CRUEL KING (Royal Elite #0) by Rina Kent

“If you’re a mistake, I’ll still make it every fucking time.”

BLURB

He’s no fairy tale king.

Levi
Here, little princess. I'm your king.
You have three rules. Bow. Break. Bend the knee.
Fight me all you want, but soon enough, you'll be chanting long live the king.

Astrid
One day I'm Royal Elite School's small fly, the next I'm hunted and left to die.
He doesn't only shred my life to parts, but he's also coming after my heart.
He thinks he broke me, but the new princess will bring the king to his knees.

        I can't believe I read this last when everything literally starts here. LOL. But then again I'm not the kind who usually reads the novellas or those books prior to the actual book especially if it's short. I just think that it's nonsense but here I am. This book is not even a novella but an actual book, I'm just glad that every book here, except books 1-3 are standalone so I was not really lost when I read this and no spoilers were shown on the other books. I wrote on my previous review of the Deviant King that Aiden and Elsa's love story was actually like a rip off of Romeo and Juliet but I was mistaken. I can say that Levi and Astrid's love story is the true rip off of Romeo and Juliet. But then again, Aiden & Elsa and Levi & Astrid's stories are sooooo similar I can't help comparing them every now and then. Also, Levi and Aiden are soooo similar they even have the same lines, it's like I'm reading the same character. I'm just glad that I read Deviant King first before I read Cruel King because Aiden is still my top hero (or villain) from this series.

        Levi King is the cousin of Aiden King and a nephew to Jonathan King of King Enterprises which is literally the largest corporation in UK. He is also the captain of the RES's football team and a manwhore at that with ladies parading behind his back every now and then. We met Astrid as the invisible girl of the RES but also came from money, a daughter of Lord Clifford. She has a stepsister Nicole and a stepmother who she hates because she feels like her father doesn't want her and wanted to adopt Nicole instead to be a real Clifford. Her stepmother Victoria doesn't show it but Astrid knew that she can't wait for her to leave for college so she can have Lord Clifford to themselves and be a real family without Astrid.

     

      She suffered from a car accident when she was fourteen years old I think which caused the death of her mother but everything was a blur from her and she can't remember everything that happened during that accident. From the start, she was already warned by her father that she should not associate herself to anyone with King as last name and as she was glad to comply but then everything changed when she went to a party and met Levi King. She had an accident that day and she doesn't know who was chasing her that night which caused her accident. All she knew was that someone helped her get to the hospital and she had no idea who was that.

        From that day, Levi has set his eyes to Astrid and made it his mission to ruin her life and torment her with his antics. Astrid finally decided that she's done being an invisible girl and that she doesn't want to be stepped into by anyone anymore. But then again Levi has already set his eyes to her and she became his obsession to the point that he was being possessive of her without even knowing the reason why. All he knew is that he doesn't want Astrid to be with any man, and that includes her bestfriend Dan. He always makes sure that Astrid is his even though he knows that Astrid is a Clifford and that he should stay away from her. Astrid also felt this strong connection between the two of them because even if she wants to get away from him she always find herself in Levi's side. Until one day when Levi knew the whole truth about the reason why he should stay away from Astrid. But even knowing the truth, he can't stay away from Astrid but then when Astrid knew the truth herself she put the decision to her hands and decided to stay away from Levi. But of course Levi doesn't give a fckk to anything and decided to still pursue Astrid his inheritance be damned. I guess it's a matter of being at the Clifford's house at the right time because the moment Astrid's father decided to tell her about his past with her mother and that he decided to leave Victoria and Nicole, Victoria decided to show her true colors and attempted to kill them. In the end she was arrested with Aiden and Dan's help. By this time, Lord Clifford can't do anything but to let Astrid be with Levi because he knows that what Levi felt with Astrid is genuine and sincere and that he really loves Astrid. A fairy tale ending eh. 😆

        I have to be honest and say that at first I was annoyed with Astrid and how she acted whenever she's around Levi like girl that man is a freaking bully who makes your life miserable but you still find yourself fantasizing him. But then when she started to stand her ground and decided that she doesn't want to be bullied anymore, she earned my respect and I was cheering on her 'til the end. LOL. Levi is also like the carbon copy of Aiden. If I haven't read the Deviant King first then we will be having a different conversation by now. I also love the camaraderie among Levi and the four horsemen. It was so weird reading this knowing that Levi was a senior at this time and that the horsemen were Junior and we only get a glimpses of Aiden's obsession with Elsa.

        I love that these boys are over the top bullies and hell-bent in making the girls's lives miserable at first but the truth is that they are so obsessed with them they don't know how to act except be a caveman whenever things don't go their way and the fact that they are so easily brought to their knees. 😍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