I don’t typically gravitate towards dark romance, but I was intrigued by this extended universe and its many legacies.
Synopsis
God of Fury follows the standalone mm romance between Nikolai Sokolov, a violent and obsessive Russian mafia heir, and Brandon King, a quiet, seemingly perfect artist and the twin brother of Nikolai's enemy. Nikolai will force Brandon to confront his perfectionism, trauma, and repressed sexuality.
Brandon, they did you dirty
Brandon, thank you for existing. It would’ve been very hard to go through 600 pages without you.
Showing signs of depression, self-harm, and OCD, he was relatable and a well-written, complex character. Whether it’s about sexuality or mental health, it was nice to see so much representation.
Nevertheless, he’s pretty much written and treated like a girl (a fragile and indecisive one, I might add). Judging by what I’ve heard from people who’ve read the whole series, he’s similar to the other female main characters. Therefore, it might not be the best gay representation you can find.
Nikolai, you funny, pushy, annoying lotus flower
The first chapter with Nikolai’s POV made me regret so many life choices. This 19-year-old manchild is constantly talking about his genitals (he even gave them a name) and sex like he just found out about it.
Concerning his sexual orientation, I felt like Rina Kent fell into the overly sexual bi cliché. He’s really pushy about it and tries to « convert » multiple characters throughout the story. But the (other) real problem is that he’s a rap*st and a stalker.
A problematic relationship with off-page banter
This relationship had everything for me to never root for them. Like, ever.
How does it start, you might ask? Oh well, with Nikolai stalking Brandon and forcing himself onto him any chance he gets. I know, charming.
Nikolai is always the one to instigate any sexual activity. Brandon is forced to do everything he wants, including choosing him over his twin brother, coming out, and breaking up with his girlfriend.
Most of their banter happened off-page and was told rather than shown. I couldn’t get invested in it (especially after the sexual assaults). They obviously had some cute moments but, it was mostly smut. I didn’t feel their connection or chemistry.
Sidenote, the nicknames were ridiculous and overused (Lotus Flower, baby)
A useless but cute entourage
Everything out of the two main characters isn’t fleshed out. They are supposed to have this huge family and friend group, but they are only there so Brandon and Nikolai can talk about each other to someone else. It’s really far from the comforting found family I was expecting.
What really took me off was how all girls were either villainized or infantilized. Rina Kent seems to love big, strong men but to hate fragile, innocent girls. Men are either disrespectful to them or act like cavemen who must protect them at all costs. It felt really dated and heterosexual, ironically.
In my opinion, the best relationship is between Brandon and his twin, Landon. They share a complex bond, and seeing their evolution was realistic and interesting. To continue with their families, their parents were so supportive and fun to be around. It’s refreshing not to read about deadbeat parents for once.
Is this even mafia? Is this even college?
I was expecting something way more immersive, with stronger college and mafia elements.
To start with college, the setting was barely used or mentioned. They could’ve been anywhere else, really. Judging from the series’ length, I thought the campus would’ve been more memorable with specific locations and professors, for instance.
As for the mafia, it’s not even a trope I enjoy, and even I was disappointed. And yet, the first chapter had given me hope. Indeed, it starts off strong with Brandon going through a secret society initiation. I was super invested. What a great introduction to this dark and brutal world. However, it’s literally the first scene out of two that is actually violent, which made the stakes quite low. That initiation is never brought up again; we barely know why they had to do it in the first place. The rest happens off-page, and it’s quite boring (some beef with prank level comebacks). Moreover, Nikolai is supposed to be Brandon’s mortal enemy, but them dating doesn’t faze Landon. How convenient and nonsensical.
Mind you, they constantly act like tough guys who’d kill anyone at any time. I’ll wait.
The lack of development even can’t be explained by the fact this is the fifth book since it can be read as a standalone.
Final thoughts and rating
Overall, I found it repetitive and boring (Nikolai stalking and forcing himself onto Brandon, then unlimited smut). It gets long towards the end, with a lot of overexplaining. The writing only amazed me during the scenes addressing mental health.
My rating: 1.65/5 stars
Have you read the book? If you want to know what I thought about it, my fully annotated copy is available.
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