BOOK REVIEW: King of Greed

He had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back.

Powerful, brilliant, and ambitious, Dominic Davenport clawed his way up from nothing to become the King of Wall Street.

He has everything—a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and more money than he could spend in a lifetime. But no matter how much he accumulates, he’s never satisfied.

In his endless quest for more, he drives away the only person who saw him as enough.

It isn’t until she’s gone that he realizes there may be more to life than riches and glory…but by then, it may be too late.

***

Kind, intelligent, and thoughtful, Alessandra Davenport has played the role of trophy wife for years.

She stood by her husband while he built an empire, but now that they’ve reached the top, she realizes he’s no longer the man she fell for.

When it becomes clear that she’ll always come second to his work, she finally takes charge of her life and puts herself first—even if it means leaving the only man she’s ever loved.

But what she didn’t count on was his refusal to let her go…or for him to fight for their marriage, no matter what it takes.

King of Greed is a steamy marriage in trouble/second chance romance. It's book three in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.

Spoiler Free:

Alessandra and Dominic have been married for ten years. In ten years, Dominic has built a financial empire. In ten years, Dominic has reached the top to where all of his goals were set. Money, Pride. Success. Marriage. In that order, leaving Alessandra alone most nights due to unseen meetings, problems, and apparencies.

For ten years, Alessandra has understood what everything meant to Dom. How much work he needed to put in to achieve his goals, but ten years later when his bank accounts are filled with billions and Dom still misses their ten-year anniversary trip; Alessandra has had enough. Her patience and understanding have finally dried out.

With their marriage in crisis, Dominic must come back down to earth to understand the part he’s played in everything. For he was the one that showed her work came before her most days. He only lost sight of what truly matters in his world.

This second chance/marriage in crisis book focuses on the aftermath of Alessandra and Dominic’s divorce. With Alessandra ready to move on and be appreciated for what she brings to a relationship, Dominic must prove to her that she’ll always be his love no matter the men that come and go or a piece of paper with their signatures on it.

This book is a dual POV flipping back and forth between Dominic and Alessandra’s POV. This one admittingly wasn’t my favorite of Huang’s especially since it felt like it skated on the surface instead of diving deeper into the real issues. Supporting characters fell flat to me regarding their purpose in the book. The subject matter felt all over the place geographically as well as theoretically.

If you are a fan of Huang’s previous work, give King of Greed a shot, but if you were a huge fan of King of Pride lower your expectations for this one.

Spoilers Full:

This is the spoiler section.

Here I will expose lots of things. I’ll get fired-up with my feelings about the book. Proceed with caution.

Keep scrolling.

If. You. Dare.

I really wished for more out of this book. I tend to really enjoy Huang’s books and found myself excited for the release of this one. Ultimately, this one felt like getting the next book in the series released quick was more of a priority than actually writing a well-thought-out novel. I’ll touch on a few things that technically-wise is what caused for a 3 stars rating. Especially since Ana Huang has shown her readers over and over again that her writing is clear, concise, and easy to read this book followed in those steps and therefore doesn’t need to be commented on.

Structure of the Novel:

Huang chose a dual POV format flipping back and forth between the Female Main Character (Alessandra) and the Male Main Character (Dominic/ Dom). Within these two POVs in order to include past memories into the story line it is written in a flashback approach, using italicized to indicate a past memory. I very much disliked this approach and also felt like it was a very missed opportunity to deepen the connection between the characters and the readers. Had Huang chosen a dual POV and dual timeline, flipping back and forth between the beginning of the relationship and back to present day, we as the reader could’ve seen their story unfold instead of their story being told to us. Because with each “flashback” it was strategically placed to explain behavior in the present tense. It felt like “oh I have to explain why he gives her this mug or golden rose. Had it been written one past chapter describing the first time he gave her a golden rose and then in the next chapter in present tense, he receiving all the roses, the connection would be easily made by the readers and feel like they are included inside of this relationship. Letting readers draw those conclusions in the end bring them closer to the story and the relationship at the center of it.

Divorce Papers:

Starting from the beginning Alessandra is frustrated by Dominic's behavior. Early on she asks for a divorce, provides divorce papers, and after having sex does he sign them claiming he only did for her. Therefore, majority of this book, Alessandra and Dominic are officially divorced. I have two opinions/ options that I think the books should’ve used this plot.

1. With the papers officially signed, Alessandra and Dominic BOTH go on dates, making each other jealous, flaunting new flings in front of each other’s faces. Alessandra goes on dates, that like really… were they even dates. Each time she did Dominic was at the forefront. I mean when she goes on a date with Aiden, her landlord, Dominic is quite literally sitting tables over staring her down. Like, really, we’re doing this now?? And when she goes on a date with the Australian guy (I don’t remember his name because he wasn’t even important), they go to an extravagant party that of course Dominic is at. But then the guy gets caught talking about making a sex tape with her and Dominic has to swoop in and be the hero of the day resulting in sex in the library. I really hated that. Why couldn’t Alessandra go on a date with a good guy who showed her how she should be treated. Like why did she go out and date and get shown Dominic s the best she could do? He should’ve been put up against men who saw her for more than her looks. Who gave her that time she deserved, who did everything right in a relationship, and only then Alessandra realizes it can only be Dominic for their soul connection. But definitely play around with the actual possibility of Dominic losing Alessandra. That never happened with her constantly in his bed or vice versa.

