Cruel King by K.M. Scott – Review by Stephanie Runyon

Cruel King by K.M. Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mathias King wants Ava. However, his father has warned him to leave her alone. Ava is best friends with his younger brother, Theo. They have grown up together and treated each other as a family. Now that she is nineteen years old, Ava’s father is overprotective and tells her not to leave the house. The snow is starting to fall, and he is driving the King family into the city for holiday shopping. After her father leaves, the power goes out in the house and Ava has no heat. She makes the trek up the hill to the King’s house. Only Mathias and Eleanor, the housekeeper, are home. Eleanor takes Ava’s wet clothes to dry. Ava is sitting in the living room when Mathias confronts her. He tells her to leave in the meanest way he can think of. Hurt, Ava puts her wet clothing back on and rushes out into the blizzard.

Mathias hears Eleanor scream. Ava has fallen into a snowbank head first. Mathias rushes out to bring her back inside. He carries Ava to his room, her ankle is sprained and she can’t put weight on it. After taking her wet clothing, Mathias makes sure Ava has a warm robe, but he still tells her she needs to leave. When she attempts to limp out of his room, Mathias stuns Ava when he kisses her. The start to something growing quickly fills two snow days. However, when Ava’s father takes her home, he decides she is going to leave immediately for her aunt in New Hampshire. Without the chance to say goodbye, Ava is gone. Mathias is crushed and anger fills him.

Cruel King has excellent tension and seeing the point of view from Ava, Mathias, and Theo provides a unique perspective to the story. Ava’s father casts an integral piece into the story and causes strife every step of the way. Can love last 5 years of separation? Did the two days even result in love? This is a 5 star book all the way and I recommend it.

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