Deviant

The Brethren Lords #1

by Ellie Sanders

I was a journalist, I had a life, friends, and then all of that was taken from me.

No, not taken, stolen.

The Brethren found out about my exposé. They realised I was getting too close to their nasty little secrets - and so they made sure I disappeared.

Except, they didn’t just grant me the mercy of a shallow grave. Oh no, instead they handed me over to Magnus Blake, practically gift-wrapped me for him.

And he’s got plans for me. Big plans.

He says I’m his new pet project. He says he’s going to break me, torture me, use me in every disgusting way he can think of.

There’s no escaping him. I know he’s too powerful to beat.

But as the days draw out, as the nights get colder, I can feel something worse taking hold of me. I can feel how my body responds, how my emotions are twisting.

I don’t want to want him.

I don’t want to crave him.

But the darkness is eating away at my sanity....

And in the end, it doesn’t matter what I feel anyway; my life belongs to him. Every breath belongs to him.



WHAT TO
DUAL POV
Pitch black triggers
Captor / prey
Forced sharing
Stockholm syndrome
HFN

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Horror, Smut, Romance, BDSM, Abuse

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2024

About the author

International bestselling author of Pitch Black Romance.


Ellie Sanders lives in rural Hampshire, in the U.K. with her partner and two troublesome dogs.

She has a BA Hons degree in English and American Literature with Creative Writing and enjoys spending her time, when not endlessly writing, exploring the countryside around her home.



Hit her up on her the following accounts.....

FB Group: The Hot Steamy Writer
Instagram: @hotsteamywriter
TikTok: @hotsteamywriter
Twitter: @hotsteamywriter

Reviews

[Gsgd · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is dark. There is no romance. Most of the book is just r@pe, torture and abuse. This book was not hot. Not sexy like the reviews said.

It was just violence and abuse being inflicted on women. The author said to not romanticise the book but the dedication went against that.

“For all the readers out there, who want their bad boy to stay exactly as that… no redemption, no sudden softness, just one pure messed up psycho from start to finish.”

Excerpt From
Deviant: A Dark Captive Romance (The Brethren Lords Book 1)
Ellie Sanders
This material may be protected by copyright.

This up there is the dedication. I fear the mmc is not a bad boy but just absolutely disgusting.

If you want to read a book about rape and abuse then go ahead. There’s no romance at all.

The trigger warning already said it all but it still labelled this book as dark romance.

Don’t waste your time and find a good dark romance

[↬ Ⓛ · Rating 5 out of 5]

magnus is my chapter lord now who I serve 🙇🏻‍♀️

ellie, gurl your writing here hit my pussy & anal everythang so good this shjt soothe my dark soul. this is MY REAL DEFINITION of dark romance & what it means when villains takes what is theirs without asking. real definition of non-con (hardcore rapist). i love the abuse & mind play being inflicted on, let’s get it. 💀

it’s been so long since i have read real dark shit that have actual shit happening & not fade to black where it just skim over. i’m so fucking excited omg. this book is my soul mate yall, especially my Brethren brothers.

i love the heroine, bish withheld as long as she could. i love the resistance & endurance, but liliana broke in the end. lets not get it twisted tho bc she did win in the end, his heart, dick, and power. 😌

if yall don’t like sharing, rape & rapist, sex trafficking, abuse, dark graphic contents, don’t read this bc you ain’t strong enough for this shjt for what my lord brethren lords have in store for you.

[Kyrsten ^.^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I binged it in one day, yes.
Will I read the next book, yes.
But it is just sooo brutal that my morals not letting me give it a better rating.

[la sa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is simply sick. The male character does not have a single redeeming trait. It’s essentially rape porn. There isn’t one scene that could be considered consensual , it’s all rape. The author also seems to fail to understand that a woman can experience physical arousal without wanting to, and that it still counts as rape.

There is no real storyline and no character development. The male character will never be redeemable. Even if the author were to write another book where he becomes the complete opposite, he would still remain repulsive.

The whole thing is disgusting, and it feels like the author is just desperate for attention. On top of that, the book makes light of sexual assault, rape, sex trafficking, domestic violence, and violence against women in general and tries to sell it as romance or dark romance. That is simply sick.