2. Not to sign divorce papers and only initiate a six-month (or a year) separation in which then they re-evaluate their relationship. I felt like Alessandra really didn’t want to work on her relationship, because as much as Dominic had been an absent husband, she also allowed him to be for so long. I really wanted her to take some more accountability or her behaviors in the relationship. In many states, you have to have a year-separation before being able to legally divorce, which would’ve perfectly set-up this plot for a separation between the two. During this separation is where they could’ve both played with making each other jealous, Dominic could gruel and try to win her back, while Alessandra realized her worth. Even many of the scenes that happened in this plot could’ve happened here. At the end they could’ve participated in a recommitment ceremony instead of getting remarried to one another. Simply changing not signing the papers, helps the realism that I struggled so much in this book.

Brazil Trip/ Change in setting:

In the first half of this novel, Alessandra runs away to Brazil to spend time with her brother. Dominic finds out and follows her there. I have many thoughts because this all felt not flushed out and it was frustrating to me as a reader.

1. When they both ran to Brazil, I very much said to myself, “Oh I didn’t know this book was gonna be set in a vacation spot.” Because I very much thought this would be a book in which the two get out of their normal day to day, fall back in love in this romantic place that carries so many memories, and then deal with the transition back into the real world. But no, that is not what this book ended up being. Alessandra and Dominic aren’t there long. Inevitably they end up doing three things; scuba-diving, dinner with her brother, and canoeing where they kiss after falling in. Her mother calls saying she getting married to her fourth husband and they need to be there by the end of the week. So, of course, Dominic offers his private jet and they fly off. After the wedding, they end up going home because a pipe in her storefront has burst. About 56% Dominic takes her on a date in Florianopolis, at 63% they’re headed back to New York to clean her store damage and I didn’t feel like a progress had been made on their relationship. Sure, they’re talking, but are they fixing their issues. Alessandra says it herself, they always had chemistry, were always sexually attracted to one another.

2. Brail felt shoved into the plot, and like there wasn’t a reason for them to really be there. I think had they used to mother’s wedding to go down there and spend a weekend, or maybe Dominic convinces her to stay a week, that would feel more authentic to the relationship. While there they could play with each other, make each other jealous, fire-up their relationship. Remind each other that they like spending time with one another, not just have sex with one another.

3. Also…He just drops everything and goes to Brazil to rent the house next door to her. I really don’t think that’s Dominic vibe. She needs him? Hell yeah, he’s there in the time it takes to climb on his PJ and fly there, but not giving her the space she wants, and being like “nope I don’t have to work”, I think that would make me more mad than any other of his behaviors. Like now you’re going to take off work.

The characters, both Alessandra and Dominic didn’t really do it for me. Alessandra was annoying and felt like she was pointing her fingers at Dominic for their relationship failing where I think she also played a part. I felt like she was very insecure and not the confident social butterfly that we were introduced to in other books. Dominic felt like he flipped back and forth. He was also easy to forgive and take the blame for things. He does so in both his relationship with Alessandra and with his brother Roman.

I hated the ending. Like actually hated it. It’s what made this rating tank tbh. Dominic wants to buy a bank, he gets a anonymous call saying if he busy the bank, he dies. And then his brother shows up the night he’s suppose to go to Alessandra’s opening. They have a small scuffle in which result in Dominic being late to her opening. ( I mean like at least do the cliché thing and have him get shot by his brother. You were t-ing it up for his brother being a bad guy the whole time. Maybe then Alessandra would show some passion and anxiety towards losing him). She forgives him, he doesn’t buy the bank to save his brother. All this random corrupt stuff about the banks come out tat really has nothing to do with this book (though I do suspect it has to with the next book probably being about Roman). It was all so anticlimactic, there was no angst, no risk, no feeling. And then there’s two time-jumps, the first one is a three-month jump, and then the epilogue is another four-month jump forward and it’s very “and they lived happily ever after” vibes. Nah, not for me fam. Where’s the yelling? The anger? The passion? Because I didn’t see any. I only saw a two people who have good sex with each other. Huang didn’t make me believe they’re a married couple in love with each other who can’t live without one another.

Not my favorite of Huang’s. I hope she doesn’t become an author who focuses more on the awards and sales, then actually producing good, flushed out storylines.

Ana Huang

Ana Huang is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author. Best known for her Twisted series, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance with deliciously alpha heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of steam, angst, and swoon.

Her books have been translated in over two dozen languages and featured in outlets such as NPR, Cosmopolitan, Financial Times, and Glamour UK.

A self-professed travel enthusiast, she loves incorporating beautiful destinations into her stories and will never say no to a good chai latte.

ISBN-13: 9781728289748

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