Review: Royally Screwed, by Emma Chase

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Nicholas Arthur Frederick Edward Pembrook, Crowned Prince of Wessco, aka His Royal Hotness, is wickedly charming, devastatingly handsome, and unabashedly arrogant; hard not to be when people are constantly bowing down to you. 

Then, one snowy night in Manhattan, the prince meets a dark haired beauty who doesn't bow down. Instead, she throws a pie in his face.

Nicholas wants to find out if she tastes as good as her pie, and this heir apparent is used to getting what he wants. 

Dating a prince isn't what waitress Olivia Hammond ever imagined it would be.

There's a disapproving queen, a wildly inappropriate spare heir, relentless paparazzi, and brutal public scrutiny. While they've traded in horse drawn carriages for Rolls Royces, and haven't chopped anyone's head off lately, the royals are far from accepting of this commoner. 

But to Olivia, Nicholas is worth it.

Nicholas grew up with the whole world watching, and now Marriage Watch is in full force. In the end, Nicholas has to decide who he is and, more importantly, who he wants to be: a King... or the man who gets to love Olivia forever.

Review

5 out of 5 stars  

There are many things in my life which I enjoy, 2 of which are: 1 - A good romance book that leaves me with all the feels and 2 - A Hallmark movie with the ability to suck me in with all their HEA and predictable goodness.  You know what I'm talking about I mean it is one of the most watched channels from November 1st to January 1st with women.  It's hands down my favorite "TV season" of the year.  I cannot help myself, I ALWAYS fall victim to their sappy predictable plot lines with perfect happily ever afters because who doesn't love a good love story?  Well, Royally Screwed gave me the best of both and completely made my week!  I knew even from the first page I was going to devour this book in one sitting and absolutely love every minute.

Nicholas is the Crowned Prince of Wessco and as perfect as that sounds, it most assuredly has its disadvantages.  Other than Christian Grey, I don't know of anyone else who requires women sign a NDA prior to sex.  Then there is the fact Nicholas truly has no idea if people aka women want him for himself or for his money and power.  Then there is the pesky detail of  having very little say in whom he is going to marry.  Love doesn't really matter because if said woman is gong to be queen there is a huge royal check-list of requirements, each of which she must meet.  So basically he has a crown, tons of money, and a tiny bit of power but essentially no true say in the direction of his entire life and unfortunately that's bound to effect his level of happiness. 

Enter Olivia Hammond;  loud, hardworking, blunt, New Yorker.  Olivia had no idea who Nicholas was when he walked into her pie shop, but it was certainly one of those defining life moments she isn't ever going to be able to forget.  She challenges Nicholas and empowers him to be the person he wants to be, to be the best version of himself.  Of course he can only spend at most 5 months with her before he must return to his reality, pick a woman who meets all the royal requirements, marry her and produce and heir. 

To make the most of their short time together he whisks her away to Wessco and his Royal life.  Needless to say the Queen isn't happy and will not budge - responsibilities are just that and as far as she is concerned love or not those responsibilities must be met.  What will happen?  Can love conquer all?    

This book was pretty much perfection for me.  It has everything I love, nothing I hate and even a few twists and surprises!  Royally Screwed was the perfect amount of humor, drama and heart.  Job well done, Emma!

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Review: The Playboy Bachelor by Rachel Van Dyken

She's no Sleeping Beauty. And he's definitely no prince . . . Margot McCleery could have lived her whole life without seeing Bentley Wellington again-her ex-best friend and the poster boy for Hot, Rich Man-Whores everywhere. But Margot's whiskey-augmented grandmother "buys" Bentley at a charity bachelor auction, and now suddenly he's at her door. Impossibly charming. Impossibly sexy. And still a complete and utter jackass. Bentley's just been coerced by his grandfather to spend the next thirty days charming and romancing the reclusive red-haired beauty who hates him. The woman he abandoned when she needed him the most. Bentley knows just as much about romance as he knows about love-nothing. But the more time he spends with Margot, the more he realizes that "just friends" will never be enough. Now all he has to do is convince her to trust him with her heart . . .

