A quick and fun modern book in the vein of The Princess Diaries and Red White and Royal Blue. I didn't really warm to the main character much, she seemed a little too mature for her age/circumstances, and the romance subplots felt a bit obviously tacked on (really hammering home that Kit *isn't* a blood relation so it's fine to fall for him). It was modern and I look forward to the sequel, just because I thought the ending was really interesting

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I think I've been swept up in Royal Fever since the coronation last weekend, so much so that this is my second royal book in a week!

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Evan is the illegitimate child of King Alexander. The world doesn't know about her but she's turning 18 in 25 days and is hoping to return to life with her Mum in America. However, things don't always go the way you think. Evan ends up at Windsor Castle, an American amongst all the pomp of the royal family. Unfortunately for Evan, she gets tied up in scandals, gossip, murder and betrayal.

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I really enjoyed this - I wasn't a fan of Evan but she does grow on you and what she went through was horrific. It's a bit far-fetched, but it did throw me into life at Windsor Castle and you experience what it's like day to day.

This book is the first in a series and I'll be looking out for book 2.

❗️Look out for trigger warnings!

Royal blood was a quick read that I finished in 1 sitting. Told in a unique story format this one is sure to be a hit especially with young adults.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After she is kicked out of her latest boarding school, Evan has nowhere to turn except to her estranged father. The only issue there is that her father happens to be the King of England, and her existence is a closely guarded secret. But arriving in London, at the palace, she has to face her step mother and half sister, who have just learnt of her existence, as well as the rest of her extended family. And when one of her first friends is found dead, with Evan being the last person to see him, and the world learning of her parentage, Evan needs to discover who she can trust, and fast!

I loved this book so much! As soon as I saw the synopsis, and the comparisons to The Princess Diaries, I knew it was for me. Royal Blood had it all! There were twists and turns, drama, intrigue, murder, romance, mystery, and so much more. Evan was the perfect protagonist for the story, and I cared for her so much as the book progressed. She had suffered a lot in her life, and being hidden away for years, only to be thrust into the spotlight in such a way, was bound to affect her. She had no one on her side who she felt like she could trust, though the nephew of her step mother, Kit, was always by her side, and never pushed her. Their romance was wonderful, and there were moments when I thought all hope was lost, but then there were moments of lightness and joy, which Evan wholly deserved! There were truly 'on the edge of your seat' moments, and I found myself second guessing again and again over who the true villain was. I'm so happy this is not a standalone book as I had initially thought, because I need more from this world, and from Evan! A phenomenal book!

Unfortunately not for me. I think this was slightly too YA which is definitely not a bad thing at all. I read a lot of Young Adult novels and some of my favourite all time books are YA but I think this one was definitely for younger readers just starting out in the book world. It was a very quick read with great writing, a simple plot and easy characters to follow. My younger self would have loved this immensely especially with the love interests and mystery who did it!

I genuinely loved this! The main character felt very real in her actions & reactions. Her reality comes into conflict with what we as a mundane audience would assume it’s like being a royal. The author created scenarios that felt real. The paparazzi, the gossip, the villainising, skewering of opinion. Just so excellent. I’ve handsold this a few times to customers now and am very happy to stock it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. While some of the beats were quite predictable, the characters were well-written enough to make them work and the alternative timeline concept tickled me. The detective storyline was well-integrated with the family narrative and Evan was a strong and likeable protagonist. A good read if you're in the mood for something a bit fluffier than my usual high fantasy!

I loved the format of this clever novel, which had blog posts, interviews and text exchanges at the start of chapters. It features a very complicated family dynamic, plenty of tension, and felt very relevant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn’t want it to end. It had a touch of Princess Diaries mixed with murder mystery but it was enjoyable.

Evan, the main character was funny and very relatable and I found myself rooting for her throughout.

The book was filled with humour, drama and emotion and I loved it.

I think children and adults alike would enjoy this book!

Evan has never met her dad, but when she’s kicked out of her latest boarding school, she has no option but to go to live with him. He just so happens to be the King of England, and Evan is his secret American love child. Now she must learn to navigate palace etiquette, avoid the press, and work out who truly has her best interests at heart.

