The Heir

Kingmakers

By: Sophie Lark

Narrated by: Chloe Ryan, Michael Gallagher, Gregory Salinas

Number one best seller

I’d go anywhere for her....

Even to Kingmakers, the most brutal college in the world. Where mafia heirs are trained to control, dominate, infiltrate, and kill.

I followed Anna because she’s my best friend. I’ve always been right by her side.

She needs me to protect her. Especially from Dean Yenin, a Bratva heir with a lethal grudge.

He plans to take everything from me. Starting with Anna....

The Heir is the first book in the epic dark mafia Kingmakers series. It’s a forbidden friends-to-lovers romance filled with mystery, suspense, and sizzling-hot bedroom scenes that take place everywhere but the bedroom.

©2021 Sophie Lark (P)2024 Sophie Lark

Glad I didn't give up.

The beginning was a struggle, such much lead just to get to the actual story. so glad I didn't give up. Really enjoyed it once the story began and the ending. Turned out great. Narration was good.

A great start to the Kingmakers series! Friends to lovers, mafia romance!

The Heir is the first book in Sophie Lark’s Kingmakers series and I was so excited to get to this series after binging her Brutal Birthright series. Kingmakers is a spin-off/2nd gen series from the couples of Brutal Birthright. Kingmakers Academy is a private college for children of mafia families from around the globe. It’s situated on an isolated island in the Adriatic Sea and once there the students are categorized into 4 houses so to speak: heirs, accountants, spies, and enforcers.

That was really all I knew jumping into this series so I was super surprised to find out we get 3 POVs in the story! It totally threw me off, but also intrigued me. We follow Leo Gallo (son of Yelena & Sebastian), Dean Yenin (Adrian’s son—Adrian’s twin sister is Yelena/massive beef between these 2 since Yelena’s book), and Anna Wilk (daughter of Miko and Nessa). The story starts with Leo being accepted into Kingmakers Academy and granted automatic admission to the Heirs division (since he’s the undisputed heir to the Gallo empire). Dean, also an heir who has been raised to hate Leo and his family, and Anna are all set to attend as well and things get interesting from there!

Dean and Leo get into a fight right away, like on the boat ride to the school, and there is definitely a rivalry between them from the start! Poor Dean, he makes bad choices for sure but it’s all he’s ever known and he’s young and just wants love. He’s jealous and envious of how easy Leo’s life is and all the things he gets, including Anna. So Dean sets out to take Anna for his own, since Leo has overlooked her for years as just his best friend.

I loved that this was a childhood friends to lovers romance, that added history between the characters made it so good! We learn so much about the school and the other students there. I always love a 2nd gen story because I love seeing the couples of previous books become parents (seeing Seb, Yelena, Miko and Nessa as parents was so fun…especially Miko 😆)! I loved Anna’s relationship with her parents, she loves her mother but is definitely more her father’s daughter and is not afraid of violence, she’s ready for whatever it takes to be a boss like her dad. While spending time with Dean at first (because who isn’t going to turn down someone so into them right from the start), Anna starts to realize Dean’s intense energy for revenge, obsession with one-upping Leo, and the way he pushes/pressures her just isn’t it. Her and Leo spend less time together during this time and they both feel lonely and lost without one another. I loved seeing Leo and Anna both start to realize there is something more between them and give into that. Can’t wait to continue the series!

Love this!

Love love loved this book. Sophie Lark is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She knows how to write a steamy romance, that you can’t put down.

Could not put it down

Absolutely addicting! Brutal birthright and Kingmakers proves again and again that I don’t need sleep, I need answers! Lol

kingmakers ❤️

this was my first audiobook in so so long, and i was scared I wouldn’t be able to keep up. it was amazing and so well narrated! I couldn’t take my airpods out.

5/5 ⭐️’s for The Heir !

LEO + ANNA ARE A PERFECT MATCH !

I’m not normally a fan of friends to lovers but this book captured my heart right away . Leo + Anna are “cousins” but only in name . When their first year away at college tests them with many new challenges, the biggest is their feelings for one another . (and a pissed off family member who needs to get a life but that’s besides the point)

This book has such great world building . You truly feel like you’re on the island right along with the worlds most dangerous criminals . This book has such a different pace and vibe from the first series and I absolutely love it !

