Not much plot, but interesting and steamy

Very Bad Kings is a contemporary dark romance, set at Kingston university. When new student Mable arrives, she quickly gets caught in a dangerous game run by five powerful students known as the Kings. Soon, she has to ask herself: how far is she willing to go to stay at the university?

I liked it, but also have some mixed feelings about it. The chemistry, steam and tension were definitely there, but a lot remained unclear. Why are the Kings so powerful? And why did they choose Mable?

At first, I struggled to keep track of who was who; the MMCs sounded quite similar. It also felt like I had missed a few chapters, as the story just starts. However, once I got further into the book, the characters became easier to distinguish, and I started to understand it better.

This book is definitely not for everyone. It’s toxic, full of red flags, and packed with graphic scenes. Women are treated terribly, and there’s a lot of bullying. Some scenes even felt unnecessary.

There are also quite a few repetitive scenes, which is a shame because the story had potential for much more depth. Still, I really enjoyed the writing style and flew through the pages. The multiple POVs were interesting, even if they were a bit confusing.

By the way, did I mention the spice? Completely messed up, but definitely hot. The story itself lacks some depth and leaves some things unresolved, but the ending picks up pace.

In short, not much plot, but definitely interesting and steamy. I'll be picking up book 2 as well!

Thanks to Zomer & Keuning for the review copy!

PS: for those who’ve read it too: are you team Reece, Sylvian, or Jaxon?