I am extremely bummed because the world building in this book is amazing. Despite the extremely problematic content, I was highly tempted to continue reading. I wanted to love this. But the assault and abuse in the central romance at 17% was already way more than I am willing to tolerate.

First and foremost: PLEASE CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS! This book is not for everyone. It's not my usual genre, so the rating is subjective for this genre.

Worldbuilding is strong, if limited. However, for this type of story, it was sufficient that I didn't constantly feel like I was running into holes.

This is a very character-driven book, and the 'hero' is probably the darkest of grays, if not black, in the first part of this book. However, there's a strong character arc that continues into the next book (yes, I immediately read the second one).

This is marketed as a dark fantasy romance, and it definitely fits the bill.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and I enjoyed the narrators: Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advance audio ARC.

What in the world did I just listen to? Did I enjoy myself? Sure, who doesn’t love a possessive god who makes you his? However, if you asked me what this book was about, I’m not sure I could tell you. This is a DARK Fantasy Romance where the MMC is a possessive villain and morally ambiguous. If you are hoping for a redemption arc…this book isn’t for you. Seriously, be sure to check the trigger warnings. It wasn’t the horror, or dark, elements that gave me pause. It was how quickly this book took off with a lack of world building. It left me very confused about the overall plot. Lastly, the female narrator was fine until she would use her “male” voice for Enoch. The male narrator had less chapters, but he did fine as well.

2.75 stars, rounded up.

The first in a dark fantasy romance duology. Please mind the extensive trigger warnings, listed below.

Ada is a human struggling with grieving the death of her husband and fitting into a society that looks down on her for being unable to bear a child. She finds herself accidentally dragged into the Pale Court and at the mercy of a merciless god. The King of Flesh and Bone, the ruler of the Pale Court (think Hades and the Underworld, but with a dark fantasy twist), who can control flesh or bone - rot corpses, raise a dead army, break the bones of the living at will, distort ones flesh to either age or remain young, etc. The story primarily follows the dynamics of their relationship and the King of Flesh and Bone's role outside of the Pale Court.

I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have not read many dark fantasy romance stories, so I am not sure if the content of this book is typical for the genre or if the dark elements are not aligned with what the genre is meant to be. I do plan on reading more dark fantasy romance in the future, so I may revisit this review following additional reference points.

---I do not guarantee that the review / TWs are not spoiler free, read with this in mind. ---

Be advised that this story is about a villain. Not a hero. There is no redemption. There is no good. Just a dark and distorted god and a lot of smut (including quite a bit of peach play, in case you were interested). <spoiler>The villain has a strong disdain for the living, with a complicated past involving another human woman. So much so that he has isolated himself in the Pale Court. When Ada is dragged into his presence, he takes this disdain out on her in the form of nonconsensual sexual punishment, as he strongly desires her warmth. The entirety of their relationship is nonconsensual sex - where he not only physically forces her into acts, but also uses his abilities to force her flesh and bone to comply with his demands. Towards the end of the book, Ada begins to feel conflicted by her body's arousal response to these acts and distorts this natural bodily response to assault for real building emotions of affection towards the King. This portrayal of a traumatic response as affection did not sit well with me and played a large role in me wanting to hate this book.</spoiler>

That aside, the writing is nothing outstanding and there is no plot (and what little plot does exist feels forced). The pacing is fast, very fast. The explanation of the King, his brothers, and their entire existence/purpose/boundaries of their powers is very underdeveloped. Also, it ends on a cliffhanger, which is neither here nor there.

Like I said, I wanted to hate this book, but I didn't...I enjoyed it. If you are okay with the dark elements/TWs and are looking for a quick read with little investment in world building with dirty/dark smut, then this book may be for you.

The second book however....well, see my review of that book for more information. Overall, I would have recommended this book, but the second book in the series was enough for me to say that I will not be recommending this book.

