man who has caused her so much pain and brutality.

I am half determined to give this series another shot with the second book and half resigned to just wait for the other aforementioned dragon riding romantasy series.

2.75 stars out of 5

A few regrets!!!!

This gets 2.5 stars from me. I was going to give it 2 stars but it gets a half point for having some plot at the end of the book because for a little while there it was giving nothing but smut. I absolutely despised the MMC in this. His cocky attitude and the way he treated the FMC was just so gross to me. He's far too pushy right from the jump even though he's aware that she was being abused horribly for the past year. The smut in this is cringey at best. Some of the verbage being used just was not it for me. There was so much spice and so little plot for a good chunk of this and I didn't like that. The storyline had the potential to be really great. The dragon was really the only character I actually enjoyed in this book. I won't be continuing the series.

This is a complete story of the "I ruined her life, and now I want her" story. It's pucked up to some level. Calista was a former princess meant to be a queen in scorpion valley, but the kingdom goes conquered by a person known as the Death King because he could raise the dead, and in the middle of her scape she got imprisoned, sent to Arid sand to dig sand so she could find the black crystal for the said Death King, got molested to the end (all the steps were done), and got manipulated. The said king suddenly saw her talking to his dragon, got intrigued, imprisoned her, but pretended to give her a choice. Seduced her in the most unfair situation because the guy is a catch, and then the story continues as secrets unfold like their story, and... Calista admits Talon is smoking hot but can't consider him because he ruined her kingdom and future and innocence, and... Talon, after training her to be bound with a dragon and create a good army for his purpose and also serving him, found out the secret Calista refused to tell, and that was why she hated her.

The story is pucked up. There is no way you couldn't feel that, especially when everything seems justified when it shouldn't be. Talon wasn't the dictator, ruthless authoritarian, and a guy without any morals, as Khazmuda said he is (he is all those things now, he's black), but everything that happened to him makes everything sound legit, and you can't really criticize him, though he did the actual thing to Calista that they've done to him. and Calista raises a glass to her for being badass enough to deny him, for how brave she is to think riding a dragon is like riding a horse (sit on the saddle and kick it). disobey Talon despite his threats of killing her (he would totally have done that; the author didn't bluff), but somehow he has a little softer edge towards her because he thinks there are similarities between them.

The story was narrated in dual pov. I honestly didn't enjoy the FMC voice because it was quivering and seemed like a deep hurt lingering all the time, but the statement didn't match. Calista was fierce, unyielding, and brave, with the thought of a queen because she was raised to be one; she mostly fought and wasn't at all a coward or a rose petal, as the narrator described, and it was contrasting because, like this, she swears at someone, and it was with a delicate and shuddering voice. Calista was literally fighting and showing how cool she is, and you hear the sound like don't heart me tone. It was heroic with the wrong voice display. but pat the shoulder of Mc voice Talon matched like super cool, and with the additional of khazmuda banter with Talon, the voice actor actually did the best. Yep, the Khazmuda is a Mighty Dragon, and he is an MVP if you ask me. Please read even for this mighty black dragon, because I think it's worth it. He's likeable with the hint of a thing you can't resist. I say the tease is everything.

I say I rate the book 4. I liked Talon and Khazmuda voice actors, and 3 isn't justified because I know it's an effort not everyone would put in. I appreciate the rise and fall of this and really like the hype I get. It's true it has some triggers that could make things complicated, but if you ask me, it could be ignored because the story is in another vibe and the triggers seem insignificant or completely unnecessary. I think the author just wanted to add them to make things more heated, but still, they are triggers, so please consider them, though there aren't actual graphics of them. And there we have Khazmuda, who is really worth the time to read it. He's thoughts are dragons described even about partnering.

I really enjoyed this fast paced romantasy! The narrators were easy to listen to and did a good job! The storyline was fast paced and enthralling! There was action, enemies to lovers romance, dragons and more! It was definitely spicy but not too much that it took over the plot. After that ending, I can't wait to read the next book!

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Trigger/Content Warnings: Contains dark themes, including rape (for an extended amount of time), suicide ideation, enslavement, death of a parent, threats of harm, physical assault, and somnophilia (non-consensual).

What to Expect:
••» Enemies-to-Lovers
••» Captor/Captive
••» Necromancer King
••» Forgotten Princess
••» Dragon Companion
••» Forced Proximity
••» Revenge

This book starts with an exciting mix of dark fantasy, romance, and erotica, creating a promising adventure. The beginning is smooth and engaging, with just the right pace to pull me in.

However, about halfway through, the focus shifts more toward the steamy scenes, and the plot takes a back seat. That middle part left me a bit disappointed, but the world-building and character dynamics at the start and end kept me interested. Thankfully, the final act brings back the action and intrigue, making it easier to stay engaged.

