Toasty Mocha Reads

Spoiler Review Ahead!

I’ll admit, I’ve had a few Ana Huang books sitting on my shelf for a while now. I first bought her Twisted series after being influenced by BookTok, but they ended up collecting dust on my TBR for longer than I’d intended. After picking up more of her work, I finally decided to dive in, and that’s how I randomly chose King of Wrath.

Arranged marriage isn’t usually my go-to trope, but I have to say I’m glad this was my introduction to it.

The story follows Vivian Lau and Dante Russo. Vivian’s family is considered “new money,” and her father, Francis, is desperate to secure their place among New York’s old-money elite. And how does he do that? Oh, just some good old blackmail.

Enter Dante Russo: old money, powerful, respected, and very much the brooding, untouchable businessman type. Francis obtains photos that could potentially get Dante’s brother killed by the mafia and presents him with an ultimatum: marry Vivian, or the photos get leaked. Dante reluctantly agrees, but not without a plan of his own. He intends to play along just long enough to secure the photos and destroy Francis in the process.

When Vivian and Dante meet, things are tense at first, but over time, feelings develop, walls come down, and they fall in love. Vivian eventually learns the truth behind the arrangement, they separate, Dante goes into full “win her back” mode, and they end up getting married—on their own terms.

The plot itself is simple, but I didn’t mind. It was engaging and entertaining.

Let’s be real—there’s something about that rich, emotionally unavailable, morally gray man who softens for a woman and gives that whole “you’re mine” energy. It hits every time.

The spice was solid and gave me what I needed. The pacing kept things moving, and the characters felt well-developed.

This is the first book in the Kings of Sin series, and I’m definitely interested in continuing. Each book focuses on different couples introduced here, which I love.

Overall, I’m giving this one 4 stars. I’ll definitely be picking up more from Ana Huang.