Full of scandal, secrets, and murder, this is the first in a new series and reads like the love child of The Princess Diaries and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Royal Blood marks the start of what seems to be a highly entertaining series and I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication.
Our story focuses on Evan Bright, the seventeen-year-old illegitimate daughter of Alexander, the King of England. Evan has always known who her father is, but she has no relationship with him. After an unfortunate incident at her boarding school - having been excluded from many - Evan is forced to England where her father wants her to be.
A curious and very fraught experience. The majority of the Royal Family have no interest in her being there, and are determined to make things hard for her. Evan doesn’t want to be there either. However, when she is implicated in the murder of a well-known friend of the Royals she has to start relying on the very people she thought hated her.
It was great to see a character navigating the clearly unfamiliar territory with such gusto. Her situation really was a tough one, and she was put in some awful predicaments. The whole Royal Family setting was neither here nor there, but it served as a useful backdrop to examine our character against. The ending of the book also seemed to set up a very intriguing prospect for book two (due out in 2024).

Who doesn't love a good rags to riches story? The Princess Diaries (which gets a sneaky shout out in this novel!) proved it. This series starter just adds to it with a fantastic story set in a fictional British monarchy (side note, I'm always curious how much writers have to clear with the actual palace!) The idea here is that Edward VIII did not marry Wallace, instead staying on the throne; this, by 2023, we have an entirely different royal family, with Elizabeth's branch not even mentioned.

There's a lot of murky family politics here, mostly in the latter parts of the story, but it was always easy enough to follow; there is a family tree at the start, but in my proof it's not laid out properly, but it'll be great to have it in the real book to follow along with as I did get a bit confused between the cousins!

I was expecting a revelation about Maisie that didn't come, but maybe it's planned for another book (or I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely!) and there were plenty of other revelations to be going on with anyway.

I do love Evan - I hope she doesn't lose too much edge as she assimilates into the royal family, it would be a shame as she's fantastic. I loved the inclusion of tweets and newspaper articles throughout as well - for a contemporary with this kind of plot, there's no hiding the fact that that kind of reaction would be there and actually seeing it is wonderful.


I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to read the next ones.

Evan Bright, a 17-year-old American, and the secret illegitimate child of the King of England, gets into trouble at boarding school, again. She is forced to spend the summer in London with the royal family. Her identity is somehow revealed to the public and to top that she gets mixed up in a murder investigation. With an unexpected ally, she tries to uncover what really happened and may discover a lot more than she bargained for, than the monarchy can survive.

I adored this book. I expected it to be a scandalous murder mystery, maybe even a dark comedy due to the royal awkwardness but was so pleasantly surprised when it had so many more elements. Much more gravitas than expected and I really enjoyed that.

Featuring a sincere and intimate POV, you immediately like the snark in Evan's personality and feel for her and her lonely existence, how life has been unfair to her. It is a 1st person POV but the story feels told from all angles, the characters are well-defined and we do get to acknowledge Evan's thoughts and emotions. This is a straightforward, wonderfully paced narrative.

I loved the text messages, articles, etc that start the chapters, a great way to give us info to better understand the mentality of various characters or supplement the story.

There is so much meat to this clever and engaging story. You could say that it is a tale of a father-daughter relationship trying to be repaired. About familial bonds and duty, forgiveness and second chances. Themes that are spotlighted are classism, prejudice, the narcissism of privilege and celebrity. A commentary on public perception with its penchant for toxicity and the dangers of the media. Mental health is dealt with in a delicate manner and respectfully.

Full of delicious scandal, manipulations and secrets, and gasp-worthy revelations, this is an emotional rollercoaster. Peppered with awkwardness and entertaining tidbits you expect from the situation, but you will be moved by the heart-wrenching events, and you will want Evan to be protected at all costs. A touching story of wanting to belong.

I adored Royal Blood. I read it one day, staying up late to finish it. There are secrets, a murder mystery with a few twists, a bit of romance, but also more serious themes, like sexual assault and mental health that made for an engaging and thrilling read.