[Shernell Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

How is it possible that she still has a vagina at the end of this book.

One great thing is that the fmc is actually older and not eighteen years old.

The beginning of this book is very calm, and the  fmc seems like a badass. She is literally fighting grown men.


But the first time she was captured by the m m c was horrific. Out of everything he did to her, the cutting of her hair made me want to vomit. 


Oh yes, this is what he says that made my blood boiled

"It’s not like I really need it, I mean, you don’t get to where I am without God on your side."


I am not a very religious person, but I prefer when horrific.People do not put God in their mouth And the fact that this man believes God is on his side while doing these horrific.Things make me realize.I hate him more. I would rather if he calls himself lucifer or the devil.


Scratch that. Shaving her hair wasn't the worst thing. Everything that can happen happens. It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse every time.I think nothing else can happen to this poor girl, and then magnus will do the most gut-wrenching torture. That gang r*p* almost took me out. 


I keep telling myself this is not romance.This is splatterpunk extreme horror. Thankfully, this book is not emotional.It's just mostly shock value.So I read this from a third person without feeling sadness.Just disgust. 

[Freya]

-⭐️ -🌶️

📝 REVIEW & THOUGHTS:

DNF@ 24% this shıt’s just tooooo dark for my current taste and for what I was looking for.

Dedication:

For all the readers out there, who want their bad boy to stay exactly as that… no redemption, no sudden softness, just one pure messed up psycho from start to finish.

The content warning list is not even a menu. It’s an entire grocery list for an entire restaurant. You know, like a cult that does the most unimaginable and horrible things to people. If you can think about it, they’d done it.

Magnus has a pitch black moral compass—like a black hole literally sucking anything good from you. Yeah. That kind. He is an hardcore rāpist. Stopped reading cause it’s not what my hubby and I were looking for. I definitely don’t need to take any inspiration from this book for IRL play lol. You literally get the descriptions of how much she DOESN’T like it (see below in my quotes).

Have I scared you off? If not, well good for you. You’ve been warned :)

One thing I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by the main characters’ ages, I liked the FMC until the 24% I read. Until the 24% the writing felt pretty mature, it was interesting, but it dragged a bit too much with the “before” until she got caught imo. Like, I knew she was abdūcted from chapter 1, no need to read multiple chapters of backstory imo. It ruined the pacing after a while (for me).

🏷️ TROPES & TAGS (possible spoilers):

Genre/subgenre: extremely dark contemporary (romance?)
Pairing: MF
POV: 1st person, dual
Angst: medium (until 24%)
Burn: medium (sēx/rāpe-wise only, no idea for emotions)
Vibe/mood: suspense, dark as an entire black hole (until 24%)
Pet names: N/A (until 24%)
Characters’ ages: late 30s F/mid 40s M
HEA: no idea
Book type: novel
Series structure: interconnected standalones

Captive/captor
Stockholm syndrome
Enemies to lovers
Villain/pitch black MMC

🌶️ SPICE & K!NKS (possible spoilers):

Heat: no idea, 1 🍇 scene until 24%

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS (‼️possible spoilers‼️):

Dubcon: yes
Noncon: yes
Breakup: she can’t really escape… but, no idea
Cheating: no idea
Sharing: yes, forcēd apparently!
OM/OW: no idea
Trigger warning list provided by the author:
Abdūction / kıdnapping Abūse Anāl sēx (forcēd) Attempted suıcide Brēast binding Brēast slapping Bondage Bløød play Bløw jobs (both consensual and non-cønsensual) Cannıbalism Clıt slapping / pinching /abūse Cult themes / ideology Degrādation Detailed, explicit, & graphic rāpe scenes, including gāng rāpe Dısmemberment Drūgging Dubious cønsent Electrocution as a form of punıshment Fısting (both non-cønsensual & cønsensual) Forcēd orgāsms Forcēd exhibitionism Forcēd anāl sēx Food deprivation and starvation as a means of cøntrol. Gāng rāpe Hıtting Hūmiliation Human taxıdermy Hair cutting as a form of dehūmanisation Imprısonment Knıfe play Mūrder Mısogyny Organised crime Orgāsm denıal Psychological abūse and tørture PTSD Rāpe Religious themes / ideology Self-mutılation Sēxual penētration by objects ‘beyond the norm’ Sēxual tørture Secret Societies / cultish and or/ religious themes Spankıng Stockholm syndrome Tørture Trauma Vıolence Whıpping

