King's Rule: A Sexy Billionaire Romance

3.5 stars--KING’S RULE is the second instalment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult KINGS OF SYDNEY erotic, romance series focusing on the King siblings of Sydney, Australia. This is thirty-year old investment whiz Xander King, and twenty-five year old architect graduate Poppy Valentine’s story line. KING’S RULE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary. NOTE: KING’S RULE contains scenes of discipline and spanking, Domination and submission, that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers. Told from dual first person perspectives (Xander and Poppy) KING’S RULE follows the acrimonious relationship between step-siblings, thirty year old investment whiz Xander King, and twenty-five year old architect graduate Poppy Valentine. Months earlier, the King brothers took over their father’s real-estate business, a business with ties to the local mob. With their father now in jail for money laundering and fraud, Xander, Leon and Ajax King struggle to clean up a reputation inherited based upon sins of the past but what Xander never expected was to come face to face with his father’s step-daughter, a woman who, for years, has pushed all of Xander’s buttons-both good and bad. Enter Poppy Valentine, architect graduate, and a woman desperate in more ways than one. What ensues is the enemies to lovers relationship between Poppy and Xander, and the potential fall-out as Xander wants nothing more than a friends with benefits affair, leaving Poppy struggling to make sense of it all. Xander has a secret that if revealed would likely destroy the tentative hold he has on our story line heroine. Broken and hurt, blaming herself for her father’s death, Poppy battles between head and heart feeling as though she has surrendered her soul to the Devil, himself. The relationship between Xander and Poppy is tempestuous, at best, ever since a ten-year old Poppy found herself the step-sister to Leon, Xander and Ajax King. From the outset Poppy struggled to fit into the family, a family she refused to accept or love. Hurt, humiliated and grieving, Poppy would make Xander’s life miserable right from the start, misery disguised to hide a growing attraction to her new elder step-brother. A distinct lack of maturity, and the ever-present sibling squabbles was exhausting; the back and forth aggression, and onslaught of emotional tirades left something to be desired. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense. The secondary and supporting characters are colorful and energetic. We are reintroduced to Xander’s brothers Leon and Ajax, as well as the introduction of Poppy’s mother Lily Valentine. KING’S RULE is a story of family, heart break, blackmail and love. The premise is dramatic and energetic; the romance is erotic; the characters are immature, broken and struggling to fit.

This is a wonderfully steamy twisted tale written in the fashion that only Jackie Ashenden can pull off. Xander King can be brass, obnoxious, and overbearing. Yet so incredibly sexy Poppy can't help but want him. Xander and Poppy, his one time step sister, may appear to hate each other but the fiery chemistry between them pulls them together. His dominance drives her wild and Poppy is soon wishing for more. Will she still feel that way when she discovers the secret Xander's been keeping about her father's death? Fantastic read and one I highly recommend.

This contemporary romance keeps readers well entertained throughout as a billionaire and his stepsister navigate a hate / love relationship. Xander and Poppy are strong characters that stand out as they draw readers into their story. The relationship between is earthquake shaky and full of snark, attitude, stubborn clashes and sizzling chemistry. The passion burns hot both in their heated arguments and during their intimate times together and the emotional turmoil that takes place during this relationship is quite intense. Readers can’t practically feel the energy between Xander and Poppy leap off the pages as they go head to head in battle, well actually the energy can be felt throughout the story no matter what the couple is doing. The plot is fast paced and keeps readers well entertained with some chuckle worthy events, some heart tugging events and quite a bit of suspense as both characters are holding back due to past events and secrets that they don’t want to let go of. But on the down side of that, readers may find some of the antics between Xander and Poppy to be a bit overdone, although this can easily be overlooked due to the fact that it is also quite amusing and there is enough of the sweet and romantic fall in love events to balance it out, which keeps readers turning the pages.