Really like Stohl as an author and I can see what she was trying to do here with the satire, but the constant hashtags and social media elements just didn’t work for me at all.

Advanced Reader copy - Enjoyed this book, really opened my eyes and made me seek out other similar books to read.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This was never downloaded as the publisher archived it before I had chance to access it. It is unfair that it counts against my overall review percentage therefore I have returned a 1 star review, Publishers should not approve and then archive within 24 hours, this makes no sense.

Will no longer be reading or reviewing this book due to lack of interest in the title, after struggling to complete half of the book, and the fact that the title has been archived.

Already reviewed and feedback sent ages ago. Not sure why these are duplicating. But please find review content at my archived blog www.behindonbooks.wordpress.com

- Thanks! Sorry this is a little haphazard. Just trying to clear my Shelf here. :)

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I was really looking forward to this one. I’m actually not interested in reality television. (With the exception of Judge Judy and court TV) I pretty much loathe the type of reality TV this book is based on. But I do actually like novels about reality TV.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me at all. The satirical nature of it was almost too over the top, it seemed to be going one minute like it was making light of all the ridiculous drama that this scripted reality family go through, then tried to be deep and meaningful as the main character tried to do whatever it took to keep her family together.

The biggest problem I had was the main characters, the Royces, were all horrible horrible people. The mother Mercedes is the worst type of all about me showbiz mother who only seems interested in keeping the show on air, the eldest daughter Porsche, who was an attention seeking bimbo, focused only on her own fame and her own product line of cosmetics. The sixteen year old daughter Bentley is the one the reader is supposed to be routing for, nothing like the vapid character she supposedly portrays on the show she’s really quite deep and smarter than anyone ever imagined. Problem for this reader was I just didn’t like her. And then there’s Maybach, the youngest brother, who’s sole purpose seems to be the cute gay brother. Though for Bach, he seemed to just have a gambling problem that was used as plot point later on rather than give him a romance or something.

The premise of the novel is the show is on the verge of cancellation, the family want to keep it going, Bentley wants out and wants to go to college instead. So they keep coming up with more and more ridiculous antics to keep the public watching. So the older sister comes up with an idea for making a wedding, which would give her new product lines and sponsorships and things. Of course it’s all a big fake.

But when the chosen groom makes an appearance it all goes wrong very fast. The drama is ridiculously increasing throughout the novel. And to be fair, Bentley does a pretty good job of playing her role as the brattiest daughter of the bunch, managing to ruin planned events and become the worst sort of paparazzi fodder. It’s told with a tone that’s meant to be humorous, but it’s the type of humour that I found got very old and very tiring quite quickly.

Bentley finds herself stressed more than she wants to be, she finds out a pretty shocking secret about her sister’s so-called fiancé. She can’t talk to anyone about it. She’s also dealing with constant bickering between her mother and Porsche who seem to be trying to one up each other in antics meant to get attention. And then there’s annoying network executives to deal with and producers and such.

She does get a little bit of freedom when she can sneak away and hang out at the library, where she chats to a boy named Venice who appears to be a vagrant. She can talk to him like herself, she doesn’t have to play a character. And Venice listens to her. He was actually one of the decent characters. He had a huge secret of his own as well.

Again to be fair, the twist at towards the end was pretty damn epic.

There was just too much annoying stuff about the book in general to care by then, too much of Hollywood image crap, the body shaming was really irritating. While there were some decent scenes of the family coming together, finally, when the answers to the twists are finally revealed. There just wasn’t anything really redeemable by the end for my liking. Reading it was a bit like even though it’s terrible there was still a need to know how it all turned out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)

Royce Rolls

Reality TV is like a guilty pleasure for me, and reading is my addiction. Royce Rolls combines the two so what's not to love?!

As someone who predominantly reads thrillers, I like a little light relief every so often and this was it! A quick read, not to be taken too seriously, with sassy characters and an entertaining storyline, Royce Rolls is a great read!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, 4*.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I struggled to engage with the storyline or the characters and whilst I thought the concept was an interesting one, I lost the desire to read further than 10 per cent.

2* I was really expecting a fun, exciting look at life as a rich reality star in this book and it didn't deliver at all. There is no "fancy private school, lavish vacations, and everything else that comes along with being an LA starlet", none of these things are mentioned more than a couple of times. Descriptions are very sparse and Bentley and her family could have been anywhere and it wouldn't have made a difference. None of the characters are likeable, the "mystery" ending was predictable, and a lot of the plot points were pointless or didn't make any sense. I didn't get this book and I didn't enjoy it.
Full review available on my blog. Goodreads review available in link.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was very cleverly written, the point of view that we read from is very interesting and it made me laugh a lot throughout the whole story. It kept me engaged and entertained and I couldn't put it down as I wanted to find out what happens next. It was a very fun read and I'm glad I read this book.

