Blogging by Liza: ROYAL SCANDAL (ROYALS IN EXILE #1)

Thursday, January 26, 2017

ROYAL SCANDAL (ROYALS IN EXILE #1)

Fairy tales do come true—and so do tabloid scandals! Bestselling author Marquita Valentine kicks off a juicy contemporary romance series with a novel about a prince whose best-laid 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 secret’s 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 home-service professional, Della Hughes doesn’t believe in storybook endings. But when her best friend and secret crush reveals that he’s a flesh-and-blood prince, she doesn’t know what to think. Still, she’ll do anything for Colin, including becoming his wife—in 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 white-hot nights, Della can no longer deny her feelings—not with a happily ever after so tantalizingly close.

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Contemporary Romance

Royals in Exile #1

Loveswept

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

I adored every single minute for Royal Scandal. Della and Colin made me fall in love with them both from the moment they each appeared on the page. I loved that Della was so very strong. She has no problem confronting Colin when she feels that he is treating her step-mother unfairly. She totally and completely stands up to him on every single issue, even when he is growling like a beast. Honestly, I found myself comparing Della and Colin to Belle and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast on more than one occasion.

I love that Colin and Della were best friends before they became lovers. Granted 10 years was a long time for neither to take action on their mutual attraction, but their friendship was so strong, and the sexual attraction always being there totally worked for me. I loved that when Colin needed someone to marry, his first thoughts were of Della, even if their marriage was originally going to be in name only. I knew based upon how strong their attraction was, they could never stay platonic for long. Colin and Della had some of the sweetest and hottest love scenes and I loved how once they made love, they were even closer than before.

I will say the only thing I really didn't love about Colin was the fact that he didn't share the truth of the boys earlier with Della. If ever there was a person with whom Colin could trust with such a big secret, it was Della. I understood not sharing early in their relationship, but thought he should have been completely honest before marrying Della, and I completely agreed with her being angry upon learning that Colin hadn't shared the truth with her sooner.

Royal Scandal was like book crack for me. I could not put the book down once I started reading it and even stayed up way past my bedtime to keep reading. I loved seeing Della and Colin get their happily ever after and felt like Royal Scandal was an amazing start to the Royals in Exile series from Marquita Valentine. While Royal Scandal was Colin and Della's story, I absolutely adored meeting the rest of Colin's siblings and can't wait to see each of them get their happily ever after as the series continues.

Rating: 5 Stars (A+)