Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The King’s Man: Book I
SERIES: The King’s Man
AUTHOR: Anyta Sunday
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 272 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2025
BLURB:
Healing is his calling. Love is his curse. And this is just the beginning.
Cael knows the rules: healing magic is for the privileged, and par-linea like him exist only to serve. But when his forbidden spellbooks vanish and his father arranges his marriage to settle a debt, he flees into the royal woods, where he stumbles upon dying soldiers and a poisoned noble.
Using illegal medius magic, he saves the noble’s life, only to entangle himself in a dangerous game of politics. Now hunted for magic he shouldn’t possess, his only escape is to secretly compete in the mage examinations and prove himself a true vitalian.
But the capital is a den of vipers, and two men stand in his way: Silvius, the secretive fugitive who saved his life and kissed him like a promise, and Quintus, the sharp-tongued merchant who challenges him at every turn.
Both dangerous.
Both holding secrets.
Both about to change his life forever.
THE KING’S MAN is an epic romantasy filled with slow-burn passion, courageous choices, and the relentless spirit of a healer determined to beat all odds.
This six-book series is one continuous journey and romance arc and is best read in order for maximum enjoyment.
For readers who love:
- A slow-burn, rivals-to-lovers romance filled with tension
- A rebellious healer who refuses to bow to the system
- A mysterious noble with a sharp tongue and sharper secrets
- Forbidden magic, political intrigue, and high-stakes deception
- Perfect for fans of “The Captive Prince,” “The Magician’s Guild,” and “The Priory of the Orange Tree.”
REVIEW:
Cael is a par-linea – and as such he can’t be a healer. Only pure linea have that privilege. But he has skills. He’s learned from his grandfather and has maintained his books over the years. He’s still young (there is as reference to him being 14 at one point – so that’s my only age clue). He’s putting his entire family in danger though practicing healing without the proper background and training.
When his father tells him he’s to be married and that he’s already spent half of the dowry, well Cael is desperate to get away. Despite his families best efforts he does escape. During his escape he ends up saving someone of a much higher station. The man takes him to stay at an estate. He’s calling himself Silvius.
Eventually Cael returns home – he’s got the money now to save his family and repay the dowry. Turns out his intended bride WANTED him for his healing abilities. But now that’s gone sour too 🙁
Cael is determined to get training as a healer though. He’s got to benefactors – the aforementioned Silvius and the merchant Quin who keeps showing up. What do these two men want from him? Have they met before? Can they protect and teach him? Can he get his heart’s desire? There is much treachery afoot though and danger around the society and the royal family.
I will admit that I REALLY struggled with this book for a while. It took me quite a few days to read it which generally isn’t a good thing for me. I kind of felt like I walked into the middle of a movie and had no idea what was going on. There is a LOT to try to absorb – particularly in the first few chapters which are snippets/incidents that fly by with little explanation or exposition as to what is happening and who and where these people are. It takes until at least half way through this book to sort of get a foothold on the world and the different groups/people in it and I didn’t love that. The story is told entirely from Cael’s POV, so the revelations of the backstories of the other characters is slow in coming. The story ends not so much on a cliffhanger as opposed to the next step in a journey. As there are 5 more books, this is definitely going to be a long haul arc 😉 So far Cael has only had his first kiss and there are two vying for his attention. I’m hoping that the next books in the series go more smoothly for me now that the worldview is more clear. I still have a lot of questions about the nature of this magic and this world, but at least the characters are coming more into view for me. There is a lot of action with Cael’s life careening out of control many times. He’s impulsive and driven in his desire to be a healer and sometimes that has consequences. Overall the pace of the second half of the book was much better for me. We still don’t know a lot about Quin but we do know more about Silvius by the end of this book. I have some ideas, but I’m sure that Ms. Sunday will throw a lot more twists and turns in this series. Recommended.
RATING: 
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