God of Malice (Standard Edition) (Legacy of Gods, 1) Paperback – October 29, 2024

I did LOVE this book. BUT, I do have some serious thoughts, and no the concerns aren’t going to be what probably people think they should be lol. BTW for the love of all that created this world READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. FFS the book starts out as a giant trigger warning 😅🤣. Which absolutely was not a issue for me. Okay moving onto what my serious thoughts are. I absolutely love that she wasn’t just like “Killian is a psychopath”. No she really makes us look at his inner workings, and understand. I know some people weren’t fans of Glyndon, but FFS could you imagine the mental mind **** that Killian has her in? Yes she may come off a little whiney, and yes has a somewhat perfect life. But Killian walked in, and well yeah. Also the back, and forth was a little tiresome. Seriously though, I mean in her shoes would you’ve done anything done different? *cue the “yes I would’ve immediately went to the authorities” brigade* move along, this question wasn’t for you. As this book I wouldn’t recommend for you. Anyways. I think whats being missed in this book, is this book is not a super exciting, and heavily plot driven book (there is a plot, with a plot twist and it is a bit of a WTF moment. But TBH after all of Killians WTF moments this one was just another to the list). This book is emotional, and deep. You have to look beyond the surface level of this story I think to get the full impact. It really requires you to take a deeper look into the characters psychological states, their motives, their denials, ect. Once you start to add that into the book trust me, you will see this book in a completely different light.This Academia Dark Romance is book 1 in the Legacy of Gods series. Due to this being a dark romance check the TWs, especially with this book it is a must. The romance in this book is an enemies to lovers, with heavy forced proximity influences. This book moves at a steady pace with Glyndon mourning the recent loss of a friend. While mourning this friend she never expected to meet a man so vile. Killian isnt like most men, he doesn’t feel things the way they do. Glyndon is a perfect muse for his desires. She will be his, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Glyndon is an art major who just wants to know why her best friend did what he did, and is willing to take risks to figure out why. These risks will cause her to lose every piece of herself, or free herself. This book is deeply emotional with many dark psychological aspects that play into the story.

I started this book as part of a book club, the wheel spoke and instead of reading Lights Out, it was God of Malice and at first I didn't care for it. The book started fast pace immediately which isn't a problem usually but with a book of this matter it could cause many people inexperienced with Dark Romance to quickly shut it and not give it a further glance. I however have experience so I kept at it but the first 7 chapters still were boring and I think that was more to do with Glyndon than Killian because she was boring and lifeless and it took me til the end of the book to understand the brilliance of the writing on that part because someone who is depressed would seem lifeless but not necessarily boring...I found her boring because she was uninteresting and had no fight or sass in her words and that's where Killian comes in...he through MANY sadistic whys brings her to life and she becomes a bit more like the sassy fiery MFC that I am used to and prefer and I started to like her more and more. Now the scenarios that this book explores is not for everyone and that is fine but if you can look past that and see that whilst the author is using it to bleed out a "love" story you can see that the book is quite entertaining even if a bit much in areas. If you don't like dub con then I would avoid this because you won't see it as such despite every word in her head saying she wants this you will see it as manipulation and grooming in a way but that's not how I saw and or took this book but I can understand how those with more delicate palates would be confused. This book can be read as a standalone or with the other books in the series but that's up to whether you like series about a different couple in each book or not. Enjoy and read at your own discretion.

Did I question my morals while reading this book? Absolutely. Did I find comfort in knowing that this is the kind of dynamic I only tolerate in books and not in reality? Also yes.I’ve been on the fence about picking up a Rina Kent book for a while. I wasn’t sure if her style would be for me or if I’d even finish one of her books. With that being said, I’m upset with myself for waiting so long. This book was deeply intriguing and made me question myself, especially as someone new to this genre.Let’s start with Glyn. Her character is simple and naive, but there’s a quiet, dark undertone to her. At the beginning, she’s at one of the lowest points in her life. As the story progresses, we get glimpses into how she views herself as a person, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, while also uncovering what led her to the book’s opening events. Glyn starts off as the kind of person who avoids making waves, suffers in silence, and doesn’t want to be a bother. But as the book unfolds, she grows more outspoken and confident. Overall, I liked her character, but I loved the person Killian helped her become by the end.Now, about her “friend.” For much of the book, we’re led to believe that this friend, who "voluntarily" left the earth, had been in her life for a bit. But toward the end, we find out she only knew him for two months and assumed she knew him better than anyone else. Spoiler: she didn’t. I interpreted this two ways: either she was so desperate for connection that she clung to his words, or she was gullible and naive enough to believe he saw her for who she truly was. When the truth came out about what he said and did, I was baffled as to why she grieved him so deeply.Now, the main event: Killian. He’s every red flag in a man personified, yet Rina made me fall for him. He was different. He was angry, possessive, tyrannical, and an unstoppable force of nature. But then, he became a man with feelings—feelings he didn’t know how to handle. I loved watching him struggle with his emotions for Glyn. He wanted to understand her so he could be done with her, but instead, she became his muse and his safe space.Glyn, in turn, understood him in a way no one else could. She saw through his anger at his brother, even when he denied caring, and she gave him the grace he didn’t know he needed. Killian remained true to himself from start to finish—raw, intense, and unapologetically himself. The only real change was Glyn. She calmed his inner beast, made him tolerable to those around him, and became his balance. He is her monster, and she is his calm.That balance between them was one of the highlights of the book for me. I appreciated how they complemented each other so naturally.I did have some minor issues, though. There were small gaps in the narrative, and the ending felt rushed. The story picked up toward the end, and then suddenly, it was over. I really hope there’s a novella about Killian and Glyn in the future—I’d love to see what Killian would be like as a father!