TWs: <spoiler>sexual content, sexual violence, repeated on page rape between the main characters, repeated on page sexual assault between the main characters, confinement, violence, gore, fire/injury, blood, body horror, death, murder, animal death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, discussions of infertility, grief, terminal illness, toxic relationship.</spoiler>

I am having a hard time reviewing this title. It was dark, which I like, but I just didn't seem to get into it. I don't have to like the characters, but for this book, I didn't have opinions on the characters one way or the other. I think this book would be enjoyed more by someone else. I can't even really put a finger on what I disliked, the book was just ok.

3 stars

The King of Flesh and Bone is the first book in the Pale Court Duet. This is a dark fantasy romance that had me hooked from beginning to end as it was different and unlike anything I've read before.
Enosh is the King of Flesh and Bone and an ancient God who has long since abandoned mankind to their petty destructions and refuses to do his duty. As a morally grey anti-hero he was at the top of the charts. Some of the things he did in this story will shock you. As the King of Flesh and Bone he can animate and command human corpses or allow them to rot/rest in their final place. He can fashion bones into anything and even force people's body to do what he wants.
Ada is a human who got dragged into his realm by a runaway mule and he refused to let her go as he craved the warmth of her embrace. She was a strong character who fought and argued with him at every turn. Both characters were multi layered and complex with their own past traumas. Enosh wanted her devotion and she wanted to escape. However the longer they were together, things slowly started to change.
The steamy scenes in this book was off the charts hott with both dubcon/noncon scenes at the start, and as time passed the chemistry/relationship between these two evolved.
The author did a fantastic job with world building creating this eerie yet imaginative setting and the attention to detail was superb.
The story is filled with triggers so sensitive reader take note. It ends in a major cliffhanger that leaves me anxious for more. I can't wait to start the net book in the duet. I enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend it to lovers of dark fantasy romance.
I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. It was narrated by Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas
and they were fantastic. They were perfectly cast and really brought the characters to life. They gave each character their own voice and emotion and it was easy to follow along with the story. It was a pleasure listening to them narrate this novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for my audio copy.

I saw this book on tiktok and immediately wanted to read it. And once I saw the audiobook on netgalley I requested it and was so excited when it hit my library! I loved this book, it took me a little longer to get into it. But I did enjoy it and I'm excited for book two

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a dark romance fantasy, this is it! The King of Flesh and Bone will give you everything you could expect from a dark story. The world-building was excellent. I also liked how the heroine developed the course of the book. There were several characters here that were interesting. I found the story so interesting that I went and bought the second book already.

I am looking forward to reading more of Liv Zander's writings.

Spice 5/5:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
World-Building 4/5:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Story 3/5:📖📖📖📖

There are content warnings for rape, gore, and infertility.

I have a lot of thoughts on this book. Most of them are bad. I had a really hard time following some of both Ada and Enoch (sp?) motivations in the relationship. Like I understand this is erotica and plot is sometimes irrelevant. However, if you go to the trouble of trying to have a love concurs all narrative in the books, why not make them make more sense?

Sorry for being a harsh critic. If it makes you feel any better I read both books in 3 days!

The King of Flesh and Bone (The Pale Court Duet #1)
Liv Zander
I was disappointed in this tale. An erotic book can be fun, sexy and tantalizing but this one did nothing for me. It was too dark. I do not like books where the hero is evil.

Not me realizing too late this was the book that was all over TikTok because he breaks her legs so she can't leave. 😅

Let's clear it up... He didn't break them..... He twisted them 😅 there's apparently a difference to him but not her.

Anyways this book is definitely on the dark side. No red light sabers tho.

I'm not really fond of just all out smut. Everyone just going at it and no story. I was sure that's what this book would be because.... Look at the cover, but , while it did have smut, the story was actually pretty good; In my opinion.... Once you get past the walking dead on full moons, murdered, rape, dismemberment and dead babies I was ready to see what Ada can do to the Pale Court

I apologize but I don't think I am the best one to review this book. I had to DNF because it was to dark for me. The narrator wasn't bad and from what I read, neither was the writing but I did not continue after 15% percent.

