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Review: Royally Yours (Royally #4) by Emma Chase

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Title: Royally Yours
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year:  Createspace Publishing 9/11/18
Length:   197 Pages
Series:  Royally #4

Overview

Princess Lenora Celeste Beatrice Arabella Pembrook had an unusual childhood. She was raised to be a Queen—the first Queen of Wessco.

It’s a big deal.

When she’s crowned at just nineteen, the beautiful young monarch is prepared to rule. She’s charming, clever, confident and cunning.

What she isn’t… is married.

It’s her advising council’s first priority. It’s what Parliament is demanding, and what her people want.

Lenora has no desire to tie herself to a man—particularly one who only wants her for her crown. But compromises must be made and royals must do their duty.

Even Queens. Especially them.

**

Years ago, Edward Langdon Richard Dorian Rourke, walked away from his title and country. Now he’s an adventurer—climbing mountains, exploring jungles, going wherever he wants, when he wants—until family devotion brings him home.

And a sacred promise keeps him there.

To Edward, the haughty, guarded little Queen is intriguing, infuriating…and utterly captivating. Wanting her just might drive him mad—or become his greatest adventure.

**

Within the cold, stone walls of the royal palace—mistrust threatens, wills clash, and an undeniable, passionate love will change the future of the monarchy forever.

Every dynasty has a beginning. Every legend starts with a story.

This is theirs.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed the first 3 installments to this series, all stories that laid a nice framework to the history is Wessco and what it’s like to be a royal there.  With this fourth book, i’m happy to see that we get to see a Princess, a Queen as the leading lady, and the one that has to truly reign and lead her country while tying to find her own happiness.

We go on a journey with Leonora where she grows from being a girl who knows her future, to a woman who’s forced to live in the present, during a time when there are still so many expectations on what is ‘right and proper’.  It’s through a friendship that she starts with Thomas, a newly appointed Duke of his family’s land (taking the title because his older brother decided that he had a different purpose in life) that Leonora finds freedom.  Thomas is the kind of friend who gets her into trouble but not enough to cause problems.  Just enough to let her feel like she’s living.  He shares the stories of his older brother with Leonora, and some how even though it’s only through writing, she starts to feel butterflies when Thomas’ brother Edward sends regards to ‘Lenny’.  More to come on that later.

Leonora finds herself in the role of Queen earlier than expected and her world is thrown into a tailspin.  She’s forced to grow up very quickly, earn and keep the trust of her citizens, and some how keep the old men of Parliment at bay and happy.  Which of course means that she must get married.  Since in the 1940s/1950s, it’s just NOT ok to be a single woman ruling a country.

The story from here is expected yet frustrating and sweet at the same time.  A list of appropriate men is shared and countered.  The determination that Thomas is the perfect guy of course makes the most sense…and on to wedding planning we go.  Until Thomas falls gravely ill, terminally so, and the world comes crashing down.  Here enters Big Brother Edward and the world is perhaps righted again.

What’s really nice about how Emma Chase wrote this one is that we had a fairly innocent and clinical first part, and then things start to get romantic.  Even dirty in places.  It’s like there’s a tangible shift once Edward comes into the mix, partially because of how commanding he is in physique and character but also because there’s a clear chemistry between them, and Edward is able to teach Lenny things that she never really understood.

Theirs is a partnership built on grief of Thomas, but also developed and strengthened because of who they are to one another.  We can only hope that this strength is able to keep them together while there are those who are out to discredit Edward’s faith and loyalty to Lenny.  Add to that the sense that Parliment is constantly against everything that Lenny wants to do, there’s concern that Edward has too much power over Lenny and the country and then the crazy ‘live your life as you want’ little sister of Princess Miriam.  So much that can be overwhelming and so much that can derail even the best laid plans.  Who gets caught it the cross fire, what is sacrificed to make the country prosperous and what does that means for our mains?  you’ll only find out if you read.  Enjoy!

 

Review: Royally Endowed (Royally #3) by Emma Chase

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Title: Royally Endowed
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year: Ever After Romance 8/14/17
Length:   350 Pages
Series:  Royally #3

Overview

Logan St. James is a smoldering, sexy beast. Sure, he can be a little broody at times?but Ellie Hammond?s willing to overlook that. Because, have you seen him??

Sexy. As. Hell.

And Ellie?s perky enough for both of them.

