Review: The King’s Man Book V – MM Fantasy Romance

The King’s Man: Book V by Anyta Sunday | Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars (link review on Goodreads) Genres: Fantasy, Slow-burn, MM Romantasy

Introduction

In Book V of The King’s Man, we are in a new setting in Iskeldir, the border country to Lumin. Cael and an increasingly interwoven cast of characters continue to work towards their goals of reinstating the true king to the throne and coming out the other side alive. This MM Fantasy Romance series is my favorite thing of 2025.

Blurb

A stolen moment. A forbidden touch. A game neither of them should be playing.

A healer who masks his identity. A king held captive. A game of power, deception, and undeniable longing.

Cael has always walked the thin line between healer and outlaw, but when he learns Quin, the true king of Lumin, has been captured, he risks everything to reach him. Disguised as “Haldr,” Cael infiltrates Iskeldir’s court, tending to Quin’s wounds while keeping his own identity buried. Each stolen moment between them is a battle of sharp words, lingering touches, and the ever-present danger of discovery.

But Quin’s freedom comes at a cost. To secure his release, Cael must do the impossible: win the Medicus Contest, a ruthless competition designed to prove Lumin’s superiority in healing magic. With only alchemy and wit, Cael must outmatch spell-wielding rivals, outmanoeuvre those who would see him fail, and outlast the unseen forces working against him. When the final trial demands he enter the callous regent’s memoryscape, Cael faces an impossible choice: risk his soul to save those trapped inside or lose everything. Including Quin.

In a world where healing is power and love is a battlefield, how far will Cael go to protect the man he can never have?

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THE KING’S MAN is an epic romantasy filled with slow-burn passion, courageous choices, and the relentless spirit of a healer determined to beat all odds.

This six-book series is one continuous journey and romance arc and is best read in order for maximum enjoyment.

Genres: Fantasy, Slow Burn, MM Fantasy Romance
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 24, 2025

We’re Cooking

I am enthused by how the story is progressing. It’s exciting, it’s gripping. I start reading and don’t want to stop. The only breaks I took this time round were because I didn’t want to read it too quickly. I stopped so that I could digest the story a little bit before moving on. 

There are so many ways that things could go wrong. I have faith at this point that things will end up in a good way, but there’s still that danger. 

One More To Go

One more book to go, I am devouring this series as fast as I can. And reviewing the book I just read before I continue, so I don’t pepper reviews with something I learn is going to happen in later chapters. 

Plot Developments 

Book 5 of the King’s Man MM Fantasy Romance sends Cael off to the land of Iskeldir. Cael, Magaera, and the two Crusaders they ended up with in Book 4, Lykos and Zenon, settle in Iskeldir, under the protection of the crown prince. They’re also somewhat trapped, with no way back to Lumin. 

His true identity hidden, Cael immerses himself in his studies. He’s obsessed, he hardly ever sleeps, Zenon complains. But he must learn the Iskeldir ways of brewing potions. Their power lies in alchemical healing without the use of magic. Soon enough, Cael must prove that his skills not only match the healing powers of the vitalians in Lumin, but he must exceed them. And nearly everything is at stake. 

Enter Quin 

We all knew that somehow Quin would show up in this new setting in book 5. Unfortunately, it’s not under the best circumstances. Being held captive by King Yngvarr, who hates him, Quin is hurt, and his life is in Cael’s impressive but impulsive hands.

King Yngvarr

Years ago, to broker (read: force) peace between the lands, the future king of Iskeldir, then Kron Prins Yngvarr, was sent to live in Lumin. And Princess Frederica went to Iskeldir. For eight years, they grew up in a separate kingdom. Inspired by real history, it’s a pretty common mechanic in fantasy stories. This happens, for example, in Game of Thrones. Theon Greyjoy lives with the Starks as their ward, and has done so since his kingdom lost a rebellion. In real history, Assyrian rulers used the exchange of noble hostages to guarantee peace and broker alliances. In truth, when this happens, the nobles are in a peaceful hostage situation. One can see how it would cause tension. 

Pensive, er — Wrong Story

We learn about this history through a trawl through the King‘s memories that Cael and Quin undertake to glean any advantage. Unfortunately, they learn how Yngvarr was mistreated when he was in Lumin. And quelle surprise, it was Quin’s father and the High Duke who were the bullies. 

It’s of interest that readers learn a bit about the High Duke and why he is such a nasty little prick. It does not make up for his nasty little prick behavior. 

Memories

Anyway, we jump through King Yngvarr‘s memories, and we find out about a past that does not shine a favorable light on the future king of Lumin. He does things to spite Prins Yngvarr. Or, to just be a prick like his little brother, the High Prick. Er, I mean Duke. 

He’s a great piece of work, the bully future King. Quin might have already known these truths, but it’s tragic to see how the past played out, knowing the outcome years later is the King of Iskeldir’s deep-seated hatred not just for Lumin, but for Quin. Much to his peril, with the current situation. Even the King’s hatred of magic stems from all the trauma he experiences in Lumin as a youth. 

Can They Work Together? Maaaaybe

With what they learn from the memories, the chances of the two kingdoms working together are very, very slim. However, and I’m desperately trying to avoid spoiling things, there is hope. 

We’re down to the wire now. One book remains to wrap a ton of things up. Boy, is there a lot needing to be wrapped up.

