It is Finally here! Having eagerly anticipated its release on April 30th, I devoured Ana Huang’s KING OF ENVY, the fifth Installment to her latest book series. Knowing how much I love her writing, it definitely won’t be the last time I read it. With three out of her four series already under my belt, Ana Huang is solidifying her place as a top author for me, and her series are truly must-reads. She has four series currently available that I’m excited to discuss with you in a later post on my Blog.
This post will be dedicated to reviewing King of Envy from the King of Sin Series. This is Book five, and the series is projected to have a total of seven books (One for each Deadly Sin). I have to say, it’s a close tie for me right now between King of Envy and King of Greed as my favorite in this series. I am an avid reader, and I love to slip away into the storylines created for the different characters. I enjoy the development of a love so strong, it defies all logic; it’s addictive and captivating. I say all that to emphasize that King of Envy has a very original story line. I won’t give away any spoilers in this review, because I want you to enjoy diving into this storyline yourself. You can come back and thank me later. However, the characters, their plight, and interactions all feel incredibly unique, and this was refreshing to encounter.
Ana Huang does a great job of telling the story of a Man in Love with a woman who is engaged to someone else. Surprisingly, instead of hating the Envy written into this character and storyline, I loved it!
So much of where we place our values easily determines what we like and dislike. As a married woman, I value my relationship and those of others. I don’t believe that I alone have the right to interfere with anyone’s marriage. I’m very careful of the advice I give to other married women, out of respect for the sanctity of that union. I thought I was going to have a hard time buying into these characters and the ultimate love that would ensue. Primarily because I didn’t feel like the characters would respect the sanctity of marriage. How could they, when the two main characters are suspected to fall in love while one is engaged to someone else. Again, complete opposite; Not only do I love these characters, but I was also rooting for all of them.
Ana Huang develops her characters beautifully; I loved every moment of discovering who Ayana and Vuk are. In King of Envy, a love triangle develops between Jordan, Ayana & Vuk. With remarkable skill, the author navigates the complexities of these characters, leading the reader through a series of unexpected twists and turns. Each time you think you’ve grasped their essence, a new, believable, and even relatable dimension emerges.
Ayana is such a strong, and relatable feminine character. When reading King of Envy, I felt like I understood every decision and action Ayana made. Even if I had not made the same decision, I empathized with Ayana at every turn. Her kindhearted nature was admirable to me, and her strength was outright inspiring. Her personality is the perfect match for the book leading male, Vuk. She was the light to his dark, but what I thought was beautiful was the strength that her light emanated. Her light had to be strong, to balance the darkness of Vuk.
Vuk is the brooding alpha male type, with hidden love and compassion right under the surface. Vuk isn’t necessarily a bad boy but he is dark, and he embraces it. He has an astounding level of self-awareness for who he is and what he’s capable of. His confidence adds to his appeal and lure. He’s my new favorite Anti-Hero. It’s interesting describing Vuk, because even though I don’t agree with his dark tendencies, I do understand them. My Christian values will not allow me to seek out vengeance against others. However, that doesn’t mean the struggle against those compulsions is not present. Vuk believes in passing vengeance upon those who have wronged him or those he loves. He is fiercely loyal, and I respect that about him.
Beyond its superb character development, “King of Envy” truly delivers outstanding ‘clitaterature.’ Ana Huang builds the sexual tension between these characters to enormous pinnacles and does not disappoint in delivering erotic scenes. The erotic scenes are very vivid and well written; they were thrilling, captivating, and incredibly hot in the best ways. You will enjoy every torrid detail. The dominance of the main male character, Vuk, was incredibly sexy. He eluded a mysteriously dangerous appeal that made you want to know more about him. I was drawn to Vuk, just so I could understand more about him. All while Ayana presented a quite strength that was the perfect match for Vuk. “He was ruthless. His mouth, fingers, and tongue working in tandem to bring me to the edge of delirium and back again.” In their sexual encounters, Vuk dominated Ayana and worshipped her at the same time. The control he had over her and himself was tantalizing to read. Vuk is the sexual partner who ruins you for anyone else, and it’s thrilling to experience.
What I love about a good romance is the anticipated love that grows between the characters. I love learning to understand the characters and who they are, then ultimately how these characters come together and why they come together. I encourage you to Jump into King of Envy and learn the love story of Ayana and Vuk. Even though this is a series, each book can be read as a standalone book. But I promise, once you read one book, you will read the others. There is something uniquely pleasant about driving into a new book and getting lost in it. But if you don’t have the time to curl up and read somewhere, then I encourage AudioBooks. This Audiobook is narrated by Jason Clarke and Nia Serge, and they read the book perfectly. I appreciated that this was done as a duet with Jason reading as Vuk and Nia reading as Ayana. Also, it’s worth mentioning that with Audible you get two free credits if you are a Prime member; so you could possibly listen to King of Envy for free. Go. Grab the book. Read it without delay, and please let me know what you think about it. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. 😊
I have so many more books to review with you and conversations to start. So, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought about the review. Please tell me if there is additional information you want to know about in these reviews so that I can include that in my future post for you. Thank You Fellow Readers!