Royally Matched

I did not enjoy this as much as Royally Screwed. I think I just liked Olivia and Nicholas better. I definitely am very similar to Sarah, but I just didn't enjoy reading about Henry. I also think the whole Matched: Royal Edition was not an intriguing aspect for me, especially since Sarah wasn't actually part of the show.

4.5 brilliant stars

This book was certainly not what I thought it would be: a typical love story between a nerdy quiet girl and an angsty playboy content with sex 24/7 who doesn't handle responsibility well.
First, I would like to thank Emma Chase very much for not filling the book with typical seductresses all vying for Henry's attention. Certainly, there were a couple with their constant overt propositions. But Chase ensures that, according to Henry's character in the beginning, he is interested for but a split second until he lays eyes on Sarah. Sure, it sounds cliche, but Chase does it right, somehow managing to find the silver lining between overdone cliche and disheartening disgust at Henry's debauchery and “cheating” on the main female lead.
Next, I start my rave on the character development. It was...just amazing. How, Emma Chase, how did you pull it off? It was to be expected that Henry would have a change of heart and demeanor once he fell in love with Sarah. But. This is just. This is a piece of art. An act of mastery. I don't want to reveal too much or else I'll have to slap a spoiler alert on this, but suffice it to say, Henry's redefinition of duty, honor, and love, as foretold in the summary, are put into action in ways that anyone could hardly predict. Sarah's character development wasn't anything to scoff at, either. Henry obviously changes her for the better, letting a bit of his wild side rub off on her so that she comes out of her shell a tad. However, the real surprise was that there was more to her than a stereotypical quiet librarian content with her little bubble of a world. I'll stop here so that I don't give too much away. But to all the potential readers of this book, do not for a second write off Sarah. There is more to her history than simplicity and comfort.

Henry is a playboy. As the younger royal son, his life has been an endless party, wild and carefree until Nicholas, his older brother, gives up the throne for love. And now, Henry is the future King. He's drowning in responsibilities and he can't figure out how to come up for air. Everything in Henry's life has changed, everything will only get harder as his responsibilities get bigger and he can't seem to do anything right, especially in his grandmother's eyes, so he thinks about taking one step back and doing something fun, just to relax and to be himself. And Matched: Royal Edition, a new reality show, is perfect and exactly what he need, or what he thinks he needs.

Sarah is a shy bookworm, a sweet librarian that has a work project coming up and she's desperate to avoid it because she can't deal with public speaking. She has the perfect opportunity to skip it by accompanying her sister, Penelope, as Penelope's assistant in Matched.

Sarah is absolutely adorable. I loved her. EVERYTHING about her. Seriously, I have a girl crush! Even her virginity made sense (and I never thought I would write this sentence because I'm definitely not a fan of the virgin trope), every little detail about her fits so perfectly. I have to admit at first I was actually thinking: “Nooooo! She can't fall for this shallow boy.” But then I really fell for Henry. HARD. I didn't even see it coming. Seriously.

That's the Henry Effect.

Reading is power.