It starts with a shoulder brush in a hallway and ends with a psychological meltdown. If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the "dark" side of book social media, you’ve seen the names. Elsa. Aiden. Levi. Astrid. The Royal Elite series books aren't just romance novels; they are a polarizing, high-octane cultural phenomenon written by Rina Kent that basically reinvented how we look at the "bully" trope. People love them. People hate them. But nobody—honestly, nobody—can seem to stop talking about them.
The Chaos of King’s U
Let's get one thing straight right away: these books aren't for the faint of heart. If you're looking for a "slow burn" where the lead characters hold hands and share a milkshake by chapter ten, you’re in the wrong place. This is King’s U. This is a world where the elite are essentially untouchable, and the "hero" is often the person you'd normally run away from in a dark alley.
Rina Kent didn't just write a series; she built a dark, interconnected web.
Deviant King kicks things off with Elsa and Aiden, and it sets a tone that is, frankly, suffocating. Aiden King isn't a misunderstood sweetheart. He’s a manipulative, cold-blooded king of his domain who decides Elsa belongs to him. It’s "enemies to lovers" turned up to eleven. The pacing is frantic. You'll find yourself finishing a 300-page book in one sitting because the cliffhangers feel like a physical jolt.
The series spans several couples, but they all inhabit the same claustrophobic, high-stakes environment. You get the sense that the school itself is a character, a gilded cage for the rich and the broken. It's messy. It's often problematic. And that is exactly why it sells.
Why the Royal Elite Series Books Are Actually Different
Most "bully" romances follow a very predictable path. The boy is mean, we find out he has a "sad past," he says sorry, and they live happily ever after. Kent doesn't really do "sorry" in the traditional sense. Her characters, especially the Horsemen, are deeply flawed in ways that feel permanent. They have psychological depth that borders on the clinical.
Take Steel Princess or Ruthless Knight. You aren't just reading about a high school spat; you're reading about generational trauma, corporate espionage, and mental health struggles that aren't glossed over for the sake of a cute ending.
The Reading Order Headache
One of the biggest complaints from new readers is that they don't know where to start. It’s a mess. Honestly. If you look at the Royal Elite series books as a whole, you have the main trilogy focusing on Aiden and Elsa (Deviant King, Steel Princess, Vicious Knight), but then you have the standalone novels that focus on the other Horsemen.
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- Deviant King (Aiden & Elsa)
- Steel Princess (Aiden & Elsa)
- Vicious Knight (Aiden & Elsa)
- Ruthless Knight (Xander & Kimberly)
- Royal Serpent (Levi & Astrid)
- Cruel King (Levi & Astrid - actually a prequel, but often read later)
Then there's Empire of Desire and the spin-off series like Legacy of Gods. It’s a literal universe. You can’t just read one and walk away. The cameos are constant. A character mentioned in a passing sentence in book one might be the protagonist of book five. It creates a "completionist" urge in readers. You feel like you're missing out on a secret if you haven't read every single page.
The "Aiden King" Factor
We need to talk about Aiden. He is the blueprint. In the world of dark romance, he is frequently cited alongside characters like Zade Meadows or Christian Harper. Why? Because he is unapologetically "dark."
Aiden doesn't have a redemption arc where he becomes a "good guy." He remains a morally grey—let's be real, morally black—character throughout the entire run. This is a point of contention for many critics. They argue that the Royal Elite series books glamorize toxic behavior. And they aren't entirely wrong. These books are fantasies. They are explorations of the darker corners of obsession and control.
Readers aren't looking for a role model in Aiden King. They are looking for an escape into a high-drama, high-stakes narrative where the stakes are life and death, even if the setting is "just" a private school.
The Subversion of the "Strong Female Lead"
Elsa is an interesting case study. In many dark romances, the female lead is either a total "Mary Sue" or a victim. Elsa starts as someone who is being bullied, but her evolution across the trilogy is what keeps people reading. She has a backbone. She fights back, even when she's terrified.
