The Rules of Royalty, Undeserved, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Whispers in the Dark

Hello and Happy Wednesday. I hope your week is off to a great start!
I'm sharing four books I read and quite enjoyed and maybe you'll find something here to read too!

The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich

Contemporary LGBT Romance, forced proximity, royals, dual pov

Jamie Johnson has never been the centre of attention, and he’s perfectly okay with that. His entire world unravels as a hidden truth emerges: he's the heir to the throne of Mitanor, a sun-drenched southern European country, and the press is ready to expose this secret to the world. An invitation to spend the summer in his father's palace arrives, giving Jamie a chance to get to know the man he never thought he’d meet.

Meanwhile, in a northern European kingdom known for its cold climate and stoic royals, Erik Von Rosenborg, the spare prince, grapples with the upcoming marriage of his golden-boy elder brother. With the country’s spotlight trained on his family more than ever, Erik feels sidelined and tightly controlled. So when he receives an offer to tutor the newly found American prince in the ways of royalty, he accepts without hesitation.

At a magnificent summer palace, Erik guides Jamie through the intricacies of royal etiquette, politics, and history. What neither prince anticipates is the connection that sparks between them—one that challenges both of their futures. Now each must make a choice: follow their hearts, or the time-honored royal path where crown and country reigns supreme, no matter the personal cost.

Rating -

I definitely got The Princess Diaries vibes from this story and found it easy to become enamored with the lead characters — Jamie, the young man who discovered he was a prince on his 17th birthday, and Erik, the prince tasked with teaching him the ins and outs of being a royal.

I liked the easy chemistry between the characters and how their friendship grew into something more intimate and meaningful. It's a clean romance with sweet queer representation and the royal families who accept, praise, support and love them.

Undeserved by Ari Reavis

Contemporary Romance, instalust, descriptive heat, dual pov

Undeserved.

That’s what Bryce feels his one night with Maya is. But he knows it’s all he can allow himself to have with her because of the vow he’s made. No love, no feelings, no relationships, no commitments. Never again. Those promises work perfectly fine until he meets Maya, and realizes he’s unable to get her off of his mind, or stop wanting her in his bed.

Maya doesn’t want anything to do with love; something she’s only ever known to come with conditions and judgment. So it’s easy for her to agree to Bryce’s rules of not letting feelings get involved. But she can’t help what being around him does to her, or the way he has her wondering if broken rules are worth the cost.

A positive pregnancy test is something neither of them expects. It changes everything, and yet their apprehensions remain the same. His walls are too high to climb. She’s fighting to keep her walls from crumbling down. Throw a baby into the mix and things can get…interesting.

Rating - 1/2

I got why Bryce was hesitant to fall in love again. Being left at the altar without an explanation would drive the knife pretty deep into anyone's heart. But I loved how irresistible Maya was to him. The more distance he wanted to put between them, the tighter he held onto her. She had her own baggage, but I was impressed with how wholly she devoted herself to their relationship. I swear, Ari Reavis has such a way with describing the emotions her characters go through and I couldn't help but feel everything. I was frustrated and intrigued and delighted and if you're someone who loves the way angst pulls at your heart, you'll enjoy this book too.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Fantasy Romance, enemies to lovers, vaguely descriptive heat, singular pov

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Rating -

I read and loved the Crescent City series and figured it was about time to find out where all the hype began. A few years ago I was gifted the entire hardcover set of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and thought it was about time I started it.

Did I read the same book as everyone else?

With over two million ratings on Goodreads and many of them five stars, I expected the same greatness I found with Crescent City. I expected to fall deeply in love with the world, the characters, and everything in between.

Not so much.

I was bored for most of this book. I think I'm just tired of these tropes. You know the ones, where the girl is basically plucked from obscurity and yet she's the greatest thing to behold since the creation of sliced bread. She can do no evil and the ones she actually wronged are the ones bending over backward to apologize, make her feel better, be accommodating to her whims.

Over it.

So Feyre's family had descended into poverty due to her father's poor decisions. They would all starve if she hadn't figured out how to hunt. When she intentionally kills a fae wolf, she happily skins it and parcels out the meat. When Tamlin comes for her, she can only hope her family will survive without her. And when she enters the faerie lands, she quickly finds that nothing is as blissful as it seems.

I definitely got the Beauty and the Beast vibes from this story and I wish that I could have read other perspectives, especially when most of the secrets were revealed. This ended on a great note so I'm not sure if I'll be continuing the series, but never say never.

Whispers in the Dark by Nikole Knight & Lily Mayne

Paranormal Monster Romance, instalove, single pov, filthy heat

At twenty-four, Cody has already lost hope of having a life of his own. All his time is spent playing nurse to a dying, spiteful step-father and maid to his bully half-brother. His only escapes are playing his favorite online fantasy game, Black Oasis, and talking to the strange, unearthly presence under his bed that may or may not actually exist.

But everything changes when his nightly visitor, who introduces himself as Nor, starts talking back.

As their connection deepens, Nor invites Cody into the surreal world existing just beyond his nightmares, filled with haughty demons, passion-killing pet bugs named Gef, and a dark landscape that is oddly familiar. With his sweet but monstrous companion by his side, Cody might finally gain the life of freedom and adventure that he’s always wanted.

Rating -

Cody had a rough home life, with no hope for escape on the horizon. He found out the man who hated him all his life is not really his father. His mother is apathetic. And his big brother is a perverted psycho who lives to torture him daily. And then something goes bump in the night, under his bed, and a life Cody couldn't have even hoped for is right there for the taking.

He only had to dream.

I loved that Nor was a nightmare demon and how protective he was over his sweet Cody. There isn't much substance in this story, not like I'm used to from Lily Mayne, but if you love sweet and spicy monster romance, you'll enjoy this book.