I'm like every other girl I love a good royal romance. This book covered all I ever hoped to receive in a book. The story between Rhys & Bridget was beautifully put together. I had some good laughs with the slow build of romance between the characters & I loved the way they got along. The book had be guessing & even suggesting at the end that it take a un-expected turn to be Rhys be a lord or something and It came along to what I suggested even if he was illegitimate. Love this book. Its a wonderful read. ( )

Cute but too cliché

After finishing Twisted Love, I had HIGH expectations from this book, too high, I guess. The book is nice, a good read, indeed but it's too cliche. I'm a sucker for forbidden love, and the books I've read have always impressed me. But this one was too typical, so much so as a Hallmark movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Hallmark movies too, but someplace around the middle, I stopped imagining the scenes in my head and I guess that's where it went downhill.

I love Rhys and Bridget's chemistry, and the complete devotion Rhys shows for Bridget. I understand Bridget's predicament too, and why she chose to give up on Rhys when she did. When someone has so little, they don't want to lose it, and after her parents, her grandfather was all she had, except Nikolai, of course.

I wanted to read more about Bridget and Rhys's past, and their parents, but the time lapses made it difficult to keep up with the timeline and I think adding those would've confused me to death. However, I love how Bridget doesn't judge him, not just to his face, but even in her POV, she feels his pain and not for a moment does she consider him as an inferior except when she says so to drive him away because she thinks that it's the right thing to do.

I couldn't relate to the book at all. I mean of course I couldn't, I'm not a princess and I've never had a bodyguard, but the book lost its thrill after the Costa Rica trip. Andreas and Rhys, I'd made the connection on their encounter in the hallway, I didn't know how they were related but it was not too difficult to predict. Erhall's connection was a shock, sure, but otherwise the entire plot seemed predictable.

At the smallest mention of Alex and Ava's name, and the small interaction where Jules comments that Alex is whipped, I still felt the butterflies that emerged in the first book. For Rhys and Bridget though, I'm not sure I'll experience those butterflies in the next two books or if I ever did in the first place. Although I've started reading Twisted Hate now, and feel good about it too, I have lowered my standards to escape any disappointment the book might bring.

Update After Bonus Scene: The scene was so domestic (before Jules places Meadow behind the couch lol) and the feeling of finding solace with a partner reverberated through me. Again, I don't relate to Bridget a lot but both of them deserve each other. And I think the bonus scene made up for a lot of what the book lacked, so I could make my rating a 4.5 except Goodreads won't let me (ykwim). The book isn't the best of the series but I recommend it if you're OCD ridden, a fan of forbidden, age gap or royal romances. I enjoyed my read but not as thoroughly as I'd hoped. ( )

Pacing is better. The story is okay.

Bodyguard's forbidden romance story.

Bridget (from book 1) is a Princess because of course she is, why the fuck not? She's going to Thayer University for International Politics as princesses' do. Her regular bodyguard is leaving because his wife is having a baby [awesome paternity leave policy Eldorra!] and Bridget gets a new bodyguard in the form of Rhys Larsen. There are some moments where you wonder if it's honestly like this for people who live their life publicly - celebrities, royalty, etc. Because it does seem to be isolating and burdensome in some ways.

You know right from the off it's going to be a HEA so don't worry. The first half of the book is the two of them dancing around each other. The second half gets into some royal territory and politicking but not a whole lot. We're not here to learn how to run a country, thanks.

The last third of the book is all about the twisty twist a good reader will be expecting if they read closely; now, that's not to say that you'll know exactly what it is because there are a couple of things it could be but if you're reading closely, you'll guess it. And it's not too bad but it's bad enough.

On the chili pepper scale, this one was a 2. Sure, having a princess strip and crawl to you is pretty fucking hot but a strip crawl isn't all that impressive.

The dialog is not great but it wasn't great in the first one either. I sometimes wonder if romance authors write sex scenes first and then try to build a story around that later...I think this suffered from the sophomore slump.

Recommend for readers 18+ because SEX. Check all TW/CW on your own; reader responsibility!

**All thoughts and opinions are my own. Read on my personal KU subscription.** ( )

4.4 stars

I'm really glad I discovered this author from Tik Tok. I'm enjoying these interconnected stories. The characters leap off the pages. It also has great banter, dirty talk, and a plausible storyline. I did wish a little bit had been fleshed out in this particular story but it was still very good. Looking forward to the next book. ( )

This book was FUCKING AMAZING. HOLY SHIT SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE. I am totally in love with Rhys and Bridgets story. I was a little confused on how the story was gonna be between 4 years but I am so happy it did. God the sexual tension was awesome. Rhys is so fucking hot like BRIDGET GIRLLLL HOW DO I GET ONE??! The smut scenes in this book were so well written. Like I am so impressed by Ana’s progress cause the smut in this book was better than the first. Not hating on Twisted Love tho but the plotline (not the romance part) of it I didn’t like. The plotline of this book made so much sense, and I loved every bit of it. This story has to be one of my favorites. I’m so excited for Jules and Josh’s story!! Gotta wait for months ( )