💬 QUOTES (‼️spoilers‼️):

Including my notes/reactions…

“Her sentence still stands,” the main man says. “Of course.” Magnus replies, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on me through that golden mask, watching my reaction as he speaks, “I’m just going to take my time before I carry it out.” No. No. This can’t be happening.

But then, what can you expect from a man who apparently murdered his own wife on their wedding night?

Whaaaaaaat wtfffff what am I getting myself into here... fuck

“I’m going to break you…” he says so calmly, it makes the words coming out of his mouth even worse. “I’m going to carve away every little piece of what makes you, you, I’ll destroy every tiny bit of hope you have, and only when I decide you’ve suffered enough, will I grant you your death...”

Above them are the bronze masks. Brethren Women. Ones who’ve fallen foul of our laws, or, more likely, have fallen foul of their husbands. To wear a bronze mask means your time is limited. That your punishment is temporary. It adds a little fun to the mix, especially when you don’t know whose wife or daughter you could be playing with. But it’s the people in red masks that are truly fucked. Man or woman, for those unlucky few, there’s no escape, no limit, both to their sentence or to what can be done to them. It’s a free for all.

Damn…

“Let’s both of us have a little fun then.” I declare. “Let’s make a wager. Whoever catches the bitch, can keep her.”

Shit.

He slides himself out, I’m not wet, not in the slightest bit aroused and, as he slams himself into me again, I can feel my insides ripping with the brutality. Can he feel it? Can he feel how he’s violating my body or is all this pleasurable to him?

Yuck.


* Fyi about 🌶️ levels: I rate spice on a combination of quantity, quality, length, intensity and explicitness of the scenes. Kınks are listed separately and generally do not directly affect the steam level to keep it fair for non kınky books.

[Rachel Sadler · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was recommended by a tik tok i saw. they advertised it as “very very dark” so i was like… okay that’s right up my alley. except, this kind of content should not be written into a book.

the first 10% (or so) of the book wasn’t too bad. was kind of into it. but then the fmc gets captured and is immediately raped by the mmc. it was SO graphic. i am the type of reader who thoroughly enjoyed hunting adeline because addies trauma actually meant something to her growth as a character. but this, dude this was so bad.

i think i knew i was done when i read the part where the fmc is raped by this random guy while she is chained up naked in a cell and the mmc walks in on this happening, kicks the guy out, and proceeds to RAPE HER while saying she was “his and only his” and “no one can touch her”.

…

this book romanticized rape, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, etc. like the excessive rape and whatnot does NOTHING to add to the fmc character growth because she just ends up falling in love with her abuser and saying she’s his pet?

if i could give this book negative stars on here, i would.

[Layl :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dont usually write reviews but i felt obligated with this atrocity to save people from subjecting themselves to it.

This book is the definition of all my reading hates put together. Abusive guy who desimates a woman in the most horrific ways possible (nothing you imagine will come close to what happened) and changes her whole personality to fit his views, and when he "falls in love with her" (not her the shell of a person he created) he never apologises or treats her any differently...just gives her the position of his wife which somehow makes it better while continuing to use her and treat her worthlessly. Don't label this a dark romance. There is no romance. It's a lie. This is abuse at its worst and I would recommend no one read it ever.

I have a tolerance for gore but all that happened accompanied by the "happy" ending when in reality its the same abusive situation with a delusion of "consent".....it really got me disgusted.

I could not be more angry that crap like this can he published and normalised to read. Don't make this acceptable. Its not.

