Deviant King

A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Elite, Book 1)

By: Rina Kent

Narrated by: Shane East, Keira Stevens

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The villain isn’t supposed to be king. 

I have a simple plan. 

Finish Royal Elite School and get into my dream university. 

One glance from the school’s king blows my plan up in smoke. 

One glance and he suffocates my air. 

One glance and he issues his death sentence. 

His first words spiral my life into irreparable chaos. 
“I will destroy you.” 

Everything about Aiden King is black. 

Black mind. 

Black heart. 

Black soul. 

I should’ve remained quiet and endured the time I have left. 

I didn’t. 

I made the irrevocable mistake of provoking the king on his throne. 

The devil in his hell. 

And now, I’ll pay the price. 

Being hated by Aiden King is dangerous. 

But being wanted by him is lethal. 

Deviant King is book one of Royal Elite Series. This is a dark high school bully romance, mature new adult, and contains dubious situations that some listeners might find offensive. Aiden isn’t the normal romance hero. In fact, he’s not a hero at all. So please don’t listen to this if any of that bothers you.

This book is part of a trilogy and is not a stand-alone.

©2019 Rina Kent (P)2020 Rina Kent

A diamond in a sea of cubic zirconia!

I'll preface this review by telling anyone that hasn't read the book yet that it might be smart to hold off until the rest of the series is available because I'm nearly pulling my hair out over here since I decided that I HAD to hear this book right away and couldn't hold. off. I was not disappointed in the LEAST though.... while I don't usually buy an audiobook until I know I can binge the whole series one after another, I couldn't help myself. The premise sounded too good and it's two of my favorite things mixed together: dark romance/anti-hero with a kinky sadistic streak and a bully to lovers romance. I have the option to read the rest, but I CAN'T do that now that I know how F***ING perfect Shane East's voice fits with his character and how amazing Keira's voice was too, and I would just end up frustrated I couldn't listen to it. I come across gems like this very rarely in the dark romance genre; this book is the real deal, it is no pretender and holds no punches! It's a book that's both unpredictable yet doesn't keep you completely in the dark just to keep pumping out books for cash (the author kindly leaves some breadcrumbs for you to put the puzzle together as more information is revealed without giving away all the nitty gritty details). Not only is the story-line absolutely gripping in and of itself, but the sexiness is off the charts! Shane East and Keira Stevens were made for this series and I can't imagine any other narrators doing these books the justice they've done them [so far]. This is a dark book with somewhat dubious consent being thrown into the mix at times but it's obvious that there's much more that we don't know from the beginning and I could feel the chemistry between Elsa and Aiden from the first moment she talks about seeing him at school. If it bothers you in the beginning, keep going. There's so much more to it that we don't know at first, and it all makes sense in the end. They're both kinky and primitive, and they go into some territory that a lot of books with BDSM in them steer away from in order to keep the masses from turning on them in their ignorance). This one does no such thing; the author is unabashed in their characters' desires and needs, and I freaking LOVE IT. It's actually so hot that it's one of those books that I had difficulty listening to on a break at work or around others at my home (even with headphones on, of course) because it's the kind of book that will get you hot and bothered with no remorse and you will be so engaged in what's happening that you're lost to it and don't realize you're fanning yourself until your boyfriend or husband gives you a funny look. I'm a tad biased, to be honest, because Aiden's my dream anti-hero, doing all the things I personally would want him to do, and I fell in love with his character so much that I am looking forward to the rest of the series more than I can express in words. All of my praise aside, I do have one complaint: since the other books aren't available yet on Audible, let the audience know when it's going to be available so we know when to come back and buy it! I hate not knowing and just waiting around checking the author's page on Audible's website over and over again, it's irritating and it's also a good way to lose a portion of your audience when people are interested but not obsessive like myself and won't go so far out of their way to keep checking for new books being added on a regular basis. I may have missed something but I even checked other sites like Amazon and found nothing about the next release in the series, same with social media... all I saw was a tweet about book 2 being released on Kindle in 2019 but nothing else. The 3rd book says 2020 but the second one isn't even listed on the series' page... is that a fluke or what? I'm so confused about this and it's bad marketing not to have these ducks in a row so whomever is responsible should take a look at that page and fix it. I'm not trying to be a jerk but I just feel like some consistency and directness would be nice if not from the author from Audible, the publisher, someone, since I am so engrossed with this series that I find myself wanting to know what date to write on my calendar and count down to! Anyways, if you haven't been convinced by now, you'll never be, but you'll be missing out because this is one of the best books I've heard in a while, without a doubt in my mind. Superb story, narration, character development, sense of mystery and intrigue, and spot-on writing. Buy this book if you like dark romance and I can promise you won't be disappointed. I give it 4.5 out of 5 chess pieces. :P

