Derrik Tyler has it all. He’s a world-famous rock star with a legion of adoring fans and has obtained teen idol status. He even has a Hollywood starlet who wants nothing more than to be the only girl in his life. It’s a publicity stunt only his band knows about, but that’s not detracting her from trying to turn their fake relationship into a real one. Yep, he has it all. Except for the girl who stole his heart before his life turned into a rock n’ roll rollercoaster.
Zoey Jacobs has been friends with Derrik since middle school. Before the Kings became the hottest band in the world. She even dated Derrik before he was known as the King of Hearts—the biggest teen heartthrob in the last decade. But that’s all in the past. She’s just a few short months away from graduating high school and moving on to college.
When spring break rolls around, Derrik invites Zoey along for the last leg of the band’s tour. What should be an amazing road trip turns into Derrik’s personal mission to win back his first love. But can two people from different worlds reignite a past relationship, or is a teen icon and a future college freshman too big of a gap to cross?
King of Hearts is the first book in the Kings of Karmichael series. The series is interconnected, but each book can be read as a standalone.
RH Tucker writes cute & edgy YA romance, and drinks too much caffeine.
I’m a firm believer that Rocky Road is the absolute best flavor of ice cream in the world, although if I must, I will settle for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
I crashed out of this one relatively early (not quite 20%). This is pure wish-fulfillment fantasy so I try to give those their premise. Only that didn't work with Derrik. He's too perfect. He's well-adjusted, not interested in his fame or money, only wants the girl he left behind, is self-assured and open-hearted. His greatest flaw is that he's let himself be talked into a fake relationship with some young actress he has no interest in. Which also makes zero sense because even though Zoey, the girl he's interested in, knows full well that it's a sham, it's still a lot of faking dating that is centered on a hot alternative right when he wants to woo the other girl. Also, making Danica (the hot actress) such a rapacious shark out to conquer Derrik and him being all, "well, that's not a problem because she's not going to get me" is too stupid for words.
So Derrik is a ginormous idiot on an emotional level and that's before we get to Zoey having some hidden confession she's been putting off telling Derrik. Like that's not going to blow up and spew drama all over the place. So yeah, I'm completely uninterested in this story.
Additional turn-offs: Smirking is not attractive. Having Derrik smirk all over the first few chapters is . . . a mistake. I didn't do a count on how many there were, but it was waaaaaay too many. Also, this shares the drawback of the only other book by the author I've read in that the copy editing is notably poor. Like, you could teach classes on copy-editing by handing this book out and coaching young copy-editors through making the necessary corrections...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The angst was palpable through all of it. Derrick and Zoey are in love. But she broke up with him because she didn't think she could handle being a rock star's girlfriend.
The story is about them dancing around their feelings. Well, mostly Zoey. Derrick knows exactly how he feels about her and tries his hardest to get her back. For me, what pulled on my emotions was the validity of both of their points.
She wants a normal life. Someone that is always there. And that's her right to want that, especially out of a relationship. But he also points out (or maybe Becca does) that he can show up at the drop of a hat. He has that kind of cash. So they can be together. He also proved that he would be faithful to her, despite the temptation. (I mean, he was able to keep his lips off other girls for over a year! When they weren't even together. That MEANS something.) I felt for both of them. His life would be in the spotlight. Hers wouldn't. Neither was wrong with how they viewed their lives.
They do manage to figure it out. Or at least try. It takes some serious probing for Zoey to open up and finally see what was in front of her the entire time. And that she could still be with Derrick, even if she was scared.
I will say, I'm upset we didn't see her come clean about her lie. It wasn't just some innocent thing to keep Derrick at bay. It was intentionally hurtful. She knew it would cut deep, and cut deep it did. (Derrick absolutely is responsible for his own actions. But I think he learned that hurt people hurt people. Because Zoey hurt him, he turned around and hurt others. And himself.) I would have liked to have a scene where she came clean about it.
This book is mostly clean. There is some language and the sex is off the pages.
I received an ARC copy which in no way affects my opinion of the book. Derrik (The King of Hearts) and Zoey ❤️
Written with dual POVs (which I love)
Some spoilers follows but I will try not to give too much away!!!
I did root for these characters but I was annoyed with their actions during the novel at certain times (Just like I get in other love stories where you just want to shake the main characters to convince them to be together). They both love each other but Zoey wasn’t convinced that they should/could be together while Derrik was in the band and she didn’t want to take that away from him. Also, she still wanted a normal life too which she didn’t think she could have if she was with him because of all the fame. They said/did some unnecessary things of course, but in the end it was good!
Overall, this is a cute YA novel and would recommend it to other people who like band love stories!
I can’t wait to read the other stories in the series for the other band members and I’m pretty sure EJ (AKA the King of Nice) is next!!! 😊
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I read and reviewed an ARC copy - my first ever book read by RH Tucker. He describes his genre succinctly: "cute and edgy". The journey of Derrik and Zoey's relationship from dating to being best friends to trying to stay just friends is wrought with tension, romance and grappling with wanting what's best for the other - I couldn't put it down! The characters were authentic and relatable, and the exciting hold-your-breath-to-see-what-happens-next narrative, doused with humour! For sensitive readers, there is mild language, some OM*s and references to not so sweet and clean behaviour! A thoroughly edgy and fast-paced romance - highly recommended 👍
First off, I am really into rockstar books as of late + this one didn’t disappoint. It’s a clean young adult book that keeps your interest + was really cute. I loved Derrik + I loved that Zoey wasn’t some spoiled, self centered person but a selfless one to let Derrik live his dream. I found RH Tucker this year because of Kindle Unlimited + he has not disappointed me yet! I can’t wait for EJ’s book so we get a deeper look at the King of Nice.
Dual POV. I actually enjoyed this read but could have been a 5 star if the heroine wasn't so whiny. If I had been Becca aka heroine's best friend, i would have had to put cotton balls in my ears with all the whining going on.
Besides that, I enjoyed the rock star setting. and can't wait to hear about EJ, King of Nice :)
King of Hearts is a fun HEA with a well written storyline that flows nicely. The main characters have depth and are realistic in a guy/girl next door kind of way. I received an ARC and have chosen to give my honest review.
OMG finally zoey comes to her senses. I wanted to strangle her most of the book but I knew Derrick could make it happen. But honestly they had to figure their crap out themselves first. This was an awesome book.