Mini Reviews - Paper Princess & Broken Prince by Erin Watt

Title: Paper Princess (The Royals #3)

Author: Erin Watt

Publisher: Everafter Romance

Release Date: April 4, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep school, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her slightly mother, struggling to make ends meet an believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

I can't quite remember the last time I read a book that was as addicting as Erin Watt's Paper Princess. There was just something about this book that kept me turning pages almost faster than I could read them. Which worked out nicely for me because it made the flight I was on go by way faster since I was so caught up in the book. And that's because there was just so much going on in this story. What at first glance felt like it could be a new take on Cinderella (I mean, the main character's name is Ella) ended up being something else completely. And, to be honest, I don't know quite how to put that something else into words other than to say that it was completely addicting. And kind of twisted. Because the Royal family? They give the word "dysfunctional" a whole new meaning. With every new piece of information Ella uncovered about her new family she was able to realize just how screwed up the whole family was. But at the same time, the more dysfunctional I realized they were, the more I found myself caring about them. And I don't quite know what that says about me. 

But slowly but surely, the more I read, the more I found myself caring about not just Ella but also about Reed, Easton and the twins. Which considering how I felt about them at the start of the book, was a complete and total surprise. Reed was the biggest surprise of all. I fully expected to completely hate him, but by the time I reached the end of the book I kinda maybe didn't hate him? And Easton? I would read entire books about Easton because if anyone in Paper Princess stole my heart, surprisingly it was him. But that's besides the point. The point is that Paper Princess was a seriously addicting read. Fair warning though, if you choose to read Paper Princess make sure you have Broken Prince on hand because you're going to desperately want to read it when you finish the first one. Trust me.

Title: Broken Prince (The Royals #2)

Author: Erin Watt

Publisher: Everafter Romance

Release Date: July 25, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

These Royals will ruin you…

From wharf fights and school brawls to crumbling lives inside glittery mansions, one guy tries to save himself.

Reed Royal has it all—looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely—keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

She might be right.

Secrets. Betrayal. Enemies. It’s like nothing Reed has ever dealt with before, and if he’s going to win back his princess, he’ll need to prove himself Royally worthy.

If I thought that Paper Princess was addicting, it was nothing compared to Broken Prince. The only reason I even put the book down while reading was because I couldn't keep my eyes open and just had to get sleep (stupid jet lag). It was just that addicting. And quite possibly even more twisted than the first book and that is saying something. What I loved about Broken Prince was getting to be in Reed's head. For so much of the first book (the entire first book, really), I couldn't figure him out and truth be told I thought he was pretty much the biggest asshole and didn't get what Ella could possibly see in him. But that changed pretty quickly in Broken Prince. Getting to read part of the story from his perspective allowed me to see that maybe he wasn't the complete ass I thought he was. It doesn't excuse all of his horrible behaviour, but at least now I understand where some of that behaviour was coming from. And it allowed me to see what Ella saw in him. And speaking of Ella, I loved seeing her come into her own in Broken Prince. I feel like I got to see another side of her and it made me love her that much more. As for the other Royals, I'm still waiting for a book all about Easton (desperately so) and I am weirdly fascinated by the twins, Sawyer and Sebastian. Like I want to know how they work but I also don't want to know. And I don't want to say too much about it so as not to spoil things. 

There was just so much going on in this story. The ending of Paper Princess was definitely a huge part of this story and it's still not resolved by the time Broken Prince ends. And more mysteries get thrown in the mix and by the time I finished reading I had so many theories about what was going on that I couldn't keep all of them straight. Oh, and I desperately needed the final book. If you thought Paper Princess ended on a cliffhanger, wait until you get to the end of Broken Prince. Even though it's not that far away, the wait for Twisted Palace is going to feel like it lasts forever.