jxm4ng's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kjanie's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
This series is getting more and more dramatic, it's like a huge soap opera! I found myself rolling my eyes so often but I am also completely hooked and I kind of hate myself for it. This series is the perfect definition of a guilty pleasure read! I do, once again, have quite a few problems with this book but I can't seem to stay away, and I've tried. Now that I've finished the whole series, I'd definitely say that this was the best book out of all of them.
Reed Royal is used to having everything that he desires. He has status, power and wealth, but none of it means anything because he doesn't have Ella. After one huge misunderstanding, Ella no longer wants Reed. Now, Reed has to convince Ella that he's changed and that his love for her is as strong as he says it is. All Reed wants is to win Ella back and regain the trust of his family, but his life also seems to be crashing around him. Now, he has to deal with more than just his family and Ella in order to be happy. Dark secretary's about the Royal family are revealed and they seem to be once again caught in a web of lies, betrayal and deceit.
This book is so much darker than Paper Princess, but it was also so much more addictive and enjoyable. It's still a very overdramatic series, but now that I've gotten used to the story style and the OTT drama, I'm enjoying it more than ever. But, oh my god, was that cliffhanger necessary? It killed me! As someone who isn't really enjoying this series, I'm way more addicted to it than I should be. I cannot seem to put these books down! The more that's revealed about the Royal family, the more lies and deceit, the more invested I get. I still stand by the fact that I don't love this as much as everyone else seems to, but I do understand why everyone says that this series is soul-destroying, addictive and completely captivating.
I also think that I liked this book more because I also began to like the characters. I hated both Reed and Ella in the last book, but I have definitely grown more attached to both of them, especially Reed. I went into this book not expecting to like either of them, but I was really pleasantly surprised. I found myself becoming more invested in the story, the more I felt connected to the characters. Reed, especially was just amazing in this book. I hate how much of an asshole he was in the first book, but he has had some very drastic character development into a much better character. He was dedicated, driven, passionate and just so sweet to Ella. He still had his cocky charms, but he was just a much nicer person in this book, which I greatly appreciated. I thought his angsty bad boy character was way overdone in the last book, and I'm happy that now he's a more believable and loveable character.
This book didn't exactly fix any of the problems that I mentioned in my review of the first book, but I no longer expected greatness with the series and so these things didn't bother me as much. I tried to be much less critical in my reading, but one aspect really kept pissing me off. The unnecessary violence that Reed showed was just uncalled for. He wasn't doing it to protect Ella or anything, I just think he loved to fight people. And to make matters worse, Ella seemed to enjoy watching Reed whilst he was doing it. Beating people up is never romantic and shouldn't have been romanticised in such a big way. It's such a turn off when books include this, especially in a book that is advertised as a YA series.
I did enjoy this book much more than I did the first one and have become completely fixated with this story. It's dark, gritty and completely addictive. I thought that things couldn't get more dramatic, but man, that cliffhanger just proved me wrong once again. Everything and anything could happen, this book is just full of twists and turns. Plus, it's super romantic and with some bonus steamy scenes that always make me happy. I can't say that I love this series as much as so many people do, but if you're looking for a dramatic, guilty pleasure read I'd definitely recommend it.
“She’s mine and always has been. From before we even met, she was mine and I was hers. I fought it too long, but I’m giving in now. I’m all in now.”
This series is getting more and more dramatic, it's like a huge soap opera! I found myself rolling my eyes so often but I am also completely hooked and I kind of hate myself for it. This series is the perfect definition of a guilty pleasure read! I do, once again, have quite a few problems with this book but I can't seem to stay away, and I've tried. Now that I've finished the whole series, I'd definitely say that this was the best book out of all of them.
Reed Royal is used to having everything that he desires. He has status, power and wealth, but none of it means anything because he doesn't have Ella. After one huge misunderstanding, Ella no longer wants Reed. Now, Reed has to convince Ella that he's changed and that his love for her is as strong as he says it is. All Reed wants is to win Ella back and regain the trust of his family, but his life also seems to be crashing around him. Now, he has to deal with more than just his family and Ella in order to be happy. Dark secretary's about the Royal family are revealed and they seem to be once again caught in a web of lies, betrayal and deceit.
"My instincts had screamed at me that she was trouble. My instincts were wrong. She wasn't trouble. I was. Still Am. Reed, the destroyer."