In the last seven years, Evangeline “Evan” Bright has been expelled from several boarding schools. After inadvertently causing a fire in the last one, she is forced to spend the summer in London with her father who is none other than the King of England, but that’s the last place Evan wants to be. Born from an affair eighteen years earlier, very few people know of her illegitimacy and she’s never met her father. Until now. Their first meeting is not the warmest and things are not better with the Queen and her stepsister Mary, who despise her very existence. As she adapts to life in the palace, she finds a few friends in the King’s secretary Jenkins and his partner Louis, in the determined assistant Tibby, and in the charming nephew of the Queen, Kit. And Evan needs friends when the truth about her birth is revealed by the press and she becomes the focus of vicious comments and lies.

Also, after a party, a body is discovered and Evan was the last person to see the victim alive, so she needs to find out the truth and fix her reputation, leading her to uncover other secrets inside the palace.

I loved the character of Evan. Bold, smart, and fiery, she grew up with her grandmother because her mother suffered from mental problems. After her grandmother’s death, she learned the truth about her birth and she spent the following years in different boarding schools where she was never able to make friends because of the secrets she had to keep. Her relationship with her father is as central to the story as the murder mystery and I loved how it developed.

Royal Blood is gripping, intriguing, and very well-written and it has a terrific ending that makes me really look forward to the sequel.

Royal Blood is one of the best books we have read this year. It's got an original and absolutely riveting plot that is must read for anyone who loves books on Royals that have a thoroughly modern twist.

The protagonist is without a doubt one of the most real feeling characters and jumps off the page. Reading it feels like you are reading a letter from a friend which details an account of everything that has happened in their life. It's deliciously scandalous. It's as good as eating a cookie straight out of the oven when it's all still warm and gooey.

The only negative?It wasn't long enough. Wanted 100's of more pages so we could keep reading. And now there is a long wait for book 2.

Royal outsider/murder mystery.

It's a bit like a murder plot set inside a mashup of King Ralph and The Princess Diaries, with a dash of mental health awareness and a social media cautionary tale. Phew. But it's thoroughly enjoyable and hopefully the start of a successful series with a nicely different set of characters and settings.

Persistent school-expellee Evan (Evangeline) is nearing 18. Once again 'asked to leave' a school after accidentally starting a fire, she's collected and sent to live with her father in England. Where he's the King. Evan has known her whole life that she's a very tangential part of the British Royal Family, and wants nothing to do with them. After all, her mother's schizophrenia has meant they've been kept apart for 7 years, and her mother is still fixated on the man she once had a fling with, while he was married to the Queen... All she wants is to reach 18, and then be able to leave her years of his custody behind her.

But now she has been summoned to London and is about to meet her half-sister for the first time, the rest of the family, and of course, her father. But in the midst of an already diverting storyline, a death Evan is implicated in is thrown into the pot. And her identity, so long kept under wraps, is threatened by publicity and notoriety.

Alternating Evan's narrative with newspaper and social media articles/comments, we see how the world views the Royal Family and its newest member's doings. I liked seeing how Evan and her family are placed into the real British monarchy's recent history, with obvious changes made, and how we feel we are getting an insider's perspective on royalty and royal life. Evan is the perfect outsider for us, sarcastic and witty, bolshy and independent.

Her story is wish-fulfilment gone wrong, with a rather upsetting story pushed into her world that will bring sympathy from and also potential upset for readers. The book answers questions that will raised as you read along, and sets the stage for various endings and solutions.

Highly enjoyable, it's light enough with some dark moments to be a great new series for those looking for something that mixes genres and 'classes'. Love Evan, and I would definitely consider Book 2.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Fun, heartwarming and with scandals that will leave you wanting more, Royal Blood is one to get your hands on!

Thank you to Usborne for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I must have clicked on this by accident, or one of my younger family members had been messing because it's not really my kind of read. I decided to give the book a chance and read a couple of chapters, and try to explain what had happened.

I ended up reading it all in one sitting, and I absolutely loved it.

I really enjoyed this book, it was so well written and is a great book for both the young adult and adult market, I didn’t feel like this had to be exclusively marketed at young adults. The writing was great and I really liked the setting and the story idea.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is a fantastic read that I just couldn't put down, I read it in one very short sitting. Full of mystery and scandal, I loved it