Showing posts with label royalty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label royalty. Show all posts

Friday, October 7, 2016

Royally Screwed by Emma Chase Excerpt

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Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled Series & Legal Briefs Series, returns with the first of three sizzling standalone books about a family of racy, irresistible Royals.
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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, but more importantly, who he wants to be: a King... or the man who gets to love Olivia forever.

Preorder: iBooks | Amazon Print | Audible | B&N | IndieBound | BAM!

           

The next week is blissfully uneventful. I address Palace business during the day, and spend my nights with Olivia—which are so much more than blissful.
While I work, she relaxes like I want her to. She walks the grounds and has found a friend in Franny. They’ve had lunch together a few times, which doesn’t exactly thrill me, but at the very least, I know she’s safe with Simon’s wife.
Franny, and her forked tongue, will protect Olivia from the Lucy-types looking to wound her with their half-truths.
On the rare occasions my brother is sober, he becomes increasingly agitated—like he’s unable to sit still, to stand his own company, or any sound that resembles silence. Finally, he decides to throw a welcome home party for himself.
I’m in my bathroom preparing for his royal yacht party, just showered with a towel around my hips, scraping the last of the shaving cream off my jaw, when Olivia appears in the doorway.
I thought she was lovely from the first moment I saw her. But here, now—her bare, soft skin wrapped in a pink silk robe, her face glowing with well-rested happiness…she’s magnificent.
“So…do you guys have like a gift shop or a convenience store around here?”
I laugh. “A gift shop?”
She holds up a light blue disposable razor. “I’m out of razors. This one’s so dull I could run it over my tongue without drawing blood.”
“Let’s not test that theory. I like your tongue too much.” I wipe my chin with a towel. “I can have the staff bring one to your room.”
The devil on my shoulder—and the angel too—smack me upside the head. And they whisper a much better idea.
“Or…I could help you out.”
Her brows draw together. “Help me out? I can’t use your razor.”
“No, definitely not—you’d cut yourself to ribbons.” I finger the sharp, heavy straight blade. “What I mean is…I could shave for you.”
Her eyes darken, the way they do when she’s right on the edge—right before she comes. And she moves closer to me.
“Do you…want to do that?”
My gaze drags down, down, over every sumptuous inch of her body.
“Oh, yes.”

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Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the hot and hilarious Tangled series and The Legal Briefs series. Emma lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children and two naughty (but really cute) dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine. WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | NEWSLETTER | TWITTER | GOODREADS

Thursday, July 28, 2016

His Royal Secret by Lilah Pace

His Royal Secret (His Royal Secret, #1)* * * * 1/2

The first in an enchanting new male/male romantic duology from Lilah Pace, author of Asking for More and Begging for It ....

James, the handsome, cosmopolitan Prince of Wales, is used to being in the public eye. But he's keeping a king-sized secret...James, next in line for the throne, is gay.

He’s been able to hide his sexual orientation with the help of his best friend and beard, Lady Cassandra. Sometimes he feels like a coward for not coming out, but he daren’t risk losing the crown. If he did, the succession would fall on his deeply troubled younger sister, Princess Amelia. To protect her, James is willing to live a lie.

While on holiday, he meets Benjamin Dahan—a rugged international reporter with a globe-trotting, unattached life—who catches far more than James's eye. And when Ben is transferred to London, it seems fate may finally be smiling on James.

But what began as a torrid fling grows into something far more intimate and powerful. Soon James will have decide who he is, what he wants from life and love, and what he’s willing to sacrifice for the truth...




Review:

Sometimes I pick up a book thinking it will bring back the nostalgia of the romances I read in my late teens.  A book that may not propel me over the moon but still fills my need to for love, romance and a happy ever after.   Then I start reading and realize that am I not only getting to indulge like I hoped and planned but I get to experience some of the best story writing I’ve read in a quite a while.  His Royal Secret is one of those books.

This book includes more than a beautifully written love story.   James becomes Prince Regent in the beginning of the book and is essentially King until his grandfather recovers from a stroke.  The heightened responsibility highlights the intricacies of his life – family relationships, family politics, the monarchy’s relationship with the Church of England, etc.  Add to that a secret relationship with someone whose faith, nationality and career would be all be questioned if he were a woman let alone a man.  Ben’s life is complicated in different ways.   His growing attachment to James threatens a lifestyle and career path he has carefully constructed in order to avoid the trap that is commitment.   

I loved both of these men from the very start.  James’ private/human wants and needs contrast beautifully against the charming princely persona he wears for the public.  Meeting him as the man first and the prince second allows the reader to not only feel attached to him but also appreciate the complications of a life that, to an outsider, seems to be full of privilege and little else.  Ben’s dedication to honesty and doing what he believes in makes him a highly attractive character.  Add in the layers of vulnerability he periodically shows to James and the reader and he is downright swoon-worthy.  Together, James and Ben make a power couple that is impossible to ignore.

It’s obvious that I loved this one.  But it wasn’t just me.  This was the first book in a very long time that all three of us read.  And we ALL loved it.   We all had the same minor complaint.   It ends in a Happy For Now cliffhanger!  But…..the next one, His Royal Favorite, comes out August 16, 2016 (less than three weeks away!) so we don’t have to wait long for the conclusion of their story.  I’ll tell you a secret…..I read it already and it will wow you just as much His Royal Secret!   So don’t wait.  Read this one immediately!  And then pre-order the next because you will be on pins and needles wait for that HEA!


Nat