Title: King of Hearts
Series: Hearts #3; can be read as a standalone, however I recommend reading Hearts of Fire first.
Author: L.H Cosway
Release Date: 16 July, 2015
Rating: 5+++++ stars
Cliffhanger:. No
Welcome to the City, London’s most prestigious square mile, where finance reigns and Oliver King is a rising prince.
There might be wolves on Wall Street, but there were crocodiles in Canary Wharf. Some of us craved money. Some of us craved power.
I liked money, and power had its advantages, but what I really wanted was to excel, to surpass the men who came before me. I never cared much for love and romance until I met Alexis.
I could feel it the very moment she walked into the interview, with her outspoken charm and vivacious personality. She cast all the others in shadow, made me laugh when life held no humour. Our friendship should have remained professional, but it wasn’t long before the lines started to blur.
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, I never foresaw where my plans would lead, and only in my darkest hour did I finally see the light…
You can have all the money and prestige in the world and still be the poorest man alive. And love, well, I hate to use a tired old cliché, but love can be the thing that truly sets you free.
I’d almost forgotten that King and I had anything even resembling a friendship until he sidled into the office on Friday morning looking like the cat that got the cream. And all of that smug delight was being firmly directed at me. He said his usual hellos to both Gillian and Eleanor, then came to stand in front of me, arms folded, a gigantic smile on his face.
“You’re looking particularly lovely today, Miss Clark,” he said with a flourish.
I glanced at him for a second, frowned, and then continued typing. What was his game? Eleanor got up from her seat and went to use the bathroom, and still he remained standing there like a complete and total oddball, as Gillian’s voice talking on the phone filled the room. Finally, I gave in.
“Can I help you with something?”
“I could fucking kiss you right now,” he beamed and I sucked a breath.
Okay. Trying to play it nonchalant, I replied, “For what exactly?”
“That social media start-up we discussed the other day? Well, immediately after we spoke I lined up one of my clients as an investor and guess what?”
I stared at him. “What?”
“The site has gone viral overnight. Apparently, a couple of celebrities started using it and now they’re getting new sign-ups by the bucket load.” He leaned forward and braced both his hands on the edge of my desk. “This client was an important one and he currently thinks I shit daisies. And I have you to thank for it, Alexis. You’re a flipping genius!”
I couldn’t help my smile. He really was laying it on thick and heavy. “Shall I whip out my cock for you to suck now or later? Jeez Ollie, toneit down a little.”
He blinked at me, and then a second later he was laughing. It was good thing Eleanor wasn’t around and that Gillian was too preoccupied with her phone call to hear what I’d said.
“Did you just call me Ollie?”
Supressing a smirk, I nodded, still typing. A beat of silence passed.
“Did you also just refer to me sucking your cock?”
“Well, you’ve already opened the button and pulled down the fly, you might as well finish the job,” I quipped and amusement lit his eyes.
He stared at me for so long that I began to get uncomfortable. His smile naturally faded, and now his expression grew serious. “I’m going to put a bonus in your first pay check at the end of the month. Think of it as a consultant’s fee.”
It’s probably the hundredth time (or at least it feels like that to me) when I am challenged to write down my thoughts about Lorraine Cosway’s book and it’s absolutely stressing, hair pulling, nails biting task. I want my review to be simply perfect and worthy of the author’s work. I actually feel the need to make my gushing review (because how can it not be gushing? It’s L.H Cosway book we are talking about) sparkle and be just tiny little bit as magical and heart capturing as the book I’ve just read.
By now though, I know it’s completely impossible. There is absolutely nothing sparkle worthy inside my head right now. Frankly, right now my brain reminds me of big puddle of mushy goo filled with scattered thoughts and fangirling squeals. So there is a great possibility my review will be one hot mess of ‘ohs and ahs’ and one of the longest praises of the author’s talent.
“I never stopped loving you, not even in my darkest hour.”
From the moment we were introduced to the mysterious and broken Oliver King in Hearts of Fire I was sure I was in for a hell of a ride. I was anticipating King’s story like a junkie anticipates his next fix – lots of screaming in pain and nervous breakdowns; there was nothing pretty about it, I assure you. I wanted my hands on this book so much that when my wish finally came true I was an unstoppable beast, simply flaying through the pages of it. I don’t regret a single minute.
King of Hearts is told in Alexis Clark POV. Divided into two parts titled ‘Before’ and ‘After’, we slowly learn all the details of Oliver King’s heart wrenching past. With every new discovered puzzle I fell in love with him even harder.
‘Before’ is engaging, heart fluttering, LOL romance, that will warm you up and make you addicted to the main characters and their banter and theatrics. In this part we meet Oliver King on the top of his game as a successful, energetic businessman with spark and sass. Alexis is employed by him as his PA and they quickly become friends. Slowly we learn their history and the events that placed Oliver in the position from Hearts of Fire.
‘After’ is completely different tale, however. It’s heartbreaking journey of healing, letting go and fighting with the scariest demons. It’s also absolutely breathtaking and captivating.
King of Hearts managed to throw me on my knees, break my heart over and over again and then mend it carefully and put big smile on my face. The story of Alexis and Oliver was simply amazing! Incredibly sensual, moving and exceptionally beautiful journey of love I have never had the chance to read about before. It felt so real and so magical at the same time, I still feel like crying from all of those emotions building inside me, even though few days has passed since I finished reading Oliver’s story.
From the start to finish the author’s fabulous storytelling kept me on my toes. Lorraine has the amazing ability to capture all of me – she uses words as the greatest tool and enslaves me with them; she creates tales so vivid and real my little heart is not able to take all of it without racing like crazy and then stopping once in a while. They are just so bittersweet and decadent; and yet they are the thing I crave the most. I never want to stop climbing on her rollercoasters. I never want to stop reading her stories and living inside them.
King Of Hearts is the absolute winner of Summer 2015; I just know it, despite it being only July. I can’t even imagine reading a book better than this one, so I’m putting Oliver and Alexis as the The King and Queen of Summer reading. There will be no couple as engaging and beautiful as them.
L.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books.
♥ READ THE BOOKS ♥
Six of Hearts
Hearts of Fire
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King of Hearts
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