(WIP)

Confused Medic📄💊

Incoming fangirling over Nikolai.

God of fury of is the fifth book in the legacy of gods series by rina kent. Can be read as a standalone, contains spoilers from the previous books though. <u>Spoilers ahead.</u>

Trigger warnings : https://www.rinakent.com/content-warnings/

Story : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plot : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing style : flowy, easy to read.

MMC : Nikolai sokolov and Brandon king. I love them both so much. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Both deserve six stars. But even more so for niko, my golden retriever baby.

side characters : they are all so lovely, and i enjoyed their shenanigans in the midst of the story.

Story setting : college.

Summary : <spoiler>brandon is constantly chased, and pursued by Nikolai, though brandon doesn’t give in to him, because he believes himself to be straight, or so he tells himself — Nikolai makes him realize that he is gay like him. Nikolai is relentless in his pursuit until brandon agrees to be his, but in secret. Brandon is suffering through something, but it is a secret he hasn’t shared with anyone. Which leads to self harm, and pretending he’s okay. Nikolai also has his episodes of violence and rage, which are tamed by Brandon’s presence. They both start a situationship, and then one day Nikolai finds out about the self harm bran inflicts on himself, and finds out that it’s because of grace, a woman in the art industry, and also the one who signed Astrid, bran’s mother, he understands exactly what happened to brandon, and is filled with fury so red, he can’t see anything else. But it is too late because Brandon stabs himself with the mirror piece in niko’s hand and ends up in a hospital. Landon, who does not have a liking to niko, wants to be in on whatever destruction niko plans on wrecking on grace, they take care of it along with Kyle. And then Brandon seeks therapy, comes out to his parents and family, and realizes that his brother, sister, and his parents love him, always have. Regardless of grace incident. Brandon is accepted, and loved fiercely, even by the brother he felt distant most of his life with. They have their happy ever after, when bran proposes first, since niko was the one who pursued him, niko is just a baby, and we all love him, the story ends. (Also, we do get a hint on Gareth Carson and Kayden lockwood).</spoiler>

Dedicated to by the author : this was dedicated to everyone who scream in silence, thankyou rina. You have a way of making me feel seen, I am addicted to your books, please never stop writing.

Pacing : medium.

Tropes : enemies to lovers, contemporary, dark romance, touch him and die, possessive MMC, obsessive MMC, dominant MMC. (Both are all of the previous mentioned tropes).

Type of romance : dark, contemporary.

What i loved : I loved Nikolai. Fuck, he’s all mafia boy, aggressive, arrogant, and annoying in all the other books, but in his book? Just a baby who is devastatingly flirtatious, annoyingly cute, and deceptively caring. I really thought i won’t have fun reading his book, considering this is the last book i’m reading in this series, but boy did he steal my heart in the first pov and the first line we get. His ways of pursuing brandon.

Niko and bran’s conversations in <i>my</i> way.

Bran : I am straight. Niko : didn’t seen like that when you were kissing clara and watching me, while you were hard for me. Not her. Niko is so cheeky i fucking loved him. So much. More than Brandon. Why is he not in love with me? I want my niko too, sent help 😭I want niko all to myself, sorry bran. But i’m possessive too. And if you have the other books, than you’ll know brandon is shy, and introverted in the other books, but in his book? Oh he loves to devour niko. Well.

Favourite parts/ highlights : the banter between these two. (As in the book).

Niko : you’re so hot, baby. I want to lick you.

Bran : i fucking hate you. Niko : mhmm. Talk dirty to me.

bran : i don’t know why the hell you’re obsessed with me, but i’m telling you that what you want us impossible. I’m not gay.”

Niko : not gay? Baby, you came three times on my hand, mouth and fucking fingers. You choked on my cock, and came because of a mere protaste fucking. If that isn’t gay, I don’t know what is. ”

bran : this is not going anywhere. Let’s stop talking. Niko : aaaand you’re back to your favorite hobby. Run away, baby. You’re a champion of that bullshit. You know what? Fuck that. If you don’t feel the need to come over every night, i also don’t need to see you every morning. In fact don’t show me your fucking face today. Bran : as if I want to see you fucking face. Niko : fucking great. Bran : wonderful. Niko : awesome. Bran : fantastic.

I had so much fun reading niko’s pov, i’m afraid my niko doze is over, and i want more. Give me more, fucking more in niko’s words. Niko, you beautiful baby. Brandon calls him baby.Niko : fuck me. He’s so adorable.

Brandon : I love you. Niko : i love you too, never gonna let you go now.

Brandon : can’t you go away? Niko : no.

Brandon : gets pastries and macarons. Niko : eats the macarons. Bran : gets him some more.

Niko : sleeps anywhere he can literally sleep in. The bathtub, stairs, floor. Bran : jesus. *Pulls him from wherever he is and tucks him in bed and sleeps beside him* Niko : hugs him like a teddy bear, arm around the waist, and nose in bran’s neck. Bran : christ, this man is so chaotic. I can’t.

