King of Pride

King of Pride (2023) is an adult contemporary romance by Ana Huang and the second installment in the Kings of Sin series. The novel alternates between the first-person perspectives of wealthy CEO Kai Young and impulsive, vivacious bartender Isabella Valencia. Following the popular forbidden romance and billionaire love-interest tropes, King of Pride is a New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller, Amazon Kindle Bestseller of 2023, and Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for Best Romance in 2023. 

This guide refers to the Kindle Unlimited e-book edition published in 2023.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide mention drug overdose, domestic violence, and deaths of parents.

Plot Summary

Twenty-eight-year-old Isabella Valencia comes from a highly successful family and feels a debilitating pressure to succeed due to the stress put on her by her eldest brother, Gabriel. In order to receive her trust fund, she must settle into a career by the age of 30. In the two years since coming up with an idea for an erotic thriller novel, Isabel wrote half the book and then scrapped it, and she hasn’t written anything further. Her fear of failure has caused her to be thwarted by writer’s block. When she is not stressing over how to jumpstart her writing, Isabella bartends at the elite Valhalla Club, where she often serves Kai Young—the wealthy, presumed heir to the Young Corporation.

Kai faces his own familial burdens. The vote to decide who will become the Young Corporation’s CEO after his mother leaves the company is fast approaching, and Kai feels immense pressure from his mother in particular to win. Though his excessive pride leads him to believe that he has the vote won already, he is blind to the fact that a competitor—Russell Burton—is blackmailing various board members and competitors into clearing the way for him to become CEO instead. 

Kai and Isabella first bond over their mutual talent for piano playing. As they continue to cross paths due to their associations with the Valhalla Club and their mutual friends—Alessandra and Dominic Davenport, Vivian Lau and Dante Russo, and Sloane Kensington—the mutual attraction that’s always fizzled beneath the surface ignites. Before long, their interactions become romantic in nature, and they begin secretly dating—due to the Valhalla Club’s no-fraternization rule between employees and clients and the possibility that the media might create a scandal out of their relationship that could negatively impact Kai’s success in the CEO vote. 

When Isabella’s brother Gabriel pressures her about her writing, Isabella lies and claims that she has almost finished her novel when, in truth, she hasn’t even begun. Backed into a corner, Isabella agrees to produce a full manuscript in four months’ time at her family’s annual get-together in February. With Kai’s help, Isabella gains self-confidence and the inspiration needed to make significant progress in her book and their relationship. 

Unfortunately, when Isabella and Kai make an outing to Coney Island for her birthday, journalists take pictures of them and out their secret relationship online. Victor Black, the owner of the National Star publication, continues to publish slandering and defamatory pieces on Kai and Isabella, which further lowers Kai’s chances of becoming CEO. Isabella loses her job at Valhalla Club, and the media’s lies about her damage her emerging confidence in herself and reignite her writer’s block. Kai’s mother and sister express disapproval of his relationship with Isabella and insist that he agree to a fake date with socialite Clarissa Teo in order to generate positive media buzz before the CEO vote takes place. At Isabella’s insistence, Kai agrees. However, the fake date still bothers Isabella, who feels inadequate compared to Clarissa, who fits so seamlessly into the life that Kai lives. 

Due to these setbacks, Isabella is unable to complete her manuscript before meeting with her family in February and faces their disappointment. Meanwhile, despite his efforts to regain the board’s favor, Kai loses the CEO vote, and Russell wins instead. Blaming herself for Kai’s loss and her own failure to finish her book, Isabella punishes herself by breaking off her relationship with Kai. In the following weeks, she throws herself into a new job working as Alessandra Davenport’s assistant as she starts a flower-pressing business. 

Following the breakup and CEO loss, Kai dedicates himself to wallowing and nursing his wounded pride. However, an interaction at the bar with Victor, who acts as though he personally knows Russell well, provokes Kai’s suspicion. With the help of Christian Harper and his security firm, Kai digs up proof that Russell hired private investigators to gather information on board members and his fellow competitors for the CEO position, which he then used to blackmail certain people into rigging the vote in his favor. At the CEO transition ceremony, Kai presents this evidence to everyone in attendance. The CEO vote is rendered null and is rescheduled; when it finally comes to pass, Kai is voted in as the CEO. 

Meanwhile, Isabella receives an email from a well-known thriller agent who has somehow read the first few chapters of her book and liked it enough to ask for her to revise and resubmit a second draft. Isabella is touched to discover that Kai submitted the first few chapters of her unfinished manuscript weeks previously because he knew she wouldn’t feel confident enough to do so herself. The positive feedback from a professional who works with seasoned writers gives Isabella the confidence and motivation to finish and revise her novel before resubmitting it in full. When she goes out to celebrate the accomplishment with her friends, she crosses paths with Kai. She apologizes for everything, and they reconcile with the intent of continuing their romantic relationship. Two years later, Isabella is a published author, with her book selling in bookstores, and she and Kai are happily engaged.