Cruel Saint

Vicious Empire, Book 1

By: Luna Kayne

Narrated by: Stephen Dexter, Charlotte North

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

An unsolved murder.

A missing heir.

A family at war.

The fate of a vicious empire hangs in the balance.

This is the saga about the men who built an empire and the women who burned it all down, and it all starts here!

Cruel Saint

He was her first for everything. Now he’s determined to be her last.

Ryder Saint

Amara is my dark obsession. She was promised to me in a deal she knows nothing about.

Four years ago, I sent her away to protect her from the life I live as the son of a crime lord. Now her brother—my best friend—is dead, and though I wasn’t there for him in the end, I intend to look after his little sister.

I should stay in the shadows, let her live the life her brother wanted for her, but she’s in trouble in more ways than one, and I’m the only one who can save her...but I’ll have to break her first.

Good girls keep their promises, and it’s time Amara came home—to me—where she belongs.

Amara Scott

As far as I’m concerned, Ryder let me go four years ago, and I never looked back.

Now he shows up demanding I come home, and I have no choice but to return when he forces my hand.

The Saints never pay for their crimes. They take what they want and discard the rest. Like me...

But I’m not a weak girl anymore, and I’m packing some secrets of my own.

I’ll use my time to find out who killed my brother...then I'll destroy them.

Even if that man is Ryder himself.

Cruel Saint is the first book in the Vicious Empire dark-romance family-saga series.

©2022 Luna Kayne (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

(Dark) BDSM Romance with Some Suspense

I've been sitting on this book for a while and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to listen to it. I think it's because this story is labeled as a dark romance and I wasn't quite ready for anything "dark" at the time. Now, I don't honestly think this is nearly as dark as it could have been, because the main elements of "darkness" are more implied rather than explicitly described. Though there are lots of bully elements (and in my opinion bully does not necessarily equal dark) and if you aren't a big fan of that, just skip like the first two thirds of this story (but don't actually because you will be missing so much).

Amara has not had the greatest of lives, first her father passed suddenly, next her secret boyfriend dumps her, then her mom moves her away from the only home she's ever known, and finally her brother is murdered. So she takes to guarding her heart and not letting anyone close. She closes herself off, but she's not a weak character. I loved how she opened herself up to Ryder (not necessarily by her choice, but Ryder can be stubborn, too) and seeing her transform from a shell of herself to a strong young woman, who will fight her own battles. I also like how she didn't make it easy for Ryder either, because he did definitely dump her and she made him work for it.
Ryder was a little hard to like because he would be so caring in his chapters, but his actions would be the complete opposite for the most part and I kind of got tired of it after a while, like please just decide dude because the whiplash is getting tedious. Apart from that, he offered a great foil to Amara, pulling her from her stasis, kicking and screaming and not allowing her to go back to her closed off self. I loved his tenacity of going for what he wants, but he could use some pointers on healthy communication in relationships.

Overall, this is an entertaining story. I feel like the suspense is kind of small in comparison to the whole story because it's left open ended and to be continued with in the next books in the series. Sloan's character grew on me as the story goes on and I eagerly await listening to her book (which is unfortunately the last one), and my only comment for her is that when she told Amara that Ryder wasn't the only one suffering came off weird to be because Ryder has just been mean to Amara (and not telling her things, then blaming her for the things she didn't know about) and it came off a little like gaslighting to her, but I do know that wasn't the intention.

This story has some bully elements, BDSM kink, violence (descriptive, but minimally occurring), swearing, and generally terrible parents.

I enjoyed the narrators! They were both new to me and I liked their styles. Each voiced their characters well and differentiated the narrating voice to the talking voice to all the other character voices well, too. I listened at 1.2x speed.

Entertaining!

This is the first book in the Vicious Empire Series, a Dark Romance, and family saga. Ryder and Amara's story is entertaining, and suspenseful., filled with drama, and twists and turns. Ryder is enigmatic, alpha, and dominant. Amara is strong, and determined. I liked the mystery and the suspense in the story. The world building is captivating. The supporting characters are intriguing. I can't wait to know more about Ryder's brothers. Stephen Dexter and Charlotte North did a fantastic job bringing this story to life. Looking forward to listening to Brutal Saint, the next book in the series, to know what happens next.

Could not put it down!

4.5⭐️ 4🌶️

- M/F
- Brother’s best friend
- Second chance
- Enemies to lovers
- Dom/sub

I loved this book so much! Where have the Saint brothers been all my life? This book had it all! Compelling characters, angst, spice, kink, and a murder mystery. I listened to this book on audible and binged it in a day. I could not put it down. I am a huge fan of Stephen Dexter and Charlotte North and loved their dual narration.

Four years ago Amara’s life was turned upside down. Her father died and her mother forced her to move away from everyone she knows and loves including her brother and her secret boyfriend Ryder. She was crushed when Ryder didn’t fight for her and has used the time since then to focus on her career and building emotional walls to prevent her from ever being hurt this way again. Then Ryder walks back into her life determined to win her back and break down her walls. When he brings her back to his family home there are more than a few surprises waiting for her. Now she is even more hurt, confused, and facing moral dilemmas.

I loved Amara! She was so broken but holding herself together with the force of her will alone. She worked so hard to build a safe and stable life for herself and Ryder just came in and shattered all her hard work. My heart ached for her because she was trying so desperately to protect her heart from Ryder but couldn’t stay away.

I alternated between loving Ryder and wanting to strangle him. He was such hot and dominant guy but he made his life so much harder by not being up front with Amara from the beginning. I don’t really feel like he has a good reason to keep as much from Amara as he did. His ego was wounded because she didn’t jump him the moment he walked back into her life and punished her for it.

