Royally #2
I’m a hopeless royalist, so when the sequel to Royally Screwed was announced, and that the main female lead would be named Sarah and the prince, Henry (FYI, did you know Prince Harry’s real name is Henry?), my seventeen year old self emerged after a decade to jump up and down excitedly.
Synopsis
Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the mother-load of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap. He’s not handling it well. Hoping to help her grandson rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him “space” – but while 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, all 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 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 new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all – Love.
Review
Today the world is remembering a particularly tragic royal story. And while I’ve been reading every Prince Diana in memoriam magazine, I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that for the vast majority of us, it’s just a story. We didn’t know her – she inspired us, but we didn’t know her. But to her sons, to her family, even to the Windsors, she was vibrant and full of life. And we, the common folk, the Americans who wish the Windsors were ours as well, still cry over the person we’ve lost.
This might seem like a very strange way to start a review of a new adult romance. But I think it’s the fact that the princes of Wessco, the shirtless men on these two covers, are thoroughly based of of William and Henry, and call it what you will, but Emma Chase uses their own loss in her stories to inform their actions in her stories. And while the first in the series, Royally Screwed, was enjoyable, it didn’t really stick with me for long after reading as Royally Matched has.
The reason, I believe, is the way Chase created and wove together the story of Henry and Sarah. Yes, as a new adult romance, it has it’s fair share of bedroom romps, but there’s actually a well thought out plot, one that is far more complex than the synopsis on the back would lead one to believe, and the characters are richly developed and remarkably well-rounded. Both characters feel they have a greater purpose, a responsibility to help those around them and to lead productive lives. And if you’re going to use the loss of a real figure and the lives of the British princes to influence your storytelling, I’m so glad that Chase decided to give one of her Wessco princes a desire to use his title and influence in a positive way.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
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