Title: Heartless King
Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #5
Author: Maya Hughes
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 23, 2020
Blurb
Two blue lines. That means not pregnant, right? Right?
Oh, sh*t.
Five years ago, Colm Frost asked me to marry him and I ran. I ran from my painful past too raw and fresh to escape. He was the only one who looked at me like I wasn’t broken and made me believe it. He made me feel it.
Now, he’s the hot, angry, hockey player on the mend.
I’m the physiotherapist who’s supposed to get him back on his feet.
I don’t think our night together was what his doctor prescribed, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t dreamt of him every time I close my eyes. I woke up beside him with my body still singing from the way he fanned the flames of my desire, but I couldn’t stay.
His lips on my neck. His hands wrapped around my waist. His impressive...ahem, touch leaving me breathless.
One moment of wild inhibition and it’s come back to bite me in the butt. Kind of like he did that night.
But a baby? Our night was supposed to be a one time thing, closing a door on the future I
couldn’t handle.
Will this new bump in the road be everything we needed to find our forever?
Heartless King is a standalone friends to enemies to lovers, accidental pregnancy romance that brings all the laugh out loud, angsty feels!
Purchase Links
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Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.
I can always count on Maya Hughes to deliver truly exceptional stories time and time again. I can now add this one to the list of her books that have swept me off my feet.
Heartless King is book five in the Kings of Rittenhouse series. Each of the books in this series can be read as standalones. I admit, this is the first and only book from this series that I have read. That being said, I also admit that I was having trouble piecing things together at the start of the story. I was unfamiliar with the characters and situations from the previous books so a lot of things went over my head in the beginning. It all smoothes out and gets better eventually but it was a rough start in that respect.
One of the things that I have always loved about Hughes' books is her incredible storytelling. I don't know how she does it but her narration is always stunning. It is always smooth and flows naturally. I am always taken in by her writing style. The plot of this book was entertaining and emotional. The story absolutely captivated me. I couldn't put the book down to save my life.
I really admired and fell for these characters. Both of the main characters, Colm and Imogen, were hurting on the inside and dealing with personal traumas. They both were trying to come to terms with losses in their lives. In the end, they both have to decide how they want to live their lives. They have to try and overcome the things from their pasts and stop living in their pasts. Both of them had a lot of depth and fantastic character development. The secondary characters were also fantastic, once I was able to pin them all down. I did love seeing characters from the Fulton U series mentioned in the story.
The romance in the story was hot but it was also very emotional at times. Both Colm and Imogen are characters with bruised hearts that have been placed in each other's paths. They find something in each other that no one else can give them. In a sense, they help each other heal those bruises. The connection that they had felt very natural and undeniable. I did feel like Colm was a little clingy in his thoughts about Imogen at times. They aren't even really dating and he is checking out wedding rings at one point. In the end, I think that it was just part of his character.
Overall, this is a story that will ultimately put a smile on your face. It has a compelling plot, plenty of heat, wonderfully developed characters, and a writing style that begs to be read. I will definitely be going back to read all of the other books from this series and I can't wait to read what's next from this author!
Excerpt
The question had been running through my head all night: how could I get her to leave? But I didn’t want her to go. And now the maple syrup and cinnamon taste of her sent me hurtling close to the edge of my control.
Those reserves were running on fumes.
Everyone else had been run off by my anger or blinded by my money, but not her. If anything, she battled me, pushing me like she knew I needed it. She wouldn’t let me hide the splintered and cracked pieces of myself that I was barely holding together.
She didn’t push me to talk, just slid in past my defenses and got me to say more than I should.
“Do you want me to stop?” I ran my fingers through her hair, tugging on the roots.
Her lips parted in a gasp and I deepened the kiss, needing to taste even more of her. She’d teased me, eating that French toast that smelled like a vanilla and cinnamon factory had exploded when it arrived at our table.
She stared into my eyes, heavy breaths shuddering past her lips. “Hell no.”
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Author Bio
Maya Hughes, that's me!, can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! :-) I'm a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.
I love writing stories that capture the possibilities of the paths less travelled and enjoy experiencing life through my characters’ eyes.
I'm the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can't breathe, traveling with my family and Jeff Goldblum.
My name is Vanessa a.k.a. Queen Alchemy. I am a 30-something-year-old mother of four nerdy, fantastic children. We live in the Midwest. I have a reading addiction, and I hope that I never recover! I'm the hugest nerd you can find with interests not limited to the following: comics (Batman and Captain America for the win!), science, computers, zombies, unicorns, Harry Potter, cartoons from the 80's & 90's, Frankenstein, history, crafting, cooking & baking, Star Wars, digital scrapbooking, D&D, Minecraft, Hello Kitty, horror, metalcore, royalty, tattoos & piercings, bright colors, and so much more!
