The King (Endgame) Paperback – June 23, 2017

Whenever I start a Skye Warren book I have to take a deep breath and immerse myself in her genius. I may not understand how exactly the pieces will fall but I have to trust that my mind will be blown. That's exactly how she left me after reading The King. I was elated, moved and HUNGRY for more. I could not get enough of Damon and his Penny and wait with bated breath for The Queen. If you steadily followed Penny and Damon's story from the beginning we see how they met in the Prince and her capture as a player in Jonathan Scott's diabolical game in Orchard. From there in The Castle we see the aftermath of those actions but never really see and feel it from Penny's eyes. The King gives us this missing perspective we needed. We get to see it all in the perspective of the "Peasant" in the land of Princes and Kings. Like Avery before her, Penny is the noblest of creatures willing to sacrifice her dignity and self worth in the name of her father. But unlike Avery, Penny paid the price at the hands of Jonathan Scott who left her broken - mind and body. Now in The King we see the ramifications of that and the electric and fiery chemistry between Penny and Damon. She is his weakness and as a result, paid the ultimate price. But what happens to the noble Peasant in the land of the new King? Will she ultimately become the strongest player in the game? What I loved about The King is that throughout the different books and novellas, the author geniously kept Penny as one of the strongest players on the board. Yes - she was victimized and brutalized. But she never really lost her strong voice and convictions. Through everything she's  been through  - one thing has always remained constant:  she has always wanted to remain free and in control of her own mind and body. And Damon. Oh sweet, protective, dark and cunning Damon. He was the most amazing character of all. We saw him truly evolve from The Prince all the way to The King. From protector and confidant to magnificent Dark Savior and like a fine wine, over the years their relationship evolved and dark passion simmered between them. Taboo? yes. Equally exciting and delicious? HECK YES! But fact is fact - She is his Penny and he is her King. I am so deeply excited about The Queen as I have to know what happens between them. The author left me needing more and on the precipice of a cliff. I am slowly dying for more but honestly it's the best way to go. No one can write like Ms. Warren. They can try but they really can't. It's fact.  Her storylines are golden and her words are almost lyrical. This is why she is on another level. The King was sensual and filled with a dark promise of what's to come. I for one am excited to find out. Skye Warren really is brilliant. She left us little breadcrumbs in Orchard, the Prince, The Castle and finally in The King and it's up to us to put it all together. Every little piece and player has their own part and when she decides it's time.. all the pieces fall together perfectly. She is the ultimate maestro in a perfectly played orchestra. We just need to sit back, enjoy and prepare to be blown away. Bravo! 5 Stars! ~Ratula

The King by Skye WarrenOnce again Ms Warren has delivered another captivating story. Penny is a young, innocent girl with an addiction for maths and problem solving. Damon, a young teenager trying to escape his crazy father while at the same time drawn to a very young Penny. He only wants to protect her. Her father’s gambling addiction makes her the pawn in Jonathan Scotts and Damon Scotts game. Jonathan knows that she is his son’s weakness and he plans to harm them both in despicable ways. You wonder if these two can survive and if there is ever a chance they can be together. While she is young, Damon protects her like a brother or does he? The book is filled with betrayal, mystery, angst and building climax. The characters are not easy characters especially Damon. He is mysterious, evil, broken and yet there is something more about him. Penny is book smart and kind. She tries to find the good in most people. I cannot wait to read the next instalment of this series to find out if Penny can walk away from Tanglewood and Damon.Reviewed for Hot books and Sassy Girls book blog

Holy hell, Skye Warren... what have you done to me now?I can't get enough. I can't. Skye Warren's writing is my drug. Her books offer euphoria, an addiction that, even in its darkness, its ugliness, its ability to pull you into the deep recesses of despair, it feels so lush going down. Warren's writing is nothing short of stunning in The King, her storytelling grows darker, smarter, more beautiful, the crafting more meticulous with each new storyline. Skye Warren demonstrates her genius in the first half of this duet, weaving a complex story of terror and treachery and unrequited longing,a story with a jaw-dropping ending that has left me starved for more, desperate for another hit.I've decided that what I love most about Skye Warren's books, what I find so addictive about them, is the dynamic she creates with her characters, the juxtaposition of a vulnerable, broken female desperate for warmth with an impenetrable, hardened man who rarely shows softness toward her. It's an addiction, this need to see him brought down, to find the cracks in his armor, to see him show kindness and affection when it's so clearly against his nature to do so. Her stories often involve a remote, emotionally unattainable man whose only soft spot is a woman, but where the evidence of that truth we're so rarely allowed to see. That is true for Damon and Penny, and my need to see him succumb, to allow himself to be what she wants when it seems so impossible, that, along with this captivating, horrifying storyline, had me turning these pages hungrily.Damon's world is one of darkness and sin, a war to survive amidst the most undesirable dregs of society. Somewhere along the way he met Penny and found in her something that he had to protect. Despite the fact that she's so young, despite the fact that he never showed her that he had any solid plans to be with her, never showed her any affection, there's no denying something was there. And that something drives this plot, holding me ensnared in a storyline that never felt good to read, as Warren's stories often don't, but that I couldn't look away from.Children paying for the sins of the fathers with skin and sex and soul has been a recurring theme through many of Skye Warren's last few books. I was first introduced to Damon Scott in The Pawn, a story where a naive but privileged girl loses everything due to her father's reckless greed, so she reluctantly auctions off her virginity in order to save the only thing she has left. In The King, an equally naive but destitute girl finds herself in the harrowing position of being forced to pay her father's debts with the only thing she has to her name... her soul. I thought the dynamic between Gabriel Miller and Avery James (The Endgame Series) was a complicated one. The circumstances surrounding Damon Scott and Penny might be even more so. Their situation is just as complicated, woven together by a similar pain, by a war with a common villain, but in many ways it's even more insane. This story is so dark, so twisted, so gripping, I couldn't get enough. I'm DYING for The Queen, for some hope, for a chance at a happy ending in a world where they don't exist.

Viel versprechende Story wenn auch ziemlich düster und unrealistisch. Leider hat mir der Schreibstil gar nicht zugesagt. Bin manchmal durch die ganzen Zeitsprünge nicht mehr mitgekommen. Viele interessante Stellen sind auch einfach übersprungen worden. Leider sehr schwammig das ganze.

Loved it! Loved all of the books from the series. Waiting for The Queen so I can finish reading the series. Great read!

Una serie che non stanca. Complimenti!

I loved this story but it was too short and september is too far away to wait for part two.I loved the strength in Penny's character and even though she went through a devastating experience she survived better than Damien did.Damien was very mixed up but it was understandable when you realised he was sixteen when he meet the right woman for him unfortunately she was 6 and that would mess with anyone. Especially when it was her brilliant genius mind he fell for. Damien's been watching from a distance and allowing her the space to grow up without interference but this goes wrong when Penny's father offers her to a monster in exchange for entrance to a poker game. Poor Damien keeps trying to do the right thing and let her go but when came time to execute just couldn't go through with it, leaving a very confused Penny.I would love to know how much the buy in was as they had access to a 10,000 uncashed check.Their was an inconsistency from the end of the previous trilogy regarding Damien and the end of this book but hopefully this is addressed in the next one

This story lacks of depth and is way too evasive, it's difficult sometimes to understand what happened, you often have to guess or imagine. That's a bit of a shame because this is the kind of story I could fall in love with. Too Bad :s