This book is so much darker than Paper Princess, but it was also so much more addictive and enjoyable. It's still a very overdramatic series, but now that I've gotten used to the story style and the OTT drama, I'm enjoying it more than ever. But, oh my god, was that cliffhanger necessary? It killed me! As someone who isn't really enjoying this series, I'm way more addicted to it than I should be. I cannot seem to put these books down! The more that's revealed about the Royal family, the more lies and deceit, the more invested I get. I still stand by the fact that I don't love this as much as everyone else seems to, but I do understand why everyone says that this series is soul-destroying, addictive and completely captivating.
I also think that I liked this book more because I also began to like the characters. I hated both Reed and Ella in the last book, but I have definitely grown more attached to both of them, especially Reed. I went into this book not expecting to like either of them, but I was really pleasantly surprised. I found myself becoming more invested in the story, the more I felt connected to the characters. Reed, especially was just amazing in this book. I hate how much of an asshole he was in the first book, but he has had some very drastic character development into a much better character. He was dedicated, driven, passionate and just so sweet to Ella. He still had his cocky charms, but he was just a much nicer person in this book, which I greatly appreciated. I thought his angsty bad boy character was way overdone in the last book, and I'm happy that now he's a more believable and loveable character.
"I’m done playing games, Ella. No other girls exist in this world for me. If you see me talking to one, know that I’m talking about you."
This book didn't exactly fix any of the problems that I mentioned in my review of the first book, but I no longer expected greatness with the series and so these things didn't bother me as much. I tried to be much less critical in my reading, but one aspect really kept pissing me off. The unnecessary violence that Reed showed was just uncalled for. He wasn't doing it to protect Ella or anything, I just think he loved to fight people. And to make matters worse, Ella seemed to enjoy watching Reed whilst he was doing it. Beating people up is never romantic and shouldn't have been romanticised in such a big way. It's such a turn off when books include this, especially in a book that is advertised as a YA series.
I did enjoy this book much more than I did the first one and have become completely fixated with this story. It's dark, gritty and completely addictive. I thought that things couldn't get more dramatic, but man, that cliffhanger just proved me wrong once again. Everything and anything could happen, this book is just full of twists and turns. Plus, it's super romantic and with some bonus steamy scenes that always make me happy. I can't say that I love this series as much as so many people do, but if you're looking for a dramatic, guilty pleasure read I'd definitely recommend it.
He told me to stay away. He told me I didn't belong. If only I'd listened to him.
mindlessmartyrr's review against another edition
4.0
These books are so problematic. But I am trash for them. Ugh. Curious to see what's going to happen.
allisonsroses's review against another edition
4.0
Here I am again. What is the genre for this book? Smutty violent fairytale re-telling?
I'm so into it.
Spoiler free first.
This one picks up where the last book left off but this time we get Reeds POV from the night Ella ran off. And it's not what I expected, but I love when things aren't what I expect. However I don't know how big of a fan I am of this whole Brooke plot- but I'll get into that later.
Ella is the same as she has been but obviously now broken hearted and not in the same location as everyone else. POV shifts back and forth and it's interesting being in Reeds mind.
I still adore Easton, but he's having a hard time in this book. Sebastian/Sawyer are doing the same shit they did in the first book- being basically irrelevant unless needed for numbers. And sharing a girlfriend. (?!??)
Brooke is obviously a psycho. Daniel is still around. Val just gets better. That's really all that can be said without spoilers so...
---
Ella comes back pretty quickly, I mean we have a kind of long POV of Reed for the time that she's gone, but thank god she's not gone too long because I wasn't interested in reading some second book slump new moon type shit. I don't know what's wrong with me but I wanted her to forgive Reed a lot quicker than she did. I guess that's because it's pretty clear from his POV that he really cares about her a lot.
It bugged me that his reason for not saying anything in the moment before she ran away was being shocked. Like really? I get that it's a lot to take in, but you're in a bad spot here and you need to do some quick damage control so get to talking. I just don't see it being possible that he wouldn't come to to explain himself as soon as he saw Ella upset.
The Brooke pregnancy thing was just meh to me. Okay so Reed confirms to the reader that it can't be his baby and both he AND Brooke tell Ella that and she doesn't believe them so it just drags on even as he's obsessively trying to win her back. The guy is literally sleeping outside her door to make sure she's safe/still there/near him. So I was glad when they got back together but there wasn't much time for that with the whole stabbing and then murder mystery drop.
I'm glad we find out more about what the fucks up Gideon's ass. That was irritating in the first book so now I'm guessing it needs to be resolved in the third because as far as I know it's a trilogy??
I was happy with Easton being mad at Reed for Ella running away. I love him and I love his and Ella's relationship. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about how they made out in the first book but it's pretty easy to excuse that when making out is child's play in this universe.
