God of Fury: A Dark MM College Romance (Legacy of Gods)Paperback

This book is the reason I read all of the books in the Rinaverse. I was intrigued from the get go. And let me tell you that it was worth it.

This book is ABSOLUTE perfection. It was such a an excellent combination of angst, romance, darkness, pain, love and joy. I loved the humor.

Rina Kent knocked it out of the park.

Nikolai and Brandon the men that you are. SWEET LORD.

I had been intrigued in reading MM romances for a while now but held off because I wanted this one to be my first. 33 books later and I am so glad I waited because this story was EPIC.

This is totally a 7 star read.

Well, this book is going to stay with me forever. The cat-and-mouse game between Niko and Bran reel you in from chapter one. ‘Enemies to lovers’ doesn’t even begin to describe these two as Bran struggles through his attraction and magnetic pull that Niko has. Niko is one of the most unhinged characters I have ever read and he had me laughing out loud several times. I could NOT put this book down. I was laughing out loud one minute and then sobbing uncontrollably a few chapters later. GoF also had some of the hottest spiciest scenes I had read and I loved how even though there was a strict ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ dynamic, neither cared about their roles when it meant bringing their partner pleasure. This book is going to give me the worst hangover in a while.

This has been my favorite book in the series, and it will forever be in my soul. I loved Nikolai and Brandon they both have chaotic minds just in different ways. Nikolai is unapologetic in his pursuit of Brandon and truly shows his true self from the start. He has never been a one-person man but that changes in a blink of an eye. Nikolai gravitates to the darkness and thrives there while Brandon may have his demons, he tries hard to keep everything on the up and up he is a controlled personality and is a complete opposite to Nikolai. The story is an emotional journey for these two and your heart will break at times, the tough push and pull, but the story is perfection, and I could not get enough. They calm each other's darkness and chaotic minds and give each other the love and peace they deserve.

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation: Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️ World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎 Cover:📔📔📔📔📔 Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒 Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞 Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂 Page Turner Level:📖📖📖 Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧 Overall View: ✨✨✨✨5

First Impressions God of Fury is the fifth installment in the "Legacy of Gods" series and this series has completely blew me away and I was so curious to see how this author would handle a MM romance as this is her very first novel in this type of romantic interest and she knocked this aspect right out of the park. God of Fury is a story that I think may push some readers and may not exactly work for everyone but I was so fascinated in the growth that we see our couple go through within this story. I had such a fun time with this match up because on the surface you wouldn't think that these two would have anything in common, but when it comes to the heart and mind....they truly find what they need in each other but their journey is a battle.

First Line What am I doing here?

Summary So the setup of the story is that we have our two male protoganists: Bran and Niko. Niko is the psychopath of the two. He is such an alpha male, and he has his eye on Bran and wants him more than anything. So much so that he is losing interest in what he normally has interest in. Then we have Bran, who has his own mental struggles he has been battling it, and is more of a demisexual. So we see how struggles being in relationships...until Niko. Niko has him feeling things especially more sexually that he has never really experienced but he has always considered himself straight, and doesn't know how to face up to being attracted to Niko in the way that he is. There is this pull and push between Niko and Bran on what they have and if its worth fighting for....will Bran be able to fight for Niko and their love before Niko gives up on him completely?

What I Loved Wow! this book packed such a punch and I was there for the ride that this author takes us on. I absolutely adored Niko so much. He was a hoot. Seriously this character had me laughing all over the place. He is such a anti hero and its delicious. I have always loved Niko though and if you have read the other books in the series you are very familiar with his crazy. Then we have Bran who is the prentious prideful of his group of friends. Bran has been the character that we have seen to be the most mysterious. We just know he is the serious twin, but his character is more in the background. In God of Fury we get to see his story and see his background and his story melted my heart and broke it just a bit. What we see Bran struggle with was so heartbreaking. Through much of the story you aren't sure what he is struggling with exactly or what trauma he was dealt, but you know its pretty bad and you know his family is ignorant of it. He has kept it hidden and for years has been dealing with severe depression and is on the verge of being suicidal. I really connected with his character and his struggles. I think if any reader has dealt with depression of any kind, they will be able to see so much of themselves within Bran's character.

So the romance is very push and pull. Bran is always on the run and Niko is the one chasing. But there is so much more happeni9ng with Bran than meets the eye. Niko knows that there is something deeper driving Bran's fear then just him coming out of the closet as gay. But Bran is on the run not just sexually or physically but also very emotionally. Niko is pretty patient considering the fact that he is a bit of a psychopath. We see how much he is having to deal with but also knowing that their relationship is practically forbidden and that Bran's twin is his greatest enemy. What we see being developed within the plot was so superb. It kept me on edge all the way through. What will really carry the reader through though is the depth of their relationship. I loved the feel of cat and mouse play game that these two go through and the third act was simply perfection. I knew going into this what was ahead for this one and its hard to see but Rina Kent really handled this scene so very well. I was highly impressed with how it was handled, and seeing how the family and especially Niko deals with it, just breaks your heart. But these two come out on top in the happily ever after and Kent has created such a unique dynamic romance that melted my heart from beginning to end.