4.75 Queen or Pawn STARS

I have to admit that after the first few chapters I was ready to quit. I didn't like the heroine right away and that was the reason I hesitated. I'm so glad I gave her chance! The book isn't an easy listen. The anti-hero is obsessed and is a bully. There are some dub-con moments but there was something about Aiden King that just drew me in. When he got all possessive I literally melted. I'm a sucker for a jealous possessive hero and Aiden was that and more. Lots of secrets floating around Elsa from those closest to her. I liked that she showed up everyday to school and did her best to not show that her bullies were getting to her. After I finished the book I ended buying the paperbacks so I could finish the series since they are not available on audio yet. I hope they come out soon!

Narration
This is a duet and was seamless when switching between narrators.
Shane East 5 stars he was the perfect alpha
Keira Stevens was 4 stars for me. I found her narration a bit harsh to my ears but eventually got used to it.

For a younger audience

Not my thing. Immature night school silliness. I typically like some young adult but this didn’t capture me enough to stick around for next in the series.

Missing Trigger warning

I hate writing reviews so I’m just gonna keep it short and sweet. This book contains sexual assault and there is no trigger warning. The only warning is in the description and it only says that there are some things some might find offensive. Please be aware and be careful if you’re reading this book!

Exhausting

The back and forth, the second guessing and repetivness of this book was maddening. The internal dialogue of the female MC made me want to stab myself. Could have been a decent story if the author would have actually given us more content of the actual story then the driveling mind of a teenage girl.

Sexual assault is not sexy

This book tries to paint a violent sexual assault of an underage girl as sexy. I’m disgusted.

Odd mix of adult and juvenile

I wanted to like it but its hard to get past the violent assault. I've seen similar rough/forced scenes work in other stories but I don't think it does in this one. There is zero consent and adamant "no's" that make the scenes hard to get through. So when you mix those very adult themes with a girl's childlike inner dialog it becomes distasteful. I tried and made it halfway through when I finally had to realize it wasn't going to get better. If you fantasize about legitimate force maybe this is for you. But it should have a trigger warning for anyone who has dealt with assault (more than the slight "bully" warning in the description). The main character is not a bully. He is a violent, sadistic predator and no back story could justify how violent he got. That is for some people. Just not for me. This is not a romance and if you are looking for any happy feelings look elsewhere.

Love it! Even though it is about 18 year olds...

The only issue I have is that the male voice is so obviously not even close to a teenagers that I kept thinking he was much older than Elsa.
In the first few chapters Elsa isn’t very relatable. And I would have liked her a bit more sassy. But give it time and things clear up.

Oh, the cover... like, really? Two thirty year olds...

Will likely be a DNF. Warning! TOXIC

The 2 main "plots" about this book are toxic. Way passed the point of just smutty romance. (which honestly was the better part) TW: multiple rape and sexual harassment scenes before the Stockholm syndrome slips in. But debatably worse than that..
Its insanely fatphobic. the best friend was unbearably fat until she lost 20 lbs? An obsession with describing her very restrictive diet? Yeah. If you have an ED, are susceptible to one, or do not have body confidence, don't read. It's so much. Comes up just as much as the smut scenes if not more.

