The Rulers (Heartless Kingdom, #0.5) by K.I. Lynn Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Rulers is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

Atticus has been placed on a time crunch in order to maintain the life he currently lives, and Ophelia may be the solution to all of his problems. After a one-night stand that seems to linger in both of their minds nearly one year after the encounter, their lives are about to be utterly upheaved. I am an absolute sucker for the marriage of connivence trope, especially when the pair have a short history together -- even better when we have a cold-hearted CEO that is in a bind. And with the added bonus of some serous family drama on Atticus's side of the story, I am sure the future installments can only take readers down an interesting path.

With dual perspectives, I enjoyed seeing Atticus and Ophelia's separate lives and the interactions that they shared with one another. Too often in romance books you only see the characters as extensions of their relationship, rather than as individuals who are in a relationship with each other. Ophelia and Atticus share a number of similar traits, but it is clear that they have lived two completely different lives, which I can only imagine can cause them to butt heads in the future.

This was a great set up to the rest of the story, and does not leave the reader on a major cliffhanger, but rather leave the reader with the knowledge that something will definitely happen, it is only a matter of when and how. The end can seem abrupt to some, but I viewed it as a growing point in the series where the development can truly begin to take root. I can see how the side characters will be integrated into Atticus and Ophelia's story, and was pleased with how the author was fleshing out their personalities without abandoning their development in favor of the leads.

Fans of Lexy Timm and contemporary romance with a bit of a kick to it will certainly enjoy this introduction to Atticus and Ophelia's story -- I know I will definitely be finding my way back to this series to see what is in store for this stubborn pair.

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