This was a fun and entertaining book. The characters were well written - each had their own personality, their own motivations in this strange world of reality television. The way that Stohl dealt with family dynamics was incredibly accurate, and how families can lose what it means to be a family when other factors - like jobs and money - come into play. Royce Rolls is a good criticism on reality tv and Hollywood in general and does so in a unique way.

It was the cover that attracted my attention for Royce Rolls. It surprised me that I quite enjoy Royce Rolls. The storyline is actually intriguing though I can't relate all the time since I don't follow much reality shows. It took me a long time to warm to the story since I've been distracted for most of the 25% of the book because of the footnotes. After just a few pages, I give up on reading them and just paid attention to the story. Which made things easier for me and slowly I came to like the characters.

Only, I don't get the Asa character. I don't get why he has to be there. I believe the story would still be okay without him even though he has some contribution towards the end. It will be hard to get through this particular issue without revealing the twist. Maybe, if Miss Stohl added more information about his background, I will be more sold to the romance between him and Bentley.

The last quarter of the book is genius. Yes, I'm exaggerating but what I'm saying is, it is good. It is actually what saves this book from me giving it a low rating. The revelation is exciting but not that surprising. Still, the way it was weaved to form a twist that may be unrealistic and still ends up good, is accomplished really well.

Royce Rolls is a hilarious satiric book that takes a jab on today's pop culture of reality shows. It reminds us not to believe everything we see on TV or on the Internet. If you're into reality shows, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. And even if you don't and just want to read something funny and different, go try Royce Rolls. Who knows, you might enjoy it, too.

I have to admit, I really wasn’t loving this book in the start, which is why it has taken me so long to finally finish it. I’m glad I did finally get though it though, I really liked this book.

The format of this book took a bit of getting used to. It was a bit confusing, cause one moment it would be the actual story, then it would be a series of tweets and then suddenly an article. I don’t know if it as just really confusing because I read an eGalley, or if it’s just really confusing in general.

It took some time, but I came to love all of the characters. All of them. Despite their numerous flaws, you could see that they were still human. They had issues and they had compassion and love. These characters have stolen my heart. I have to say, if this was actually a reality show, I would probably watch it. This is a high compliment considering I never watch reality tv.

The last quarter of the book was definitely the best. I seem to have this thing were I don’t really like the first half or so of books, but I love their climaxes. The climax of this book, personally saved it for me, I had an incredible time. Lots of glorious drama.

This is the first book of Stohl’s that I’ve attempted to read since I tried to get through Beautiful Creatures, and I have to say, I enjoyed this book enough to give BC another try.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. Maybe not if you aren’t into drama, or really don’t like reality tv and the likes.

Also, I quickly have to mention that I totally love the cover.

*DID NOT FINISH*

I felt the story was disjointed, homophobic & body shamed.

Won't be in a hurry to read more from this author

The Royce's are a famous family, name and wealth = status and fame.

Currently:
Bentley Royce is presumed dead alongside her future brother in law after reports of their car going off the edge of a high cliff edge.

Flashback:
The Royce family are alike to our real life Kardashians.
Outrageous and all named after cars, Mercedes, Porsche, Bentley etc they juat scream watch me as they attend glitzy events and selfie to their hearts content.

Bentley is now used to the limelight, growing up alongside her family under its constant glow despite being shy and quiet when she was younger.

Now, the show is under threat of cancellation and Bentley can't help but think so what? She hides at Hollywood parties still and whilst doing so meets Asa, with whom she has a lot of common interests as they get talking and he doesn't know who she actually is. This fuels her dream of going to college still.

Her crazy mum Mercedes then on camera adopts a duck of all things! Porche's lippie's line isn't selling well and so the family need to rethink how they can rescue themselves put of debt and their show from being cut.

So, Bentley takes matters into her own hands, appearing at every club, store opening etc. Meanwhile, her brother, Bach, is gambling too much and her sister has got engaged to a wannabe rap star, Whitey. As the drama unfolds, Porches dangerous driving alerts all the family and she and Mercedes argue and clash a lot over the impending wedding, an engagement with a laugh out loud moment and Bentley finding out a huge secret about Whitey which see's her team up with her brother to try and stop the wedding!

Also from the beginning flashback, are they alive or are the reports true and not just over eager press lying about the truth?!

Drama filled and sure to leave you wanting more, Margaret Stohl has written a book I think I love more than her her Beautiful Creatures series! Thanks to the publishers allowing me to review it for them!