Author: Erin Watt
Publisher: Timeout LLC
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 364 Pages
Published April 2016
Summary: Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from. Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals. He might be right. Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 364 Pages
Published April 2016
Summary: Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from. Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals. He might be right. Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.
OH MY GOSH, GUYS. THIS BOOK. I first added it to my TBR because my amazing blogger friend Dana over at Dana Square recommended it to me, and I'm so glad that I did, because I totally ate this book up. Dana and I have a lot of similar reading preferences, so when she told me that this book contained a lot of drama and a whole lot of swoon-worthy romance, I knew I had to get my hands on it immediately. After a few months of delaying that via drowning in schoolwork, I managed to pick up Paper Princess, and OMG, I'm so, SO glad that I did.
As the summary explains, Ella is struggling to get through her life at home, stripping to make ends meet while also trying to pay the bills, while also not letting her school figure out the fact that her mother passed away from cancer and she's a minor living alone and trying to support herself. But through a shocking turn of events, the best friend of Ella's deceased father -- yep, the one she never knew -- plucks her out from her struggling life and shows her a McMansion, everything she could ever want, and five super attractive and bossy sons to match. But the only problem with this new, glamorous life? The Royal boys don't want her there, and they're doing everything in their power to make sure that she knows that. So you can definitely bet that some shocking drama ensues.
Oh my goodness, this book was an absolute whirlwind that I tore through from start to finish. I read 200+ pages in a single day because I loved it that much and couldn't force myself to put it down. There's just so much going on in this book -- so much drama, so much steamy romance, so many secrets, so many hijinks...there was just so much happening that I don't even know which particular scenes I want to pick out. You definitely have to check the book out for yourself to be immersed into that world! The best way I can describe it is that this book reminded me so much of Gossip Girl, even though it wasn't set in that big-city sort of lifestyle. But the same sentiments are still there -- privileged rich kids with more money than God that don't know what to do with it other than cause drama and flaunt their assets. It definitely leads to some interesting stories, that's for sure!
I really loved Ella's character in this book -- especially how sassy and independent she was. A lot of the funny little quips she made had me laughing out loud, and her interactions with Reed were...well, I'm going to let you read those yourself to see how steamy and interesting THOSE get. ;) But it's safe to say that she's never afraid to stick up for herself, both with the Royal boys and with the kids at school, and she's so fiercely independent that I found myself liking her from the very first time I meet her on the page. Definitely one of the best characters I've read in a long, long time.
I also even found myself warming up to Reed, once Ella put him in his place with his demanding, rude behavior. There were times that he was super protective and funny, and also times where he was really tender and sweet. He ran hot and cold with his emotions a lot of the time, which got frustrating, but when he was having his good moments with Ella...wow. Those were some of my favorite parts of the entire book. Not to mention the fact that he's, like, God-tier hot. That definitely made it enjoyable every time he was on the page. Do I perhaps have a new book boyfriend in the works? We shall see...;)
I'm a total sucker for rich-kid dramas -- Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars and The Heiresses were always right up my alley. So I knew that Paper Princess was going to immediately be one of my favorites, too. I just fell into it as soon as I picked it up, and that was a pretty good sign to me. Like I already said a million times in this review, this book takes you on an absolute whirlwind of a story that captivates you and refuses to let you go. I was so sad when the book ended because I wanted to know more, and 360 pages wasn't enough for me. This was definitely one of those situations where I would've appreciated an 800+-paged book. But speaking of the ending...
(*SPOILERS* in this paragraph! Please skip to the next one to avoid them!) OH MY GOD, can we talk about that ending? REED? AND BROOKE? TOGETHER? *TOGETHER*?????? What the heck?! Not only was that super heartbreaking and sad for Ella, but also...what the heck? Wasn't she technically, like, almost his stepmom? How did the two of them end up together in the first place? There was just so much that I wanted to know and I was left with more questions than answers. It's definitely safe to say that I didn't see that ending coming, which is what shocked me so much and made me buy the next book immediately. I can't stand not knowing what goes on from there!