I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to learn that this series was a spin-off of The Brutal Birthright Series ! A new generation of mafia heirs to start a whole new generation of hatred . This book did not disappoint and I can’t wait to finish the series !

Good Character Development

The Heir is the first in the Kingmakers series, which is a new adult mafia friends to lovers romance. This is a love triangle. I am okay with a love triangle if the love interests are balanced. Dean and Leo weren’t here, because Anna had always loved Leo. Also, I feel like Dean needs some serious amount of therapy. Leo was awfully self-centered in the beginning, very sad in the middle, and grew to be interesting be the ending. The pacing was a little off, as it dragged a little bit in the middle, but I enjoyed how the narrative played out.

Love the story but no accents for the foreign characters

Sophie Lark is one of the favorite authors and the voice actors do a good job with the story. My one issue is the lack of accents for the foreign characters. The Irish, Australian, Russian, German, Spanish, and all the other languages/accents all sound American. It takes away from the diversity of the school and story of all these kids from all over the world having to deal with rival gangs/mafia families

Great Start to the Series!

This author created quite the interesting place! The Heir is all about Kingmakers. An exclusive school doing exactly as it states….making kings. With so many different cultures and every one of them used to being in charge this story takes us on quite a ride. Between all the back stories and rivalry and competition I couldn’t read this book fast enough! I loved Leo and Anna and I look forward to getting other characters stories!

Excellent narration!

Brilliant Story & Listen🎧 A Wild & Thrilling Ride

I am thrilled that Sophie Lark is not finished with the amazing “Brutal Birthright” world she created, a Mafia world that is this complex and phenomenally built. I loved every book in that series and this series, the “Kingmakers” is a spinoff of that series, their children, the next generation, the Mafia Princes and Princesses who will fill their parent’s shoes when the time is right and become Mafia Kings and Queens. I loved every book in that series and this series, the “Kingmakers” spinoffs from that series with their children, the next generation, the Mafia Princes and Princesses who will fill their parent’s shoes when the time is right and become Mafia Kings and Queens. The series starts off with Leo Gallo and Anna Wilk’s story, Leo is the only son of Yelena Yenina and Sebastian Gallo from “Heavy Crown” and Anna is the oldest daughter of Mikolaj and Nessa Griffen from “Stolen Heir”. No worries if this is your first Sophie Lark book, this book does stand on its own, everything you need to know is detailed in the story. Because of the family dynamics and connections Anna and Leo grew up together and became good friends. The two are graduating high school, despite being accepted into Juilliard Anna rather go to the Kingmakers Academy, a training facility for the underground elite from all over the world, including the Irish and Italian Mafia, Polish Braterstwoa and the Russian Bratva, and where Anna goes so does Leo. These two grew up as cousins, so it felt strange when their feelings morphed beyond friendship, neither one wanted to act on those feelings, afraid to ruin their lifelong friendship. Things start off great for them in their new school, it is a whole new adventure for them, but there are instant rivals and even an enemy to the family, Dean Yenin, Leo’s estranged cousin. Leo’s Mom and her Brother Adrian had a falling out when the families were at war and it cost Leo’s father a lot, because of that and his own reasons he holds a grudge. Dean is cunning and is determined to take everything away from Leo. This is one angsty romantic suspense, it is a cleverly plotted story with plenty of drama, twists and turns, action, thrilling and suspenseful moments, heartfelt emotions, and some steamy romance. Sophie Lark, thank you for another amazing story and a wild and thrilling emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the amazing narration, Chloe Ryan, Michael Gallagher and Gregory Salinas were the perfect cast to bring these characters and their story to life. They had a complete understanding of the characters they portrayed, gave each a voice that was a perfect fit for that characters persona, sounding believable in every role they played and just as I pictured the characters to sound. They set the perfect tone for the story, grasped every single emotion from their character, had you feeling them as well as the angst, the thrill and the suspense. These mega talented narrators are versatile voice artists and entertaining storytellers. Thank you for this exceptional listen.

Thank you @PinkFlamingoProductions The Flock! @AudiobookObsession AudiobookObsessionReviewer🎧