For years, she?s had a crush on the intense, protective royal security guard?but she doesn?t think he ever saw her, not really.

To Logan, Ellie was just part of the job?a relative of the royal family he?d sworn to protect. Now, at 22 years old and fresh out of college, she?s determined to put aside her X-rated dreams of pat-downs and pillow talk, and find a real life happily ever after.

The Queen of Wessco encourages Ellie to follow in her sister?s footsteps and settle down with a prince of her own. Or a duke, a marquis?a viscount would also do nicely.

But in the pursuit of a fairy tale ending, Ellie learns that the sweetest crushes can be the hardest to let go.

***

Logan St. James grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a family on the wrong side of the law. But these days, he covers his tattoos and scars with a respectable suit. He?s handsome, loyal, brave, skilled with his hands and?other body parts.

Any woman would be proud to bring him home to her family.

But there?s only one woman he wants.

For years he?s watched over her, protected her, held her hair back when she was sick, taught her how to throw a punch, and spot a liar.

He dreams of her. Would lay down his life for her.

But beautiful Ellie Hammond?s off-limits.

Everybody knows the bodyguard rules:

Never lose focus, never let them out of your sight, and never, ever fall in love.

My Thoughts

I love this series – and after reading all about Princes Nicholas and Henry and how their stories came to a happy ending, i think that it’s about time that we got to see what comes of Ellie, Olivia’s sister.  She’s young, innocent and still manages to succeed when weights are on her shoulder, so when she finally gets the chance to live her life – it’s nice to see how it all happen.

Logan on the other hand – we adore him.  He’s the bodyguard that we met in Nicholas’ story and he’s got not just this protective side to him, he’s broody and sexy and that’s exactly what Ellie needs.  If they ever get to the point where they will let it happen.

What’s different about this story is that we get to see how it jumps through time.  We aren’t ‘in the moment’ with this third installment which is nice – we instead get to see how Logan and Ellie’s friendship of sorts grows over the year as a result of the circumstances of being thrown together over and over again while Logan is still on Nicholas’ detail and they are back in NYC.

It’s entertaining really for the first 2/3 of the book.  We get to see how Ellie has grown up, made her own choices, and teased Logan when she could.  He’s also had his share of appreciating her over the years as well – but from afar since he’s not willing to compromise his job.

It takes years, but when it happens – well things are hot and steamy and explosive.  They are mature enough to know that they can’t keep things a secret, but never quite find the moment to come clean and of course when they are found out, it makes things that much more complicated.  We also see that feelings are too much for them at times, and of course that breaks them up.  When someone almost dies and then someone is threatened by a stalker – well we see what true emotions really mean.

There is also an underlying story of a crazed stalker who’s after Olivia and threatens her when he can.  He’s clearly inside the palace and no one knows who he is and when he’s going to strike – but we know that it’s going to happen.  I think that it adds to the tension since she’s pregnant with twins – the first royal babies and well – everyone’s on edge.

So you can imagine how fast moving this book is.  Romance, fear of a stalker, fear of being found out and then really coming clean with what you want as a person and maybe as a couple.

If this truly is the last book in the series – then at least we got the closure that we all needed – getting to see how thing are tied up for each of the story lines, but there was a teaser in the epilogue of Tommy (another of Ellie’s security detail) and a girl that he’s into – so maybe there’s more.  i can hope!  I hope that you guys enjoy this one!

Review: Royally Raised (Royally #2.5) by Emma Chase

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Title: Royally Raised
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year: Ever After Romance
Length:   20 Pages
Series:  Royally #2.5

