A Guide To The Royal Elite Series By Rina Kent

Book Reviews
Written By Shenaye Suggs
 
“Those who don’t play chess think the king is the strongest piece, because the game ends when he dies, but they don’t stop to think that if the queen dies first, the king doesn’t have a chance to survive.”
— Cruel King, Book 1
 

What’s It About?

The Royal Elite Series is a 10-book dark high school romance series written by Rina Kent. It follows the story of 6 couples as they pull, push, and fall in love — all while dealing with the chaos that is their lives. It is based in the UK [London and its outskirts] and can be considered a dark romance due to the themes covered in each book. The only couple in this series who are not technically in high school are Jonathan King and Aurora Harper, but Jonathan is the guardian and father to two of the main characters and his story coincides with theirs which is why it is included in this series [in my opinion].

Reading this series feels like you’re watching a show on TV — think Bridgerton, but without it being super royalty and back in time. Most of the couples’ stories are covered in one book, but there are two [Jonathan King + Aurora and Aiden King + Elsa Steel] who receive more than one book to tell their tales.

The other cool thing about this series is that it is the beginning of a whole universe of characters. The characters we meet in The Royal Elite Series who aren’t main characters in this series go on to have their own series. Then, there are other book series that become interwoven with the RES characters to create children who are then given their own series called Legacy of Gods [I’ll be covering ALL of these series so stay tuned for that!].

The full Royal Elite series is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can find it in my Amazon Shop here, or you can click the images below to go to each book.

Tropes Include: dark romance, high school romance, bully romance, enemies to lovers, happy ending, age gap, and more.

The Setting

The Royal Elite series primarily takes place in London at the Royal Elite School, though there are scenes that take place in the wealthy elite neighborhoods, on the outskirts of London, and even in Birmingham. Any settings that occurred throughout all 10 books are featured below to bring the books and their scenes to life.

The Main Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are 12 that the books center around: Levi King, Astrid Clifford, Aiden King, Elsa Steel, Xander Knight, Kimberly Reed, Ronan Astor, Teal Van Doren, Cole Nash, Silver Queens, Jonathan King, and Aurora Harper.

As I complete each book in this series, each main character will be added below.

The Side Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are a few side characters that you’ll find make a big enough impression.

As I complete each book in this series, each important side character will be added below.

My Rating For The Whole Series

★★★★★ — 5/5 Stars

Full review coming soon!

Book One: Cruel King

My Personal Rating — ★★★★★ — 5/5 Stars

Cruel King. Let’s talk about it.

Cruel King is the book that kicks off the Royal Elite 10-book series. It tells the story of Levi King and Astrid Clifford.

Astrid is a wallflower. She’s spent her time at Royal Elite School being invisible. She actually did not grow up with all of the elite students. It wasn’t until her mother died that she moved in with her father [Lord Henry Clifford] and began attend RES.

The summer before her senior year, she crosses paths with Levi King — the one person [besides his cousin Aiden] that she’s been commanded to stay away from. This one meeting between the two opens pandora’s box. Levi immediately sinks his claws into Astrid, as he too has been commanded to stay away from anyone with the Clifford surname. Why? Only time will tell.

There’s a bit of bullying, a lot of enemies-to-lovers, but eventually, Astrid and Levi can no longer fight the pull between them. But when their parents/guardians catch them in the act, the truth of why they were told not to co-mingle is revealed — and it is devastating.

With a new love budding between them, can Levi and Astrid let go of the traumatic past that ties them together?

I loved reading Astrid and Levi’s story. I fell in love with all of the characters. They all hold their own and have their own personalities. I’m actually excited to dive into all of their stories and get to know them more.

There are twists and turns in this book I wasn’t expecting. Astrid is put through the wringer — and not only because of Levi. There are so many stories being woven together in this book and they all seem to center around her, though with her memory missing gaps, it doesn’t all truly come together until the end. Thankfully, all questions are answered while at the same time leaving things open for other characters’ stories to be told [and that does include her evil step-sister Nicole and her best friend Daniel].

While this is considered a dark romance, it’s pretty tame in my opinion. It’s dark in the sense that there are people trying to get rid of Astrid, but not as dark as other books in the dark romance category, so if you’re someone wanting a tamer book while still getting your feet wet, I would definitely start here. And if you’re wanting to read Rina Kent’s other books in her universe [especially Legacy Of Gods], then I definitely recommend you start here. While it’s not required, I found it cool to know the parents’ back stories for the future children whose stories are told in Legacy Of Gods.

I give this book 5/5 stars. It’s book 1 in a 10-book series, full of spice and angst and is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can get book one in the Royal Elite series here.

A Playlist For The Royal Elite Series

Below, you’ll find a playlist full of songs that either matched the vibe of the school, the students, the main characters, or the events that occurred throughout the series. You can listen below via Apple Music or Spotify.

Don’t forget to give me a follow on whichever platform you use most and add the playlists to your library as new playlists and music are always being added!

Did you listen to the playlist? Let me know what you thought of it in a comment below or tag me on instagram [@shenayesuggs] or use my hashtags #shenayesuggs or #thatgirlsreads so I can see that you’re listening!

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Read Other Books In The Rina Kent Universe

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An Important Note

For Authors

Are you an author wanting art for your book? I can help you with that! Send me a quick message via my contact page here to get the ball rolling.

For Readers

Are you a reader wanting to see a specific book or book series covered on That Girl’s Reads? Send me a quick message via my contact page here and I’ll add it to my TBR.

This post contains affiliate links. Also, all character images have been generated using AI.

Shenaye Suggs

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