The Dark King
The Dark King by Gina L Maxwell
Published in 2022
Main Couple: Bryn and Caiden
The Story: On a free trip to Vegas, Bryn meets Caiden, to the world a rich billionaire and to his people the king of the dark elves. They end up married after a night of drinking and set off a curse that requires them to stay close or Caiden dies. Is their connection all magic or are they bound by something more?
The Sex: One of my favorite representations of exploring kink. (For Bryn. Caiden is deep into that.) Now, it’s not perfect, but I think there are more pluses here. It’s funny that we get all the fun, flirty, lead up to them having sex. The first time(s) they have sex are off the page. We are then left with the aftermath of their magical drugged sex. So they basically have to relearn how to be with each other. Bryn using seduction as a tool to potentially get out of there bites her so hard in the ass. I loved watching both of them try to build a wall against the other and fail miserably. Once Caiden plays with a safe word, he does a great job to checking in with Bryn during scenes. Not just at the beginning, or at the end, but throughout. That’s important during sex in general, and critical during play. Feelings change during play. This might be a polarizing statement, but I don’t mind the names during sex. Bryn likes being called a slut and a whore during play. I’m not going to tell her she’s wrong. Like with most kink in books, there’s a lot of negotiation I feel is missing. It feels like that’s the standard, but I still want more! Let’s evolve!
Favorite Lines: I had such a hard time bringing my list of quotes down
*These first 4 show the tone so well.*
“A girl can always use fresh fantasy fodder.” Chapter 5 Truth!
“I actually danced in a crowded nightclub like some ordinary fuck-boy.” Chapter 7 What a great understanding of your actions.
“Stop lusting after the sexy jerk, Bryn!” Chapter 29 What positive self talk. Lol!
“Happy Queen, Happy Peen.” Chapter 33 Such a great line!
“Quick side note - and I know this is okay to mention - ‘women’ and ‘men’ only refer to humans. We use ‘female,’ ‘male,’ or simply ‘fae’ for those who identify as other, neither, or somewhere in between.” Chapter 10 That’s how easy it is.
“It’s a strange thought - one I doubt I would’ve ever considered having before him - and yet I’m completely at ease with it. Submitting to him sexually brings me a sense of peace and rightness I’ve never had with another man, so I don’t plan on questioning it or caring if others might think I deserve to have my feminist card revoked. I only care that Caiden promises what I’ve always craved…complete and utter surrender.” Chapter 15 I think that the idea of being submissive in any way has been viewed as anti-feminist, rather that what it is, a personal preference. It’s nice to see Bryn accept this about herself.
“This isn’t kissing. It’s depraved, filthy mouth-fucking.” Chapter 16 What a line!
“Kink allows you to embrace the part of yourself that isn’t given free rein in your everyday life.” Chapter 16 Agreed.
“Thankfully, she’s properly blissed out in subspace, but she’ll be dropping now that the scene if over, and it’s my job to provide the aftercare that will allow her to come down slowly and help with any complicated emotions that can sometimes arise.” Chapter 16 Yes. I’m glad they talked about aftercare. This is your reminder that subs can also provide aftercare for doms.
“if you ever use a scene to manipulate me again, I’ll put my castration knowledge to good use.” Chapter 22 FUCK YES! It was such bad form for Caiden to do this. I’m so glad that we see Bryn tell him how wrong she views that and explain that there will not be a next time.
Least Favorite Lines:
“I’ve never had a man use intuition or read my body language in order to bring me pleasure. Not that there’s anything wrong with expressing what you want in the bedroom, but damn. It’d be great if I didn’t have to for a change.” Chapter 5 I know this sounds lovely, but don’t expect people to read your mind. And unless your very loud or have a large physical reaction to stimuli, they might not be able to read your body immediately. Communication is sexy!!!!
“Normally, my sexual partners would get a safe word, but the whole point of this exercise is to get her to call it off and not want a repeat performance. For the first time ever, my goal is to not get a female to orgasm.” Chapter 12 Still nope. Because it’s followed by: “Since the bond makes me sensitive to her energy, I won’t need a safe word to know whether I’m pushing her too far. If she becomes afraid or anxious, I’ll feel it.” Chapter 12 Still nope. She needs to be able to stop this herself.
“What gives you pleasure is for me to decide. Do you understand?” Chapter 15 This gave me the ick because they never actually negotiated. I know she liked him saying this, but I would be more comfortable with this phrase in a scene if they’d talked about limits at all.
“She grasps my shaft in one hand and blinks in surprise when she realizes her fingertips are still and inch away from her thumb.” Chapter 16 I’d gasp too. That’s too fucking big.
Final Thoughts:
The chemistry between these is compelling. I appreciate how Gina L. Maxwell is honest about how stuff like the nickname “Beauty” can be cheesy from most, but adored from the correct person. She’s created an engaging couple that I went on a journey with. Honestly, their communication needs work. Caiden doesn’t explain things to her, and then Bryn makes decisions that have unintended consequences. I don’t even blame her when she wasn’t told! I do blame her for running away because she refused to talk to Caiden about her own feelings. Seriously, this could’ve been solved so much earlier. In the end, they come together as a couple and make some hard decisions about how they are going to live their life. I can’t wait to see what happens to them next.
Spice Level: 3/5 (but what’s there is good!)
Kinks Explored: Bondage, Impact, D/s, orgasm control, some degradation
Voices Heard: Turns out everyone is Fae, but they are mostly described as though they are white.
Did I like it? <3