Overview

A Royally Series short story set in the future after Royally Matched.
My Thoughts
Well i thought that we were going to get the continuation of the story with Nicolas and Olivia’s baby, but what we have instead is a bit of the story 19 years in the future, with us getting to see bits of life for Henry and Sarah, and their children.  many many children.
Well, if you had any idea of what to expect of Henry and Sarah’s children, we get all that and more.  We focus on their eldest daughter, the crown princess and heir apparent, the role that Nicolas was raised to play, and yet the one that got shifted to Henry when his brother chose love.  If you thought that Henry was going to get a reprieve just because he married an angel and he turned his life around, well you were wrong.
This is a brief glimpse into life, with Jane, their 19 year old daughter who’s taking on reporters and doing so with poise, but with a blatant sense of entitlement, which is not a good thing in a country that needs to love their future leader.  This is a lesson that Henry decides that he needs to sit her down about and talk sense to her, yet she’s not having any of it.  It’s like looking in a mirror for him because he knows that he made life tough for his grandmother the Queen, and yet it’s not helpful at all for him now.
The sweet bit of this story is that Henry really gets no resolution here, he’s trying to remind Jane of the position that she needs to take now, and the way that she handles people and respects people even though she’s deigned to rule the country.  she knows that she’s got more power and ‘stuff’ than anyone else in the world almost, and uses that to make herself happy.
The only hope that we have is that Sarah who’s the constant voice of reason, and Henry who is learning from his mistakes figure out a way to get her back on the right path, and they come up with an idea that seems like it could have legs, if only they could bring it to life.
That’s one bit of the story – and then there’s the fact that they have 4 more children.  Yup – 5 in total, with the last being a bit of a surprise.  They spend their time together with so much love and romance, that is completely expected seeing how Henry and Sarah were in the main story, so i think that we get to see what life should have been for them, when we didn’t quite know what the future would hold at the end of Matched.  I can’t wait to see what’s next in the third full book – i believe this time i’m correct in saying that it’s about Logan – the security detail from Nicholas, and perhaps Ellie….enjoy!

Review: Royally Matched (Royally #2) by Emma Chase

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Title: Royally Matched
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year: Ever After Romance 2/21/17
Length:   276  Pages
Series:  Royally #2

Overview

Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry Charles Albert Edgar Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.

He’s not handling it well.

Hoping to force her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora goes on a much-needed safari holiday—and when the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:

Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.

A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world’s most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.

While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.

The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit…and her naughty sense of humor.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.

As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.

My Thoughts

I think that we had a nice start to the series with Royally Screwed so seeing how Henry now has to step up to his responsibilities because of Nicholas’s decision to abdicate, we see a whole new side of things.  No longer can he be the party boy, but that’s not something that’s such an easy thing to change.

The interesting thing though, is that there’s something in the summary that’s just not true – the Queen never went on a safari – they decide that Prince Henry to the public at least should go on a trip, and he then goes to a far away castle to clear his head, learn the basics of being King and at the same time, he schemes to work on this reality show to both have his last hurrah, and hopefully find a wife.

Of course we know that things will never be what we expect, and knowing that we met Sarah and Penelope in the first book, we see that there’s going to be more to the story.

Enter Penelope and Sarah – to ‘Ladies’ who live in Castlebrook, away from the chaos of the capital, and yet while we know a bit of them since we met them in the last book, we don’t know much.  When they are approached to be part of the show, Penelope is quick to want to join since she’s looking for her chance at celebrity, and Sarah is quick to say no since she’s shy.  Their mother forces them to go together or not at all, and that’s where our story really takes shape.

As expected, the pageantry of the reality show makes things interesting, seeing 20 girls vying for the chance to be the next queen, with several of them with their own colorful reasons for being there.  It’s quite amusing to see how that all comes about.  Then there’s Sarah, the girl who’s there at her mothers order, as well as finding an out from having to participate in something at work that she’d rather not.

So the journey here is a sweet one.  We see Henry doing his best to do what the producers want, while finding calm and solace with Sarah – on a platonic level, or at least that’s how it starts.  Feelings start to develop on both sides, and you can see how perhaps the best romances are those that have a true foundation.

Now of course, you have to assume that the challenge of being in a reality show environment will come into play as it does.  Sarah finds that she can’t really cope with knowing that he’s dating all these other women, when she wants him to herself.  Then there’s Henry who truly wants to get out of the show at this point, and can’t because of the threats of production to out Sarah on a few different things.

There are also a few ‘political’ bits that make things complicated in the sense of what  will qualify a woman to be the next queen -being a virgin.  So….as you can see, we’re bound for heartbreak.

And if that weren’t enough, the prince reenlists into the army under a fake name so that he’s serving for real, and they are separated for 2 years at least.  So, while i think we knew how this story was going to pan out, we’re taking on a path that’s not at all the expected and i think that it was exactly what we needed.

Clearly i’m becoming a fan of all things Emma Chase – she’s got this knack for creating great fiction that’s contemporary but some how built on a tradition of a world that’s so not american.  (while kind of making it seem at times that being American is a faux pas).  In any even, it’s sweet, and the story has a lot of charm to keep us engaged.  I just got a copy of the 2.5 Novella and i can’t wait to see what’s going to happen since i think that it’s around Nicolas and Olivia – since it was revealed that she’s finally preggo.  Enjoy!

