Sasha is a New to Me Author this month and I was hooked from the first page. I went into this book totally blind with no idea what it was about or anything. When I say her writing of these characters and this world are absolutely what I needed! Monarch City is a gritty, raw, and cutthroat town and at the center of it sits the Kings and Liles families.

We meet the main characters, Kalon and Rhema, as two free spirited teens. But then tragedy strikes both of their families and we see how they are forced to grow up before their times. Kalon is only 18 when both his parents are killed and he has to raise his 3 brothers. He goes to Rhema’s dad, Rod, who is his dad’s best friend and tells him he is ready to join his empire. Rhema loses her mother, at the age of 17, who walked out on them when she was 6. Her dad, Rod, tells her he’s ready to start training her to take over the family empire. He declares that its her birthright and the crown is hers for the taking. Neither get to really grieve what life has handed them. They jump into their roles feet first! Rod grooms them both. However, they love each other! As a reader, I could feel their chemistry leap off the page from the first interaction. Rod makes it clear that love could cloud their judgement and makes Rhema choose between the man she loves or the crown she’s destined to wear.

As the story progesses, we see them as their running the business and trying to navigate the feelings that they can’t express. We see how they deal with betrayals, lust, and sometimes jealousy and resentment for the situations that life has placed them in. Sasha paced this story so beautifully and I honestly can’t wait to dive into the second book in this series! Definitely a great 4 star read!