Review

4.5 of 5 Stars

It is rare that I ever close a Rachel Van Dyken book and find myself even a little disappointed.  Unfortunately I was very on the fence when I finished The Bachelor Auction, book 1 of this series.  I loved the humor and the characters, but it was a tad too over the top at times even for me.  With all that being said I have to admit I was a little nervous starting book 2, The Playboy Bachelor.  You see RVD is one of my favorite go to authors and I didn't want a book I just sort of enjoyed I wanted it to be one I totally loved.  Guess what?  I am more than thrilled to report The Playboy Bachelor was everything I hoped it would be and all that I love in a Rachel Van Dyken book!  In fact, I can't seem to wipe the smile off my face and it's been hours since I finished reading it!

Bentley Wellington is a cocky, hot, jackass of a millionaire who seems to do nothing other than get wasted and screw his way through life.  Obviously, there is a back story and a reason for his self-destructive ways, but you don't immediately know what they are and I found myself wondering if he would ever be able to redeem himself.  Having finished I'm really not sure why those thoughts ever crossed my mind.  Rachel ALWAYS writes characters I love and Bentley Wellington is no exception.  He will worm his way into your hearts as well, I simply guarantee it!  You'll find he is actually this incredibly sensitive, loyal, decent man who is scared to put his heart on the line because putting it all out there means risking his life spiraling out of control.

Margot McCleery is Bentley's former BFF and her red hair reputation is no joke. The girl has a temper, and I love it.  She is a successful, regency romance author which a huge pile of her very on baggage.  Imagine a reclusive who never leavers her house.  Now imagine a concerned grandmother desperate for anything that will bring the "life" back into her granddaughter's eyes and a grandfather desperate to make amends for poor decisions while raising his grief stricken grandchildren.

Next imagine the fireworks that occur when these two are stuck together in Margot's mansion for 30 days after a discarded friendship and years of silence.  To say Margot and Bentley have a love/hate relationship is an understatement.  I loved the emotions, the POV, the characters and the plot line.  Sure, parts of it were predictable, but they were so good, so swoon worthy you don't mind because your spending your time reading for the enjoyment that comes from being engrossed in a good rom-com.  You can almost always guarantee a HEA with Rachel, but the journey to the end is simply delightful.  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book and highly recommend you one-click it for yourself!

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

I’ve sworn off men.

All men.

Famous last words, right? You’re expecting some epic tale of reluctant love and my dramatic change of heart? Well, you’re not going to get it.

I’m stubborn. And headstrong. And I’ve just survived the worst three years of my life. After escaping an abusive boyfriend to live in hostels and cheap hotels while I worked my way across Europe, I’ve come to two conclusions.

The first? Now that I’m back home, I’m going to squander my expensive culinary degree on a food truck that caters to the late night drunk crowd.

The second? I’m going to prove to the bastard across the plaza that my street food is better than his fussy five course monstrosities.

Killian Quinn might be Food and Wine’s Chef to Watch Out For. He might have a Michelin Star. He might have every food critic in the city wrapped around his too-large fingers. But he’s also pretentious and unbearably arrogant and the very opposite of me.

So he can keep his unsolicited advice and his late night visits and his cocky smiles. I want none of it. Or him.

I want the opposite. 

Review:  4.5 of 5 Stars

I have to confess that I have been in a total funk.  Work has sucked the life out of me, hell, life has just been blah lately.  So when I realized that Rachel Higginson was getting ready to release a new book, I asked for a copy to review.  And she was gracious enough to oblige me!  As soon as I could, I jumped right into this book, and I have to say....I adored it.

Vera Delane is an enigma.  She is confident but unsure.  She is creative but doubts herself.  She is someone that has been through hell in an abusive relationship and blames herself.  But, despite all of her low self-esteem, Killian Quinn makes her brave and bold to stand up for herself.  

Speaking of Killian, he is the smoking hot chef from Lilou, the acclaimed restaurant across the street from Vera's food truck.  Does he critique her food?  Yes.  Is he a total douche at time?  Absolutely!  But I love his character!  He pushes Vera to be a better her.  And isn't that what all our relationships should do?  

I loved everything from the food aspect, to the ties to NC and even the predictability of parts of this story. It was such a nice reprieve from reality and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone!  Great job, Rachel!