Overall, I absolutely *loved* Paper Princess. I already went through my Goodreads friend list and tossed a recommendation for it to a bunch of people, including Amber and Emily, because I know that this series is something that they all need to read. Thank goodness that this series is five books long, because it's been awhile since I fell into a story that I adored that much, and I already know that five books won't be enough for me. It's definitely safe to call me addicted to the world of the Royals -- I just finished placing my order for the second book on Amazon, and I can't wait to dive into it when it gets here! If you're looking for your next dramatic, page-turning read that also involves a really steamy romance and some shocking plot twists, then trust me, Paper Princess is the one for you. What are you waiting for?
As the summary explains, Ella is struggling to get through her life at home, stripping to make ends meet while also trying to pay the bills, while also not letting her school figure out the fact that her mother passed away from cancer and she's a minor living alone and trying to support herself. But through a shocking turn of events, the best friend of Ella's deceased father -- yep, the one she never knew -- plucks her out from her struggling life and shows her a McMansion, everything she could ever want, and five super attractive and bossy sons to match. But the only problem with this new, glamorous life? The Royal boys don't want her there, and they're doing everything in their power to make sure that she knows that. So you can definitely bet that some shocking drama ensues.
Oh my goodness, this book was an absolute whirlwind that I tore through from start to finish. I read 200+ pages in a single day because I loved it that much and couldn't force myself to put it down. There's just so much going on in this book -- so much drama, so much steamy romance, so many secrets, so many hijinks...there was just so much happening that I don't even know which particular scenes I want to pick out. You definitely have to check the book out for yourself to be immersed into that world! The best way I can describe it is that this book reminded me so much of Gossip Girl, even though it wasn't set in that big-city sort of lifestyle. But the same sentiments are still there -- privileged rich kids with more money than God that don't know what to do with it other than cause drama and flaunt their assets. It definitely leads to some interesting stories, that's for sure!
I really loved Ella's character in this book -- especially how sassy and independent she was. A lot of the funny little quips she made had me laughing out loud, and her interactions with Reed were...well, I'm going to let you read those yourself to see how steamy and interesting THOSE get. ;) But it's safe to say that she's never afraid to stick up for herself, both with the Royal boys and with the kids at school, and she's so fiercely independent that I found myself liking her from the very first time I meet her on the page. Definitely one of the best characters I've read in a long, long time.
I also even found myself warming up to Reed, once Ella put him in his place with his demanding, rude behavior. There were times that he was super protective and funny, and also times where he was really tender and sweet. He ran hot and cold with his emotions a lot of the time, which got frustrating, but when he was having his good moments with Ella...wow. Those were some of my favorite parts of the entire book. Not to mention the fact that he's, like, God-tier hot. That definitely made it enjoyable every time he was on the page. Do I perhaps have a new book boyfriend in the works? We shall see...;)
I'm a total sucker for rich-kid dramas -- Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars and The Heiresses were always right up my alley. So I knew that Paper Princess was going to immediately be one of my favorites, too. I just fell into it as soon as I picked it up, and that was a pretty good sign to me. Like I already said a million times in this review, this book takes you on an absolute whirlwind of a story that captivates you and refuses to let you go. I was so sad when the book ended because I wanted to know more, and 360 pages wasn't enough for me. This was definitely one of those situations where I would've appreciated an 800+-paged book. But speaking of the ending...
(*SPOILERS* in this paragraph! Please skip to the next one to avoid them!) OH MY GOD, can we talk about that ending? REED? AND BROOKE? TOGETHER? *TOGETHER*?????? What the heck?! Not only was that super heartbreaking and sad for Ella, but also...what the heck? Wasn't she technically, like, almost his stepmom? How did the two of them end up together in the first place? There was just so much that I wanted to know and I was left with more questions than answers. It's definitely safe to say that I didn't see that ending coming, which is what shocked me so much and made me buy the next book immediately. I can't stand not knowing what goes on from there!
Overall, I absolutely *loved* Paper Princess. I already went through my Goodreads friend list and tossed a recommendation for it to a bunch of people, including Amber and Emily, because I know that this series is something that they all need to read. Thank goodness that this series is five books long, because it's been awhile since I fell into a story that I adored that much, and I already know that five books won't be enough for me. It's definitely safe to call me addicted to the world of the Royals -- I just finished placing my order for the second book on Amazon, and I can't wait to dive into it when it gets here! If you're looking for your next dramatic, page-turning read that also involves a really steamy romance and some shocking plot twists, then trust me, Paper Princess is the one for you. What are you waiting for?
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