So do we think Reed killed Brooke? I don't know. In most situations I'd say no because that's too obvious, but in this case we aren't all about the shock factor we're just about the messiest mess happening. And it's a messier mess if he did it. However it could be cool if he did do it or if he didn't, in different ways, and who else would it be? East? Callum? Or maybe.....
Fucking Steve.
Shows up in the last pages and I don't know where that's going but I assume that one reason is that maybe we can't excuse Ella and Reed living in the same house forever? But at the same time I was fine with that just being what it is. So I don't know how he will play into this but he could definitely be a suspect for killing Brooke. If he even remembers who he is beyond knowing who's door to knock on. That could happen.
I'm thankful that these books come out every three or so months not once a year. I still hate waiting though.
I'm so into it.
Spoiler free first.
This one picks up where the last book left off but this time we get Reeds POV from the night Ella ran off. And it's not what I expected, but I love when things aren't what I expect. However I don't know how big of a fan I am of this whole Brooke plot- but I'll get into that later.
Ella is the same as she has been but obviously now broken hearted and not in the same location as everyone else. POV shifts back and forth and it's interesting being in Reeds mind.
I still adore Easton, but he's having a hard time in this book. Sebastian/Sawyer are doing the same shit they did in the first book- being basically irrelevant unless needed for numbers. And sharing a girlfriend. (?!??)
Brooke is obviously a psycho. Daniel is still around. Val just gets better. That's really all that can be said without spoilers so...
---
Ella comes back pretty quickly, I mean we have a kind of long POV of Reed for the time that she's gone, but thank god she's not gone too long because I wasn't interested in reading some second book slump new moon type shit. I don't know what's wrong with me but I wanted her to forgive Reed a lot quicker than she did. I guess that's because it's pretty clear from his POV that he really cares about her a lot.
It bugged me that his reason for not saying anything in the moment before she ran away was being shocked. Like really? I get that it's a lot to take in, but you're in a bad spot here and you need to do some quick damage control so get to talking. I just don't see it being possible that he wouldn't come to to explain himself as soon as he saw Ella upset.
The Brooke pregnancy thing was just meh to me. Okay so Reed confirms to the reader that it can't be his baby and both he AND Brooke tell Ella that and she doesn't believe them so it just drags on even as he's obsessively trying to win her back. The guy is literally sleeping outside her door to make sure she's safe/still there/near him. So I was glad when they got back together but there wasn't much time for that with the whole stabbing and then murder mystery drop.
I'm glad we find out more about what the fucks up Gideon's ass. That was irritating in the first book so now I'm guessing it needs to be resolved in the third because as far as I know it's a trilogy??
I was happy with Easton being mad at Reed for Ella running away. I love him and I love his and Ella's relationship. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about how they made out in the first book but it's pretty easy to excuse that when making out is child's play in this universe.
So do we think Reed killed Brooke? I don't know. In most situations I'd say no because that's too obvious, but in this case we aren't all about the shock factor we're just about the messiest mess happening. And it's a messier mess if he did it. However it could be cool if he did do it or if he didn't, in different ways, and who else would it be? East? Callum? Or maybe.....
Fucking Steve.
Shows up in the last pages and I don't know where that's going but I assume that one reason is that maybe we can't excuse Ella and Reed living in the same house forever? But at the same time I was fine with that just being what it is. So I don't know how he will play into this but he could definitely be a suspect for killing Brooke. If he even remembers who he is beyond knowing who's door to knock on. That could happen.
I'm thankful that these books come out every three or so months not once a year. I still hate waiting though.
skyhazzard's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 3.5
Okay the first book I was so addicted, this one not so much. Idk reading from Reed’s perspective wasn’t it for me, I was bored and when Ella finally came back I was like thank god. But this book was very much the “I’m mad at you but we both know I’ll forgive you” book so it was kind of annoying. It was also rather soap opera-y which I don’t mind but dang hit me with the one two punch.
Okay the first book I was so addicted, this one not so much. Idk reading from Reed’s perspective wasn’t it for me, I was bored and when Ella finally came back I was like thank god. But this book was very much the “I’m mad at you but we both know I’ll forgive you” book so it was kind of annoying. It was also rather soap opera-y which I don’t mind but dang hit me with the one two punch.
readwithchey's review against another edition
5.0
My instincts had screamed at me that she was trouble. My instincts were wrong. She wasn’t trouble. I was. Still am.
