Rachel Hawkins
Series: Royals, #1
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.I am not a royal watcher, but I am a fan of Rachel Hawkins' books. Her previous work has been mostly paranormal. Therefore, I was surprised when I learned she would be writing a contemporary romance. No need to worry! There may be no supernatural elements in this book, but it still was fairly magical for me.
While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.
Tell Me Five Things
If I were forced to tell you only five things about this book, they would be the following:
- Humor - This book was chockfull of Hawkins' signature humor and wit. I was constantly laughing or smiling, and it made me realize how much I missed reading books by her.
- Characters - What an awesome bunch of characters Hawkins assembled for us in the book! There was a wide array of personalities portrayed in this book, and I thought it was fabulous, that Hawkins included some satirical blue bloods as well. It just added to the royal fun.
- Setting - Once again, I travelled outside the US, and ended up in Scotland. Hawkins did a good job of taking us inside and outside the castle, allowing us to attend a ball, a horse race, and a polo match, among other things. She even wove little bits of history in there for added enjoyment.
- Format - There were these blog posts, interviews, and articles dispersed throughout the book, which were often quite hilarious. The blog posts were probably my favorite, because they were so over the top.
- Romance - The romance! There were several romances embedded in this story, and each was quite sweet and endearing in its own way, but Daisy's romance was my favorite (of course).
**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
Two other books, which I loved, came to mind as I was reading Royals. They also dealt with one sister joining a royal family and the effects on the other sister.
- The Royal We by Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan
- Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm
Are you a "royal" watcher?
Let us know in the comments!
I'm excited for this one! It just recently came on my radar but I LOVE any contemporary settings that deal with royals (your two recommendations are books I really loved!) However I do worry about this one reading on the younger YA side since the cover gives off a younger vibe...
ReplyDelete-Cristina @ Girl in the Pages
This one matches the mood of Prince. Lots of humor and focusing on how the royal engagement affects the family.
DeleteI was kind of on the fence about this one but now I think I will definitely check it out! I love the setting and look forward to this humor!
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for something with really witty humor and light drama, you would enjoy this.
DeleteThis book looks great! I have to put this one on my TBR list. I love a good humor book. Also, I enjoy the idea of going to Scottland! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI liked that Hawkins took us around Scotland via all the events the characters attending. I always like to get a feel for the setting, when I read a book, especially when it is set somewhere I haven't been.
DeleteThis sounds so cute! I love books about royals, and the Scottish setting is so fun! I also loved The Royal We and am planning to read Prince in Disguise soon!
ReplyDeleteIt was my kind of humor. Witty and sometimes snarky. I found it to be a lot of fun, and it was along the same lines as Prince, which I also loved.
DeleteI've seen this book everywhere and I've seen so many great reviews. I'm still not sure it's my type of book, but reviews like this are definitely helping me lean more towards yes I need to read this.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
It's a super fun story with a touch of drama, told with a lot of humor. I love books like this, and really needed it after reading like three heavy books in a row.
DeleteI liked her first series better than her second but I just might try this!!
ReplyDeleteJen Ryland Reviews
And I just remembered my other issue. Is the "dashing young Miles" the same person as "the roguish younger brother?" The synopsis is worded unclearly and I am not really up for a royal love triangle. I think they are the same person but ?????
DeleteMiles is the brother's friend, and no triangle.
DeleteThis was different from her other series, because it's a contemporary, but it's still signature Hawkins. Daisy was very much a fierce and fiery female in the same way Sophie and Harper were. I immediately liked her.
DeleteThis one sounds cute. I hadn’t heard of it till now.
ReplyDeleteIt was cute, and there is a lot of fun satirical stuff in there too.
DeleteI had read the synopsis a while back and wasn't sold on this but you make it sound so good that I may have to reconsider.
ReplyDeleteIt is very much in the same vein as Prince in Disguise. Tons of laughs and sweet heartwarming stuff too
DeleteYes!! I am so happy that you enjoyed Royals as well. I am not one to follow the real Royal family either, but I do agree that this book is fantastic and I saw a similar connection to Prince in Disguise as well. The setting is to die for! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah! I am glad you liked it too, and I really liked the way Hawkins incorporated the setting. I hate when a book is set somewhere, and we never get to "see" any of that place. She took us around and let us get to know Scotland a little, and I really enjoyed it.
DeleteI am still holding out for that Hex Hall spinoff that she started before Rebel Belle was released, but I was very happy with Royals. I am hoping she explores more of the other characters in the book if this does turn into a series, because the wedding hasn't happened yet, and the prince's brother and sister could carry a book with all their drama and antics.
ReplyDeleteI have this one to read very soon and this review is really getting me excited about it. I actually haven't read Hawkins yet but this sounds like a really charming story.
ReplyDeleteAll the other books I read by Hawkins were paranormals, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I simply adored this book. It was all fun, a little farce, and the banter kept my smiling.
DeleteI am planning to read this, so thanks for your thoughts! I need fun and witty to wash down some recent and current dark reads so I think I found it.
ReplyDeleteThen this book will be prefect! It's pure fun, super witty, and low drama. Which are all good things if you ask me.
DeleteI had a totally different experience with this book lol. I didn't care for it sadly. I wasn't feeling the romance and felt it was super rushed at the end. I thought we were leaning towards a different pairing. Whoops. I'm happy you liked it though <3 Great review!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the pairing! I want another book so I can catch up with them. Sorry it didn't work for you.
DeleteI love a fun and entertaining royals read from time to time. I think my favourite one is called Inconceivable. I love the sound of the humor being good in this one. I am going to have to check it out now. Thanks for the review x
ReplyDeleteI just read the synopsis for Inconceivable on GR. The whole inability to produce an heir puts a bit of interesting drama in there.
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