Four Kings

A Very Secret Garden #2

by Karan K. Anders

Mika Niles always thought boyfriends way too much effort. Now she has three of them.

While Mika has a habit of making life look easy, maintaining a balance between three boys who refuse to become rivals would be a challenge all on its own. Adding to the mix apparently infinite family drama, and the inevitable backlash brought by living with three extremely coveted young men, may be enough to threaten Mika's lifelong dream.

When it's no longer a game, and not nearly enough of a secret, can Mika find a way to stay with her Kings?

Genres: Romance, New Adult

474 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 26, 2022

About the author

Karan K Anders is a pseudonym used by Andrea K Höst to infrequently publish romance with more sex than usually found in her novels.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to The Book of Firsts and completely depends on having read that one.

You know about what you're getting with this extension of the story from that first book. The characters are still competence porn, though the actual sex bits fade almost completely. I liked seeing them build their life past high school, though the wish-fulfillment is even stronger with this one than it was the first.

I particularly liked Mika's growth arc with regards to her engineering hero and events there. I could have cheered (and maybe did a little) when she is rejected before even getting to know the vaunted professor and Mika's response is "I didn't fail her evaluation, she failed mine." It may be a little too mature for that age but I was all in for it!

And I don't have much else to say except that I'm willing to bet that your view of this one will be tied to your view of that first story. If you liked it, this delivers all the right continuation. For me, it's still five stars and I wish these people actually existed, even if I know I'm not cool enough to ever meet them.

A note about Steamy: Their intimacy is firmly established in the first book, so all that you really get in this one is enough to establish them as a group. There's, like, one explicit scene and lots of lead-in and reference to others. Which puts this way low on my steam tolerance for all the inherent racy-ness of being a foursome.

[Sherwood Smith]

I see I forgot to review this, though I read it when it first came out, but there was a lot of Stuff going on, and I fell miles behind in my reviewing. (still am!)

This sequel is basically fan service for the first book. It's a relaxing read, skimming the lives of the heroine and her harem of hot guys, and how they make it work for them. It doesn't have the drive the first book had, and you very much need to have read the first one for anything to make sense. But there is a place for idyllic reads, and lingering over the afterlives of characters you come to love through their initial introduction.

There is also a place for odd books like this, impossible to categorize in the usual trade grooves. This, and its predecessor, stand, for me, as more evidence of why indie publication is enriching literature in so very many awesome ways.

[Andrea]

The Book of Firsts = 60.
Four Kings = 1.

A story about getting to know each other better, and enjoying happy moments. [And also parents.]

[Carro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sequel. Continues their lives - which sounds boring but is anything but. Founding more companies, organising things, renovating buildings, planning buildings, learning how polyandry works for them. Lots of fun side characters and lush descriptions. Houses I'd love to live in and companies I wish I could have worked for - despite having pretty much none of the requisite skills.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️

Wow this was a snooze fest. No story arc, no angst, very minimal family drama, and certainly no steam - which is a bit odd for a book about a ménage e quatre.

It’s mostly about building an empire (land grab anyone?) and a video game. And whether they should order in for dinner.

I honestly don’t know why I persisted. I guess I hoped something would happen? And I can’t even say the characters developed or their relationship. They/It just existed in their bubble.

I don’t know what book others who rated this above 4 read but it this bored me to tears. I’m a fast reader but I struggled to get through this ones Ended up skimming to the end. The writing is solid though.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed getting to know Mika and her kings in The Book of Firsts that I was excited to see this one pop up at the end of the year. I read it pretty much in one sitting, and it was great to be back in this world. However, I think the book suffered from the lack of an arc. There was no mystery plot this time, although several events called out for explanation (esp the professor's behavior, Mika's social media hate, and some of the family actions).

The slice-of-life focus continues throughout the book, and there's not a lot of growth or change for the characters. This is not the author's fault, but I think I wanted more focus on the dynamics of how exactly would this unique relationship work among the principals; instead, everyone gets along perfectly. Hard to wish for more angst in today's world, but maybe a little?