[Anastasia Vanderbilt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jaw on the floor for practically the entire book. I read the content warnings and I knew it was dark but jesus christ, I was really not expecting THAT. The writing wasn't atrocious and I didn't actually mind the second half of the book HOWEVER the first half was a very hard read. It was really just the main character Liliana getting beaten and raped over and over and over again accompanied with descriptions emphasising how much she wasn't enjoying it. No spoilers but one particular scene (branding chapter in TW's) in the middle of the novel was particularly bad and probably the sole reason for the 2 stars, because it was so brutal I can't bring myself to give this book a higher rating.

Furthermore the ending was rushed and deceptive considering the author emphasises that Magnus, the 'love interest' stays dark and cruel the entire book however at the end this is not the case whatsoever imo. Nonetheless I was lowkey grateful as after reading such brutality I was glad it ended on a lighter note. As someone else stated in their review, it does go from 1 to 100 very quickly which should have been built overtime rather then having a jarring switch in the middle.

I did read the book in one day (about 7 hours), however I'd compare it to a car crash in the sense where I couldn't look away no matter how horrified I was. If you can handle really dark verging on horror with little romance books, you'd probably enjoy it but this was just too dark for me. I thought I liked cnc but this book changed my mind entirely. I find the fact someone can even write material like this quite baffling in itself so I'm not sure if thats talent or trauma or something else. I will be reading another (lighter, more consensual) Ellie Sanders book to discover if its the former or latter.

[Marissa E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie said you want toxic, and irredeemable, here you go.

This was something. I love a good pitch black book, but I prefer when I can at least feel something for the main characters. While I could sympathize with the FMC, the MMC is just toxic, which don’t get me wrong I love a toxic, morally black MMC, but he has to have something there, tragic backstory explaining why he is the way he is, a single redeemable quality, a small moment of redemption, he has none…I mean excluding being hot and rich. If I dug really deep the best moment I could give this man is the fact that he offers to unalive her quickly at one point. So I guess maybe there was one.

The Brethren hold all the power, and when one journalist tries to expose them, they’re not about to let that happen. Instead of the quick death they want for her, Magnus has other plans, he wants to break her first, mold her into his perfect pet. Liliana isn’t about to submit so easy however, and despite Magnus wanting her entire submission, he also enjoys her fire. He is not a good man though, and isn’t above sharing his toys.

This is not a romance, and isn’t intended to be one. This is pitch black, the MMC isn’t redeemable, and never pretends to be, if there is a trigger warning in existence chances are it’s in this book. While I wouldn’t say this is a HEA, it’s a close to one that you can get in this scenario.

I had the opportunity to listen to the ALC, thank you so much to Blue Nose Audio, and the narrators were phenomenal, the experience I had listening to this was far different than when I read it, in the best way possible. They truly captured the characters and all the emotions in this story.

[Tay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

***Spoilers Ahead***



I love dark romance. The Haunting/Hunting Adeline series is one of my absolute favorite books so I am no stranger to really dark storylines where the FMC is abused. This just wasn't it for me. It felt like there was little thought put into the relationship between the FMC and MMC beyond the abuse he puts her through. They literally know nothing about each other's likes one dislikes. Her falling in love due to Stockholm makes sense (sort of). But him falling for her made zero sense. He seemingly gained feelings in response to her coping with things he puts her through. At the end when he makes a big deal about not letting any other man touch her and going all touch her and you die makes no sense and feels unearned. The only reason anyone else ever touched her (aside from one instance) was because he wanted it to happen. She begged him not to let anyone touch her but he let it happen and has no response to watching her be brutally assaulted. I really did not connect to them as a couple or the MMC.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't get behind this being called a dark romance. Because it was labeled as that and therefore can cause a lot of mental harm I gave it 2 stars. However if it where labeled as an Erotic Horror (the erotic part dosent always meant pleasant) this was good as it was very much extreme horror with erotic parts. But there was no romance and no real HFN. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who dosent enjoy very dark/extreme horror.
My rating for this as a horror is 4 stars and will continue with the next. But feel very weird not rate it low or be sure to warn.

