The King is Dead

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This deliciously dark and addictive YA thriller follows the lives of the young, rich and famous through relationships, loves lost alongside struggles to stay alive. The King is Dead is pitched as a romantic thriller but I'd say it's more of a coming of age with a suspense element in the vibes of Ace of Spades with Gossip Girl energy and I was here for it. A compelling thriller that stays with you long after you've finished reading.' Kathryn Foxfield, author of Good Girls Die First Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean – Pretty Book Review: The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean – Pretty

A book about a gay modern prince, pitched with all the dark, shady vibes of Gossip Girl? You don’t need much more to gain my interest. I am a royalty fanatic at this point. It focuses on four protagonists as they start production on the tv show Sunset High, a supposedly cursed television show currently on its second reboot: The original show caused the breakdown of the star and the 2010 reboot was followed by the star going missing and the death of a crew member from the top of a hotel, it seems destined that this 2023 reboot is doomed. That exploration of the relentless targeting of James in the media was sadly all too true to life and was one of the highlights of this book. It examines how people of colour are consistently held to much higher standards than their white counterparts, how tears shed in public are weakness on him but endearing and warranted on someone else, how people will use any perceived misstep as an opportunity to publicly channel their racism or homophobia under the guise of concern for the country’s wellbeing. James shares that he feels he could rule for 100 years and solve every problem the UK has and it still wouldn’t be enough to change the minds of those who will never wholly accept - let alone respect - him and his family. The first person narration served here to highlight just how oppressive the constant comparison to others can be, and how the mounting pressure of secrets, uncertainty and public scrutiny took its toll. I wish the book had focused more on those elements instead of the mystery. There were a few themes and passages that felt repetitive, and I wanted the author to explore the wider royal family and palace intrigue. This would have benefited from multiple POVs, following several members of the family, each receiving their own mysterious notes and desperately trying to conceal their secrets. The romance plot, with multiple love interests, was a little confusing, and the resolution at the end didn’t feel warranted. The bones are there, and if expanded slightly, this could be a brilliant, powerful novel. Nonetheless, if you look beyond those things, this is a light-hearted, fun mystery.The King is Dead has a good element of mystery and suspense and while I saw some of the twists coming, I didn't see them all right away. Even when I was guessing what was gonna happen though, it was an exciting read and one that kept my attention throughout. I think my main issue was with the writing style, which is funny because you would have thought I’d know the author’s style based on his previous books. But in this case, I think what it was, was the difference between MG and YA. This is going to sound harsh, but the writing here felt forced. As though Dean knew that YA needed to have more complex writing, but it ended up being a little purple-prosey. As I said, it sounds harsh, and I don’t mean it to be! But if I’m looking to explain why I didn’t love this book, this is one reason.

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean - Audiobook | Scribd The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean - Audiobook | Scribd

Ella Winter is becoming the lead actress of the show, but her inner life is in shambles, she’s fighting to have some autonomy between Omni trying to force her into a soul-selling contract, and with her abusive momager trying to control every decision, including who she’s seen as dating publicly. But, unfortunately, I really disliked every person in this book. Their motivations and reactions are all weak, including the very unrealistic and very uninteresting romances. James also makes terrible decisions that might have been entertaining had he been someone I could care about, or if they were truly chaotic, but instead just made me want to hit him. The only thing I read before starting was “queer king.” That was all I needed to sell me so I went in mostly blind! Comparing The King is Dead to real-life Royal drama between Prince Harry and Dutchess Megan Markle vs. their family and Princess Diana’s demise and her impact on the culture hit the button on the nose. It will immediately remind you of the dramatics of real-life royalty.I had really high hopes for this one, but it just fell so flat. The beginning is really slow, the characters are unbelievable, and the twist is predictable. This was not a bad book, let me start with that. It’s a solid read and one that I did, on the whole, like reading. There were sympathetic characters and a good mystery. I found myself often questioning just where it was going and I was actually surprised by the twist at the end. It was a decent book. Cats: An incredible novel all round! Most probably a new favourite. I'll re-read and highly recommend. Drawing on his previous career as a celebrity journalist, Benjamin Dean examines the dark underbelly of showbiz, leaving no stone unturned.

The King Is Dead by Benjamin Dean | Goodreads

Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home > James is a gay mixed race teenager just trying to have a secret boyfriend and stay under the radar but that all goes out the window when his dad, the King, dies and he's the heir. James is thrust into the spotlight more than ever before and is struggling with regular teenage things like family drama and relationships all under a spotlight. The tension and stress really ramps up though when his boyfriend (secret boyfriend mind you) goes missing. While this is a mystery book, it’s difficult to remember that in the beginning since the beginning focuses more on James’ relationship, his family, and his new found responsibilities all while dealing with the his grief. I definitely enjoyed this aspect, but it does make for quite the slow burn. James was such a fascinating character. Getting his perspective was just so intriguing to me. It was awesome to get to see how his mind works. A solid debut that we’ll written and funny - it’s just the books if you like this you’ll love this references made me expectations a little too high. I mean come on, Simon v the homosapiens agenda AND inheritance games? That’s setting up any author for failure.How To Die Famous, is Benjamin Dean’s second YA novel, and a queer mystery which will have you on the edge of your seat, with so many twists and turns that even if you predict five of the twists there’ll be five more which will surprise you! The King is Dead follows James, a young seventeen year old prince, thrust into the role of king far too soon when his father passes. The book explores the relationship between the royal family and the public, racism, and homophobia in British society. James’ main issue is figuring out how to rule the country and keep his relationship a secret. That all changes when his boyfriend suddenly goes missing. This book needs a Netflix adaptation and a sequel, like, yesterday, and it hasn’t even been released yet!!!! However, overall, I had a lot of fun with this book and adored the way Benjamin Dean was unafraid to call out the British press on all their racist, homophobic, classist and sexist BS. There was a lot of greatness in this book, which, despite some odd pacing and a few questionable/unnecessary plot twists, is what ultimately stood out to me and made this a book I'd happily recommend, especially to a younger audience who may not find the 'big reveal' quite so predictable.