Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: Gay Romance 

Tags: Dystopian England, Infection, Biters (Zombies), Enemies to Lovers

Length: 325 Kindle Pages

Reviewer: Kazza

Purchase At: amazon, H L Day 

Blurb:

Two headstrong men. One broken world. And a connection that could destroy—or redeem—them both.

AUGUST

They say the world was better before the Red Rain―before the skies grew toxic and the virus transformed people into mindless savages.
I disagree.
There’s beauty in the wreckage, if you know where to look.
Desperation is profitable. Hope is a commodity. Dreams? I sell them daily.

Keaton Levine was supposed to be just another mark.
Until he wasn’t.
Because he sees me—really sees me.
And in this shattered place we call home, I’m not sure I’m ready to be someone worth saving.

KEATON

I lost everything when I got bitten.
Discharged, discarded, diseased. All I have left is vengeance.
Then came Tobias… August, whatever the hell his real name is.
He promised answers. He gave me lies.

But in peeling him open, I found something I didn’t expect.
A reason to fight. A reason to feel.
Maybe he is the answer.
And I asked the wrong question.

**KING OF LIES is a full-length enemies-to-lovers M/M romance set in the 1nf3ction multi-author post-dystopian zombie apocalypse universe. Each book can be read as a standalone.

Expect: power struggles, a morally grey antihero, a mad scientist with a god complex, a cult holed up in a castle, (fireman’s) pole dancing, and two dominant forces crashing together in a world that wants them dead.
If they can learn to trust, they might discover something more precious than survival—each other.

Review: 

I preordered this book because one of my favourite books to this day is Exposed, another dystopian novel written by H L Day. I reviewed the book first then the audiobook, that’s how much I loved it.  This book is part of a multi-author series, I couldn’t fit the whole title above, but I’ve only read this one so I’m guessing you can pick up all of them or choose which ones you want to read. 

The way King of Lies started was intriguing – diary entries of a young girl about to turn thirteen. It chronicles pretty quickly how people started turning after the red rain came. That it was a biological weapon that was released. That people were being bitten and it changed them. Then the diary entries stop not long after she’s bitten. 

Chapter one, and seventy-six years after the diary entries, the world is a dystopian one, complete with ongoing red rain and biters, think zombies, and a flimflam artist with many names, but in this instance he’s Tobias Breeze. Tobias is up on a rooftop in a storm, selling his syringes with a ‘suppressant’ to help those who are frightened of getting caught out in the red rain. What he doesn’t tell anyone is that he’s immune to RRV13. The actuality is that he makes money or obtains tradable goods off his shows. Toby doesn’t think too much about what he does. Doesn’t think about the people he cons. He’s good at what he does, puts on a hell of a show, gets payment, then moves on with a new name and a new con.   

“A suppressant.” I gave the pen a little waggle. “An injection that nullifies the effects of the rain. Not only that, but it prevents infection reaching a point where you might turn.”

Given the above, the times this is set in, his (suppossed) suppressant is something plenty of people would like. He’s spruiking a well-sort-after commodity. Who knows whether or not someone might need that suppressant really badly. I was onboard at this point because I’m quite partial to a morally grey character and what happens to them or alongside them. 

After the Birmingham show on the roof, Tobias finds himself unwillingly (at first) in the company of an ex army man, Keaton. Keaton truly needs the suppressant, doesn’t have the money, but figures he can persuade Tobias to give him one or make him take him to where they are stored. Keaton is bigger, more muscled than Tobias, he’s been trained after all, and eventually gets the upper hand. He’s no longer in the army because he was bitten. He has to stay out of the red rain because the more exposure, the more likely it is he’ll turn into a biter. Hence he’ll do anything for one of what Tobias is selling. Keaton presents an interesting conundrum.

Keaton is also on a personal mission to get to Dover. He won’t share why initially. Between biters, bikes, and a seriously unhinged character – Oz – with a chaotic concept about scientific experimentation, plenty is going on. Being captured is a catalyst for the MCs.

Even if the red rain or being bitten doesn’t turn you, there is a base need, a feeling inside those infected, that creates a strong urge, like an itch under the skin.  

    A drop of water on my hand had me searching the sky for signs of the rain starting up, but it had come from the guttering of a building. Good. Because nothing ruined a plan like suddenly battling your own primal urges. My body wouldn’t give a damn about suppressants if all it wanted to do was feed, fuck, and fight until the effects wore off in a few hours.

While I loved the epistolary start to the book, then the meeting of the MCs, it slowed a little at one stage. If you’re like me and you think it hits a slower patch, I’d encourage you to stay the course. It picks up pace from just prior to them hitting Oz’s lab until the very end. Yes, this is like a few books with MCs surviving in post apocalyptic times but Day is a quality writer which sets her apart. I also really like her characters and August and Keaton grew on me. They just clicked into place. 

King of Lies presents action. Biters. Several shady motherfuckers, and more.

“Ladies first,” I said as the female biter reached me. My axe came down in the same breath, splitting her skull with a jolt that shuddered all the way up my arm. She hung for a moment on the blade, the weight threatening the branch, before I shook her free and watched her crumple among the leaves.

I’m so glad I preordered this book. It kept me reading. The MCs developed and totally grew on me as I turned the Kindle pages. I liked the humanity of the story and their experiences. There was a suspenseful element. I also liked the ending. It wasn’t unrealistic. It wasn’t sad or left open either. The amount of books I’ve been reading lately that end on cliffhangers, let’s just say it’s making my head explode. H L Day didn’t do that to me and I am incredibly grateful. If you’re in the mood for some nicely written gay (mm) dystopian romance with an edge while not being especially dark, then this is good reading. 4 Stars!