Title: King of Hearts
Author: L.H. Cosway
Series: Hearts #3
Genre: contemporary romance, new adult
Welcome to the City, London’s most prestigious square mile, where finance reigns and Oliver King is a rising prince.
I used to rule the world.
There might be wolves on Wall Street, but there were crocodiles in Canary Wharf. Some of us craved money. Some of us craved power.
I liked money, and power had its advantages, but what I really wanted was to excel, to surpass the men who came before me. I never cared much for love and romance until I met Alexis.
I could feel it the very moment she walked into the interview, with her outspoken charm and vivacious personality. She cast all the others in shadow, made me laugh when life held no humour. Our friendship should have remained professional, but it wasn’t long before the lines started to blur.
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, I never foresaw where my plans would lead, and only in my darkest hour did I finally see the light…
You can have all the money and prestige in the world and still be the poorest man alive. And love, well, I hate to use a tired old cliché, but love can be the thing that truly sets you free.
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My Review
King of Hearts by L.H. Cosway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 **bloody brilliant** STARS
“The bigger our hearts, the more beautiful our souls.”
I’m just going to to put it in very simple terms: I LOVE THIS BOOK!
To my big surprise, I can honestly say King of Hearts was nothing what I had expected, in the most positive way imaginable. Having read Hearts of Fire and already being acquainted with Mr. King in his rundown and hopeless state, I had certain theories in my head as to the journey that lead him there, but I should have known Ms. Cosway has a few aces up her sleeves when it comes to plot twists and writing wonderful three dimensional characters who are more complicated than I could hope to imagine.
King of Hearts is divided into two different parts -before and after. Both are written in Alexis’ POV. For all who read Hearts of Fire, she is the mystery woman who holds King's heart and haunts his every move.
When we first meet her, Alexis Clark interviews for a position as Mr. King's PA and from the first moment they lay eyes on each other sparks fly. Alexis is confident, secure in her own skin, with a wicked sense of humour and due to her years working as a barmaid she has some unique people skills that could quite possibly come in handy with stuffy bankers. For all intents and purposes she is the exact opposite to the women who normally surround King.
She is bold, with barely any filter between brain and mouth, she doesn't starve herself to death to fit into a size zero and for me, she is one of the most amazing characters I have read in a long time and also completely unexpected. If I am completely honest I imagined someone very different in my head and I couldn’t be more happy to be wrong.
“He pulls you in, you know. You start off thinking the ball is in your court, but it never is. Before you know it, you've fallen for him, and it's too late to go back to the way things were.”
Suffice it to say, Alexis gets the job and through her eyes we get to meet the Oliver King. A very successful, driven, highly educated and guarded person, who faced with Alexis' unconventional and goodnatured personality shows some cracks in his hardened exterior and what we discover is quite beautiful and a little mysterious.
Both Alexis and King on their own are fantastic but together they are like lightning in a bottle. The chemistry, the banter, two worlds colliding and creating magic in the process. Serious *favourite couple* material. Star crossed and a love so deep it can survive a lot more than it should.
Which leads us to the second setting -after- and how a successful banker ends up a homeless alcoholic traveling with his sister's circus. Well, things happen and King and Alexis are separated for five years and as a result this book turns into my personal holy grail of romance books - a second chance love story. When they meet again both their lives have changed to the extreme. Question is, can they find their way back together? Or are some wounds too deep to heal after all?
“Sometimes we see someone and they just suit us. They're beautiful to us in every way. You're that person to me.”
There is close to nothing I would critique about King of Hearts, from top to bottom a major win, special characters and a wonderful story. So, we are just going to ignore the fact that there are no beaches in Rome unless your Hotel is at the airport. Forget it ever happened.
There were so many little moments melting my heart, especially in the after-part of the story I was plagued with heavy water works in my face. If you already read the book, you know what I mean and if you haven't I really don't understand what's keeping you.
King of Hearts is the third instalment in L.H. Cosway’s Hearts Series and can be read as a standalone, but in all honesty I wouldn’t recommend it. Especially with this book, since King was already a big part of Hearts of Fire and waiting for the other shoe to drop is half the fun.
If you still didn't get the message, King of Hearts was my favourite Cosway book so far, I highly recommend reading it and I can't wait to get my hands on some more of her magic.
**ARC very kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
“I’m…” I began and then paused, feeling ridiculous. “This is stupid. I never make apologies for who I am or where I come from, but I just feel a bit embarrassed about my flat.”
“Your flat is lovely, Alexis.”
I pulled my lips through my teeth. “Thank you, but I mean the outside, not the inside. It’s probably because I’ve been to your place and seen how fancy it is. I bet you’ve never even stepped foot in a building like mine before in your life.”
He studied me, face drawn into a serious expression. I felt his shoulder brush mine when he said, “I haven’t, but what does that matter? You don’t always have to be stuck where you are. You can improve your life endlessly so long as you have the capability of doing it, and you, Alexis, have the capability. Don’t ever let anyone else tell you otherwise. But back to the matter at hand. You’re my friend, therefore, I don’t care where you live.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded and kind of flattered by all that stuff he said about my capabilities. I didn’t want him to know I was flattered though, so I ignored his compliment and blundered on. “And that’s another thing. Isn’t it a bit weird that I’m your friend and I also work for you? Do you normally make friends with your PAs? Isn’t this, whatever we’re doing, against the rules?”
“That’s a lot of questions.”
“I need a lot of answers.”
He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my ear. “Okay, I’ll endeavour to give you some. First, I wouldn’t say it’s weird that we’re friends. It’s more out of the ordinary.”
“Same difference.”
“Let me finish.”
“Fine,” I huffed.
“Second, no I don’t normally make friends with my PAs. In fact, I’d never planned to make friends with you. It just sort of happened. I like you. You make me laugh. And you’re different from other people I know. Having you around makes the day that little bit more interesting. I enjoy the spontaneity of never quite knowing what you’re going to come out with next,” he paused to laugh gently. “And third, no, it’s not against the rules. I’m free to be friends with whomever I choose, employee or not.” He went quiet then and I turned to see why he’d stopped talking.
His eyes looked…heated.
Now he whispered, his breath kissing my ear, “If I were to fuck you, it would be frowned upon, but it still wouldn’t be breaking the rules. I’m not your teacher or your college professor, Alexis.”
About the Author
L.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books.
She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories.
♥ READ THE BOOKS in this Series ♥
Six of Hearts (Hearts #1)
Hearts of Fire (Hearts #2)
Giveaway
Books by this author I have read:
(click cover for amazon link - reviews below)
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