Empire of Desire was my next read in the Rina-verse. Nate comes from a powerful and rich family. He is King's best friend and business partner. Kingston had a child when he was 17, Gwen, who is now all grown up. It has always been King and Gwen against the world. Gwen has been in love with her dad's best friend since she was 15, and she kissed him when she was 18. That resulted in Nate ignoring her existence for 2 years. Her world is thrown for a loop and now she is forced to marry Nate to protect herself. 

I didn't know what to think about Gwen in this story. I felt for what she was going through, but I found her immature. I thought reading about 20-year-old her, was like reading someone more in high school. She did eventually grow on me and I ended up liking her and her tenacity. Nate was so protective of Gwen from the sidelines and loved her without realizing it. 

I found Nate and Gwen to be very similar. They both have the same feelings of being discarded and truly seem to understand each other. These two worked together so well. Watching Nate fall for Gwen was an awesome site. 

I liked seeing side characters that we will get future stories from, but also hated some of them. Gwen's father, King, seemed completely toxic with everyone he encountered and never stopped to consider other people's feelings. I'm not sure if he will be able to be redeemed. 

This was a good story, that is not as dark as some of Rina Kent's other books. Her writing easily sucks you into her world. 

read if you like: forbidden romance, father's best friend, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, age gap