HEARTLESS KING
Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #5
Genre: Contemporary, Sports Romance
Author: Maya Hughes
Release Date: April 23, 2020

Two blue lines. That means not pregnant, right? Right? Oh, sh*t.

Five years ago, Colm Frost asked me to marry him and I ran. I ran from my painful past too raw and fresh to escape. He was the only one who looked at me like I wasn’t broken and made me believe it. He made me feel it.

Now, he’s the hot, angry, hockey player on the mend.

I’m the physiotherapist who’s supposed to get him back on his feet.

I don’t think our night together was what his doctor prescribed, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t dreamt of him every time I close my eyes. I woke up beside him with my body still singing from the way he fanned the flames of my desire, but I couldn’t stay.

His lips on my neck. His hands wrapped around my waist. His impressive…ahem, touch leaving me breathless.

One moment of wild inhibition and it’s come back to bite me in the butt. Kind of like he did that night.

But a baby? Our night was supposed to be a one time thing, closing a door on the future I couldn’t handle.

Will this new bump in the road be everything we needed to find our forever?

Heartless King is a standalone friends to enemies to lovers, accidental pregnancy romance that brings all the laugh out loud, angsty feels!

AMAZON

Imogen was a dangerous element to introduce to my life. She made me feel whole when I wasn’t. She made me feel things were possible that weren’t. She made me want things I couldn’t have.

Colm Frost. Oh you poor broken soul, you.

This book introduced an interesting dilemma for me. On the one hand, I absolutely hated Colm in the previous book as a secondary character. I’m talking HATED him. Like wanting to reach through the book and twist his nuts off sort of hate. Yeah. That serious. But on the other hand, I was desperate to know more about the man and what makes him tick. There had to be some serious hidden pain for him to lash out as he did, and boy was I right.

I held onto that anger because it was a hell of a lot better than the crushing sadness, the loneliness and rejection that had become the hallmark of my life with everyone other than the Kings.

First of all, if you’re planning to read this as a standalone; don’t. Seriously. Yes, technically there’s enough background given to be able to understand everything, but you’d also be missing a lot of overarching story arcs and background that the previous books paved the foundation for. Trust me on this. You’d enjoy this book so much more if you read it in order. And you’d also be able to understand Colm a whole lot better as well.

Reeling on the heels of finding out his sister went behind his back and set fire to all of their plans while also dating his teammate and best friend behind his back was the catalyst that set everything in motion. Colm was already a live wire of feeling, but this was the straw the broke the camel’s back. He’s tired of being the good guy. The reliable guy. The guy that gives up everything to do what’s right and puts everyone first. But his new look on life is also one full of fiery self destruction fueled by anger and a pain kept hidden for years. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol and lost in a haze of partying and resentment, Colm may lose everything, including his spot on the team. His teammates and friends are desperate to help him, and the only solution they find is Imogen.

Imogen and Colm have a history dating back five years, but it’s certainly not as simple as the blurb makes it seem. Imogen is still working through the pain of losing her fiancé. It’s been over five years, but as much as everyone around her tries to get her to move on, she simply can’t. The only man that seems to be the exception to the rule, is Colm, and he comes with issues of his own.

As a physiotherapist, Imogen offers to help him recover from his recent injury to get him back on the ice. But this is no simple relationship. There’s a connection there that burns bright, but both Imogen and Colm seem to not be able to help self destruction.

Man, I loved and hated these two together. While Colm comes off as selfish and irrational in some of his anger at first, this book begins to peel back the layers, and soon you understand just how deep it goes. Imogen was the perfect salve to his tortured soul. But Imogen has issues of her own. Their chemistry was undeniable. I’m not usually a reader that goes for the surprise baby trope, but it seriously worked here. This was the perfect book to end the series with. And while there were parts of the story where I still wanted to strangle Colm and shake some sense into him, I grew to love him, faults and all by the end.

If you’ve read this series, you certainly won’t want to miss the conclusion.

Maya Hughes can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.

I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe and traveling with my family.

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