The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys Book 1)

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Ever since she was a child, Nikki has been obsessed with the morally gray characters, the anti-heroes and monsters in fiction. Now she spends her days writing books where the villains get the happily ever after with the women who drive them wild. Ohhhh, please give me more! Incredible story, relatable characters, with an amazing enemies to lovers trope. I can’t wait for the next book!” ★★★★★ From her sleeve Yvindris produced a pale-blue witchstone and handed it to Elysia, before gesturing with a crooked finger towards the fountain. ‘With this water elemental, I want you to stop the flow today. Do not do anything with it. Merely stop it. See if you remembered the lines of text from yesterday.’ No I did not,’ Landril said. ‘Mardonius has begun a campaign to clear our nation of those who worship the Goddess and other gods.’ For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.

You always talk like a warrior, not like a prisoner.’ Davlor eyed Xavir with an almost childlike enthusiasm for the supposed glory of military life.I am Stravir!’ he sobbed, looking around him in anguish at the innocent villagers who had met such a grisly end. ‘We are all Stravir . . .’ Don’t get me wrong, if you want spice this book is way more focused on that than the plot. There’s no true development of the relationships. It goes from “we’re not sleeping with you” to “you sleep with no one else” in a heartbeat. But in a “you’re our whore and we’ll do whatever we want with you” kind of way. This is where my main problem comes from for the book. I don’t like degrading language during sex scenes. Some people like it, but I don’t. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the series outside of that. I couldn’t set these books down as I read them. The plot of each is a little all over the place, but each book focuses on a specific aspect. Here’s the overview of each book without giving too many spoilers: Yvindris paused in the centre by the fountain. The old woman stood a little shorter than Elysia, who even at seventeen summers was now taller than most of the sisters. It was another reason she felt different from everyone else – not merely mentally, but physically. Yvindris’s pale, wrinkled face was shaded by the hood of her flowing rich, blue shawl, her eyes concealed in the darkness. One of her eyes had been replaced by a red witchstone, and Elysia never knew what properties it had given her. Yvindris peered over her shoulder. ‘I hope you remember the formal words,’ she hissed. There was more than a hint of glee in her voice. ‘You have failed twice before. Your reputation as a failure will see you go to a poor clan and the time for allocation is almost upon you. A poor clan is no life for a sister, I can tell you.’

This book may be unsuitable for people under 18 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence. The Never Kingby Nikki St. CroweOverall, I give these books a 3.25 out of 5-star rating. The concept is interesting and they have a good hook to keep you interested even if it’s short/fast pace. There are some errors in the editing like Winnie will say Kas did something when it was Bash, but overall it wasn’t bad for an exotic novel that’s inspired by the Peter and Wendy fairy tale. Kas is gentle as he removes the metal cuff. I see no key. I don’t know how he unlatches it. The chain, with the cuff attached, is tossed to the bed. The twins make their way to the door and wait for me at the threshold. “We promise we won’t bite,” Kas says. “Not yet, anyway,” Bash adds. It used to be that the president was the most powerful person in the country. That all changed when Wrath crossed over to our world. Nothing could stop him. Nothing can kill him. Eventually we all bowed at his altar.

A blond-haired figure approached, his face full of confusion. ‘Why were you dressed like barbarians?’ For two days the tall prisoner had watched the shifty little newcomer with all the keenness of a hungry eagle at dawn. Initially he had thought him merely yet another assassin who had been issued his true name and taken it upon himself to end his days. Like those other failed attempts, this one would no doubt end sadly for the would-be assassin. You don’t believe that. Many in here come from good breeding. A man of your calibre would know that from their accents. And you’re in here as well, are you not?’ The stories were all wrong — Hook was never the villain. For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken. Now, on t...Why did you, spy, come to find me? You only work on others’ behalf, so who sent you?’ Xavir demanded. But then he’d recognized him from days gone past. And he wondered how he’d ended up here. It was a far cry from the sumptuous lifestyle either of them had enjoyed previously and a long way from the city. A long way from anywhere. After all this time here, he could barely remember when he’d first arrived. Monotony had made the days blur together, and he no longer trusted his own memories. He did not even like the memories he could trust. When Nikki isn’t writing or daydreaming about sinfully sexy bad guys, she can either be found on the beach or at home with her husband and daughter. She peered out between the old stone spires towards the tip of the void that marked the limits of the island. Two hundred feet the other side of the drop was firm land, which could be accessed by one of three stone bridges – or levitation if one knew the right methods. She didn’t. The sisters did not teach those skills until near the end of a young witch’s education. Even the mighty oak believes she is strong until a man comes along with an ax to chop her down.” “Is that you then? Do you have an ax?” “All men are born with an ax in their hands, Darling. To take the measure of a man, you just have to pay attention to how he wields it.”

But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There’s something darker and more sinister haunting the forest. We are Stravir, all of us. We’re not the northlanders. We’re not barbarians.’ He waved his hands towards the dead. ‘They were from Baradium Falls.’ I was a lawyer working on behalf of a Stravir duke. Suffice to say I became engrossed in things I ought not to have become engrossed in. But life can be cruel – no point in being angry about it, is there? I have accepted my lot in life. And I’m still alive, aren’t I? But I’m tired, stranger. I could do with a rest and some time alone with your gifts.’ The young novice and the old, blue-robed teacher walked in silence along the passageway. Yvindris had a slight limp because of a persistent pain in her left leg which she waxed lyrical about to the bored Elysia. This was typical conversation among the older tutors, seemingly more concerned about news of their health than about magic – and even talking about magic could be dull enough at times. It made Elysia more determined than ever to spend time practising the more physical arts, lest she turn into someone like Yvindris.The old, balding man in front of Landril winced in pain and spat defiantly at the foot of his tormentor. Xavir glared at Landril. ‘The man I was, he died out there. Years ago. My swords were taken. I have innocent blood on my hands. They sent me here because of it and they were right to. There is no forgiveness for what we did.’ The most brutal of the cleansing started last summer, when there were harvest festivals and offerings for the Goddess, but the seeds had been planted long before.’