Dark Ruler

The Bennett Duet, Book 1

By: Xavier Neal

Narrated by: Joy Beharie, Tom Haire

I was raised to be a ruler of two worlds.

One with a pen.

One with a knife.

Be the king of the concrete jungle at all costs.

I should've simply taken a queen, not courted one.

I should've forced her submission, not earned it.

I should've let respect be enough, not fall in love.

Someone has made a grave mistake in coming for my company.

For my throne.

For my Mia Bella.

And for that, they will not only meet the man I was raised to become, but the one I am now, for the only woman I will ever bow to.

Warning: This book is part one of a duet. It does end on a cliff-hanger.

©2020 Xavier Neal (P)2022 Pink Flamingo Productions

Just okay

Not sure how to write this but this book was just okay for me. I like me some bad boys but I don’t feel it here. I just feel like he’s taking life without a care and she doesn’t seems to be all that bother, I’m okay killing because you have too but killing someone who’s your guard due to him not wanting to shot her is beyond me. And what he did to her 1 time date. 🙄 the story also seems to jump around and I do not feel the chemistry between the two. So all in all it was just okay for me. Joy Beharie & Tom Haire did an amazing job at narrating

Too much in Italian

I was not a huge fan 🙈. It started out great! I was loving the sexual tension and banter between Chantal and Benicio that was starting right off the bat..... but then there was all the Italian dialogue. Ok I get that the men are Italian.... and yes it was translated, but the constant conversations that were happening in another language, just to be translated right away became quite annoying. I also feel like the word "chortle" was WAY overused! I also wasn't a fan of the over descriptive violent scenes. There weren't a lot of them, but the ones there were had my stomach churning a bit. I did like the story and I thought the narration was great. They had some fantastic accents going on... and even when Joy Behaire was speaking Italian as Chantal.... she nail a bad Italian accent just as great as she had the good accent. I was enjoying the story, but unfortunately I don't think that I can make it through another book with THAT much Italian dialogue in it.

Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice 🔥🔥
Swoon
Angst
Narration 👏👏👏👏

Not your typical mafia romance

LOVED it. Well written with great character development. It was semi dark with a lot of bantering & humor thrown in. I wasnt ready for that cliffy, and cant wait for Book 2 to come out!

If the goal was to completely dislike Chantal, the the goal was reached

First of all, every single female character this author writes is exactly the same. The might “look different”, but their personalities are all the same…exhausting.

Secondly, Chantal constantly expected Benecio to change, but she wasn’t compromising on anything. That quick tongue and constant challenge. Like sis, do you know who you are with! You know who this man is. The fact that he let her talk to him like that. All those exhausting lectures.

This book was exhausting because Chantal is an exhausting, spoiled, character. The only place Benecio had control with her was in the bedroom. Ugh,

Hot🔥🔥

This is the first book in The Bennett Duet!
I absolutely loved Beni and Chantal's story , their character growth throughout the book as well as their relationship development was beyond perfection.
Looking forward to the next in this series.

Boty the narrators were amazing 😍

Dark Ruler

This is the first book in the Bennett Duet. I love Xavier Neal’s style of writing. I love the the FMC is never “perfect “. That she has her flaws but embraces them to make her a powerful, strong character. I love how Bennett is this strong powerful Mafia style boss. But with the touch of the right and only woman he can learn a softer way to love. I absolutely loved all the Italian throughout the book. It gives it so much more depth. I am dying for the next book with that ending. Joy Beharie and Tom Haire did such a phenomenal job narrating these amazing characters, especially the accents and languages.

A Dark Mafia Romance

Dark Ruler by Xavier Neal is a dark mafia romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Joy Behare and Tom Haire. This is the first book in The Bennett Duet.

This is the third series of Xavier's that I have read and it won't be my last. The relationship between Benicio and Chantal is a bit messy as they figure out how their relationship will work. But you can't help but root for them. I really enjoyed getting both of their points of view throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.

The book ends on a great cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book in the series Dark Reign to be released on audio so I can get the rest of their story.

Joy and Tom did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.

I would recommend this book if you like dark romances, mafia romances, or romantic suspense.


The Flock Team
Audiobook Obsession Reviewer

Great story!

While this is a little darker than what I prefer this author snuck in an amazing story that really kept me glued to my earbuds. This took me on a journey meeting characters that I grew to love, worry about and feel saddened for them. I really enjoyed learning about Benecio and his life as the Butcher Boy. He has many levels to his personality that come out as the story unfolds. I loved how tenacious he was going after “his girl”. His cousin brings the lighthearted to the story. He made me laugh numerous times with his wit and comments.

I did listen to this in audio. While I have not listened to either of the narrators before they both did an amazing job. Their Itialian sounded lovely.

There is a ton of itialian language in the story which I do not speak. It is translated but I wondered if it was just in english with some Itialian periodically it would have the same effect. I did love hearing it but just had to wait for the translation. This does end on a cliffhanger as the synopsis mentions so I am eagerly awaiting the second book in the duet.

Honestly wasn't going to purchase book 2.

Now I am on the edge of my seat!!! Going to get purchase book 2 now.

good

story is good. I'd rather it not be a cliff hanger. but good story and narrator (male) very good