Spoiler (view spoiler)

What I Struggled With The pacing in this book dragged a bit in some parts. The middle section of the story kinda was a bit slow at times. So I feel like there were aspects to the battle between Niko and Bran going back and forth that could have been reduced just a bit because it did get slightly repetitive. But I only knocked off half a star for this element as the rest of the story was a win for me.

Overall View God of Fury is a powerful story that tugs at your heartstrings and melts your heart at the deep vibrant emotion that carries the romance through. Its a story of identity, growth and learning to heal past wounds and embrace the love that is steady and impactful.

Favorite Quote(s) Seems that Bran runs way deeper than I thought, but as he hangs on to me as if I’m his only anchor, I know that I’ll never let him go. Not even if I burn with him. For him. In him. I’d willingly catch fire if he so much as asked me to.

Book Details (also in my shelves) Sub Genre: Dark Romance, New Adult Character Types: Alpha Male, Anti Hero, Athlete, Psycopath Themes: LGBTQ, Hot Smexy Times, PTSD, Secrets Tropes: Forbidden Love, Unrequited Love, Enemies to Lovers

Book Perspective Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict A Mix of Both

Song This Book Inspires k( all I got to say) by NUVILICES

Recommendation For Reading Order You can read as standalones, as the events intermingle with all books in the series

This is the first story of Rina’s I have read and it’s mainly because it’s MM and that is my go to! #sorryNOTsorry Let me word vomit about my opinions on it, if anyone cares to listen!

First of all, if you have TRIGGERS then be warned and check those out before jumping in!!!

This is a little bit of sexuality awakening, kinda enemies to lovers, stalkerish vibes, forced proximity in a way, heart breaking, mental health reality, funny at times, back and forth, swoonish, possessive and more. Yes you can read it as a stand alone as I did but I’m sure if I had was the ones before it it would also be helpful to know the side characters and their backstories a little better also. 🤷🏽‍♀️ HEATHENS VS ELITES. Yellow mask. 💛

Nikolai & Brandon/Nico & Bran/Kolya & Bran Jr. “It’s a situationship.”

Nico is suppose to basically be a psycho. And don’t get me wrong, I mean I see how he could be considered that by most people but I didn’t get the psycho vibes from him. I did get alpha, possessive, funny, true to himself, bad boy slight mafia, but deep down big teddy bear vibes more than anything else. Nico loves hard and is loyal to those he loves. Overall he just wanted to be loved back! The talking to his 🍆 and naming him Kolya some may think is dumb but I personally found it funny and part of who he is! Maybe because I’m a boy mom to 3 teens and that’s basically my life all day everyday. 😂🙄 Nico is chaos and messy and basically a man child through and through. He knows what he wants and ain’t afraid to go after it!

“You don’t look at him like he’s an enemy.”

Brandon, or Bran, is the “good twin” of Landon. He plays Lacrosse because Landon didn’t. He’s a runner, kinda OCD and control freak, an amazing Artist, inferiority complex and has demons that you see throughout the whole story but don’t find out about WHY until basically the very end! He basically wants to feel “normal” (I dislike that word!) and wants a relationship with Lan, and to be loved for who he is but he hates himself so it’s a huge struggle. Starts off being the uptight, snobby, a-hole but ends up being just as possessive as Nico!

“You’re a fing nightmare.” “Your nightmare.” “I hate you.” “I don’t.” “You’re fing crazy.” “About you.”

The back and forth, there’s a lot of that. The mental struggles from BOTH of them, yup you can expect that throughout the whole book but they help each other deal with them. They are complete opposites and they do say opposites attract! Love the banter throughout the first half! The way Nico just inserted himself on the morning runs and Bran hated it but secretly loved it all at the same time. The sexy scenes are 💋 chefs kiss!!

However, I didn’t really like the way Nico gave Bran the ultimatum for choosing him or his brother BUT I understand why he did it. I didn’t like the way he ignored Bran after he opened up a little but again kinda understood why he did that too. But yeah.

Levi’s chapter was good too! Loved the way he was the crazy over protective father and how he kept saying things about Killian and Nico and that no one could be worse than Killian. SURPRISE!! 😈

“I love this man with everything I have and don’t have. I love him with my sane and insane parts. He’s my lotus flower. My Prince Charming. The love of my life. Mine.”