King of Sloth
by Ana Huang
★ Top 25 book of 2024 · #12 on Best Books of 2024
Xavier Castillo is charming, easygoing and rich beyond belief, with no interest in taking over his family's empire. He has never wanted anyone enough to chase them, until he meets her.
Best for: Contemporary romance readers who like the Kings of Sin series.
King of Sloth is #17 on BookWard's Rising chart for October 2026: the hottest new books published in the past two years.
What King of Sloth is about
Xavier Castillo is charming, relaxed and absurdly wealthy, and he has no wish to run the family empire, which frustrates his father. Women fall over themselves for him, with one exception: his publicist, Sloane Kensington. Sloane is sharp, ambitious and well practiced at managing difficult clients, and she has made up her mind never to fall for this one. Xavier, for his part, takes real pleasure in getting under her skin.
When a tragedy pulls the two closer, Xavier must face uncertainty about where his life is headed, and he begins to see that the one person unmoved by his charm is the one he wants most. It is a romance built on friction, suited to readers who enjoy a polished, party-loving hero with more depth than he lets on.
Why King of Sloth is on the Rising chart
773 readers have shelved it on Open Library since 2024; 33 are reading it right now. The Rising score blends six public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 against the other new books and weighted as shown.
| Signal | This book | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reader pace | 92 | 28% |
| Buzz | 32 | 24% |
| Growth | 20 | 18% |
| Being read right now | 89 | 12% |
| Reader love | 17 | 10% |
| Newness | 71 | 8% |
New and popular Ranked on reader activity only; no Wikipedia page to measure.
The numbers behind it
- Wikipedia: no article yet, so this book is ranked on reader activity alone and we make no claim about its direction.
- Open Library readers: 716 want to read, 33 reading now, 24 have read it.
- Ratings: 3.64 out of 5 from 14 Open Library ratings.
King of Sloth on the Rising chart: history
First on the chart this month. The history grows with every monthly update.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | #17 | 55 |
King of Sloth on the Best Books of 2024
King of Sloth came out in 2024. Of the 33 books first published in 2024 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #12 on our Best Books of 2024 list.
Why it made the list: 761 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (13 ratings); 33 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 2024 list
- Striker Ana Huang, #10
- Someone You Can Build a Nest in John Wiswell, #11
- The Housemaid Is Watching Freida McFadden, #13
- Absolution Jeff VanderMeer, #14
See all Best Books of 2024 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2023 Best Books of 2025.
Questions about King of Sloth
Is King of Sloth a new book?
Yes. King of Sloth by Ana Huang was first published in 2024, and BookWard's Rising chart only includes books published in the past two years.
Why is King of Sloth on the Rising chart?
773 readers have shelved it on Open Library since 2024; 33 are reading it right now.
More new books readers are finding
- Can We Be Strangers Again? Shrijeet Shandilya
- Striker Ana Huang
Prefer proven favorites? See the Top 100, or all Rising books.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views. The description is paraphrased from real source text (Open Library or Wikipedia). A book is on the Rising chart only if it was published in 2025 or 2026 and its readers are active and its interest is not falling. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales. Read the full methodology.
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