Ruthless King

Kings of Rittenhouse, Book 3

By: Maya Hughes

Narrated by: Tanya Eby, Edward Bauer

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

My d*ck never got me in half as much trouble as my heart....

We were high school sweethearts. I was head over heels for her and no one could tell me we weren't going to last forever. College? Going pro? My family's money? None of it mattered. She was all I needed.

Then she ripped my heart out. But I'm not going to let that happen again.

She's back. Invading my life and acting like she was the wronged one. The pain is still there, but I can't keep my eyes off her. I can't stop thinking about her and how much was left unsaid between us. Being this close is making me question everything I thought I knew about her.

This time everything will be on my terms. Everything....

©2019 Maya Hughes (P)2019 Maya Hughes

Finally Emmett and Avery

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for Emmett’s and Avery’s story. This second-chance love story was a great addition to the Kings of Rittenhouse Series and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

Emmett and Avery were high school sweethearts. Emmett was ready to marry Avery, but they broke up when Emmett thought he caught Avery cheating on him. Since that time, they can’t be in the same room together. It was obvious from the beginning that Emmett had not gotten over Avery and he struggled with his anger towards her. When they end up staying in the same house with their friends for a summer vacation, they are forced to confront the past and feelings that had never died.

Emmett had a dramatic transformation after he broke up with Avery. He became jaded and he doesn’t believe deep down that he’s worthy of love. His pain leads him to be cruel to Avery when he really just wants to forgive her. I loved watching Emmett rediscover his heart and happiness and realizing what is really important in life.

Avery is such a selfless character. She sacrifices her happiness and dreams for those she loves over and over again. She has never believed she was good enough for Emmett and when he walked away so easily from her, she thought it was for the best. I really felt Avery’s pain, but I did just want to shake and her and have her confess the whole truth to Emmett.

The narration for Ruthless King was once again spot on. I could feel the pain and heartbreak as well as the joy and happiness in the narrators' voices and they really brought the story alive for me.

Emmett and Avery truly belonged together and their story was passionate, emotional, and heartwarming. Now I can’t wait for Ford’s story.

Tension, emotion and angst

I enjoyed this book. Emmett and Avery's story is a combination enemies-to-lovers/second chance at love. There is lots of tension, emotion and angst as their story unfolds. I liked both characters but I also felt very frustrated with them. Pair that with the actual storyline and I ended up having conflicted feelings about them and just wished they both had been smarter and way more open and honest about it all. Still, overall I thought that it was a good read in a very enjoyable series. I do recommend that you read/listen to these books in order. Dual narration on this book and I thought it was very well done.

Second chance to Love!

This is the third book in the Kings of Rittenhouse Series, a Sports Romance, with interconnected characters. I love this Series! Avery and Emmett's second chance to love is beautifully written. Avery is lovely, selfless, caring, and independent. Emmett is handsome. They are so perfect together. Their story is filled with angst, misunderstandings. The storyline is heartbreaking and heartwarming afterward. The back and forth, past to present, is well done and easy to follow. I love the friendship in this Series. This is a great addition to the Series. Tanya Eby and Edward Bauer did a great job with the narration. Edward Bauer is a new narrator to me, and I love his voice. Now, I can't wait to listen to Fearless King, Ford's story.

Ruthless King

Emmett and Avery's story is a thread that has run through the other books in the series, so I was curious to finally find out all the details of what happened between them.

Emmett and Avery were high school sweethearts and he was set to propose to her. Then one night their relationship is torn apart and they go their separate ways. They still have mutual friends, though, and end up at a vacation home everyone is sharing at the same time.

It is finally an opportunity to work things out but there is a lot of hurt and history to overcome. Ruthless King is an emotional rollercoaster. Both Emmett and Avery have family issues and a difficult time trusting others. I especially felt for Avery as she struggled with her finances and taking care of her dad and sister. I really liked her and wanted to see her and Emmett finally get their happily ever after.

I really enjoyed getting to jump back into the Kings of Rittenhouse world and spend time with the whole crew. It was fun catching up with each character and getting hints of what's to come.

The narration for the audiobook is fabulous once again. I love how different narrators have been used for each book in the series so each of the main characters has a distinct voice.

Emmett and Avery are perfect!!!!!

By far and away, Ruthless King is my favorite Rittenhouse book! Emmett and Avery are sizzling chemistry and endless passion wrapped in a blanket of fate and adoration.

Avery and Em were perfect high school sweethearts - Em was smitten almost instantly and ended up being an incredibly sweet, sexy, and thoughtful boyfriend. And Avery was right there with him. The love between them was undeniable and yet, as still basically kids, they have a lot to learn. Pride and misunderstandings get in their way and end up keeping them apart. The kind of apart that has them sprinting for the door if the other is even in the same room (that tension is hot though!) even years later.

But it's been years and a holiday beach vacation finally forces them to set it aside so they can both enjoy being around friends so they don't have to take sides. It's a rough go at first but once they drop their pride and hash out the past, they start to rediscover nothing ever really left them when they broke up. Their chemistry goes full force, but even with the past resolved and the lies that tore them apart cleared up, the insecurities the past caused still linger.

It was so emotionally wrenching to uncover all the factors that really lead into the breakup when they were in high school. I had my suspicions about who was behind it but the full extent of it just left me reeling. And once the air was cleared and nothing stood between them, my heart leaped for joy at how far Em was willing to go to prove to Avery that he loved and trusted her without a doubt.

Good second chance romance

Emmett is the kind of book boyfriend that I love to hate. He is broody and mean to his ex, but believes he has every right to be. Avery walked away from Emmett once because she had to. If he gives her another chance, she wants a future with him. The secret that festers between them threatens to destroy them once again. Emmett struggles to trust Avery and Avery struggles with telling Emmett the truth. These two work through a lot to find their way back to one another.

I love this group of friends. They are there for Emmett and Avery for everything and even pushed them to make things right. I loved Avery and her backbone and the way she protected her family. This was a good story in this series.

I loved how the narrators brought these two to life. Great narration!

Female narrator makes me

Want to stab myself in the eye. Male narrator is excellent. Female narrator is too stiff and there is no natural flow to her storytelling. Also, she speaks to fast. I had to force myself to get thru this bc I love the story (actually read the series earlier this year), but female narrator made it rough.

Subpar narration.

I love this whole series, and was looking forward to Emmet and Avery’s story. While the story itself is on par with the others in the series, the narration makes it a difficult listen. I don’t understand how someone who lisps and over enunciates casual dialogue to the point of distraction gets hired to be a professional narrator, but romance writers need to be more discriminating when choosing narrators for their work.

Good story.

Tanya Eby articulated too much, and I didn't enjoy either narrator. Would have been better with Teddy Hamilton and Erin Mallon.