Niko’s clothes on the floor, anywhere you imagine. Bran : *cleans everything, places everything where they belong*. Niko : he cleaned everything, man is so organized, always so pristine. I want to crack his walls. No matter how many times he rejects me.

These two felt more like Tom and Jerry. Honestly grumpy bran is my fav, but have you seen niko? The big, bad man with tattoos, and scary looking face is actually just a golden retriever with a teddy bear personality underneath all that violence and rage. The mafia prince got a prince charming of his own. Wow. 🌸

Is a part of a series : yes.

Series name : legacy of gods.

Series order number : 5 of 6.

Plot or character driven : a mix. (More like Nikolai driven). 😭😁

Loveable characters : yesss.

Strong character development : yesss.

Flaws of characters a main focus : yes.

Interconnected/ or standalone : interconnected standalone. Can be read as a standalone. (To avoid spoilers, reading order is recommended).

Recs from the same author : if you love grumpy and sunshine, or love a silent hero who feels deeply, you may want to checkout crieghton king, and annika’s story — god of pain the second book in this series. It is always the quiet ones they say and I agree.

Zhaohui had felt a jagged sense of vindication in rejecting the emperor. Then the next thing he knew, he was being dragged through the halls of the palace and fitted with the miserable pieces of metal circling his wrists. The message by Emperor Xuan was as clear as day: "This is what happens to those who defy me."

It was in the midst of the throes of agony in those days afterwards that the prince's mind burned with hatred, an ever-burning fire of rage. It was that rage in the midst of his quiet misery in his room afterwards that whispered a single thought into his ear.

Kill him, and ruin all that he stood for.

It was that resolution that spurred him from his rooms finally into the storm of whispers and cajoling laughter that awaited the newly-shackled prince. He wanted to kill all who mocked him, but they would have to wait, because the prince had a much more important target in his sight now.

It was a simple matter to get his hands on what he wanted. Make the right connections, whisper enough sweet nothings into another's ear across the pillow, and someone who knew a person that knew another person, ended up with the poison that he needed in his hands. Of course, the silly noble that procured it for him, who thought himself in love, soon perished mysteriously. He could leave no loose ends, and the last thing Zhaohui needed was another ruining his plan before he could see it through to the end.

A dagger in the man's heart would be preferable. How he wished nothing more than to watch the emperor's face drain of blood, shock at having been felled by the boy he stole from his home all of those years ago. It would be the sweetest of ends, but he had to be realistic. To stab the emperor would be no easy feat, and opportunities to get close to the man would be rare. He couldn't rush the emperor and be felled by a guard before he could even loose his weapon. Similarly, he couldn't risk something as obvious as killing the man in his own room either, it would be all too easy to be caught afterwards. The emperor's death was vital, but Zhaohui wanted to accomplish more than just that.

The poison was one that did its work through contact, by sinking into the skin. Death would come in a large enough dose, but smaller doses of just a drop or two...

It would take time for him to develop a resistance to it. Days spent in his chambers, delirious and sick, were no doubt thought to be caused by attempts to remove the shackles. For once, the cursed things worked in his favor.

He took breaks in between the mithridatism, and it was one of those nights that the emperor returned to his rooms for the first time since the shackles were placed on him. The man's expectations were clear, and Zhaohui welcomed him with open arms. The stupid, arrogant fool thought nothing of the sudden change in behavior. He thought his punishment had thoroughly broken the prince's spirit, and Zhaohui was content to let him continue thinking that.

He thought about administering the poison that night, but it would be best to let the man's guard fall further around him. Besides, there was no way to give a lethal dose without risking himself in the process, his immunity had yet to develop to the needed point.

Years passed like this, between visits and doses, Zhaohui's tolerance against both grew. Four years after the shackles were placed on him, he finally applied a few drops of the poison to his skin on a night he knew the emperor was coming to visit. The other man noticed nothing. Not even as his health began to decline over the course of the year. It would have served him well had he sought to tend to his health instead of seeking pleasures of the flesh, but the man's greed predictably won out in the end.

The doses increased, far more pronounced than the careful increments the prince had used against himself, until he was one day in the gardens with the princess when the cries of the emperor's death rose up into the air. Shock rolled through the prince. For all of his planning and patience, it had...actually worked? The emperor had truly died? His parents avenged? Sick satisfaction whirled through him as he stared down at the game piece clutched in his hand. It was his victory...!

But his work wasn't done yet. The emperor was the first step. Next, he would dismantle everything that the man held dear. This accursed empire that was the cause of all of his suffering, he would see it thrown into chaos and strife. And the emperor's pride and joy, the crown prince he'd so adored? The boy who had bathed in the sunlight while he languished in the shadows?