[Niamhyyy12 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

I couldn’t put the book down and read it in a day I feel like I been manipulated because I don’t know if I should go and help the poor girl or be happy for them? 🤷‍♀️😂

my only issue is that I found Magnus to be a whiny bitch, he irritated me up to 85% of the book (as he should)

I wasn’t interested in the storyline tbh, it did bored me a little that due to Magnus character when he wasn’t with the fmc he just kept moaning and moaning about shit I didn’t care about- I also wouldn’t class this man as “powerful” everyone walked all over him and he was just a weak man in my eyes- nobody gave that man respect and that even when he was abusing and torturing them

But then we get after 85% and I don’t know why but it feels like he also manipulated me- I felt quite sorry for the man ( not much) like a singular salt drop but i should’ve felt anything at all

I LOVED liliana as a character, she was strong and she was in control either when she didn’t realise it/ her body was abused, beaten and she was physically and mentally attacked but she didn’t once let that man control her she gave herself to him because SHE wanted to (okay the Stockholm syndrome did help)
I loved that she fight with everything she had, she went through the most fuck up shit and the way her character mental and physical health declined it was heartbreaking, but with that said she was written very well

Screaming that I have to wait until 2025 for book 2 😭

Was the first from the author but wouldn’t be my last:)

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listen, I love a good dark romance and the captivity trope can be intriguing when done correctly... however this was just not it.

The entire book was basically just one brutal rape scene after the next. I found the storyline to be lacking; the mmc all of a sudden decides he loves his "pet" after allowing a brutal gang rape to take place? And then the fmc who is so strong willed is now all of a sudden in love with her rapist? I just didn't think it was executed very well.

There was absolutely no positive attributes to this mmc - I think had there been some semblance of a soul (like Alexzander from Captured by Lauren Biel) then it's possible the story would've made more sense but it just wasn't there.

[Muwanda? · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeahh… I can’t get behind a mmc that LIKES the feeling of rape. I don’t care how much the fmc starts to love him, it’s abuse.

I’m all for Dark Romance but this isn’t it. It’s not even CNC(consensual non-consent) but blatantly rape. Not hot.

J

[SAV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so bloody good! Pitch black captive romance that will break you? Yes pleaseeee gimme

Update: so I was fortunate and managed to get an ALC for this book and doing a reread was so much fun! I still loved the plot and really enjoyed how the narrators brought thia story to life 😍

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess horror novels are romances now if the victim develops Stockholm syndrome? Cool, I dunno. This book was nuts.

[warhawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Dark Romance
Type: Standalone Book 1 of The Brethren Lords
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
4.25 stars



Journalist Liliana Edwards was on the cusp of an exposé on The Brethren, but they were one move ahead. Magnus Blake, a ruthless Brethren Lord, claimed her freedom as his plaything. She vowed to fight until her last breath, but nothing could prepare for what lay ahead.



This book satisfied my dark needs. The story was intriguing, and I liked how the other Blake brothers were woven into the plot without overshadowing the main story. However, I thought it lacked background on the Brethren.

I don’t want his attention, I don’t want his touch, and yet I crave it as if nothing in this world could ever compare.

I loved how Liliana fought as much and as far as she could, and I liked how Magnus stayed true to himself. I also appreciated the fact that it took a while for the relationship to evolve in a natural way.

Deviant is a story of tenacity, power, and ambition. It would appeal to readers who enjoy secret society dark romance.



Books in the series:





For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:



For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every once in a while, when I’m in a reading schlump, I venture outside of my normal genres and tropes with an open mind. I have surprisingly found books with taboo tropes that have really interesting stories so now I find I don’t automatically turn away some tropes and genres that I normally would’ve have before. With that being said, I went into this book with an open mind. I knew there were going to be a lot triggers but I was hoping there was going to be a point to everything. My thinking was the more tragic the fall the more epic the redemption or resolution.

That was not the case. This book is a horrific description of SA, cringy physical and mental abuse, and sad but unfortunate case of Stockholm syndrome. It’s so graphic I don’t want to imagine it so I had to skim the abusive parts. The most tragic part is there is no point or purpose to is all. The MMC doesn’t fall in love with the FMC. He falls in love with how much abuse and pain she can endure and hopes to mistreat her forever. And the FMC doesn’t love the MMC. She is mental and physically broken and mentally succumbs out of self preservation. It’s quite sad. There is no redemption arc for the MMC, there are no wins for the FMC. It does not end well.

