King of Flames by Kathryn Ann Kingsley ~ a Review

by MK French

In Under, everyone has magic. A ceremony marks Lydia as being without magic, which leaves her as something to be studied or hunted. The King of Shadows Aon takes her under his wing after several inadvertent meetings. The magic of Under is changing, and there is now a deadly struggle for power.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2024; Second Sky; 978-1836182054
audio, ebook, print (236 pages); dark fantasy

King of Flames is the first dark fantasy romance in a series of six books. We begin with Aon in a crypt, casting his mind adrift. Then we meet horror aficionado Lydia as a forensic autopsy technician waking up with an odd tattoo and additional work at her job. Lydia is one of several humans collected for the Fall, a ceremony to add to the ranks of citizens in Under. It's a dead world, and the residents have skills and traits that resemble that of human nightmares and myth. There are different Houses, each with different traits, and they can't get sick or age. When Under is close enough to be in similar phase to Earth, the marked humans are collected and brought to Under. There, humans transform into immortal beings who either eat and revel or are eaten. Lydia is the first to be rejected, and the mark she woke up with is gone. Desperate to avoid the "games" of Under, Lydia does her best to try escaping.

As the first book in a series, there's a lot of world-building and explanations for what was happening. The chaos that ensued in Under was controlled by tradition and the need for novelty, but Lydia doesn't have a mark for one of the six houses. It throws all of their traditions into disarray. Aon and Edu are warring kings of Under. Where Edu is straightforward and relatively merciful in his manner of killing, Aon enjoys the game of maiming and torture. With a dark romance, death and destruction lurk everywhere, with the fragile Lydia the prize in the war between the kings. If dark fantasy romance is your interest, this is another series to pique your interest.

Buy King of Flames at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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