Review: Royally Screwed by Emma Chase (Royally #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.

The life I want for her?

I want the world for Olivia.

I want to show her every corner of it, explore it while holding her hand. I want the stars for her—and the moon and the heavens—and everything in between.

And for a moment, I truly thought I could give them to her. I believed there was a way.

Stupid.

Like many other Emma Chase readers out there, I first fell in love with her writing through her debut release, Tangled, which I read when it was originally released in May 2013. I read the novella and full-length that followed, but I have yet to read the rest of that series as well as her second series. You know when people say there are so many books, but so little time? The struggle is VERY real, folks. I've missed out on reading many stories by countless authors for one simple reason: a lack of time. While there are six other Emma Chase books that are waiting for me on my to-be-read list, when the opportunity to read and review the first novel in her brand new Royally series came along, there was no way I was going to skip it.

Anyone who really knows me knows I'm an unabashed Diana, Princess of Wales fangirl. I've been admirer since she and Prince Charles first announced their engagement, and I was merely six at the time. I have quite a collection of books--biographies, coffee table books, etc.--dedicated to my love for Diana, and even though she's gone, I still keep a lookout for anything on her. My interest in royalty started with Diana but it soon extended to other members of the British royal family--specifically William and Harry--and the monarchy in general. So, my collection of books now includes non-Diana royalty/monarchy stuff as well. I also have a thing for royalty romance fiction, so this new Emma Chase series was truly in my wheelhouse.

A story about a prince and a commoner falling in love is fodder for romance bookaholics like me and I get exactly what I'm looking for in Royally Screwed. That and so much more, actually. Reading this novel made me realize how much I missed the author's writing and her unique brand of romantic comedy storytelling. We have Nicholas Arthur Frederick Edward, the Prince of Pembroke and the next in the royal line of succession to the throne of Wessco after his grandmother the Queen passes. He does what is required of him but has his own bit of fun too. He likes being able to do his duty and the dirty and has no intention of settling down anytime soon. However, his grandmother has other plans. With Parliament grumbling, making plans to make the monarchy nothing more than a ceremonial sovereignty, the Queen is making plans of her own. It's time to bolster support for the royal family, and what better way than to have THE wedding of the century? Whose wedding, you ask? Why, none other than Nicholas's, of course. But first, Nicholas has to get hold of his younger brother Henry, who has been making too many headlines for his bad behavior in the U.S. Who would have thought His Highness would find love across the pond in the form of one Olivia Hammond. The single, beautiful, captivating Olivia...who is very much not a royal...

Nicholas and Olivia are the perfect pair. Sure, she may not have any royal blood flowing through her veins. Heck, she's not even a blue blood or from any peerage, but love doesn't take those things into consideration, especially when it's the real kind of love. These two were a hilarious pair, and while I know there are readers who readily compare them to Emma Chase's original laugh-out-loud couple, Drew Evans and Kate Brooks, Nicholas and Olivia are in a class their own. It's difficult NOT to fall in love with these or their story that's more fumbling than fairy tale-like. I dare you not to cheer them on as they try to find a way to that much anticipated and hoped for "...and they lived happily ever after." This could have been handled several ways, but I so love the direction that Emma Chase decided to steer this tale. And while their story was such a fantastic read, this works impeccably well as a series starter, introducing readers to a host of recurring characters plus those whose own love stories will be told in the next two full-length novels. I totally get why the author said that she couldn't help but fall in love with all the characters in the Royally series. I adored Royally Screwed, which I'm giving five-plus stars to, and can't wait for book two! ♥

Release Date: 18 October 2016 17 October 2016 (released early!)

Date Read: 17 October 2016

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