I have to start by saying the narrators did a fantastic job with this story and the story itself was fantastic. I can honestly say that I've never listen to a book like this before. It was unpredictable and there were so many elements that played into this story. I can honestly say that this story will not be for everyone, so beware and take heed to the author's warnings. This is a dark, rough, edgy and steamy story of flesh, bone and blood. The inside of this story is just as dark, maybe even more than the outside of it. I felt bad for both Enosh and Ada for very different reasons. They were so wrong but so right for each other. It definitely took a while for me to like Enosh, but I found myself liking him even with his demented ways. I enjoy them together as Ada trying to bring out the best in him. They say that love conquers all, so I'll have to wait to see if it's true for them. Right now, betrayal and misunderstanding are running rampant but I'm definitely excited to know how things play out in the next book especially with the cliffhanger ending in this one. I can't wait to know what happens next.

This gives, dark romance, bully, and a lot of other triggers to be aware of. Be kind to yourself, check those prior to see if this is for you.

I adored the world building. Plot wise I don’t feel like much happened, this felt like half a book. I am not a fan of using a cliffhanger to try and get me to read the next book. Though it might work once it won’t work again and it leaves me feeling unsatisfied that lingers going into the next book.

I listened to the audiobook for this, it was excellent!!!!

This dark romance was different than most. At one minute it had me saying it crosses the line for what I was comfortable with but then I wanted to see what happened and kept listening. I absolutely love the female narrator. But did not enjoy the male voice as much. I do feel this book needs to have trigger warnings as it pushes on the abusive lines pretty heavy. The ending makes me want to find out what happens next.

Zander has definitely written a story that is the definition of Dark Fantasy. This tale is filled with gore, horror, and a sensuous darkness that will arouse a sense of uneasiness in her readers. The characters are well-matched in their heated dialogues that showcase the fire of the heroine, refusing to bend to Enosh even as he drew her most unacknowledged desires to the surface, and his resentment of his weakened position as the mortals seek to empower others above him.

The sexual assault and forced intimacy was the hardest to read and one can only hope that he will be remorseful of his actions and seek forgiveness from Ada. The machinations of his brothers add another sinister layer to this tale and does keep the reader engaged. The patriarchal views and power over the women is clearly felt as all blame falls at their feet and they are labelled if they move towards their more expressive nature.

this is definitely a character-driven book, so if plot is a necessity for you, you may not enjoy it as much.

The narrators are wholly involved in presenting the emotions and reactions of the characters interactions and it really heightened the reading experience.

I really wanted to like this one. It has all the basic elements that pretty much guarantee I'm going to love a story, but no sweet words and declarations of ownership will ever make the outright rapes that the supposed hero subjects poor Ada to. Yes, he's tortured and doesn't know another way to deal. Yes, she has the worst case of Stockholm syndrome and touch starvation imaginable so she ends up thinking she's in love with him. No, there is no excuse for what he does to her and no amount of fantasy elements and growly declarations of desire will ever make it alright with me.
I will say that what earned it the one star and the one thing that made it bearable was that the narration by Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas is top-notch. Too bad it's wasted on a story that just doesn't deserve it.

Mandatory note: I got a review copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media.

4.0 stars
King of Flesh and Bone was spicy, wow. I was not expecting such graphic details and feel like I need a cold shower after this one.
What I liked about the book was the Narrators and their ability to capture the essence of the storyline.
The story line it self was on the verge of bothersome though, for me personally, I do not resonate well with domineering relationships and at times it felt like borderline abuse.
So if you are into the man being controlling and possessive this book is for you.

I decided to give audiobooks a try. My first time listening to one, I couldn’t even get past the 3rd chapter in another book. I ended up giving King of Flesh and Bone a chance since I kept hearing good things about the book and let me tell you.. this Audiobook did NOT disappoint.

I loved the story line. (keep in mind this is DARK if you don’t enjoy Dark dark fantasy romance this isn’t for you).

I was also surprised how much I loved Auri Alden, and Gregory Salinas as Narrators.

Lots of twists and turns and lots of jaw drops throughout the book. ☺️

I can not wait to read the rest of the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this audio narration of this book. The dual narration was great and both actors did a wonderful job, the spice was so good and this book left me wanting more!

Thank you #Netgalley for an early read of #kingoffleshandbone