Blog Tour: Truly Madly Royally - Debbie Rigaud

Truly Madly Royally
Debbie Riguad
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Point
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Zora Emerson is not here to play. She's enrolled in a prestigious summer program, and is ready to use what she's learning to change the world (or at least her corner of New Jersey, for now).

Zora's not expecting to vibe with any of her super-privileged classmates. So she's shocked to find she's got chemistry with Owen Whittelsey, who is charming, funny, undeniably cute...and turns out to literally be a prince. As in, his parents are the king and queen of a small European country. What?

Suddenly, Zora's summer is looking a lot more complicated -- especially when Owen asks her to be his date at his older brother's wedding. Can her feelings for Owen, not to mention her sense of self, survive the royal chaos?

Debbie Rigaud brings sparkling humor and insight to this empowering romantic comedy that's all about ruling your own destiny.

REVIEW

It's part Princess Diaries, part The Prince & Me, part Will & Kate & Harry & Meghan, and part wholly its own. Together, it added up to a delightful and charming royal romance.

I sort of insta-loved Zora. She grabbed my attention with her sharp wit and humor, but kept me there with her drive, ambition, and huge giving heart. Her love and personal investment in her community was touching and inspiring, and I really delighted in reading about all her service projects and seeing her in action.

Her family was sort of fantastic too. Her mom, brother, and step dad were really supportive, and I throughly enjoyed my family dinners with them. The exchanges between Zora and her brother were so typical, yet special. A great sibling relationship goes a far way with me, and I thought their verbal sparring was lots of fun.

I got to do a whole lot of stuff with Zora in this book too. I attended a community festival, Taco Tuesday nights, a gala, and a royal wedding. All while getting to watch Zora work towards her goals, and finding romance with a prince.

Overall: This was a light and fun read, which also touched upon several issues, and left me laughing and smiling a whole lot.

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

 

I LOVE royal romances, and reading this book made me think of some of my favorite movies featuring royals. Do you see any of your favorites?

• The Prince and Me
• Coming to America
• Roman Holiday
• The Princess Bride
• Ever After

• Ella Enchanted
• The Princess Diaries
• Cinderella 
• Enchanted
• Shrek

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie Rigaud was born in Manhattan to a Haitian immigrant family. The third of four daughters, she’s certain her first greeting into this world was, “A girl…encore?” At the time of her birth, her family lived in Brooklyn. But before Debbie could say “Theodore Aloysius Huxtable,” the Rigaud ’rents packed up the fam and headed to East Orange, NJ to break from city living. (Ha!)

Debbie began her writing career covering news and entertainment for magazines, including Seventeen, Twist and CosmoGIRL!. She’s interviewed celebs, politicians, and social figures, but enjoyed interviewing “real” girls the most. Her first work of Young Adult fiction, the novella “Double Act,” was featured in HALLWAY DIARIES/Kimani Tru. Soon thereafter, romantic comedy PERFECT SHOT/Simon Pulse became her first standalone book. Debbie’s non-fiction essays have been published in anthologies IT’S ALL LOVE/Broadway Books and DEAR BULLY/HarperTeen. Her humorous short story “Voila!” is included in the critically-acclaimed book OPEN MIC/Candlewick Press. Look out for her upcoming rom-com TRULY MADLY ROYALLY (Scholastic/Point) releasing July 30th! And HOPE: PROJECT MIDDLE SCHOOL (Scholastic), her Middle Grade debut co-written with activist Alyssa Milano, releases October 1, 2019. Book 2 in the HOPE series is coming April 2020.

Beyond bylines, Debbie has edited Middle Grade and Children’s stories for publisher Just Us Books, and has been a finalist in Bermuda Music & Dramatic Society’s annual playwright contest. For tween girl retail giant Justice, she currently scriptwrites a tween variety show webseries and a magical folktale series. A total Jersey girl at heart, Debbie and her husband live in the Columbus, Ohio area with their preschooler daughter and toddler son in a vibrant home brimming with child safety locks and baby gates. (They have lots & lots of cabinets!)

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