I love to drink wine when I’m reading and thought it would be fun to try a new concept, book + wine pairing recommendations. Grab a glass and let’s begin. 

The Silver Swan by Amo Jones has been on my wish list for awhile and recently showed up as a freebie on Amazon. I’m a fan of dark romance and this book pushed all the right buttons. It was also absurd, completely improbable, introduced multiple characters and storylines, so many mysterious circumstances, relationships and numerous WTF moments. 

With all that said, it did not stop me from aggressively blowing through this series. I began the first book, maybe 2 weeks ago, and I am now on the more recently released book six, Sancte Diaboli.   

I’m going to set up the general themes in the series, as breaking apart each book is complicated. The Elite Kings Club are high school to college age guys who are members of a mysterious society that does something. I’m still a bit unclear on what. Drug runners? Maybe. Arms Dealers? Could be. They all have the confidence, swagger, and sexual prowess of men much older. And they are filthy rich. The first few books center on Madison Montgomery and Elite King of Kings- Bishop. Madison’s dad is recently remarried to an Elite King’s mom. Madison has a sad history; her real mom shot and killed her dad’s mistress and then killed herself. She used Madison’s gun to do it. Madison has started at a new school, and through her new stepbrother, Nate ( a giant tattooed smoke show) is introduced to the Elite Kings Club. There are ten bad boys in this club and she catches the attention of Bishop, the ring leader. His attention is comprised of glares, heated looks, stare-downs, and angry huffs. Madison is warned that these guys are trouble and to stay away. Well, you can imagine how that goes. Nowhere. It goes nowhere. 

Madison’s dad is connected to this world. Madison is REALLY connected to this world. There’s a private island of people who speak Latin, and aren’t vampires, but only come out at night. The world is incredibly misogynistic to the point of terrible things happening to young girls. The guys all drive luxury cars and live in mansions. And there’s a lot of alcohol everywhere, and a fair amount of cocaine, too. Lots of triggers to this series- so beware. The Kings are violent and play creepy, stalker-ish games. So many lies, nearly unredeemable in many ways. Bishop’s dad is a piece of work. 

But I really liked it.

Some things made zero sense to me. I hated the characters at times, too. But it’s like a train wreck that I still can’t look away from. Constant action, adventure, twists, and on the edge of my seat, what’s going to happen next moments. Plus it’s so very spicy…very sexy, dark, angry, and has a reverse harem vibe. EEEEEK….  

The series starts with Madison and Bishop then moves on to Nate and Tillie (Madison’s BFF), and now I’m reading about Brantly. With ten kings and a younger generation to onboard, this series could go on forever. And, I’m here for it.

The question is…what to drink when reading this crazy series? I have two recommendations. One, open up a nice bottle of dry Rosè. Why? It’s crisp and refreshing, the kind of thing I like to balance out spicy foods. And this is one seriously spicy series. Try Whispering Angel or something a bit less $$, Yes, Way Rosè.  

Second recommendation is a can of sparkling wine. The Elite Kings are super rich and I feel super extra when I drink sparkling wine. Takes every moment up a notch. However, drinking an entire bottle is a bit much, so cans are great. I like the Sofia Blanc de Blanc cans, super cute and single serving, or they’re also available in a Brut Rosè. 

Cheers!

Grade B+

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