King of Envy (Kings of Sin)
Vuk Markovic is not the sort of man who makes small talk at parties. Scarred, solitary, and obscenely wealthy, he keeps the world at arm's length, trusting almost no one. Almost. Because there's one woman he's watched from a distance for longer than he'd care to admit, and she's just accepted a marriage proposal from his closest friend. Timing, as ever, is brutal. Ayana Kidane looks, from the outside, like someone who has it all figured out. A supermodel career that's taken off, a high-profile engagement, a life that photographs beautifully. What nobody sees is the private agreement underpinning that engagement: he gets his inheritance, she gets the financial means to escape an agency that's been controlling and mistreating her. It's practical. Tidy. Entirely manageable. Then Vuk starts looking at her like that. Huang builds the tension between these two with real patience, letting the forbidden attraction simmer before it boils. Vuk is brooding without tipping into parody, and Ayana is given genuine agency rather than simply existing as a prize to be won. Their dynamic has a push-pull quality that keeps the pages turning. She's drawn to him despite every sensible reason not to be; he's wrestling with loyalty and longing in ways that actually feel costly. When the wedding plans begin to unravel and old dangers resurface, the stakes sharpen considerably. It's a satisfying, romantic read with enough tension to hold your attention throughout.
- Author: Ana Huang
- Publisher: Piatkus
- Genre: Short Stories
- ISBN: 978-0349436395
- Pages: 528 pages