What the Prince Wants

As an American who has an avid interest in the British Royal Family, this book was immediately on my radar. Everyone at some point has that fantasy where they become a princess or prince and their life is completely different than what they actually have. For Ellie that is actually the case. But this book is unique in that it actually follows Ellie's sister as she deals with the “ramifications” of her sister dating a Prince who also happens to be heir to the throne.

I loved all the snarky comments and banter between the characters in this one. Daisy is one of those people who says what she wants and will deal with the consequences later and I loved that about her. Even though she was shoved into this new life of court and royals, she still held true to her snarky self. I also loved how this was definitely more of a hate-to-love relationship. And I loved the group dubbed the Royal Wreckers in the book. They were this group of friends around the princes who were always up to something, but still looked out for one another.

While this is your standard contemporary romance, there were still unexpected discoveries and even a rare moment of who was actually going to end up with whom. It was definitely a feel good quick read. And it is definitely a great read for someone who always wishes they were royalty. I'm also interested to see where the sequel(s) take us and how Daisy's story evolves going forward.

Thanks to First To Read for an early copy of the book!

So I'll admit. The only reason I picked this book up is because the second book in the series, Her Royal Highness, looks like an adorable lesbian romance and I thought I should start at the beginning of the series. I'm glad I did, because Royals is a delight. Daisy is a spirited, no-nonsense teenager who doesn't get the appeal of all this “royal” stuff, and she's not one to mince words for the sake of appearances. As you can imagine, that ruffles a LOT of royal feathers! Add in a posse of noble ne'er-do-wells trying to get in trouble, and you're in for some fun.

Interestingly, I'm torn now on whether to read the second book! Rachel Hawkins is a fantastic writer, so I have no doubt she'll write a great second book, but the love interest in the next book, Princess Flora, did not make a great impression on me in this book. I was glad she only made a short appearance. It doesn't sound like the next book is told from her point of view, though, so maybe it will be okay. The series definitely has a lot of potential, as there's still several members of the Prince's posse to tell stories about!

I do enjoy a good royal romance, and these are interesting in that they're contemporary, so the royals are concerned with their reputation, and treated like massive celebrities, but have lost a lot of their intimidation factor and power when it comes to normal people. Daisy sees it more as an inconvenience than anything else, it seems.

One content warning – there was a scene with an unasked-for kiss that could have been called sexual assault if Daisy had been less charitable about it. It wasn't malicious. But it was questionable. So beware if that's something you want to avoid.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.