Wild Card is the first book in the Kings & Queens series. It is a dark mafia romance that contains a lot of sensitive subjects. There is a more detailed explanation at the end that contains spoilers. But first, the non-spoiler content warnings:

  • Age gap (12 years)
  • Older brother’s best friend who helped raise her
  • Graphic sexual content and foul language
  • Murder
  • Torture, violence, and blood (Done to adults)
  • Sexual assault to a minor (No graphic details on page, but the book opens with that scene written in vague terms that focuses on her fear. Later, it becomes clear what happened and is then mentioned throughout.)
  • Sex addiction starting as a minor and continuing into adulthood
  • Alcohol and drug addiction starting as a minor and continuing into adulthood
  • Suicidal thoughts and ideation
  • Self harm
  • Running away
  • Overdosing
  • Rehab, AA, NA, etc.
  • Human trafficking (Main MMC is trying to find a missing girl and discovers a trafficking ring they then try to break up and stop)

Spoilery information to clarify:

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The first quarter of the book jumps back and forth in time.

The FMC’s chapters take place in the past, showing her trauma and the rough teenage years that followed. She was sexually assaulted by the man she thought was her father at a very young age. During the attack, her much older brothers and their best friend figure out what’s going on and bust into the room to stop it. The brothers kill their own father for touching her, as well as his right-hand man who was standing guard, and the best friend (the MMC) carries her away.

One of the brothers goes to prison for murdering the two men. The FMC goes into foster care for about a year, where she encounters more trouble. The other brother fights and eventually wins custody, so he and best friend raise the FMC to the best of their ability. By then, however, she’s already turning down bad paths to numb the pain.

While it is clear she is sexually active at a young age, those scenes are not written on page. It is focused more on the affects these struggles have on her life. She also develops drug and alcohol addictions, and her mental health worsens with time. It becomes too much, so she runs away at 17.

The MMC’s chapters are all in the present timeline, where he is working to find missing girls by whatever means necessary. In doing so, he discovers a human trafficking ring and becomes determined to take it down. He works with a crime family to accomplish all of this… The FMC’s family. It’s clear throughout that he is doing all of this for her, because he feels like he failed her.

Eventually, her timeline catches up to the present and we see their paths come back together after eight years of her being gone. That is where the main story really begins. By this point, she is sober and clean, and she has started turning her life around.