REVIEW: King’s Rule by Jackie Ashenden

King’s Rule by Jackie Ashenden is the second story in her Kings of Sydney series and a searing erotic romance with a forbidden love theme – step-siblings who as adults can no longer deny their attraction to each other.

Life took an unexpected turn for fifteen year old Xander King when his father remarried and he gained a ten year old step-sister, Poppy. From their first meeting they were at odds and kept out of each other’s way. When Poppy turned eighteen, Xander noticed her as a woman, but did nothing outwardly to show his changing feelings towards her.

A few years later, Xander and his brothers have successfully taken down their father and are trying to clear their family name from the crimes in which their father was involved. They’re having trouble hiring staff, and with few to trust, Xander offers Poppy a deal. If she’ll come to work with him as his personal assistant for a few months, he’ll put in a good word for her with an architectural internship. Poppy needs the money as she’s the sole support for her mother who, despite getting a generous allowance every month from the King family, spends more than she has. Her mother thinks Poppy should use her looks to get a sugar daddy like she did, but Poppy isn’t interested. She wants to use her designing skills to get a good job. For now, she’ll take what Xander offers.

But being in close quarters and unable to avoid each other, the truth of their mutual attraction comes out, and it leads to sexual exploration and a new emotional intimacy. Can it also lead to a happy ever after?

Step-sibling romances aren’t generally my thing even knowing that the parties are not genetically related, but I’m always willing to take a chance on Jackie Ashenden’s writing and enjoyed what she’s done here. It turns out that Xander has dominant tendencies and Poppy has submissive ones, so this story veers into D/s territory in mutually satisfying and very hot scenes. At the same time, they start to confide their deepest fears and secrets to each other, until they eventually get to the one that could break them apart for good.

Xander grew up under harsh conditions with his criminal father and unbeknownst to him, he was a pawn in his father’s games that defrauded investors – including Poppy’s father. When he discovered the truth he made it his mission to try to recover the money that rightfully belonged to Poppy, all while feeling the guilt over Poppy’s father’s death, and the reason she ended up with the King family. But Poppy has her own guilt over her father’s death. Until they can come clean with each other, they won’t be able to be truly happy, but when they take that risk the reward is worth it.If you like forbidden love affairs, and emotionally erotic romances, you’ll definitely want to read this one (and you’ll want to investigate more of Jackie Ashenden’s books!).

Book Info:

Publication: Jan 01, 2019 | Harlequin Dare | Kings of Sydney #2

The second book in the red-hot Kings of Sydney series finds Xander King working with his sexy stepsister, Poppy. But can he keep his dark past hidden when their sizzling chemistry takes them from the boardroom to the bedroom?

I don’t know what’s worse: hating my stepsister or lusting after her. I knew that hiring Poppy could be a mistake, but what choice did I have? Nobody else wants to work with a King—my crime lord father made sure of that before my brothers and I sent him to prison.

It’s not all bad, though; Poppy is a little more open-minded than I remember. It turns out my attraction to her isn’t completely one-sided—apparently, she finds my authority as exciting as I find her body. The animosity between us only makes it more exhilarating…

But a dark secret from my past could ruin everything. Poppy’s father used to work with mine, and I know more about his death than she guesses. I’ve been living with the guilt for years, and now that I’m so close to Poppy every day, I don’t know how much longer I can hide it.

I could tell her everything and risk our thrillingly wild fling—but am I willing to give up something that feels so good?