I’m curious about the next books in the series, but I’m hoping they find a better balance between story and romance.

As for the audiobook, the female narrator’s tone didn’t quite hit the mark—she often sounded like she was on the verge of tears, which took away from the experience. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penelope Barsetti, the author, and Dreamscape Media for the Audiobook ARC opportunity.

First off I would like to start this by giving a big thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook for review.

Honestly I am not entirely sure where to begin with this review because I really dislike having to post any review that is less than three stars but unfortunately this book just did NOT do it for me. I found myself having to push through it in order to simply finish it. Overall I give this book 2.5 stars.

I feel as if this story had so much potential but fell incredibly flat. My heart goes out to our FMC and everything she had to put up with. I will say, as far as the audio production went, it sounded like our FMC was always upset throughout pretty much the entire story. Our MMC, however, I could not connect with in the slightest. In fact, I found him extremely irritating and a bit repulsive if I am being honest. Our FMC has already been abused in just about every way possible and then here comes this King whom she is hoping will come to her aide but is ultimately no better for her than her original abuser was.

I am a pretty avid dark romance reader and can handle just about anything thrown my way, HOWEVER, this just felt as if he was manipulating her mind for his own selfish pleasure. That paired along with the things that would come out of his mouth just did not do it for me. I felt as though the dialogue was cringey and the "banter" was forced. I did enjoy the dragon aspect and at first it brought up feelings that I got while reading Fourth Wing with the dragon being so sassy but this just did not hit the mark for me. I wanted to enjoy this so bad. I just did not feel connected with really any of our characters.

I will always, ALWAYS say to please remember that reading is subjective and this is just my OPINION. If you read this and loved it, then I love that for you! I will still give book 2 a chance in hopes of a redemption maybe for the storyline and other characters.

This review is going to make no sense because the book made no sense.

The death king

- why would you wake up a dragon and then give up sooooooo easily???
- why is dragon is the only likeable character
* EDIT Till 41% trying to justify sexual assault with the “you liked it” mentality coming from a dragon and then staying at the dragon doesn’t understand human sexuality but you’re supposed to tell me as the reader I should be OK again with the SA because she liked it? All while using the Dragon to try to convince the reader that it was non-consensual consensual, when it was clearly very non consensual
“you liked it when he touched you… but you wish you didn’t” she was fucking asleep fucking asleep. Are you actually kidding me right now?
- She can't be dumb and a Mary Sue..
- Why is sexual assault like a actual part of the plot “I’m not sorry you liked it” SIR
*SIDE BAR so tired of fantasy books using sexual assault as a plot point
- King every other convo “when we going to fuck”
- So the whole “you have a choice is really” bs
- Baby is a victim and doesn’t know it
“because I was petite and he was large.”
“Don’t fight it.” “Don’t fight me.”
Is this supposed to be romantic?
- Skull-fucking wow
- His chapter he’s talking about how he planted the seed by going down on her
The next chapter she’s talking about how great of a guy he is for not expecting anything in return when he went down on her however, she did reciprocate with a blow job and got “skull fucked”

I expected to be eventually engaged in this story based on the book description, however, I was unexpectedly enchanted from page one of this book. The depth of the characters and this magical world the author built, has left me speechless and I cannot wait to dive into the next book.

I honestly cannot believe I finished this. This is so out of touch. The FMC is raped repeatedly, then the MMC begs, coerced, and literally assaults her while sleeping under the guise of making her trust him?!? WTF. There’s hardly any explained plot and what does happen is predictable. Some loose ends that I’m sure will tie up in later books which I will not be reading.

Narrator notes- when a dragon roars, the female narrator literally says “roar”.. like what in the early 2000’s emo phase is this??

✨✨✨ NetGalley ALC Review ✨✨✨

Tropes:
Dark romantasy
Dragons
Enemies to 🖤
Obsessed hero
Revenge
DubCon
Forced proximity
Touch her and 💀
Captor/captive

Ends on a cliffhanger
Check TW

5⭐️
3🌶️

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the ALC of The Death King.

While this book had a promising premise and a solid ending, my main issue was with everything that happened in the middle. Unfortunately, the plot felt weak and was largely driven by the MMC’s desire to be with the FMC. What frustrated me the most was that there were so many elements that could have made for a strong storyline—villain origin potential, a traumatic past, secrets, dragons—yet it all fell flat. Such a shame. 😕

The only thing that kept me going was the amazing voice actors in the audiobook. Had I been reading the physical book, I probably would have DNFed it. 🎧👏

Despite not finding it particularly engaging, I’ll still check out book 2. The ending left off on such a cliffhanger that it earned the two stars I gave it. 🌟🌟