The psychological warfare between her and Aiden isn't one-sided. She manages to get under his skin just as much as he gets under hers. This power struggle is the engine that drives the first three Royal Elite series books. When you move on to characters like Kimberly in Ruthless Knight, you see a different kind of strength—someone dealing with an eating disorder and self-worth issues who still manages to find power in a world that tries to strip it away from her.
E-E-A-T: Why This Series Stays Relevant
From a literary standpoint, Rina Kent’s success isn't an accident. She understands "beats." She knows exactly when to drop a revelation and when to withhold information to keep the tension high. The series uses "forced proximity" and "touch her and you die" tropes better than almost anyone else in the genre.
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Real-world data shows that "Dark Romance" as a category on Amazon and Goodreads has grown by over 40% in the last three years. The Royal Elite series books are at the forefront of this surge. They tap into a specific psychological itch: the desire to see the "unfixable" person find a reason to change, or at least a reason to be better for one specific person.
The Controversies
You can't talk about these books without mentioning the triggers. Seriously. If you have triggers related to bullying, non-consensual situations, or self-harm, you should approach with extreme caution. The author is very upfront about this. Every book has a warning.
Critics often pan the series for its dialogue, which can sometimes feel repetitive. "You’re mine," "I hate you," "I’ll destroy you"—it’s a lot. But fans argue that the repetition is part of the intensity. It’s supposed to feel obsessive. It’s supposed to feel like a fever dream.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think these are just "smutty" books. They are, of course, very explicit. But if that was all they were, they wouldn't have the staying power they do. The world-building is surprisingly complex. There are subplots involving the parents of the main characters (which are explored in the Deception trilogy and the Empire series) that add a layer of Greek tragedy to the whole thing.
The "Horsemen" are a tight-knit group, and their loyalty to each other—even when they hate each other—is one of the most compelling parts of the series. It’s not just about the romance; it’s about the brotherhood.
How to Actually Read the Royal Elite Universe
If you’re diving in, don't just grab a random book. You’ll be lost.
Start with Cruel King. It’s technically a prequel, and it introduces you to the atmosphere of the school without the heavy commitment of the main trilogy. If you like the "flavor" of that book, move straight into Deviant King.
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Don't skip the "bonus scenes" or the epilogues. Kent is famous for putting massive "hooks" into her epilogues that lead directly into the next character's story. If you stop at the end of the main chapters, you're missing half the plot.
The Visual Appeal
Part of the reason these books blew up on TikTok (BookTok) and Instagram is the aesthetic. Dark academia meets "old money" wealth. The covers are sleek. The fan-casting is endless. When people talk about Royal Elite series books, they are usually sharing mood boards of black ties, expensive cars, and rainy English campuses.
It’s a vibe. It’s an entire brand.
Actionable Steps for New Readers
If you're ready to start, do these three things:
- Check the Trigger Warnings. I’m not joking. Go to the author’s website and read the list for each book. Some are much darker than others.
- Read the First Three as a Single Unit. Deviant King, Steel Princess, and Vicious Knight are essentially one long story. Don't judge the series until you finish Vicious Knight.
- Follow the Character Maps. Because the series is so interconnected, it’s easy to forget who is related to whom. Keep a "cheat sheet" or follow one of the many fan-made guides online to keep the families straight.
The Royal Elite series books aren't trying to be high literature. They aren't trying to be "healthy" representations of relationships. They are raw, intense, and deeply addictive stories about broken people finding a way to exist in a world that wants to crush them. Whether you're there for the romance, the drama, or the psychological twists, once you enter King’s U, it’s really hard to leave.
If you want the full experience, grab Deviant King on a Friday night when you have no plans. You're going to need the weekend to recover.
Next Steps
- Audit your "TBR" (To Be Read) list: If you enjoy the "Dark Academia" aesthetic, cross-reference this series with The Secret History or If We Were Villains for a more romance-heavy alternative.
- Explore the "Legacy" Series: Once you finish the original run, look into Legacy of Gods, which follows the children of the original characters. It’s currently the "hot" series in the fandom and expands the lore significantly.
- Join the Community: Check out the "Rina Kent’s Deviants" groups on social media. The theories about the interconnected timelines are half the fun.