King of Pride by Ana Huang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Plot: 📕📕📕📕| Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length: 📖373 pages | Genre: Contemporary Romance | POV: Dual 1st
Dates Read: 06.16.24 – 06.16.24



✴✴✴ TW: Classism; Sexual Harassment; Blackmail ✴✴✴


🕊️ ➞ Tropes:

💰💎Billionaire 💎💰
🥰😒 Grumpy / Sunshine 😒🥰
🙄🙎🏼‍♀️Strong / Sassy FMC 🙎🏼‍♀️🙄
⚔️💀 Touch Her, You Die 💀⚔️
☠️ Morally Grey MMC ☠️
❤️🚫 Forbidden Romance 🚫❤️
😍He Falls First 😍



🕊️ ➞ Synopsis:

She’s his opposite in every way…and the greatest temptation he’s ever known.

Reserved, controlled, and proper to a fault, Kai Young has neither the time nor inclination for chaos—and Isabella, with her purple hair and inappropriate jokes, is chaos personified.

With a crucial CEO vote looming and a media empire at stake, the billionaire heir can’t afford the distraction she brings.

Isabella is everything he shouldn’t want, but with every look and every touch, he’s tempted to break all his rules…and claim her as his own.

***

Bold, impulsive, and full of life, Isabella Valencia has never met a party she doesn’t like or a man she couldn’t charm…except for Kai Young.

It shouldn’t matter. He’s not her type—the man translates classics into Latin for fun, and his membership at the exclusive club where she bartends means he’s strictly off limits.

But she can’t deny that, beneath his cool exterior, is a man who could make her melt with just a touch.

No matter how hard they try, they can’t resist giving into their forbidden desires.

Even if it costs them everything.

King of Pride is a steamy opposite attract, forbidden billionaire romance. It’s book two in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.

Contains explicit content and profanity. Recommended for mature readers only.



🕊️ ➞ Progress Notes & Initial Thoughts:

Chap. 22 // the way I GASPED. Another k!nk for the list!



🕊️ ➞ My Favorite Quotes:

“…This isn’t about reason. This is about love, and there’s nothing reasonable about love.” … “I love you, Isabella Valencia. Every single part of you, from your laugh to your humor to the way you can’t stop talking about condoms. You think you’re broken, but I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Smart. Strong. Beautiful. Imperfect by your own standards but so wonderfully perfect for me.” I’d never fallen in love before her. Once I did, I did the way I did everything else. Completely. Totally. Irrevocably. “I’ve always prided myself on being the best. I had to be number one. I had to win. I collected prizes and awards because I saw them as a reflection of my self-worth, and I thought nothing tasted better than victory. Then I met you. And everything else… faded. We’ve been through some dark times, but you were always the brightest part of my life. Even when we broke up. Even when I walked out. Just knowing you existed in this world was enough. I never really lived before you, and I don’t want to imagine living after you.” I dropped my forehead to hers, and my chest aching with need and want and a thousand other emotions only she could make me feel. “Stay with me, love. Please.”

– Kai Young, Chapter 41

🕊️ ➞ My Thoughts:

Ana Huang has done it again! Weaving a relationship between two different Asian cultures, King of Pride followed Isabella Valencia, a punk Filipina bartender, and Kai Young, a tight-laced Chinese CEO, as they navigated the obstacles of their relationship as well as their own dilemmas. One thing I enjoy most about Huang’s novels is the insight into the societal and familial hierarchies within Asian cultures – as an outsider, I find it intriguing and moderately educational. It’s also interesting to see how the main characters (newer generation) began to grow the confidence to stand up to their traditional parents when pertaining to certain things.

The plot was mild and average-paced; the main climax of the story was the club finding out the couple broke the no fraternizing rule as well as their short-lived breakup. Both characters were people stuck at different points in their lives who found solace in their comforts, so it was beautiful to watch these two opposite characters learn to understand each other and help them out of their comfort zones. I can’t wait to finish the series and hopefully get more glimpses of the couple. I hope Kai and Isabella’s wedding is in the next book!

If you’ve read King of Pride, drop a comment and tell me what you thought of it! Did you love Kai as much as I did? What about Gabriel, how did you feel about him interfering in his sister’s life? Throw all your thoughts at me! I can’t wait to read them!

xo,

L.B.

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