Happy Blog Touring to L.H. Cosway and her new book King of Hearts! Take a sneak peek into the book below and make sure to enter the giveaway! Good luck!
Welcome to the City, London’s most prestigious square mile, where finance reigns and Oliver King is a rising prince.
I used to rule the world.
There might be wolves on Wall Street, but there were crocodiles in Canary Wharf. Some of us craved money. Some of us craved power.
I liked money, and power had its advantages, but what I really wanted was to excel, to surpass the men who came before me. I never cared much for love and romance until I met Alexis.
I could feel it the very moment she walked into the interview, with her outspoken charm and vivacious personality. She cast all the others in shadow, made me laugh when life held no humour. Our friendship should have remained professional, but it wasn’t long before the lines started to blur.
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, I never foresaw where my plans would lead, and only in my darkest hour did I finally see the light…
You can have all the money and prestige in the world and still be the poorest man alive. And love, well, I hate to use a tired old cliché, but love can be the thing that truly sets you free.
I was lost deep in the Facebook vortex when the distinct clearing of a male throat caused me to jump and drop my phone in fright. Glancing up, I found King standing in the doorway, arms crossed and a curious look on his face. He was back early. Of course he’d come back early.
“Enjoying your lunch?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
What was that sound, I hear you ask? Why, it was my heart plopping right out onto the floor and crawling away in mortification.
“I, eh, uh,” I tried to think of an excuse but drew a complete and total blank. Finally I went with, “You have a couch in your bathroom.” Yep, that gem was all mine.
“I do. And you’re in here, why?”
I let out an embarrassed laugh and hung my head in shame. There really was no excuse for this. It was like, when you see a giraffe walking by, you’re more than likely at the zoo. This was me taking liberties plain as day. Wincing, I decided to go with honesty and face the consequences. “I’m really sorry. I was looking around your office and saw that you had a couch in your bathroom and that your bathroom is swankier than any bathroom I’ve ever been in and I just couldn’t help myself.”
Oh God, somebody gag my verbal diarrhoea, please.
I stared at King. King stared at me. His expression was indecipherable until he shook his head and let out a gentle laugh. Then he surprised the shit out of me when he closed the door, stepped inside and dropped down beside me. He threw his arms up and rested his head in his hands, kicking his legs out.
“It is quite swanky in here,” he allowed.
A beat of silence elapsed before I had to ask, “Am I fired?”
King’s eyes slid to mine as he let out a long sigh. I thought he might be enjoying making me sweat before he finally answered, “Luckily for you, I’m in a decidedly good mood today, so no, you’re not fired. I’d appreciate it, though, if you let me know the next time you feel like eating lunch in my bathroom. I could have been in here taking a shower,” he grinned at me before putting on a face of mock horror. “Or God forbid, having a number two.”
He whispered the words ‘number two’ and I burst out laughing. I swear, it was the last thing I expected him to say. He was pretty funny when he wanted to be.
I swiped my fingers over my heart. “Okay, cross my heart, I’ll give you notice the next time. Number twos are not something I want to witness.”
He waggled his brow and leaned in a fraction closer, bumping my shoulder with his. “Ah, but you wouldn’t be adverse to a shower?”
My Review
5++ kingly stars.
A stunning gem bursting with emotion that will surely capture your heart. A story that’s funny and sexy, soul shattering and beautifully cathartic about love, loss, and self-discovery.
Oliver King wasn’t moved by money or power, what drove him was his desire to excel and outshine everyone in his field. Determined to succeed, he never put stock in love until the captivating Alexis Clark walked through his office door, made him laugh and left an indelible mark on his heart.
But life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan and sometimes plays out like a desolate Greek tragedy. After losing the respect and everything else he’s worked to build and drowning his memories in alcohol, can love help set him free?
“I never stopped loving you, not even in my darkest hour.”
It never ceases to amaze me how utterly spellbinding L.H. Cosway’s books are. With her rich descriptions and perfectly imperfect characters, I was drawn in from the very first lines and was absorbed in the characters’ lives until the very happy tear jerking end.
King of Hearts is divided in two. The “Before,” set in London six years ago when Alexis Clark gets the opportunity to interview for the position of Oliver King’s executive assistant. Pleased with her honesty and sharpness, King hires her the very next day. The “After” takes place in present time when King and Alexis have to confront the fallout of the circumstances and actions that broke them apart.
“I thought that maybe the best loves had to suffer the greatest hardships.”
I met Oliver King in Hearts of Fire when he was a down-and-out alcoholic traveling with his half-sister’s Circus Spektakular. By the brief glimpses I got, I knew there would be an interesting story behind the shell of what seemed to be an incredibly fascinating man.
In King of Hearts Oliver King is magnetic, it was effortless to fall for him. He’s stunning, smart, and funny, with a vulnerable side who’s also hiding a dark past with secrets. He made me smile and swoon repeatedly. Seeing him suffer, hit rock bottom and set himself on a course of self-destruction broke my heart. But watching him find and forgive himself, to dig up the courage to get better and heal himself, completely undid me.
Alexis is a heroine I instantly loved and wanted to make friends with. I liked her confident attitude. I loved that she was honest and without filter sometimes. It made for awesome banter between her and King. It was so inspiring that she wanted more for herself and didn’t let anyone stop her. She’s down to earth, witty and kind, charming and perceptive and mostly she’s brave.
“Maybe I should have told you that I have a bod for business and a brain for sin…”
I adored every aspect of this book, from the dynamic between King and Alexis when they met and started working together and simultaneously becoming friends, the flirting, the deep build of their connection which inevitably blurred scarcely defined lines between them, how they gave each other what they needed,
“It’s a heady feeling to find someone you’re highly attuned to, is it not?”
to the twists and curve balls that life threw their way and the bone deep heartache that followed, to the incredibly uplifting road they had to go embark on to finally get their happy ending. Throughout the story I could feel the emotional drive that moved the story with a natural flow.
There were instances that made me laugh, others that melted me with their scorching hotness, many that made me swoon with their tenderness and some moments that absolutely broke my heart.
I don’t feel like I’ve covered enough but I also really don’t want to spoil anything by saying more. I recommend you jump in and let the story unfold with the certainty that it’s an uplifting tale about “learning and enlightenment and finding true love.” L.H. Cosway has become a permanent fixture in my favorite author list knowing I will get a wonderful read every time.
King of Hearts is the third book L.H. Cosway’s Hearts series. It is a standalone, full-length, contemporary romance full of poignant, sweet, sexy times and swoon worthy moments. Told from Alexis’ point of view, with a tear jerking, shit-eating grin happy ending.
♥ READ THE BOOKS ♥
