Tag Archives: a royal kiss and tell

Blog Tour + Review: A Royal Kiss and Tell by Julia London

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Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review. A Royal Kiss and Tell debuted May 19th.

I adored last year’s The Princess Plan, so I made sure to be first in line for an ARC when the sequel was posted on NetGalley. I love your typical snag-a-duke historical romance, but the Royal Wedding series takes the fantasy to the next level with handsome princes and court intrigue. Let’s get the details out of the way, then get to the review…

A Royal Kiss & Tell
London, Julia 
FICTION/Romance/Historical/Victorian 
Mass Market | HQN Books | A Royal Wedding #2
9781335136978
$7.99 USD | $10.99 CAN

Blurb

Every prince has his secrets. And she’s determined to unravel his…

Every young man in London’s ton is vying for Lady Caroline Hawke’s hand—except one. Handsome roué Prince Leopold of Alucia can’t quite remember Caroline’s name, and the insult is not to be tolerated. So Caroline does what any clever, resourceful lady of means would do to make sure Leo never again forgets: sees that scandalous morsels about his reputation are printed in a ladies’ gossip gazette…all while secretly setting her cap for the rakish royal.

Someone has been painting Leo as a blackguard, but who? Socially, it is ruining him. More important, it jeopardizes his investigation into a contemptible scheme that reaches the highest levels of British government. Leo needs Lady Caroline’s help to regain access to society. But this charming prince is about to discover that enlisting the deceptively sweet and sexy Lady Caroline might just cost him his heart, his soul and both their reputations…

Author Bio

Julia London is a NYT, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. She is a six-time finalist for the RITA Award of excellence in romantic fiction, and the recipient of RT Bookclub’s Best Historical Novel.

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Buy Links

Harlequin | Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Google Play | IndieBound | Kobo

(I receive no commission on these links, FYI!)

Review

I adored the first book in this series, The Princess Plan, last year, and was so excited to get a chance to read this second book! Like the previous book, the characters in this book are excellent; one thing that London does so well is craft characters who feel solid and utterly unique. On that note, I can see a potential for some readers to be turned off by the MC, Caroline; she’s impetuous to an extreme and isn’t shy about making her opinions known. These traits often land her in sticky situations that can get cringy, so anyone super sensitive to cringe might find this a tougher couple to fall in love with. I was quite taken with her, though. 🙂

Due to the royal focus and the invented kingdom of Alucia, this series has a slightly more fantasy feel than your typical historical romance (a genre which, let’s be honest, is its own strain of fantasy, anyway.) Anyone looking for historical accuracy should perhaps keep browsing, but for those of us who just want to imagine a scenario where we get to fall in love with a dashing prince, this book is just perfect. The dialogue is great and the prose is strong, with the right amount of whimsy that doesn’t cross into saccharine sweet or precious territory. I also appreciated the court intrigue plot thread; astute mystery readers might unravel the mystery before the end, but I didn’t anticipate the twists and turns myself. All in all, this was a great read, and I’ll definitely be first in line for the next in series.

Top Ten 2020 Releases I’m Looking Forward To!

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Like everyone else, I’m in that kind of confounded state right now with the realization that I have to start writing 2020 everywhere. I’ve done my time already with my 2019 look-back post; now let’s get excited with some sparkling new books! Most (but not all) of these are by authors whose work I’m familiar with. I might not get to every single one in 2020, but I’ll certainly give it my best. 2019 was the year I went from devoted reader to a certified whale reader, so there is no logical excuse I can’t get to all of these!!!!!!!

10. One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

So McManus’s last book, Two Can Keep a Secret, was an unfortunate disappointment to me last year, but I’m hoping that this sequel to her first book will be a return to form. One of Us Is Lying was one of my favorite books of 2018, so this book has a lot to live up to!

9. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

I’m so incredibly curious to read this new series by SJM. I’ve been reading her books since middle school and I still have a printed copy of the Fictionpress first draft that later became her Throne of Glass series, so I’m what you could call a devoted fan, lol. I’m looking forward to all the stalking around, the tang of blood in people’s mouths, and probably the MC finding their “mate.” SJM is nothing if not predictable.

8. Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

I loved last year’s Wilder Girls, and it was such a unique and raw story that I’m curious to see what other stories this author has to tell. I’d estimate that Rory Power is going to become a real force in the YA market.

7. A Royal Kiss and Tell by Julia London (A Royal Wedding #2)

Still waiting for a cover reveal on this one! The first in this series was so much fun, and I’m dying to read more by London. Most of the historical romance I read in 2019 focused on earls and dukes, so it’s fun to go full daydream and fantasize about falling in love with royalty.

6. Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

I didn’t hear about this one until real recently when it was part of a blog tour, and it is so up my alley! I love the Chinese focus, and the cover is speaking to me. Happily, this is one I won’t have to wait for too long because it releases in just a couple days. 🙂

5. Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

I was pretty disappointed by the two YA “alien” books I read in 2019 (alien in quotes, since neither one actually contained any aliens at all). I’m hoping that Daniel Kraus will prove that third time’s the charm; his version of The Shape of Water was fantastic. I’m also very curious to see how his style adapts to a YA audience, since Water was quite literary. Hoping that my ARC request gets granted!

4. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

I remember hearing about the makings of this book yeeeeeeeears ago on an interview with the author on Sarah Enni’s First Draft podcast. I’ve only read the one book by Marie Lu, Warcross, which seems very different from this book. Also, get a load of that cover. I think it must be in the running for prettiest cover ever.

3. A Crimson Truth by Kelsey Quick (Vampires in Avignon #2)

Also waiting for a cover reveal on this one! I was a big fan of Quick’s A Violet Fire, and I’m really curious to see how the next book will develop. I hear there will be Zein POV sections, which is super exciting.

2. The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

The conclusion to Truly, Devious is almost here! It’s been a few long years since the start of this series, and I’m dying to know who the culprit is. This also reminds me I have to catch up on all of Johnson’s other series–I’m in the middle of two more of them. How in the world do these things happen? :/

1. The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

I’ve been mega-excited for this book ever since I saw the gorgeous cover. It sounds like a spiritual successor to The Selection, which I looooooooved. If they are anything alike, then this book and I are going to get along fabulously. February 4th can’t get here soon enough!

Secret, other #1: Beauty and the Beast and Aliens

So maybe this is cringy, but I’m really looking forward to getting the draft of my new book done so that I know what the story’s all about! I’m the kind of writer who only has a vague sense of where each story is going to go, so I’m psyched to get the story sorted and start editing. It’s at around the fifty percent mark right now, and I’m aiming to have the first draft done by sometime in February, with a summer release. Stay tuned!