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

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Title: Royally Screwed
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year: Ever After Romance 10/18/16
Length:   276  Pages
Series:  Royally #1

Overview

Nicholas Arthur Frederick Edward Pembrook, Crowned Prince of Wessco, aka “His Royal Hotness,” is wickedly charming, devastatingly handsome, and unabashedly arrogant—hard not to be when people are constantly bowing down to you.

Then, one snowy night in Manhattan, the prince meets a dark haired beauty who doesn’t bow down. Instead, she throws a pie in his face.

Nicholas wants to find out if she tastes as good as her pie, and this heir apparent is used to getting what he wants.

Dating a prince isn’t what waitress Olivia Hammond ever imagined it would be.

There’s a disapproving queen, a wildly inappropriate spare heir, relentless paparazzi, and brutal public scrutiny. While they’ve traded in horse drawn carriages for Rolls Royces and haven’t chopped anyone’s head off lately—the royals are far from accepting of this commoner.

But to Olivia—Nicholas is worth it.

Nicholas grew up with the whole world watching, and now Marriage Watch is in full force. In the end, Nicholas has to decide who he is and, more importantly, who he wants to be: a King… or the man who gets to love Olivia forever.

My Thoughts
So – i have to say that i was a little bit confused for a few minutes since there was reference to Genovia which is the country of another series that i’ve read recently by Ember Casey, and and to be honest, these 2 authors have very similar names so i was curious if they are one and the same.  Anyway – it’s a sweet story of living up to the things that are expected of you as a royal, and yet still wanting to live your life.  VERY similar to the other series.
So – Nicholas is our leading man, the crown Prince to Wessco, a country that was created through battles and divisions throughout the United Kingdom i guess.  Nicholas has a younger brother named Henry who is a bit more of the wild child and their grandmother the Queen has sent Nicholas to the States to bring him home since he’s causing trouble.  That leads him directly into the coffee shop run by Olivia.
And Olivia, our leading lady is the oldest daughter of a family who’s had their fair share of trouble – the mother was killed years ago because of a mugging, and the father has drowned his sorrows in alcohol and the youngest sister is really trying to get out of high school and make her own way in college.  Leaving Olivia to run the family coffee shop, and give up all her own dreams.
Of course when suave and sexy Nicholas walks into the shop, things change forever – partially because he propositions her for the most inappropriate things, but also because it makes her open her eyes to doing something for herself, something that perhaps could make her happy without worrying about what it means for her family.
The story from there is one that’s quite sweet – seeing a whirlwind romance come along for them – there’s a quick connection between them, both physically and emotionally – each giving the other what they have been craving without any judgement.
So when Nicholas is called back to Wessco early, knowing that he has to marry someone of royal descent in the next few months, we see that things get complicated fast.  Olivia is given the opportunity to move with him back home and enjoy whatever time she has left with him, but it means leaving her family behind to fend for themselves, which she’s not sure that they can do.  Nicholas makes sure that everything is taken care of and off she goes.
As expected, we know that there’s going to be a lot of trouble for them once they get to Wessco.  The Queen likely won’t be happy that he’s brought an American with him home, when he’s supposed to be finding a wife.  We also know that she’s going to feel like Olivia is a distraction to his royal duties and we see that while it’s possible, Olivia actually helps make Nicholas a better man.
Their romance is something real and sweet and you know that it can’t end well since Nicholas cannot marry Olivia and yet he doesn’t want to give her up.  Add in the fact that Henry comes into the picture and becomes a bit of a nuisance, and there are other royals that are hoping to bring Olivia down since she’s got what they want – and things get dicey and interesting.
You keep hoping for the best, and the way that our author writes this story is one of the expected path, but also gives us enough anxiety to wonder what is going to be the last straw and are they strong enough to get through it.
We need the grand gesture, and neither are the sort to know how to come back with one, and it’s to their detriment since it’s what breaks them apart.  There are so many directions that this story could go, and i think that you need to  check it out to see what happens.  Ms Chase gives us a sweet romance with a touch of irony, modern cynicism and a bit of girl fighting, which is so nice when looking for a poolside book to read.  I’m onto the next installment now, and i can’t wait to see what happens next.  Enjoy!