Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: War of the Wicked

SERIES: Lucifer’s Landing

AUTHOR: Davidson King

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 235 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 4, 2023

BLURB:

Lucifer’s Landing is full of unscrupulous people: five families desperate to own every inch. For years, under the watchful and most powerful eye, there has been peace. With the murder of the most powerful man, it’s as if the gates of Hell have opened.

Dante Scavo is trying to fill his father’s shoes, find the person responsible for killing him, and stop Lucifer’s Landing from becoming a war zone. He has to focus, find out who the traitor among his ranks is, and end them. The last thing he needs is a distraction, but when he meets Rainn, one look, one touch, takes his breath away.

Rainn Blessings is no stranger to strong and powerful men. His life is about survival and getting to a place where he finds his peace, though sometimes that means being the fantasy of others. Working as a high-class escort he’s seen a lot…done a lot…and not much surprises him. Then Dante walks into The Magic Mirror and turns his world upside down.

With an unlikely ally, Rainn and Dante try to survive the storm, but no one is bulletproof or untouchable in the game of violent delights. Getting out unscathed is impossible; the question is: will they get out alive?

***Please see start of book for trigger warning

REVIEW:

Fans of this author will immediately recognise the formula. This is Christopher and Snow re-skinned. I am not complaining about that. If it aint broken, don’t try to fix it. It looks as if the series will follow a similar formula to the previous Haven Hart and Joker’s Sin, in that each book will follow a couple at least one of whom has been introduced in previous stories. I very much enjoy this formula and look forward to seeing who pairs up.

The story is written in multiple, first person, POV, mainly the two main characters for the relevant story. This was written from the POV’s of Dante and Rainn, with a section or two from Ren. This style of writing can be an acquired taste and I understand it is not for everyone. For myself, I like the immediacy of it. We get to see what’s going on in the heads of the characters as things happen, and we see misunderstandings and problems arise before they have an affect on the characters. Some might see this as spoiling the surprise but I like to be able to watch the way the growing situation is affecting the characters, knowing what’s behind it. I like to watch people walk into pits I know are there. The author still manages to drop in surprises and the way the situations are resolved are often unexpected.

The author has always has a talent for writing diverse and fascinating characters, and she’s not disappointed in this story. Even characters that are objectively unimportant, like Barry, have colour and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in later books.

Of all the characters we’ve met so far, my favourite is Ren, although I am sure opinions will vary widely, mostly in the favour of Dante and Rainn, I suspect.

The writing is not always flawless, and I would be remis not to mention this. However, I am firmly of the opinion that story considerably and consistently outweighs technical skill, and I did not at any time feel the standard of the writing was getting in the way of the story at all.

I was fully engaged from the first words and I was pulled into the story by two extremely vivid and very different characters. Although Dante and Rainn are reminiscent of Christopher and Snow, they are different enough to be unique and I fell in love with both of them. The story is exciting and grips you from the very start, dragging you through twists and turns in growing excitement. There are definitely plenty of thrills as well as character development and emotional connection.

I have been a long-tine fan of the author and I am very excited at the start of a new series that has so much promise and the potential to out-do them all

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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