The chemistry between the two of them was off the charts but they were constantly struggling for dominance despite knowing who the dom in the relationship was. The two of them just really needed to get out of their own way so they could be happy together!

I loved how this book ended but that cliffhanger was brutal and I can’t wait to start the next book. I’m so glad it is out already and I don’t have to wait!

Cruel Saint

Ugh! NO…I hate cliffhangers😦 I wish the author would disclose that this book ends with a cliffhanger & it’s a multi book series! Id’e like the choice to decide if I want to commit to such a long listening process, now I’m committed to it.😑
Is it worth the credit? Maybe 🤔 that’s if you’re okay with all the above previously mentioned…Enjoy.

great narrators

I liked the story didn't drag, didn't repeat stuff and got straight to it,i well written with good twists. loved the narration they were excellent

DNF - really disliked the female narrator

This is very unusual for me. This is the first time I couldn’t finish the audiobook. The female voice actor was just too histrionic during most of her portion of narration. Stephen Dexter was excellent. I was disappointed that I couldn’t hang on through the whole book.

We all need a Saint brother in our lives

4.5⭐️ 4🌶️

Well, where can I get my own Saint brother? And how long were y'all going to let me sleep on Luna Kayne? I'm so excited that this is only book one of four because I love this world. Luna's writing was fantastic and I really enjoyed all of the mystery, secrets, action, and taboo and forbidden love aspects of this book. It checked so many boxes for me and I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

I listened to the audio version of this and I was really impressed with the narrators. Charlotte North brought Amara to life and was superb with all the nuances of her personality--from the submission to fear to humor to boss betch energy, I felt it all. And Stephen Dexter? Fantastic. His deep voice was so good during the spicy scenes and he brought range to Ryder's emotions that I really enjoyed.

R: "Now, you can be brave and place yourself in my control--and trust me, I will take complete control--or you can leave now and never return."
A: "Do your worst."
R: "I intend to."

I really loved this second chance yet still enemies to lovers vibe going on between Amara and Ryder. Separated from their love four years prior, Amara has shut herself off to feeling any attachments and Ryder is finally back to break down all her walls and regain her trust while working through some secrets of his own. Their dom/sub relationship was so incredibly hot and even the scenes that weren't meant to be spicy had me blushing--hello, Ryder, you can punish me anytime. Overall, I really enjoyed these characters both together and separately. Ryder showed a lot of growth with being able to let his guard down and share his secrets, as well as his emotions and who he truly wanted to be with toward the end which was really satisfying for me. Amara started out a touch too naïve for me, which is the only reason this didn't earn a full five stars from me, but she really came into her own and by the end I was cheering her on. She really was such a strong FMC who could handle her own and I loved that about her. I truly hope we see a lot more of these two as the series progresses.

A: "So, is everything good now?"
R: "God, no. It's all gone to [crap]."
A: "But you're smiling. You look happy."
R: "You know what? I am happy. I'm really happy. Everything can burn down all around us, and I'll be right here with you for the rest of my life, grinning like an [jerk] because I have everything I will ever want."

The overarching mystery and plot was so interesting to me and while I'm a little sad we don't get a resolution here, I'm chomping at the bit to dive into book two and find out more after that cliffhanger had my mouth gaping. The last 15% or so flew right by and was filled with so much suspense and action, as well as some jaw dropping reveals that had me right on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to see how this all plays out and what more is in store for the Saint men.

Loved every second

The narrations are amazing. This was the first time listening to either of them and I enjoyed every minute of it.

They did an amazing job bring the characters to life and making sure you felt everything that was being said.

I love a dual POV and this was done amazingly. I highly recommend this audio. I read along with the audio and it just intensified the experience

Ryder and Amara story is amazing. I love the love lost and second chance aspect of it but when you put that dark romance twist on top it is amazing. The characters are amazing from the main to the side characters. I love Cole so much.

I can’t wait to finish this series.

Yes, please

Are you ready to get addicted to a story? Mystery and delicious adult situations. Bonus to Luna Kay for adding consent and consideration for her lusty Dom.

Amazing Start to this Family Saga

4/5 ⭐
4/5 🌶️

Cruel Saint was not quite what I was expecting, but I absolutely loved it. The beginning and middle had a few parts that dragged a little bit for me, but the last 10% alone made up for it. This one has mystery, action, taboo spice and is a lot of fun.

I recently re-read this via the new audible release and I forgot how much I loved these two characters. I really loved Stephen Dexter and Charlotte North narrating them too, they really brought these two to life so, so well. Stephen was incredible during the spice, his deep timbre was perfect for Ryder.

I really loved the dynamics and storyline between Ryder and Amara. These two had been in love as young adults (maybe even sooner) and bad circumstances had them torn apart. 4 years later Amara doesn't know who she can trust and Ryder has to keep secrets from her while trying to regain that trust, it was a lot of work. Their Dom/sub relationship was super spicy. Even the non-séx scenes were fire, her punishments were hot hot hot. I really love the time Ryder apologizes and his punishment is taking on the sub role for a bit, Amara can get it. She was a super strong FMC and I just loved her. I also really loved Sloane and I'm excited to get to know her better.

The mystery aspect is really interesting and does not get solved in book one. We get left on a cliffhanger that leads into Cole's book. The end is full of action and suspense and is super exciting, I got sucked in and couldn't put it down despite it being almost 1am. I can't wait to find out more and see what the rest of the Saint boys bring us.