When most people picture being married, they picture being in love and with someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. Not Ayana Kidane. One of her close friends, Jordan, is on a mission to get his inheritance money, which will only come if he gets married before his very ill grandmother passes away. He promises Ayana five million dollars if she stays married to him for five years so he can obtain his inheritance.
Bestselling author Ana Huang somehow finds a way to keep readers locked in on her books, so much so that I have returned to review another one. King of Envy is the fifth book in the King of
Sin series, but you can read this book as a standalone. I have yet to be disappointed by one of Huang’s books and King of Envy continues that streak.
In the story, Ayana was just named Model of the Year and is now marrying into a rich and powerful family. Although Jordan and she are not in love, they do have some love for each other, which is how they are both getting through this fake engagement. That is, until Jordan’s best man, Vuk Markovic, becomes increasingly involved with wedding planning. His involvement and connection to Ayana changes her decision.
Ayana is in a diffi cult position with her manager and is trying to escape the abusive environment. People are trying to slander her name and get her blacklisted from the modeling world. She is dealing with this, and trying to avoid Vuk and her rising feelings for him.
The fastpaced scenes, suspense, and tension between the two characters never fail to impress me when reading her books.
No one else knows that Jordan and Ayana’s relationship is platonic. They want to keep it that way so that everything goes as smoothly as possible. After a few close encounters between Ayana and Vuk, Ayana throws caution to the wind and tells Vuk the reality of what is going on.
Huang does an excellent job with inclusivity in her books. Ayanas’ character is Croatian, and Vuk is Serbian. Vuk is also non-verbal as a trauma response to something that happened in his past. He speaks when he is around people closest to him (which is a strict few), but the majority of the time, he uses sign language.
I liked that Ayana and Vuk were able to communicate using sign language because it allowed the reader to see a softer side to Vuk, who is described as dangerous and cold. Vuk is trying to fight a
dark element from his past, all while trying to keep it away from Ayana. It gives the reader some insight into how Vuk felt about Ayana and what he was willing to do to ensure her safety.
Compared to the other books I´ve read by Huang, King of Envy has much more action. However, this book is not suitable for a younger audience. It includes inappropriate language, sexual
content, and sensitive topics. If you enjoy dark romance, action, and suspense, then this book is for you.
