.
I loved a lot of things about this book:
All of the characters
The overall plot
The "tone" of the story
The banter
The sex was even adequate
That's a lot of stuff, right If I were doing my normal review layout, I would give the H, h, plot, and sex scenes allorstars.
But my rating isstars,
All that great stuff doesn't work if it's not executed properly, There were times were we were at point "x" in the story and a sentence later we go to point "a", That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, The whole book was disjointed and almost read like it thrown together like a badly made jigsaw puzzle, I'm not trying to be harsh, just honest,
I REALLY wanted to LOVE this book, There were many things to love, but the the book as a whole book was not love worthy, I have never read this author before so maybe this is a bad fit for me, I'm not sure.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review, ARC received for review
,stars
Great start to the series, but I don't like the cover at all, Royal's in exile and the prince falls in love with a maid, Loved that their country passed from Queen to Queen and that the King is a figure head, Lots of surprises along the way, Collin and Della were hot in between the sheets, but their romance and chemistry was just a little blah, Great epilogue and preview to the next book, Fairy tales do come trueand so do tabloid scandals! Bestselling author Marquita Valentine kicks off a juicy contemporary romance series with a novel about a prince whose bestlaid plans go deliciously awry when he marries the maid next door.
Forced to flee to the United States with his siblings after their parents assassination, Crown Prince Colin Sinclair takes it upon himself to become the caretaker of his family while hiding out near Charlotte, North Carolina.
But after a decade in hiding, the secrets out and Parliament demands that Colin wed a princess of their choosing, Unwilling to play their game, Colin decides to marry an American instead, and he has the perfect candidate in mind,
As a homeservice professional, Della Hughes doesnt believe in storybook endings, But when her best friend and secret crush reveals that hes a fleshandblood prince, she doesnt know what to think, Still, shell do anything for Colin, including becoming his wifein name only, of course, But when their plans to stay purely platonic go by the wayside, their fake honeymoon turns all too real, After a week of whitehot nights, Della can no longer deny her feelingsnot with a happily ever after so tantalizingly close, written: February,
Star Rating:
Heat Rating:
An Advanced Reader Copy ARC of this book was received free via Netgalley for an honest review.
You know how sometimes people talk about romance as sort of a fantasy world or best picture world.
Well, this is one of those romantic fantasies, It's a sort of Cinderella story maid weds prince but it's steeped in a world where things are half reality and half fantasy.
Let's start with the obvious fantasy part of it, Colin is a prince from the Isle of Man, Now, I happen to know a little bit about the Isle of Man because when I was younger I was beyond fascinated by the history of the British Isles.
I knew I didn't know enough about it though, so I did some research to figure out if there was any plausibility to the story.
And the answer was it's not really plausible. Personally, I'd rather some fictitious place be made than take a real place and twist it all around, but that is my personal preference.
Since my plausibility meter was already shattered, I started noticing all sorts of other things that just felt "off" to me.
It's just so ridiculous that she'd keep her job after marrying the prince that job of being a maid and cleaning other people's houses.
It's even more ridiculous that he would ok with that, I mean, seriously, she could have decided to be a stripper or a whore and I think he would have been ok with it because it would be what she wanted to do.
That level of "empowerment" isn't exactly what I'm looking for in a guy,
And then there's the story behind their exile, I was rolling my eyes over it all, And the story of how their parents met, More eye rolling ensued. And the evil Prime Minister, By this time, I wasn't sure if my eyeballs would stay in my head, Like I said, this is every bit of romantic fantasy,
But then here's the thing. Why did I like it if it was so eyerollingly annoying Because despite all the frustration with it, Valentine made me care about these people.
I loved how Colin took care of his family and how Della took care of Colin's family, I lapped up Theo's pain, I watched Imogen and Charlotte struggle, I raced to the door with Aiden and Pierce, I ached with Beaumont. I want to read more about these people,
This review is Februaryby Monique N, and has been posted to Netgalley, ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Random House Publishing stars!
sitelink at Of Pens and Pages.
They can pretend we dont exist, but that doesnt mean we have to pretend we dont exist as well.
”
The members of the royal house of St, Claireor whats left of it, at leastare exiled to a small town in North Carolina after the gruesome murder of their parents.
Colin Sinclair, the eldest of the siblings, is left to pick up the pieces, take care of his brother, twin sisters, and act as father to his baby brothers, both of whom are barely toddlers.
Its a heavy burden to carry, especially for someone whos barely an adult, but with the help of the straightforward groundskeepers stepdaughter, Della Hughes, Colin somehow manages.
