Ruthless King (Savage Kings of NY 5) by Bella Raye-review
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /
Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 26, 2026
He calls me his storm… He just forgot storms don’t obey kings.
I needed to get his attention, so when the hospital asked if they should notify someone, I said, “Yeah, call my husband. Tell him Temporale. His name is Stephano Conti.”
Since I knew he wasn’t married, it was sure to get his attention.
I wasn’t dragged into this world.
I was born into it.
Bratva blood. My father’s favorite assassin. His sharpest secret.
Stephano Conti is the son of an Italian king, heir to an empire built on betrayal. He should’ve been my target, not my salvation. But one shared secret turned into a mission neither of us could walk away from. Now we’re hunting his believed dead brother, and unravel the conspiracy that could drown both our families.
He calls me zhena.
I call him marito.
Wife and husband by name, enemies by nature.
Together we steal secrets meant to stay buried, trade bullets for vows, and blur the line between devotion and destruction. When we finally find the truth, I’ll have to decide whether to keep the title of wife—or make myself a widow.
Because loving a man like Stephano Conti isn’t a fairytale.
It’s a contract signed in blood.
•••••
REVIEW:RUTHLESS KING is the fifth and final instalment in Bella Ray’s contemporary, adult SAVAGE KINGS OF NEW YORK dark, erotic, Mafia series. This is Stephano Conti, and Bratva assassin Oksana Arsenyev’s story line. RUTHLESS KING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Stephano and Oksana) RUTHLESS KING focuses on the rescue of Stephano’s brother Nico, and the ensuing fallout as decades long secrets and lies begin to emerge. Approximately three years earlier, Stephano’s younger brother Nico was capture and held prisoner by the Venezuelan crime syndicate, and Oksana is the first to discover his whereabouts but upon her return, Oksana is ambushed, and finds herself the ‘virtual prisoner’ of our story line hero. In an effort to survive, Oksana agrees to a fake marriage with Stephanoe Conti, a marriage than in reality will strengthen La Famiglia in the wake of things to come. With the Venezuelan’s on the run, and the Bratva quietly gaining control, La Famiglia is about to clean house when betrayal from within threatens everyone involved.
The world building is dark, complex and detailed as a myriad of crime syndicates engage in a fight for power. Secrets reveal decades of lies and deception, lies that can ultimately change the balance of power.
The relationship between Oksana and Stephano begins as a rescue. Oksana is her brother, Pakhan Grigori Arsenyev’s right hand, tech genius and assassin, and as such she is a person unto her self. Shocked by the woman with whom he is falling in love, Stephano will cede some of his control when Oksana proves she is just as capable and compelling as any one of the men in charge. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and seductive.
There is a large ensemble cast of powerful, familiar and charismatic secondary and supporting characters including the previous story line couples. From the Venezuelan Cartel, Russian Bratva, and the Italia Mafia, the players are numerous, dangerous and often questionable.
RUTHLESS KING is a character driven story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The revealing premise is richly layered, intricate, dramatic and edgy; the romance is fated and ; the characters are animated and dynamic. RUTHLESS KING ends on a happily ever after for now-the author has plans for a new series EMPIRE OF SIN, set in the Savage Kings of New York world.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