This is the side of dark romance that I just can’t get with so this was a no for me.

[Einav Cohen]

Disclaimer: i refuse to rate this thing, as triggers were in fact stated clearly at the beginning. The author did say it was a pitch-black book.

The thing is, i do read dark novels, some even extremely dark, but this one was different. It felt like the author was in a manic binge trying her damnest to dish out the most sickening abuse a mind could possibly think of, pausing from time to time to tease her readers with a 'Are we having yet??? No?? Well, let's see what else we can mutilate then!' breather. I felt like there was NO POINT to it other than the sheer shock-value of one horrendous scene after another.

If i compare this book to a horror movie, then this one was NOT a psychological one coaxing your fear gradually. It was more of a The Saw meets The Centipede (shudder) kind of read. I mean, the only thing our MMC here DIDN'T think of doing was sew her mouth to some arsehole and see how she fares on a daily diet of shit.

I did not feel intrigued, or excited or hopeful. I do not ever remember the plot that well as the whole Brethren thing was very vague to begin with. Just a man taking himself overly serious and a woman driven to insanity. The end.

So yeah.. it was pitch black but also kinda pointless.

[Secret Novel Nook 🥀]

I honestly can’t bring myself to rate this book. It’s not a dark romance—it’s more like a horror or gore novel. The intensity was off the charts. I read the trigger warnings and knew it was considered pitch black, but this story felt over the top. It was like the author wanted to cram in every horrific thing imaginable that could be done to a person. It just didn’t work for me.

I usually enjoy dark romance, but there was no real romance here—just a forced relationship at the end. It didn’t hit the mark for me at all.

[beca · Rating 1 out of 5]

wtf ☠️

[Vin · Rating 4 out of 5]

im ngl this book DEFINITELY is not for everyone, it is not romancey, its very very very much a captive and captor, ots sick and twisted, but it is a good story, just might be too dark for some

[Mihaela Popova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy Mother of Stockholm Syndrome.. 😳
I’ve read some insane stuff, so I wasn’t surprised by the brutality here. I can’t give it more that 3 ⭐️ for moral reasons, but the whole story is actually interesting. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Candice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, if you enjoy repeat, consistent rape and gang rape and stockholm syndrome disguised as “romance” this is the book for you. Yes, I read my trigger warnings.

[alexleasins · Rating 4 out of 5]

holy holy shittt

[Amira🫶🏾 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I was warned but like-

[TheBookPlatypus · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I’m going to break you…” he says so calmly, it makes the words coming out of his mouth even worse. “I’m going to carve away every little piece of what makes you, you, I’ll destroy every tiny bit of hope you have, and only when I decide you’ve suffered enough, will I grant you your death...”


This isn’t a romance.
It’s about sex trafficking, abuse, downright torture, murder and so on.
Read every trigger. It’s some crazy shit.

No redeeming qualities about the MMC. He’s unhinged.
FMC ends up psychologically messed up with Stockholm syndrome… so.. HEA i guess? Not a healthy or safe one. lol.

If you’re looking for a dark messed up read, I definitely recommend this one. But despite what the book says, this is not a romance. It’s not emotional, it’s written purely for shock value.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deplorable and sick

Im suprised that I finished this story. Maybe I was hoping she'd get away. That the MMC would be be truly assassinated. I've never hated anybody more. All for it to end with her completely submissive to her rapist. That all this was, was rape. Nothing consented. I cant get the scene of a young girl being forced then killed right after. The MFC being gang rapped then torn apart from the inside. All to satisfy his friends. Gross, disgusting.
I've read trauma books like "The child called IT" and that was traumatic and gut retching because it was real. This book is all shocked value. All about some "bad boy" with no redemption arc. Well your right it's not redeeming. This was too dark for me and I hope I dont read anything like this again.

[Gwen🗡️🐉 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 38%
I cannot believe somebody actually wrote this horrible fucking book