Ruthless King by Maya Hughes

My dick never got me in half as much trouble as my heart...

We were high school sweethearts. I was head over heels for her and no one could tell me we weren’t going to last forever. College? Going pro? My family’s money? None of it mattered. She was all I needed.

Then she ripped my heart out. But I’m not going to let that happen again.

She’s back. Invading my life and acting like she was the wronged one. The pain is still there, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. I can’t stop thinking about her and how much was left unsaid between us. Being this close is making me question everything I thought I knew about her.

This time everything will be on my terms. Everything…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33259027-the-duchess-deal

Title: Ruthless King
Author: Maya Hughes
Series: Kings of Rittenhouse
Pages: 339
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
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This book. Wow! This book hit me right in the feels.

I was hooked from the very first page and even when I wasn’t reading - which I did at any and every opportunity - I was thinking about it. Thinking about Emmett and Avery and worrying over them. Would they ever get their happily ever after?

Ruthless King is a young adult romance. The characters are all in their early 20s. This isn’t usually my kind of book as I feel like I wouldn’t connect with characters in such a different stage of life to my own. I’m so, so glad I didn’t let that mentality stop me from reading this book because it was such an enjoyable book with characters that I not only rooted for, but keenly felt for and believed in.

This is the first Kings of Rittenhouse novel that I’ve read - it’s number 3 in the series so far - other than the free prequel story, The Kings of Rittenhouse. Each is a standalone but there’s heavy character crossover. The books centre around 5 guys who were all part of the ice-hockey team at Rittenhouse Prep - a (very posh) private school in Philadelphia. They remain friends after school - many going on to play hockey professionally - and are all, including the girlfriends, very much a part of this book. At first it was a little confusing trying to figure out who’s who and what their relationships were to each other - but I got there quite quickly. And the book is richer for this supporting cast. I loved seeing the relationships between these guys (and girls) and how they interacted. Definite friendship goals right there.

But onto Emmett and Avery. Wow - the emotional rollercoaster that these two put me on was intense. I’ve always love a second-chance romance as well as an enemies-to-lovers romance and this deftly intertwines the two with the tale of Emmett and Avery - high school sweethearts whose young love turned to hate due to meddling and misunderstandings.

Avery is a well-rounded character. A girl who had to grow up fast and take control over her life and the life of her family. Coming from a poor-as-dirt background, you feel her conflicting emotions as she first falls for her prince charming, then loses him, then finds him again. The things that Avery has to deal with made me admire her immensely.

But it was Emmett that I completely and utterly fell in love with. He did everything fiercely and with his full heart and soul. He wanted so badly to hate Avery but he just couldn’t deny his ultimate feelings. Seeing him fall apart and be so vulnerable with his emotions had me welling up right along with him. If anyone deserved his happily ever after, it was him.

Together - I loved the pair. They rubbed sparks off each other - both physically and emotionally. There were quite a few sex scenes - they hadn’t been together for 4 years and had some catching up to do! - but it was the more domestic scenes that really showed me they were made for each other.

I think the best compliment I can give about Ms Hughes’ writing is that I didn’t even notice it. I was too busy devouring the story - meaning that it flowed so well, so instantly, that it swept me away. Can you ask for anything better than a story that you can get really lost in?

If I have one teensy weensy sort of complaint - it’s that I just wish the revelation - and subsequent fallout - about the parents was drawn out a bit more. I felt Emmett’s revelation came quite quickly afterwards. But perhaps he’d just matured and now knew what he really wanted.

This book really sucked me in and I couldn’t stop thinking about the story and the characters even after the story was done. I’ve just gone back and ordered the first in the series (Shameless King) and after that one’s done I will start on Reckless King. I’m also waiting patiently for Ford and Olivia’s story which hopefully will be coming next. Even if a YA/ new adult romance isn’t usually your thing, I urge you to give this a try. It’s got everything you need if you love romance - second chances, betrayal, forgiveness and true love. A well-deserved 5 stars from me.