Listened to audio narrated by Brooke Hayden. I enjoyed most of the narration but there were a several odd word pronunciations, such as beret sounding like barrette, making me have to back up the audio to make sure I understood what was being said.

Journey King is the COO of Kingdom Corp, when her mother was forced out of the company, her father turns up staking his controlling interest and wrecking havoc on Journey and her brother and sister. Journey's father abused his children until Journey's mother found out and put an end to it and now he's back, up to new tricks to torment them. She enlists the help of Frank Evans hoping to protect all of them. until they can figure out how to get rid of him.

Abuse can affect the victim in powerful ways and I know it can make them revert back to the age when the abuse originally happened but I was disappointed that Journey and the people around her didn't use their brilliant minds to outwit her father from the start coming up with counter moves to keep her safe. Even though she says she got counseling she clearly had a lot more healing to do over the abuse. A significant portion of the book is negative self dialogue about how weak and broken she is and beating herself up.

I liked that Frank Evans was a protector and how much he appreciated Journey. His strength and supported and her need to protect him seemed to be the catalyst for her fighting back.

There's a lot going on in this bi-racial romance, abuse, racism, entitlement abuses and a touch of kink. It felt like I just touched the surface of things and didn't really get to the meat when we'd move to the next thing in the story. There were lots of tantalizing stray threads for future books that may be why it felt more unfinished to me, even though there is clearly an HEA.

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After several years Journey King sets her eyes on her father. And each time she sees him she all but shrivels in fear. What is in her past with him and what of her future? Well, it becomes clear that there was a danger there and that it is present now. One night Frank Evans sees that Journey is in trouble. They discuss the fact that she is in danger, although she leaves certain details out. Frank agrees to pretend to be her boyfriend. Frank wields a lot of influence in the business community and he can open doors and discover facts that Journey cannot.

Frank definitely has a lot on his plate. Not only is he enthralled with Journey, he is at odds with her family, the powerful Kings. If he was not already at odds, he quickly makes himself their enemy. One of the issues is his race. He is told that he is "beneath" Journey. Then, there is a secret from his past that he would like to remain buried, although he certainly held no culpability in that matter. In any case, Frank vows to keep Journey safe.

The Fearless King is the second book in the Kings series and it was a great read. As I read The Last King just prior to this book, I enjoyed this one more. There is no denying the fact that Frank and Journey are incredibly drawn to one another, and there is also a lot of drama going on. As mentioned, the race issue comes up, and this happens more than once. Also, there is an ever-present danger facing Journey and that is definitely compelling. All in all, this developed into quite a suspenseful story, and I felt very invested when it came to working out both the past and the present.

Prior to these two books I haven't read anything by Katee Robert, but, she has definitely written a lot of series. No doubt, she has a strong fan base, and I enjoyed familiarizing myself with her work.

Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Journey and Frank’s story had me intrigued from the first book. Frank is this mysterious character and Journey has this ice queen persona but he can easily see the truth behind the facade she maintains. Coming to Frank for help was the best thing she could have ever done for herself because he is exactly the protector she needs in her life. At the same time he gives her the boost of confidence she needs to face her demons while encouraging him to face his own.

Advanced review copy provided for voluntary review consideration. ( )