Ten years pass by in a blur, and the Sinclairs have lived in relative peace and quiet, Della has become a motherfigure to the younger Sinclairs, Aiden and Pierce, and a sister/friend to Theo, Charlotte, and Imogen, Most of all, shes become Colins best friend, the one he can rely on more than anyone, So when the world finds out about the secret royal family living in the suburbs and the parliament demands Colin to take over the crown and marry someone of their choosing, Della steps in as his unsuitable bride.
That way, the Parliament wouldnt be able to force Colin to take the crown from his sister, Imogen, the rightful heir to the throne.
As Colin and Della enter into their marriage, clothes are torn off, secrets are revealed, feelings are confessed, They need to withstand everything thrown their way if they want to reach their happily ever after,
I liked the premise, Im a huge marriage of convenience fan, so add in a bit of that royal element, and Im intrigued, Hook, line, and sinker.
I also liked Della and Colins longstanding friendship, They complement each other so well, and it made me happy to see Colin have someone like Della and vice versa.
Della is a no nonsense woman but shes pretty much a mother bear to the Sinclairs, Shes not afraid to call them out on their bullsht, but shes also incredibly loyal, caring and loving to them,
I loved learning more about the Sinclairs, Theyre all interesting characters, and the little ones were adorable, Colin is the responsible one, taking care of the family business all the while taking care of his family and championing their case to return to their country from exile.
Theo is outgoing, wild, and flirty, Charlotte and Imogen have contrasting personalities, where the former is more reticent and meek than the latter, Aiden and Pierce are lovable kids who adore Della and Colin,
I also loved that the crown is passed down to the female royals! Its something I dont usually encounter, so that was a pleasant surprise.
I think the story would have gone better if the mysteries and Sinclair family secrets were properly weaved, I believe the unveiling of those secrets wasnt properly executed, and so it left me confused and a little disappointed, I suppose if the story were longer, there would have been more time to properly unveil everythingwhat happened to the Queen and King Consort, the prime ministers agenda, Dellas secret, the younger boys parentage, to name a few.
Royal Scandal is a standalone contemporary romance about a royal family trying to find their way back home.
Told in Colin and Dellas POV, it has its fair share of steam, fluff, and drama, A modern fairytale with its own happily ever after,
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review,
sitelink Blog sitelinkFacebook sitelinkTwitter sitelinkInstagram An adorably sweet and sexy story about Royal Scandals and fairytale love.
After forced to leave their country right on the heels of their murder, Prince Colin Sinclair and his brothers and sisters hide royal identities in a small town in North Carolina.
Having only themselves to rely on, a barely old enough Colin assumes the role of guarding to his teenaged brother and twin sisters and as a father to his two baby brothers, yet he knows nothing about bottles and diapers.
Fortunately the ground keepers daughter does and they soon form a friendship that will last a lifetime or until his secrets pull them apart.
Della Hughes cleans houses by day and dresses up as princesses during her spare time, but that doesnt mean she believes in fairytales until her best friend and the man shes secretly loved for the past decade tells her one of his many secrets all while proposing she marry him for convenience because shes perfectly unsuitable and their union will allow his oldest sister to become the rightful queen of the Isle of Man.
But as they become husband and wife in name only and leave for their fake honeymoon more secrets are revealed and their mutual attraction is uncovered, can they also admit their true feelings and write their own happily ever after
“You are one of the best men I know.
”
My heart slams against my chest at her compliment, I do not deserve her, but I refuse to give her up, Ever.
Marquita Valentine gives us a wonderful hero, Colin is a blunt business owner, but what makes him impossible to resist is his devotion and loyalty to his family, He fully undertakes responsibility of their guardianship at the young age of nineteen despite the fact that his own parents had been venal and thoughtless.
He further proves his swoon worthiness with Dellas sexy seduction once he realizes that he wants more than a marriage in name only with
her.
He wants everything.
“Even if I wasnt your wife, even if I hadnt agteed to marry you, you are my best friend and I will always be on your side.
”
Della is sweet and understanding, a pillar of strength for Colin and practically the youngest Sinclairs mother, She was a natural fit in Colins life despite her “commoner” origins, I would have loved to get more about the ten years between their initial meeting and when the big royal secret practically blew up on them but its clear that Della and Colin adore each other and that theres nothing they wouldnt do for one another.
They have incredible chemistry but their path to happiness isnt smooth sailing as they need to clear the way out of the web of lies that surround the Sinclairs.
Speaking of the entire Sinclair clan, I loved getting to know all of them, Theyre each very different personalities and Im sure well get to enjoy each of their stories in future books,
Royal Scandal is the first book in the Royals in Exile series by Marquita Valentine, It is a standalone, fulllength, contemporary romance with warm and sweet moments, delectably sexy times and a good dose of dramatic twists.
Told from both points of view, with a fairytale happy ever after,
Amazon gt sitelink to/jcSnP
I was given an ARC of this book courtesy of the author via NetGalley, The excerpts are from that copy,
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