This is a fantasy world, especially regarding money situations, but I still appreciated the characters' competence and learning more about the various family members. More Carr and Lania would have been nice. Lania's a curvy geek girl in a tech bro field, and I wanted to see her navigate that.

Still highly enjoyable if you enjoyed Firsts.

Sweet epilogue.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

Anders / Höst is in my top 3 of favorite authors, and this book is one that firmly keeps her there. I have read enough RHs to tell anyone that this isn’t your standard RH (in a way I highly appreciate) - the action/romance is certainly part of the book, but the story is SO much more than that. Anders is such an amazingly talented author, to pull this off.

My one gripe - Mika is a bit more of a Mary Sue than I’d expect from Anders. Mika doesn’t meet a single problem her big brain or backlog of wonderful connections can’t figure out. Don’t let that deter you from reading though, because the problems are all fascinating, as are their resolutions. (I never thought someone could make structural engineering interesting, but this certainly did)

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very odd book that mostly works. Ultimately an idyll with almost no plot tension, it functions basically as a long extended epilogue to The Book of Firsts. The characters remain interesting, the action warm and inviting, and the hint of SFnal worldbuilding (what if Greenland was in the North Atlantic, warmed by the gulfstream, and had a populated interior) really intriguing. I just wish there was *something* for the characters to overcome or challenge themselves with, given the length of the book. And there isn't. Still had fun with it and if (I don't think it likely) Anders/Host revisits the world again I'll happily dive in. Just not quite as goof as The Book of Firsts.

[Rhi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This takes the cloyingly endless wish fulfilment of the first book and adds to it a layer of also cloying mundanities scattered with immersion breaking details that really could have been elided. For example, the more the AAA videogame dreams are described the more it sounds like an unfocused mess that thoughtlessly mashes together games someone liked without having any interesting innovation of it's own. The thing I was hoping for here was the work of a newly established relationship. Things not quite going to plan, being emotionally difficult in ways you might not expect. Not anything on the level of will they break up, just solving unexpected problems coming from inside instead of out. Without that my impression of the whole is mostly heightened external problems that are easily resolved and 3 boys throwing money at a girl they like until she acknowledges commitment.

[Debbie Gascoyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of this author's work (under her other name), but I have to confess this latest offering under her alt was a big disappointment. I'll forgive a lot, but it was BORING! So much a kind of fantasy of being rich and beautiful, and although not completely unbelievable was, for the most part, too much a catalogue of interior decoration, real-estate deals and "what we ate for dinner." I was invested in the characters after the first instalment, but too much was left unresolved or under-explained.

[Wally Muchow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two books well worth reading.

I waited until I had a mostly uninterrupted period of time to read this book. Which was a good thing. It is a great book with a lot of interesting characters and writing. I hope there are more book with these people.

Also makes me want to.visit Greenland.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is like a slice of life continuation of the first novel, exploring the poly relationship and each character's families. Definitely recommend if you're in the mood for a feel good read.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has the issue I often have with romances: it decides everything is settled when it's just getting started. But I loved getting more slice of life from this group, and kept picking this up no matter what they were doing. Obviously I should look up more of this author's books.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight to read

Lots of small surprises throughout, relaxing and no real angst or needless drama. A refreshing read set in an interesting place.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Hendrix Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost 4 stars. Sweet.

[Ina]

DNF after chapter 10.

[Hiba · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

[Nicola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, and an entertaining read; I can’t quite say it lacked depth but there’s a lack of seriousness that works well for the most part but meant some of the darker topics felt…underbaked. Still, a nice way to while away the day.

[Jammin Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Hidden gem 💎

I love the second story between this group
It a great plot with a interesting storyline
Minimal drama
MMMF romance
Strong Female character
I Hope there more romance novels like this from the author, it’s up there with my favourite Touchstone series.
Definitely a favourite of mine to read over and over again