I was extremely excited for King by SJ Tilly. I loved the way he and Nero bickered at each other in Nero’s book, so I knew going in I already loved our main male character. What I hadn’t expected was that I was going to completely fall for Savannah, our female lead, just as much.
King by SJ Tilly
King by SJ Tilly is book 2 in the Alliance series. It is a dark romance published on May 25th, 2023 and is 394 pages long. You can find this book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and the author’s website here.
Premise
First, Savannah finds out the guy she’s seeing, Lee, is married. Second, she’s left her keys to her vehicle in his apartment. Third, Lee is dead and his brother in law, King, is stand over his body. If she thought things couldn’t get worse, she was wrong, because King kidnaps her and now he’s making her his wife. There isn’t a chance in hell she’d fall for this man who forced her to marry him, right?
Triggers
Triggers found in King by SJ Tilly include:
- Violence, Murder, and Gore
- Kidnapping and forced imprisonment
- Dubious Consent
- Human Trafficking mentions
My Thoughts
The second book in the Alliance series did not disappoint in the slightest. Not only did we get the obsessed, protective, and possessive MMC, King, that we wanted, but this time we got Savannah, and all the banter we could want.
“Well, I’m freaking sorry.” I wave my hands around. “I’ve never been kidnapped before.” – King by SJ Tilly
I love banter between the main characters and Savannah and King delivered. Sure he may have kidnapped her, blackmailed her, and forced her to marry him, but she fought back, sniped back, and even threw a statue at him.
“I’ll let you stay in here by yourself tonight, but starting tomorrow, you will be sleeping at my side.” Savannah slowly crosses her arms, putting a barrier between us. “Why? What’s happening tomorrow?” I grin. “We’re getting married.” Her mouth drops open. But before she can respond, I slam and lock the door. – King by SJ Tilly
The tension between these two was phenomenal and I read the entire book in one sitting, keeping me up late. And while the book was dark, I laughed a lot at the banter.
Additionally, the spice scenes blend beautifully within the plot. Additionally, the spice never gets repetitive, meaning you’re less likely to skim through those scenes.
“But if you ever look at my wife like that again, I’ll remove your eyeballs from your skull.” He pauses. “Understand?” – King by SJ Tilly
Even with King doing bad things through the first quarter of the book, by half way through it’s pretty clear he still has mostly ok intentions. He fell quickly and hard for Savannah. Additionally, it takes a while for Savannah to full on fall for King, and a lot of him doing sweet things for her.
“This may come as a surprise to you,” he says, his tone sarcastic, “but I’m involved in some not-so-good things.” I huff out a response, my tone matching his. “You don’t say.” I wiggle my body. “This all seemed like the behavior of a super lawful person.” – King by SJ Tilly
While I loved Aspen in the first book, in this one we really see the hurt she’s gone through. We also happen to meet Valentine who is Aspen and King’s half sister, and I loved her immediately. There is also Duke, and he’s a perfect side character.
The first book in the series had a dark and gritty feel to it, but this one, while dark, almost had a bit of richness. King is a very rich man and lives that way, his darkness and the nefarious things he does are well hidden.
Who Would Like King by SJ Tilly?
Tropes in King by SJ Tilly include:
- Forced Marriage of Convenience
- Touch her and die
- Plus size FMC
- Mafia
If you liked King of Wrath by Ana Huang, Shattered Vows by Shain Rose, or Black Wings and Stolen Things by Kayleigh King you will love King.
Make sure you check out my posts on the other books in the Alliance series:
- Nero
- Dom
- Hans
Have you read King by SJ Tilly, or are you adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below. I love interacting with other readers over books I loved.