‘The Emperor’ is the third book in the ‘Dark Verse’ series that follows the story of Dante & Amara. This book takes the crown as the best one in the entire series.
About 'The Emperor'
Author: RuNyx
Series: Dark Verse #2
Publisher: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Dark Romance, Contemporary Romance
Other works from the Author: Gothikana
Page Number: 443 pages
Audible Listening Time: 11 hours and 3 mins
Goodreads Rating: 4.22/5
My Rating: 3/5
Dante & Amara lives in the same estate all their lives. Amara is the daughter of the help and Dante is the son of the most feared mafia in town. Amara has had a massive crush on Dante since they were kids, admiring him from afar. Dante, being the observant guy he is, knows about Amara's crush, but he doesn't take it too seriously. As the story unfolds, Dante begins to realize that the crush is neither one-sided nor a mere infatuation.
The forbidden element in their relationship adds an extra thrill to the story. I personally loved the plot of ‘The Emperor’ even more than the previous ones. It's filled with intense longing and desire from Dante and Amara, which hooked me from the start.
Amara easily became my favorite female love interest out of all the characters created by this author. She's absolutely adorable as a teenager, always curious about Dante and having this huge crush on him. But fair warning, she goes through a serious trauma that's difficult to read about (check the book's trigger warning).
Despite being portrayed as this ruthless monster, Dante has some redeeming qualities that make him the ultimate male love interest. I absolutely loved the backstory they gave him, especially his rebellious teenage years and how he was shaped by the cruel things his father made him do.
The moments between Dante and Amara are simply heartwarming. Dante religiously checking up on her and helping her heal from her trauma shows their incredible bond. Those chapters were the absolute highlight for me and made the book totally worth reading.
The pacing of ‘The Emperor’ is fantastic. It never drags or gets boring, and I was so engrossed that I finished it in one sitting. I genuinely enjoyed ‘The Emperor’ a whole lot. In fact, it easily ranks among my top three favorite romances of the year so far. I'm so glad I didn't give up on the series after feeling let down by ‘The Predator’ and ‘The Reaper’.
“He didn’t think she knew how much he loved her voice. In his world of gunshots and screams, her voice was a gentle prayer, evidence that there was life after the endless noise.”
“We may not be husband and wife to the world but I have been married to you in my heart for eight years.”
“You remember what I told you about chess pieces? That I didn’t know what piece you were?” “Yes.” He turned his neck to put his eyes on hers. “You’re the queen on the board, Amara. You’re my most powerful piece, but my most vulnerable. They get you, they get me, and the game is over. So, I’ll do whatever I need to make sure they never get you.”
“You ever try to leash me, I’ll fucking strangle you with it.”
“It’s not where we’re planted but where we bloom that defines us.”
“He'll be everything dark and you're afraid of the dark, remember?”
“Dante had never noticed like a man never noticed the light of the sun until he went blind.”
Amazon Blurb
What happens when a legacy of ruin mates with a realm of blood?
Heir to the notorious Tenebrae Outfit, Dante Maroni has been trained since birth. A silent rebel in the shadows, he has learned to hide his ruthlessness under his charm, his brutality under his suits, and his love for one woman under his silence. Infiltrating the Syndicate responsible for the missing children, Dante discovers information that shatters his reality and forces him to trigger a lethal game.
Daughter of the Maroni housekeeper, Amara has loved Dante for longer than she's known it. Abducted and tortured at the young age of fifteen, she loses herself, her life, and her home as she knows it. Years after, unknowingly protected, she's found some semblance of normalcy when her world collapses again, forcing her to join the game.
Mysteries are unraveled. Secrets are discovered. And their young love is transformed, replaced by a deep intimacy, power, and survival.
The reluctant king and inevitable queen play.
Buy 'The Emperor'
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[…] garbage. I am giving it a rating of 0 stars for traumatizing me with this horrendous plot. I liked The Emperor, the third book in the series. But this one was […]