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Book Review: The Royal Treatment by Melanie Summers (SPOILER - it's pretty darn good)

  • Writer: Soleil
    Soleil
  • Dec 13, 2018
  • 4 min read

Synopsis: Ultra-private, ridiculously handsome Crown Prince Arthur has always gotten by on his charm. But that won’t be enough now that the Royal Family is about to be ousted from power once and for all. When Prince Arthur has to rely on the one woman in the kingdom who hates him most, he must learn that earning the love of a nation means first risking his heart. Twenty-eight-year-old Tessa Sharpe, a.k.a. The Royal Watchdog, hates everything about Prince Arthur. As far as she’s concerned, he’s an arrogant, lazy leech on the kingdom of Avonia. When he shocks the nation by giving her the keys to the castle, Tessa has no choice but to accept and move in for two months. It’s lust at first sight, but there’s no way she can give in to her feelings—not if she wants to have a career or a shred of pride left when her time at the palace ends… Can two natural enemies find their forever in each other’s arms, or will they ruin each other to save themselves? My Rating: 4/5. T'was a great read! Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38509146-the-royal-treatment



The Royal Treatment was a real breath a fresh air. Split POV stories are always interesting to read, especially when it's one that carries on the story rather than showing the same situation next chapter but from the opposite viewpoint. It only took about three days to read this between classes and general life, yet it's lighthearted enough that I didn't feel too bad about setting it down and coming back later. T'was ironic, considering how the story also has a relatively deep political side plot that (if you're paying attention) actually forces you to think. But let me not jump ahead of myself. Part of the story follows a young woman named Tessa Sharpe, a quirky struggling blogger who, among various other blog sites, makes most her money online by blog-bashing the Royal family (no, not Queen Elizabeth II and friends. Don't get your panties in a twist). A bit of an outcast in our family, Tessa is constantly ridiculed by her three brothers, all whom has achieved significantly more than their only sister.


The other half highlights the life of the *glorious* Prince Arthur Langdon of Avonia. Lustful and, as far as book vision goes, one smexy beast, Arthur opens up with the lines "I hate to tell you this, ladies, but if you’ve ever watched a Hollywood film—or even worse—a made-for-TV movie about a royal family, you’ve been served up a steaming plate of horseshit.", defying what our typical idea of book Prince should be.


DEFINITELY not our protagonist.

Brought about by the ideological advances of the 21st century, the monarchy itself begins to face strong political opposition from their own Prime Minister. This leads to an uncontrollable increase in democracy-loving citizens and of course, you guessed it, Tessa happens to be one of them. But not just any ole woman sick of royal parades blocking the road to the nearest Wal-Mart. Tessa's harsh anti-royals blog happens to be huge. Like, is noticed by the Royal family huge. And influential enough to the point that the Prince, with his (bitchy) king/father away and a major voting on the future of Avonia underway, tries to rope her to their side by inviting her to the palace for two months. Need I say more? Two people who *supposedly* hate each other and are just a tad too horny for their own good under the same roof for two whole months? I think you can guess what all happens next. Had this not been a comedic book that purposely uses sexual attraction as a punchline, i'd say that the characters were way, and I mean WAY too thirsty for each. Prince Arthur, darn hunk of a man, couldn't go one chapter without going on about either 1. How aroused he was by Tessa in a sports bra or 2. How sex deprived he is. While funny for the first half of the book, mostly because of how ironic is was compared to other book princes, it became a bit redundant. Same for Tessa, except instead of her sex drive it was more so how often she embarrassed herself in front of the whole country. I get if a character screws up a few times, especially when they're in the public's eye, but darn it woman! Even I was rolling over from the cringe! Luckily, Tessa is likeable enough that I, along with the rest of the nation, could easily laugh it off. My other criticism would have to be the lack of exposure on the political side of this story. I know that it's supposed to be a lighthearted comedy novel, but Tessa made some pretty valid points against the monarchy that went unanswered by the prince. By the end, yes, some misconceptions were cleared up, yet the question was never really answered: do we need a monarchy? Would have loved to see some more clash on the for royals side instead of just the public's love for royal weddings and how hot the Prince is. I mean sure, he's smokin', but we need answers goddamnit! Last thing i'll touch on is the dynamic between Tessa and her siblings. Let me tell you, it felt like I was reading an updated Cinderella for a split second. Her brothers are next level mean. I could see if they bullied her a little, that's normal, but they were clowning Tessa so hard that I couldn't even find it funny. From exposing her past fling with her boss to insulting her as a person entirely, all three brothers came off a bit to strongly for me. I hope there's some character development in the coming books, 'cause for now they're just flat 2D characters whose only job is to criticize the sh*t out their sister and provide her with some amazingly cute nieces and nephews. Overall, a very good read. Currently on book two; hoping it's even better!

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