Prince Charming

Daisy's POV as an I-quip-when-I'm-nervous teenage lead being dragged into her sister's life as a princess-to-be carried this whole novel and its occasionally farcical plot twists. You don't really get to see inside Ellie's head. You're with Daisy, who, for obvious reasons, only really gets to see the weird and shitty bits of her sister's "charmed" life. I liked that this book goes rather in the opposite direction of Royal Fever novels by de-romanticizing the whole fairy tale. In that way and others, I thought Daisy's and Ellie's fraught relationship was portrayed very well. I just wished there was more of that and less of Prince Fuck Boy (Sebastian) and his coterie of sots. However, I'm a sucker for a good "bad first impressions mean show more that I want to hate you, but unexpected moments of banter & decency & hotness are complicating my rage with tingly feelings" romance, so Miles can stay, even if the ending was contrived as hell (she's still in high school! what are you doing moving to Florida for your gap year, you WEIRDO).

Overall, a fun YA. show less

High school student Daisy Winters' older-by-seven-years sister Ellie is dating (and gets engaged to) an actual prince. Daisy, more of a free spirit, doesn't want any media attention: she and her best friend Isa are counting down the days until they get to see their favorite author at a con in Key West. But then Daisy's (now EX) boyfriend tries to sell their prom photo to the tabloids, and "the palace" decides they want Daisy to come to Scotland, where they can control "the narrative." Despite Daisy's protests, she is whisked across the pond, where her failure to self-censor (i.e. her tendency to speak her mind) lands her in even worse trouble. In order to squash a story about a romance between Daisy and Seb - the younger prince - Daisy show more is supposed to enter into a fake dating relationship with one of the "Royal Wreckers," a modern-day courtier called Miles.

It's all a bit madcap, and while there's some romance, it's less than I expected. But Daisy is a wonderful character: she's self-aware and situationally aware (if sometimes a few beats behind). She's kind and considerate, but also feels that her needs always get put second to her sister's, and, like her former rockstar dad, she has zero tolerance for fancy bullshit.

This cover is terrible. I'm glad to see they went in a completely different design direction for #2, Her Royal Highness.

Quotes

But honestly, how are you supposed to know what you like unless you try stuff? (16)

"I'm trying so hard to be everything to everyone that I feel like I'm actually screwing it up." (Ellie to Daisy, 280) show less

Royals {aka Prince Charming}

{First of 2: Royals series; teen romance, YA} (2018)

It's 2018 and Ellie, who grew up in Florida, has found her prince Charming. No, this isn't her story; Ellie (Eleanor, El) is already engaged to Alex, heir to the throne of Scotland after his mum, who is the queen. This is the story of Daisy, her sister, who is still in high school in Perdido in Florida. She's working in the Sur-and-Sav and planning to go to Key West for the con with her best friend Isabella but suddenly their plans are derailed in favour of Daisy spending the summer holidays in Scotland to get to know her sister's future world and escape the paparazzi who have already started hounding her family in Perdido. But then she meets Seb, Alex's show more younger, rowdy brother, and his group of friends, known to the media as the Royal Wreckers, not to mention Seb's twin sister Flora, who doesn't seem to like El.

Light, fun teen (clean) romance written in the present tense from the first person point of view. I'd be happy to read more of the same. I like Daisy's family, especially her dad and his sense of humour. It may not be earth-shattering literature but it's lots of fun.

I tuck the blanket a little more tightly around me and start heading back the way I came. I’m not someone who’s easily spooked, but this is all just a liiiiiitttttle too Gothic for me, swanning around the dark halls of a castle at night. Plus, I’d also dealt with having a charming scoundrel in my room, and a fight with a stuck-up snob.
Not even a full two days into my trip, and I was already going full Jane Austen.

It's fairly obvious from the details that it's an American author writing about Brits - I don't think you would have found an ashtray in a pub in Edinburgh in 2018 (though I could be wrong - but I can guarantee you wouldn't have found one in a pub in York in 2016), for instance, but as the book doesn't take itself too seriously, it doesn't really matter.