Guys. I LOVE this series. This series embodies all that I love about the NA Romance genre and then some. Yes, it’s classified on the back as YA Fiction but I think this is way off the mark and will be listing it as NA Romance. Sorry not sorry.
Warning: this is probably going to be one long fangirl rant but I can’t help myself.
So this book picks up directly where Paper Princess leaves off, which I love, and it packed just as much drama, romance, and angst as I wanted. One of the biggest differences in this book compared to the first is that Reed gets his own POV here. Romance books with alternating POVs are my favorite because I love reading through the eyes of the male protagonist, there’s something so sexy about seeing this relationship blossom through the eyes of the male character. I didn’t realize how much I wanted Reed’s POV in the first book until I read this one. I think this is what pushed this book just a little bit past it’s predecessor and makes Broken Prince better than the first.
I’m well aware that this book is heavy on the drama and there are a lot of scenes (specifically those at the high school) that are completely improbable, but it makes me love it all that much more. If you can describe a book as ridiculous, crazy, or overly dramatic then you can definitely count me in. I mean, we read to entertain and escape, so what better than this sexy, angsty, overly dramatic gem of a book? The plot twists in this one is insane, and the ending of the book had me screaming the same way that Paper Princess did. There was a major cliff hanger ending, but lucky for me I had the third book on my shelf already. Which I’m super glad about because there are a lot of things that are left open at the end of this book.
I absolutely love all the characters in this series. The boys are so funny, tough, and swoon worthy. Ella is witty, brave, and down to earth. Val is someone I want as my best friend. I love to hate Brooke and Dinah, like these women are those villains that you just can’t help but love when they come around and start problems. Not to mention all the smaller characters that help to make up this complex and intriguing world.
There wasn’t a single moment during this book where I was bored. I was constantly flipping pages every spare moment I had and spent my entire weekend mini vacation obsessing over this book. The plot carries over so well from the first book, it doesn’t miss a beat, and it makes it so easy to get back into the swing of things. I was worried that I wouldn’t remember a lot of what happened during the previous book, but picking this up was like coming home. I seriously can’t express how much I love this book series. If you like NA Romance and haven’t picked these up yet then you are seriously missing out!
You can check out other full reviews, author interviews, and bookish talks at Tonkin About Books!
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Guys. I LOVE this series. This series embodies all that I love about the NA Romance genre and then some. Yes, it’s classified on the back as YA Fiction but I think this is way off the mark and will be listing it as NA Romance. Sorry not sorry.
Warning: this is probably going to be one long fangirl rant but I can’t help myself.
So this book picks up directly where Paper Princess leaves off, which I love, and it packed just as much drama, romance, and angst as I wanted. One of the biggest differences in this book compared to the first is that Reed gets his own POV here. Romance books with alternating POVs are my favorite because I love reading through the eyes of the male protagonist, there’s something so sexy about seeing this relationship blossom through the eyes of the male character. I didn’t realize how much I wanted Reed’s POV in the first book until I read this one. I think this is what pushed this book just a little bit past it’s predecessor and makes Broken Prince better than the first.
I’m well aware that this book is heavy on the drama and there are a lot of scenes (specifically those at the high school) that are completely improbable, but it makes me love it all that much more. If you can describe a book as ridiculous, crazy, or overly dramatic then you can definitely count me in. I mean, we read to entertain and escape, so what better than this sexy, angsty, overly dramatic gem of a book? The plot twists in this one is insane, and the ending of the book had me screaming the same way that Paper Princess did. There was a major cliff hanger ending, but lucky for me I had the third book on my shelf already. Which I’m super glad about because there are a lot of things that are left open at the end of this book.
I absolutely love all the characters in this series. The boys are so funny, tough, and swoon worthy. Ella is witty, brave, and down to earth. Val is someone I want as my best friend. I love to hate Brooke and Dinah, like these women are those villains that you just can’t help but love when they come around and start problems. Not to mention all the smaller characters that help to make up this complex and intriguing world.
There wasn’t a single moment during this book where I was bored. I was constantly flipping pages every spare moment I had and spent my entire weekend mini vacation obsessing over this book. The plot carries over so well from the first book, it doesn’t miss a beat, and it makes it so easy to get back into the swing of things. I was worried that I wouldn’t remember a lot of what happened during the previous book, but picking this up was like coming home. I seriously can’t express how much I love this book series. If you like NA Romance and haven’t picked these up yet then you are seriously missing out!
You can check out other full reviews, author interviews, and bookish talks at Tonkin About Books!
Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
eleaaaaz0's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5