If I manage to finish I will come back and potentially change my review. But so far, I'm not holding my breath.

Wow

narrators were amazing and story was great! I cant wait for next books. for sure ending is cliffhanger. I loved the story

Frustrating female narration

I purchased this audio book off the back of the great reviews I read beforehand. But I’m sorry to say my review really isn’t going to be up there with the good ones!
Firstly, Keira Stevens isn’t British (she’s American I believe) and her “posh” English accent was just so irritating. It was very obvious to me (someone who has been born and bred in London) that it was put on, and I wanted to scream at the way she pronounced water.... she almost sounded as though she had a slight oriental accent on that word!!! And the way Birmingham was pronounced Bir-ming-HAM... it’s just not pronounced that was in the Uk!! These are just a couple of examples, there were plenty of others through out the entire book but I don’t want to rip this narrator apart. I’ve heard her in other books when she talks naturally and have enjoyed the them just fine. But this one just didn’t do it for me. I just don’t believe they couldn’t find a British narrator for this book. Apart from that, yes the book comes with a warning about dubious situations... but they aren’t what I’d call dubious... some were very triggering and not remotely enjoyable to listen to. I’ve given performances 3stars but they are solely for Shane East... although again, I feel he sounds too old for the character he’s playing. There must be another slightly younger British narrator they can use. Every book with an Englishman in you can bet your life on Shane East being the voice! And while I think he’s got a great voice, it just doesn’t suit every English/Brit male!!!
All in all this book really just wasn’t for me.

Deviant King

Woah. I love bully romances and this one is one of the best I’ve ever listened to. I do want to warn you that this is a cliffhanger so be prepared to grab and jump right into the next. Holy cow, this book is going to give me a hangover it was so good. The characters and the drama make it a perfect escape from your everyday life.

#AudiobookObsessionReviewer

Steamy, Suspenseful Story with Amazing Narration

This is an edge of your seat kind of read! It’s smoking hot and these characters will both infuriate you and make you cheer!! The suspense the dubcon, all the games, and lively characters is fantastic!
The narrators are on spot! This was the first book I’ve listened to where the guy and girl talk back and forth. I thought it was neat! I’m excited about the next book being in both POVs!

What a cliffhanger!

I am speechless.... Wow.....
There is soooo much to process from this story. It has more twists than a bag of pretzels. It's a bit dark, a fair amount of OMG and a lot of sexy

***10 stars****

Some books deserve more than the 5 stars we can give them, and Rina Kent's Deviant King is one. If you love dark, delicious bully romances, this should be your next listen! Elsa has entered Royal Elite and is on course to get into Cambridge. Nervous as any student, she is looking to make friends. But what she gets is the King of the school as her personal bully. Aiden King is the man. All listen to him, and if you are on his blacklist, you can surely know you will be on it with everyone. Why has Aiden chose Elsa as his target? Spend the next several hours as we delve into the connection between Elsa and Aiden. It's dark, and I found myself in a love hate relationship with several of the characters. It's mysterious as we try to decipher the reasons why things happen, and as soon as you think you will burst with anger, something sweet and tender happens. It's an emotional push pull and a thrilling story, one you just cannot stop listening to. It does leave us on a cliffhanger, so I will be watching for book two!

Rina Kent picks the perfect narrators for this. Told from Elsa's point of view, Keira Stevens sets the pace with my favorite of her narrations. She is strong and confident, scared and fearless, clear headed and confused and most of all full of hate and loving. She carries the essence straight through letting us be Elsa. Shane East comes in with duet narration of all the male characters, but his portrayal of Aiden is mesmerizing. He has a way of sounding twisted at times and so angry but we can hear an underlying hurt. This team is fantastic and I can't wait for more!

