Review: God of Pain - Rina Kent

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Review: God of Pain - Book #2 Legacy of Gods - Rina Kent - September 2022

After absolutely devouring God of Malice and falling head over heels for Rina Kent's Legacy of Gods series, I practically launched myself at Book #2. Let me tell you, diving into God of Pain with my expectations sky-high was both thrilling and slightly dangerous territory.

God of Pain centres on Annika Volkov and Creighton King, serving up another delicious opposites-attract romance between the rival USA and UK universities. What I loved is how Rina Kent plays with expectations here. Annika lives on the UK side but her roots are firmly planted in American Mafia soil, while Creighton—adopted into the British King dynasty—is American-born. It's this beautiful tangle of identities and loyalties that made my brain very happy.

Annika is everything: purple-obsessed, sunshine personified, radiating happiness whilst desperately trying to distance herself from her brother's dangerous world. When her father attempts to arrange her marriage (because of course he does), her solution? Acquire fake boyfriend. Enter Creighton King: brooding, damaged, a man of approximately three words per chapter. Their dynamic is electric because somehow Annika's light doesn't just illuminate Creighton's darkness—it transforms it. The kicker? Creighton believes his kinky preferences will corrupt her innocence, completely missing that Annika's got her own deliciously dark side ready to explore.

I'll be honest—the first half tested my patience. The pacing felt sluggish compared to God of Malice, and I found myself wondering if Rina Kent had lost her magic. Then the second half hit like a freight train. The revelation that Annika's family knew Creighton's birth parents? Chef's kiss. Suddenly everything clicked into place, and I was right back in that "just one more chapter" spiral at 2am.

What elevated this book beyond typical dark romance was Rina Kent's exploration of impossible choices. That gut-wrenching question—would you sacrifice your love to save your family, or vice versa?—haunted me long after finishing. The friendship dynamics and family bonds felt authentic and messy in the best way.

Did I love this as much as Book #1? No. Was it still a solid, engaging read that has me eyeing Book #3 on my shelf? Absolutely. Speaking of which, bless BookHero NZ for enabling my birthday book haul—the entire series is now sitting pretty, just waiting to wreck my emotions further.


Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Wo9O9O





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