ARC provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this book? I absolutely loved it. It is delightfully Gay- in both senses. As a queer reader, I find it difficult to relate to a lot of romance novels or really get into them. But this book is easily one of my favourites of the year.

Synopsis:

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper and more dangerous than either Alex or Henry could have imagined....

I absolutely loved the inciting incident, I was initially under the impression that it would be something terrible that the protagonist would have to spend the whole novel fixing but instead, it bowled me over laughing. And that's the thing about this book. It was actually funny. I laughed out loud more than once reading this and that almost never happens. Casey McQuiston capitalizes on millennial humour and culture without being cringe-inducing or making up new words to replace a trend that died three months ago. This is a funny book about funny people written by a funny person.

But not only that her writing was personal, intimate and heartwarming. To see a story so romantic and outright LGBT friendly still shocks me, nothing about this book- for me, was fetishizing or uncomfortable like a lot of other Male/Male romances that I have read. It felt like a love letter to the gay community, Alex figuring himself out will be relatable for a lot of readers.

Diverse characters litter this novel and if I were to discuss every aspect of it then I would be writing an essay- not a review. Alex is bisexual and mixed race, Henry is gay, Nora is queer and it's implied that a lot of the other characters are too. (Overall just really good representation). Addiction, politics and the downsides of celebrity are all explored at length. The theme of grief also runs through the novel and I think it was handled very well for New Adult book. The discussions felt mature, realistic and the way the characters acted really emphasised that they were still struggling with it. I think it was an important part of the story and I would like to read more books that cover the topic in a similar way. (I recommend The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan for a YA Contemporary that tackles the complexity of grief.)

Every character is distinctly complex and likeable. Alex is the best kind of an asshole, June is bold, Nora is strikingly smart and Henry is literally Pince Charming and by the end of the book they've all changed completely. Even their parents are first-class characters. That's something I really enjoyed about the book. The parents were involved in their children's lives and didn’t just let them swan around and bugger everything up. Actions had consequences.

But, it isn’t without its flaws. While I enjoyed the romance very much but I didn’t realise the book took place over such a long time scale. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it but sometimes I just missed the time skips and it felt slightly jarring when scenes changed so quickly. Although, I did receive an ARC so this may change in the final copy. Then that will be ‘History, huh?’

Overall, I loved the book and I intend on buying it as soon as it comes out on the 14th of May 2019.

With seduction on his mind, Estefan sets out to get his princess. Erica dreams of a better life. She wants to be treasured. What she gets is a cheating boyfriend and a case of mistaken identity. West has dreamt up a scandalous tale of secret liaisons and vindictive enemies that step outside of the traditional happily ever after. The Royal Scepter is a dirty twist on the classic fairytale tale. A wicked piece of deliciousness.

Ten years ago, Emily was an honor student at big economic school in London. Her TA was none other than a prince - and a big one, as in the Queen’s grandson. Kit is enamored with Emily, but stays away because she’s his student and she has a boyfriend. However, when Emily comes to his office, a mess after finding out her boyfriend back home was cheating on her, he gives in to temptation. 

Flash forward to present day and Emily has a trendy interior design firm, that is losing money. She’s going on one last interview for none other than the Royal family. While she ends up with the design contract, she also receives a proposal from Kit to be his fake fiancée for a few months. In exchange, he’ll save her failing company.

Royal Ruin was a mixed bag for me. There were parts that I absolutely enjoyed, but there were parts with which I struggled. First the good: I loved how much Kit admires Emily right from the start. He falls head over heels not just because of a physical attraction, but he appreciates her brilliant mind and wit. They make a good team when they gel. And when the pair get real with their feelings and passion, the story is wonderful.

However… I had an issue early on with Emily and it never really went away. First, ten years ago, her world falls apart because the love of her life cheats on her… so what does she do? Uses her TA, and he still has the condom on when she talks to her BF and decides they want to work it out. My thoughts went to Rachel and Ross’s “We were on a break” - one of the worst storylines in the sitcom’s (Friends) long life. Then when time moves to present day, I felt Emily continued to make some poor decisions. For example, why hasn’t she blocked her ex from the ability to call or text her? They went through a horrible divorce, yet she still has his number in her cell. And don’t get me started on the ex storyline, which felt forced and contrived.

Then there is the Royal family. In one breath we learn how important appearances are, and in the next, they are having obnoxious family squabbles in front of strangers. And when the Queen just says “fake engagement to Emily” will solve their problems, Kit jumps to it. I had a tough time buying this.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the story, however, I did have issues. The characters felt a bit immature and both had annoying traits. It was hard for me to get behind the couple and the relationship for a long time because I really didn’t care for Emily all that much. But I did like how much Kit liked Emily right from the start - it gave some credibility to his actions. I did like the emotions written into the characters as they make the decision to break up due to their respective careers and life goals. Seeing the results of that decision was the only way for the couple to have a chance at an HEA.

My Rating:  C+ Liked It, but I had issues

Review copy provided by author.

Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About

Mikhail by Lauren Smith is book Two in the "Brothers of Ash and Fire" series.  This is the story of  Mikhail Barinov and Piper Linwood.  Mikhail is a dragon who once took his family jewels and was tricked into giving them to the Queen who he knew was his mate. But she tricked him and kept him hostage until her death  Once freed Mikhail become a distant and vowed to get the jewels back.  Now all those years later he has found them but they are to be auctioned off.  Piper is in charge of the jewels along with her best friend.  When she meets Mikhail she finds him very attractive and hard to resist.  Mikhail too finds Piper hard to resist and believes she might be his second chance at a Mate...but hes been betrayed once before by a women.  Mikhail tricks Piper into helping him take the jewels and he takes her too...but can she trust him?  Will Mikhail let his heart love another?
I am so in love with this series!  I can't wait for the next Barinov brother's story!