Character Introductions

In this book, we meet several new characters. We first meet numerous Skelder warriors, and the Crown Prince, or Kron Prins, Prins Lief. Prins Lief has feelings for Cael’s aunt and tries to protect Cael from the scrutiny of his father, the King. 

His father, King Yngvarr, is the ruler of Iskeldir. He hates Lumin, Quin, and magic. And he’d hate Cael just as much if he knew the deceit Cael carries out under the King’s nose. But Cael is desperate for things to work out, even for the King. 

Wait, I Know You…

Some characters from previous books pop up again in this book, including Captain Kjartan from the previous book is part of the squadron of guards sent to Hinsguard with Cael. He is one of the only ones who knows who Cael truly is. 

From Book III, Olyn appears in good time to help Cael and prove her ability to heal. Also from Book III, Bastion and his group show up to throw in their support and protect Cael. The true king has won the hearts of the Vespertines. 

Old Friends

Florentius and Akilah, even good ol’ Skriniaris Evander and his cat Taffy, make appearances. Importantly, Casimiria and Lucius from the outcast island are held captive on a longboat by the High Prick to use as pawns in his deadly games. 

Glows

Good Pacing

Well-paced action in Book V keeps the reader reading, I didn’t want to stop. I paused to gasp a few times, before diving under again. 

The Competition 

Very happy that the competition that’s been alluded to several times through the series takes place in this book. It’s a hell of a competition, too, devious and evil as the High Duke makes it. God, he’s such a douchecanoe. 

Grows

Still Want A Glossary

I do think that this MM Fantasy Romance needs a glossary or index or something. There is so much going on and so many facets of the world to remember. It is easy, over the span of six books, to forget details. A whole primer on the herbs, the spell-casting mechanisms, the accupoints, meridians, and key terms like vitalian, par-linea, linea, and non-linea, etc. Clear definitions of these things would be super helpful. 

So Much to Still Happen

I worry that there are too many loose ends to tie up in the one remaining book of this series.

Character Developments

Cael 

Cael really shines in this book. He is tasked with not only meeting the standards of magic healing but surpassing them with his alchemical healing methods, which is a much better word for what he’s doing than ‘crude’, because there’s nothing crude about what he’s capable of. There’s a lot of theory involved in what he does, and he’s brilliant at it. 

Even though Cael frustrates Prins Lief in the same ways that he frustrates Quin, consistently being impulsive and jumping into action before thinking the chess game through, Cael, our impulsive little cinnamon roll, is less impulsive now than before.  

Sword of Damocles

I think it’s because he understands the gravity of his situation. He feels the sword of Damocles right overhead. He knows he’s a part of a multi-level political game, set into motion before either he or Quin were alive, and it’s up to him to make some important pivots to keep things on course. 

And importantly, he is bothered and burdened by the problem that he poses in Nicostratus and Quin’s relationship. Not harming the relationship between these brothers is important to him.

Theme Development

The Conflicting Demands of Duty and Love

The returning theme of sacrificing happiness for duty is strong here. Several key players are backed into corners, with no good solutions at hand. The contest is rife with this, two teams “need to” win the contest to escape mortal peril, and it’s only through quick thinking and key sacrifices do things work out

The Past Shapes the Future

Exploring the theme of how the past shapes the future is increasingly important in Book V, as we see motivations start to emerge from memories of events that have long since passed. The new method to relive memories, much like the pensives from Harry Potter, readers see how trauma shapes the personalities and motivations of key players. Trauma from the past has had long-lasting repercussions on the current chess game everyone is playing.

Choose Kindness 

Since we’re seeing that these old wounds are the ills that have poisoned whole generations of people’s lives, a moral emerges. It’s important to choose kindness. To not choose the vindictive route. To choose the path that will cause the least amount of harm. This is, I suppose, a basic tenet, the most tenet of medical care, right? Do the least harm possible to heal the most people.

As a healer, Cael naturally, if not begrudgingly, chooses kindness. Cael is bullied by people in much the same way that the King of Iskeldir is bullied by the High Duke and Quin‘s father. Cael still chooses kindness, and it comes back in good ways, winning him new supporters. 

Who is Behind the Mask

Masking, hiding one’s identity, and when to reveal one’s true identity is one of the most critical themes to this story. This idea will prove critical to the finale, mark my words. In Book V, Cael pretends to be somebody else for many varying reasons. Quin has appeared in actual masks and in some sort of disguise at many times throughout the series. 

In the preview for the final installment, it promises a full unmasking, and this begs the most important question of all: 

Who is hiding the most? 

So who is it? It’s not Quin, because Quin is so transparent about his feelings for Cael, specifically. Cael is incapable of hiding even with a mask. The High Duke is super transparent with his false diplomacy and fake kindness. Is it Nicostratus? Who is hiding the most? That’s my question as we lead into book 6.

What Comes Next? 

In Book 6, I do fear that we have a bunch of loose ends to tie up. Book 6 will either be super long or it’s going to leave some plot holes, something every last book of a series runs the risk of having happen. The author has done a masterful job of weaving a world that is so rich and so detailed, and so topsy-turvy twisty-turny that pulling it all together is a feat. It won’t have been easy.

I would love to be a fly on the wall of planning sessions for this series. Hopefully, Sunday has a whiteboard of bubble maps connecting everything, because that’s how I would do this—I would make a big old bubble map of how things are connected. I would need to visually see it mapped out. (In fact, as a reader, I want to see it mapped out!) This MM fantasy romance series is complicated and has lots of details.

Reviews

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