Book review: The Ever King by LJ Andrews Review

March 8, 2026

After finishing The Ever King, we genuinely don’t know what’s more dangerous…… Erik Bloodsinger himself or the fact that we would absolutely let that man ruin our lives.

Because before we even get into the storyline, let’s address the real issue here:

Why are morally grey pirate kings always our biggest weakness? Like seriously…

The entire time reading this, you’re stuck somewhere between: this man is clearly a red flag and I would like several more chapters immediately.

Plot:

** We struggled to understand the worlds to begin with and felt slightly confused for the first chunk of the book. We later discovered that L.J. Andrews actually has another series called ‘The Broken Kingdoms’ which is set before The Ever King and explores the kingdoms and magic system more. While you don’t need to read this first, we wish we had!**

At its core, The Ever King follows Livia, heir to the Night Folk and Erik Bloodsinger — the feared Ever King of the sea.

Their story begins years before the main plot, when Livia secretly befriends Erik while he is imprisoned after a brutal war between the earth fae and sea fae.

She believes maybe they could be something other than enemies.

He promises he will return. And oh… he absolutely does.

Years later, Erik rises from the sea to reclaim what he believes was stolen from him and Livia finds herself directly in the path of a powerful, ruthless ruler who has never forgotten her.

Or forgiven her.

There’s revenge.
There’s obsession.
There’s kidnapping tension.

And there is a pirate king with absolutely no intention of behaving like a gentleman.

Characters:

Erik Bloodsinger AKA The Ever King AKA Serpent

He’s so grumpy and mean in the beginning… it’s alarmingly hot. But what really gets you is that he is not pretending to be good. This man is fully committed to chaos.

You know immediately what kind of MMC you’re dealing with when he casually thinks:

“And she was mine. In what capacity, I hadn’t decided. To ruin, to manipulate, to claim. Each had its merit and appeal.”

And suddenly you realise this man is dangerous and unfortunately… that makes him hotter.

He’s not your typical brooding fae prince. He’s a pirate king who has spent years plotting revenge and when he finally returns to the surface world, he intends to burn everything down to get what he wants.

Including Livia.

At one point his thoughts literally go:

“I wanted nothing more than to tear through the walls, shatter her world, then take what was left of her.”

Which is exactly the kind of problematic morally-grey energy romantasy readers eat up.

Livia

She isn’t weak, naive or there to simply be rescued. She’s strong, stubborn and constantly trying to hold her own against a man who feels like an entire storm wrapped in a crown.

She gives as much tension as she gets and that’s what makes their dynamic work so well.

Spicy content:

Yes…… it’s a slow burn and its PERFECT.

The tension between Erik and Livia builds from the second they meet again and it just keeps tightening until you’re practically yelling at the book.

And then when it finally happens… it happens.

Erik’s possessive energy really shows up in lines like:

“My warning still stands. Do this and I’ll never give you back.”

This isn’t soft romance. This is obsession. This is tension. This is “I would destroy kingdoms for you” energy.

And who doesn’t want a man like that!?

Final Thoughts

The Ever King is exactly the kind of romantasy that hooks readers immediately. Underneath all the chaos, there is genuine obsession.

Not just desire. Obsession.

“You ruined everything, and I don’t care. Ruin me. Destroy me. As long as I have you.”

And you’re sitting there like …this is probably toxic but also I would like ten more chapters please.

If you like:

·      enemies to lovers
·       kidnapping / captive tension
·       morally grey villain love interests
·       pirate fantasy
·       dark fae magic
·       and a man who would absolutely commit crimes in your name