The Bully

Kingmakers

De: Sophie Lark

Narrado por: Gregory Salinas, Lilly Drake, Antonio Turner

#1 Best Seller Romantic Suspense

#14 in the Kindle Store

I know her secret….

Cat is in so much trouble. She did something bad, and I saw.

I’ll keep her secret...for a price.

Poor, sweet, timid Cat should never have come to Kingmakers. It’s a place for monsters and killers. People like me.

She wandered into the lion’s den and now she’s mine.

Mine to play with. Mine to torment. Mine to break....

The Lark Notes:

My very first inspiration for Kingmakers was Dean Yenin. I wanted to write a true antihero who would need to undergo a very serious change in his character to complete his redemption arc. Dean will make you feel all the things, sometimes against your will. You’ll love him and hate him and love him again, and never get him out of your head.—Sophie

The Bully is a stand-alone novel. It's the third installment in the epic dark mafia Kingmakers series—a bully romance, full of dark, twisted enemies-to-lovers conflict. Listener beware, this one is intense.

©2021 Sophie Lark (P)2024 Sophie Lark

excellent!!!

worth the credit.

This was my favorite so far because of Dean's growth through out the book.

Narrators were excellent! it was a dual narration but it did not take away from the book.

I highly recommend the whole series!

Dean🤤

Being the third book in the Kingmakers series I was surprised that the storyline got even more interesting! This is my favorite one so far! After reading the first two books I was surprised that Dean become my favorite male so far! The narrators did an amazing job… Dean‘s voice was especially a pleasure. I’m excited to start The Spy :) Thank you Sophie!

Dean!

Dean is by far my favorite MMC of the series. I loved is growth he definitely deserves a happily ever after.

The Narrators Were Excellent!

When I finish reading a book, I don’t want to start reading it again right away. I usually wait a few years, but with this book, I wanted to start it all over so I could relive the experience.

I have been on Team Dean since the very first book of the series. For one thing, I have a fascination with Russians, but there was just something about him that I was attracted to despite him being ruthless. In the second chapter of The Heir you learn his backstory and it breaks your heart. I understand his need for cleanliness and his OCD. You also understand his anger. This is a person who is starved for love and did not know how to reciprocate it. He felt unwanted and unworthy of it.

Then there is Cat. I just loved her. I loved the moment she realized she didn’t have to be a pushover. I loved her willingness to be owned by Dean as a slave for a month. She took it like a trouper. The chemistry between them is palpable and it was easy to get excited when they finally realized that they loved each other. Dean’s awkwardness around her after he realized he cared about Cat was adorable.

This book was steamy, passionate, heart-breaking, and beautiful. Snow was a perfect mentor because he saw something in Dean that no other teacher could or would see in him. That’s a true teacher. I won’t go into details but the relationship that they build is just special. It’s almost as if Dean finally had the father that he wished Adrian would have been to him.

The character development in both characters as they grew to realize that they loved each other to the point of willing to give up their life was not only admirable, but also when they realized they were worthy of it was just an exhilarating breakthrough. You finally knew these two wounded, but delightful characters were going to get their happily-ever-after.

It’s not only the relationship that Dean built with Cat, but it was also the fact that he realized the people he hated were not so bad after all. Just like Snow, she saw the good in him, which made his “enemies” see it too.

This is a story of forgiveness and unconditional love. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Sophie not only writes an incredible story, but she brings us into this world of imagination. I picture everything. I picture of the Bell Tower. I picture the dorms. I picture the games. I could picture them sitting at lunch at the table together, and I wanted to be at that lunch table with them. She not only gives us a history lesson about all the different mafia groups, but you also learn a lot of new vocabulary when reading her books. I often have to look up words in the dictionary, which is the reason why it takes me longer to read her books than any other authors. 🤣

While I am not so into the kind of physical relationship the two of them had together, or the F bombs, I still loved this book. Sophie warned us that it was going to be wild. It was not only wild, it leaves you wanting to be kind to those you meet, especially the ones who act like they don’t care. You realize that bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies. Forgiveness is the key.

Sophie, you outdid yourself again!

The Perfect Redemption Arc!

I am a sucker for a good antihero and Dean is such a nuanced multidimensional character with a tragic back story and I couldn’t help but root for him. I know we are supposed to dislike Dean after what goes down in The Heir but he captured my heart right away. You can just tell that under all that attitude and anger is a lost boy just lashing out and hoping that someday someone will accept and love him.

And that person is Cat. She’s Zoe’s meek, sheltered little sister. Cat may be introverted and shy but we find out she isn’t weak and she isn’t helpless. This cat has some serious claws. While Dean is softening his edges, Cat is becoming harder, tougher and more of a BA every day. Dean knows what Cat did for her sister in the last book and he’s using that to make Cat squirm. He finds out that not only does he enjoy unsettling her but he always enjoys the power he has over her as well. While Cat struggles with this power imbalance at first she finds herself drawn to Dean and this effect he has on her and soon what started as blackmail turns into something more. Dean has never had a stable relationship, has never felt love and is absolutely terrified to lose Cat like he has lost anyone else he has tried to love. Cat has always been sheltered. She’s never had a chance to fall in love and she’s insecure about her ability to even be loved. Can they move past their shaky arrangement into something more and will they be able to accept what’s right in front of them?

The narrators were perfect for Cat and Dean. Dean’s growly commanding tone in the tower was downright sinful. Cat’s narrator perfectly captured Cat’s journey from timid scared kitten to fierce jungle cat. This one will definitely be one that gets many a relisten!