The Kingmaker

I had high hopes for this one, but it didn’t fulfill any of the hopes I had. I picked this up because it was a romance with Native American representation. I had never read one before, and I thought it was really intriguing. What I liked about the book were all the Native American parts. I loved seeing a different culture and also reading a more personal view of American history and how different it can be for those who were abused by colonialism instead of those who profited from it. The parts I didn’t like about this book… were all related to the romance.

The premise honestly… gave me the ick. He meets her as a 24 year old while she is 17… UM… Why? It could have been such a quick adjustment by even a year. I know what you are thinking… What does a year really do? Maybe not much, but the amount of times it’s brought up about how he is lusting after a girl who “isn’t legal”… it just hit me wrong. It wasn’t just that she was young… it was that she wasn’t legal. -____- You can’t tell me that doesn’t give you the creeps. On top of that, there is a whole “virginity” plot line that also made me uncomfortable in the way it played out. Once again… not an inherently bad trope or subject to explore in a romance book, but the execution just had me feeling uncomfortable. There was also the fact that you couldn’t get two characters who were not made for each other. Their political views, backgrounds, and even morals were different. Their differences are spun to be the grounds for their “explosive” chemistry, but these characters are incredibly headstrong. To the point where it is toxic the way that they do not go together, yet they continue to pursue each other. In fact… I actually liked the main female lead. It was her WITH him that I didn’t like. If there had been a different person with her (one who wasn’t so full of red-flags), I would have liked this book so much more.

This book ends on a massive cliffhanger. One that you couldn’t see coming from a mile away. After reading an entire romance book and to have it end the way it did…. I know that I will be reading the sequel. But make no mistake. This is begrudging sequel read. I want to know what happens because I have already invested so much time already, but I honestly… don’t love this couple. I think they are both in massive need of therapy (and it’s not like they don’t have the money to afford one).

Overall… I wouldn’t recommend it, but I may not steer you away depending on the books you like. This definitely has spicy parts to it (which I wasn’t really a fan of because of multiple reasons but largely context and how it was written). It also deals with politics in a very heavy handed way (which can be good.. once again… it depends on your interests). I liked the political parts of the book and the Native American representation (its the only reason that I am rating it 2 stars if I am honest)… but that is it. The taste of disappointment is strong with this one.