Jury is still out on this series

Deviant King is a dark romance and I feel that it needs a trigger warning. It isn't the darkest story that I have read but there are some disturbing elements.
The plot is an intense one with the overall mystery probably being it's darkest aspect (in my opinion.) The story had a strong element of suspense that is well built and has some 'gasp' out loud elements. The steamy moments were not the most sensual that I have ever read, but they were ok and if this were a normal romance, then I would have given it a lower rating but the plot is what has engaged me and is what will keep me listening to more of the series.

Now for the narration. Shane East is an amazing narrator and his vocal talents are on full display throughout Deviant King. If he were the sole narrator then this would be 5 stars for the narration.

Keira Stevens' generic English accent was mostly good but if you are narrating a book and referring to places then you should check the pronunciation. The initial pronunciation of Cambridge was so wrong that I was unsure if that was the place she was referring to. Many British place names are not phonetic so checking out the correct pronunciation is imperative. She did correct that pronunciation later in the book and while her pronunciation of Birmingham (phonetically Bur-ming-um) wasn't perfect, but was not unrecognisable. Her actual accent wasn't too bad and the emotions and mood that she injected into the story were spot on.

I would still recommend listening to this one and I already have the next in series loaded and ready to play.

Wooh... how have I not come across this gem before

I've read quite a few bully romance books. In fact, so many I'm taking a break as they've started to blur together. However, Deviant King is something completely different. The characters are compelling and wholesome, the pace is spot on - and the setting is so easy to imagine.

It would seem there's quite a few clues throughout about an underlying plot, and I cannot wait to dive into the next one and learn more!

Dark Bully Romance

Deviant King by Rina Kent is a dark high school bully romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Shane East and Keira Stevens. This is the first book in the Royal Elite series and does end on a cliffhanger.

The book does come with a warning “This is a dark high school bully romance, mature new adult, and contains dubious situations that some listeners might find offensive. Aiden isn’t the normal romance hero. In fact, he’s not a hero at all. So please don’t listen to this if any of that bothers you.”

This is the first book of Rina’s that I have read and it definitely won’t be my last. Rina pulled me in from the very first chapter. Through the whole book I wanted to get into Aiden head! I absolutely loved the pull between Elsa and Aiden. I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series Steel Princess to get more of their story.

Shane and Keira did an amazing job on the narration! I absolutely love duet narration it just brings the story to life.

I would highly recommend this book if you love dark romance or bully romance.

AudiobookObsession
AudiobookObsessionReviewer
AudiobookObsessionVIPReviewer

Angsty bully romance

This is the first book I've read by Rina Kent. I listened to the audiobook and can I just say, wow, Shane East and Keira Stevens were amazing. Shane East is one of my favorite narrators- he does an amazing job with emotions, pacing, and he has a perfect voice for Aiden (I've actually been in a Shane East audiobook binge and he's perfect for all the characters he plays because he kind of just has the perfect voice and accent. haha). Keira Stevens is a perfect foil for Shane East as Aiden's enemy/lover Elsa, Beautiful control of her voice, beautiful representation of emotions. I cannot wait to listen to the other books in this series. Please note that this book is book one of a trilogy. Book 4 in the series will start the stories about the other Four Horsemen.

As the start of the series, this one did a bit of the world building. Aiden is the King (also his last name) of their high school and for 2 years, has tortured Elsa. Their senior year, things come to a head. As noted in the description, there are times of dubious consent but this book is crazy steamy. The back and forth, the push pull was so well done. It ends on a cliffhanger (and I'm sure it will for the next book as well.) I'm looking forward to seeing how they overcome their challenges and barriers to achieve their HEA (I hope they do!)

AudiobookObsessionReviewer, AudiobookObsession

Poor storytelling

I’ve read many school bully romances and this is a poor example.There is little suspense and the writing feels rather clumsy. Regarding the narration, I actually found the female narrator okay but the male narrator didn’t work here and I didn’t like the back and forth, male/female approach to the dialogue.
I didn’t like this book so much I stopped listening in the 3rd chapter and tried to return it - unsuccessfully. I didn’t qualify for some reason, which makes me sick.