I picked up a copy of Liv Zander’s King of Flesh & Bone as an Amazon freebie and then purchased Queen of Rot & Pain.

Worse than a ruthless king… is a king obsessed.

Isolation, darkness, and rotting flesh,
Surrounds me, suffocates me,
But I am the vile ruler who controls it all.

I long for warmth,
Yet, all that I touch,
Is cold.

Then, she stumbles into my domain,
Lost and frightened,
Alone and confused.

And I terrify her even more.

She calls me the devil,
So I show her pleasure,
Like only the devil can.

I am the heat that stirs her flesh,
The longing that trembles her bone.

She begs her body to refuse,
To escape my embrace,
But I am her master,
The puppeteer of passion.
I am the King of Flesh and Bone.

Welcome to my court, little one.

My Reviews

King of Flesh and Bone:
I went into this one knowing it’s a dark romance, so I won’t do anything more than warn readers to check their triggers. The whole first half (more, really) is full-on non-con—not dub-con dressed up as non-con, but full-on non-consensual in every way. It’s not gratuitous, but it is what it is.

Having said all of that, once the relationship moved past that (which it does quite abruptly), I enjoyed the last half enough to purchase book two. I’ll grant that there really isn’t anything new and exciting. If you read any number of darkish romances, you’ll likely be able to predict the plot points. He’s not likable on the outside, but his internal monologue is. She has a backbone and seems bright enough, but I don’t feel like we got to really see her as much more than a victim until toward the end. Then the whole thing ended on a cliffhanger in the middle of what I would have otherwise called the third-act breakup.

Queen of Rot & Pain:

Review to come. Normally, I’d hold off until both were ready to post. But we have the whole end of the year to contend with, and I like a nice clean cutoff for my reading challenges. So, I’m posting now and will add the review of Queen and Rot & Pain next week.

Other Reviews:

Recent Reads Reviews 📚 King of Flesh and Bone & Queen of Rot and Pain