I see that there's a sequel focussing on Flora and I wouldn't mind seeing Sebastien's real story or, better yet, a continuation of Daisy's story.

3.5**** show less

This book was fantastic. A light, fluffy YA story, but so entertaining and fun to read. The plot was surprisingly original for a "royalty" romance. Rather than telling the story of the beautiful, regular girl who falls in love with a prince, we get the story of her younger sister and family dealing with the drastic lifestyle changes. Also, I'm a sucker for a good enemies-to-romance plot, and I loved the dynamic between Daisy and Miles. The story also had some really funny moments and I actually found myself laughing out loud a few times. Sometimes a lighthearted, funny, sweet YA romance is exactly what you need, and Royals fits that bill perfectly.

I thought this was the prefect summer read. I reminded me a lot of the princess daries and I really loved the world that was created and also the new boy we met. I also loved the side characters. I just wish I felt more connected to the characters overall. It was such a fun read and i def really loved Miles a lot. I also loved the use of newspaper articles that was used to accent the novel. I will def be checking out book 2!

3.5/ 5

Side note- I may have spelled names wrong because I listened to the audiobook and didn’t actually see the names. (Audiobook reader problem)

Okay so this book isn’t exactly a deep novel with intense meaning and themes. Let’s be straight here- it’s a fun mildly trashy book that is several notches up from Hallmark quality but definitely still gives off Hallmark vibes.

Despite the lack of depth, I did appreciate the comment the book made on how obsessed people can be with celebrities and just how insane everything can get with this microscopic view on their lives. The sisterhood theme also wasn’t bad. It was far from what the take away was intended to be but it didn’t add a sweet note with the scene of Daisy and Ellie on show more the mountain.

In my opinion, the real point of this book is to entertain and it does the job this book has some hilarious moments. However some did border on overly cringey and I couldn’t help but do some facepalming.

There was a bit of redundancy with some of the word choices. The same phrases seemed to be repeated quite often to describe characters. For example, at the beginning of the book the phrase “most eligible bachelor” was used to describe Seb quite often.

Overall, this book did what it intended to do and was a funny, slightly Hallmark-like romance novel that has left that voice in my head with a British accent. (Audiobook reader problem #2 😜) show less

”all that matters is the truth as you know it, and as the ones you love know it.

FORMAT READ: eBook (iBooks)
SIMILAR VIBES: The Fill-In Boyfriend
READ FOR: the humor, light and fun royal drama goodness, and slow-burn romance

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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
*There are no major spoilers but if you would rather go into the story without knowing anything, read only up to here*

OVERALL: 4.25

I AM BOUNCING WITH JOY

To be honest, I think I read the synopsis wrong so I went into the book thinking that she was going to be ending up with the prince’s brother and not the prince’s brother’s courtier. BUT HEY I loved it anyway.

And I LOOOVVEEEE a good slow-burn show more romance. Mixing it with all the royal goodness and the fake relationships made this book so fun and charming. The humor was mixed with the right amount of seriousness for a light romantic read.

The plot was everything I could have asked for from a royal romance. I just couldn’t get enough of Daisy and Miles, and everyone. There wasn’t so much with the other characters but it’s something that I can live with as their personalities were expertly portrayed in each of their individual scenes. There wasn’t so much background as there were a fair number of characters that were introduced but I still feel like Rachel Hawkins did a good job with making the characters “rise from the pages”.

I seriously cannot wait to read the next book and see what else in store for Daisy and Miles.

PLOT: ★★★★★
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
CHARACTERS: ★★★★☆
THEMES: ★★★★☆
PACING: ★★★★☆
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★
EMOTIONAL GUT PUNCH: ★★★★☆

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PRE READ:
I didn't realize there was a boy squad BUT I AM LIVING FOR IT !! show less