Reviewed: December 6th 2021
Released: July 10th, 2020
Genre: MM Dark Fantasy
Book one of the Prince’s Assassin series
“Your love is worthless, it’s your hate I need.” ~ Prince Vasili Caville
When King Talos Caville surrendered the war to the elves, soldier Nikolas Yazdan vowed never to serve the royals again. He said the same to the prince who tried to buy his loyalty, and learned that the Caville princes don’t take no for an answer.
Whipped for his insolence, Nikolas is also forced into slavery in a palace full of vicious, brutal royals. Prince Vasili is the worst Caville of all. Malicious and cruel, the prince is more viper than man, and someone inside the palace wants him dead. Nikolas would kill the prince himself if not for one thing: Julian, the prince’s personal guard and Niko’s light in the dark. If Nikolas doesn’t submit to Prince Vasili and discover who is plotting against him, Julian will suffer.
But there’s more wrong in the palace than just the prince. The king is on his deathbed, the ferocious elves are creeping closer to the great city of Loreen, and madness stalks the hallways. There’s poison in the Caville court, and if Nikolas doesn’t discover the real reason Prince Vasili tried to buy him with a bag of coin, the palace, the city, and everything he loves, will be lost forever.
Helen’s thoughts: 5/5
A deeply dark and delicious MM Dark fantasy with a slow-burn enemies to lover trope. Nikolas and Julian are wonderful characters, with Prince Vasili one of the aloof and vicious royals.
Nikolas, defeated in the war against the elves, returns home disillusioned and angry. A rage born of betrayal and seeing far to much death. A rage that surfaces too easily and gets him into trouble. But under that rage he is an honest and loyal soldier, only wanting to protect his home.
Julian, is a gentle and kind palace guard, an unexpected light in Nikolas’ dark world of hate. Vasili is the supercilious prince who won’t take no for an answer and much like the rest of his twisted family, revels in hurting others.
Against a backdrop of cruelty and madness, Nikolas and Julian find love, but all is not what it seems and continued attempts on Vasili’s life pull Nikolas deeper into his world of greed and corruption.
An excellent, fast paced fantasy you won’t want to put down. A real page turner, with characters you invest in and grow to love and hate.
Note authors trigger warning: There is content some readers may find distressing including dubious consent.
About the author:
Born to wolves, Rainbow Award Winner Ariana Nash only ventures from the Cornish moors when the moon is fat and the night alive with myths and legends. She captures those myths in glass jars and returning home, weaves them into stories filled with forbidden desires, fantasy realms, and wicked delights.
Her debut novel Silk & Steel topped the LGBT Amazon charts in 2019. Read the short story prequel “Sealed with a Kiss” for free by signing up to her newsletter here.
Purchase King of Darkness
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my books which are available in eBook or paperback: Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Book Two: Sentinals Rising. Book Three: Sentinals Justice. Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 