Destructive King by Rachel Van Dyken
Title: Destructive King
Series: Mafia Royals
Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Genre: Mafia Romance, New Adult
Release Date: January 12, 2021
𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐤𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.
…𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔'𝑠 ℎ𝑢𝑠ℎ
𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ
𝑂𝑓 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡.
𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡.
𝐷𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑟𝑦;
𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑒.
— 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐸𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝐹𝑦𝑟𝑒
"I'm sorry for your loss." I would rather be tortured for an eternity than hear those damn words from one more person, as if Claire, my dead fiance, was a cell phone or car keys.
How about, I'm sorry your life is over.
I'm sorry you want to die too.
I'm sorry you see her in your dreams and wake up only to relive the nightmare.
I'm supposed to be the strongest of them all. Ash Abandonato, ruler, assassin, made man, brother, friend—instead, I hurt everyone I touch in hopes that they'll feel even a sliver of the pain that bears down on my shoulders.
I didn't lose.
It was taken from me.
And it's all her fault, Annie Smith.
I daydream about her death.
And then I close my eyes, and I see her soft smile. I feel her touch, her kiss—it was a mistake what we did that night, but I can't take it back, and now she's under my father's protection—my protection.
My worst enemy.
The woman I'm the most attracted to.
I can't decide if I want to strangle her or kiss her, and now that she's stuck in my life, my only goal is to make her feel the same loss I do and destroy her in the process.
I'll trick her with my touch.
Seduce her with my kiss.
And in the end, when my enemy is at her most vulnerable—I'll bring down an entire Empire and continue my reign as King.
Bow down, I'll say as I bring the Five Families to their knees.
Blood in.
Never out.
Damned.
Rating ★★★★★
I always get excited when a book from one of my favorite worlds lands on my kindle. This Mafia world that Rachel has built it one of those ones that I wish was real just so I could be a part of it, even if it is about the Mafia.
These characters are larger than life and I get absorbed in their stories. Destructive King was one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I knew Ash's story was going to be about loss, I knew his story would be full of heartache. I knew his character would be one that was needing to find peace and before that peace would be a lot of pain and I was ready for it. SO ready for it.
The dang Prologue had me taking a breath thinking OH BOY that's how you start a book off. Damn, ok buckle up. I am a sucker for books that feature Hero's that are going through some real shit. I love seeing them find their way out of despair. I love when I see that love can help them do that.
This book was full of that mafia drama that I've come to know and love from this series. Rachel does an amazing job of infusing a bit of humour as well just at the right moments. And I will say that it makes me fall more in love with this world. I legit want to be a part of it, I want to attend a dinner with the families, I want to live in the moments. That's what a good story does in my opinion it makes you want to be a part of it.
Destructive King will keep you on your toes until the very end. And what an ending. I'm not going to say anymore than that, you will see what I mean when you get there.
I love for this world and for this series, I truly hope it never ends.
Reviewed by Melissa
Rachel Van Dyken is the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over 90 books ranging from contemporary romance to paranormal. With over four million copies sold, she's been featured in Forbes, US Weekly, and USA Today. Her books have been translated in more than 15 countries. She was one of the first romance authors to have a Kindle in Motion book through Amazon publishing and continues to strive to be on the cutting edge of the reader experience. She keeps her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, adorable sons, naked cat, and two dogs.
