Review: The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory

Summary from Goodreads:

For fans of The Princess Diaries and The Royal We comes a fun and daring novel about a modern-day princess who teams up with a spy to find out what happened to the fiancé who left her at the altar—and who just might get her own fairytale in the process.

Princess Theodora Isabella Victoria of Drieden of the Royal House Laurent is so over this princess thing.

After her fiancé jilted her on their wedding day, she’s finally back home after spending four months in exile—aka it’s back to press conferences, public appearances, and putting on a show for the Driedish nation as the perfect princess they expect her to be. But Thea’s sick of duty. After all, that’s what got her into this mess in the first place.

So when she sneaks out of the palace and meets a sexy Scot named Nick in a local bar, she relishes the chance to be a normal woman for a change. But just as she thinks she’s found her Prince Charming for the night, he reveals his intentions are less than honorable: he’s the brother of her former fiancé, a British spy, and he’s not above blackmail. As Thea reluctantly joins forces with Nick to find out what happened the day her fiancé disappeared, together they discover a secret that could destroy a centuries-old monarchy and change life as they know it.

Funny, fast-paced, and full of more twists and turns than the castle Thea lives in, The Royal Runaway is a fresh romantic comedy that will leave you cheering for the modern-day royal who chucks the rulebook aside to create her own happily-ever-after. 

Release Date: October 9th

My Review:



What I Liked:

World Building. Emory did an amazing job of creating the country of Drieden. She added in the history and other aspects of the country that made it seem like a real place. 

Characters. I really liked the main character, Thea, along with a few of the side characters. She was strong-willed and focused on doing the best for her country. However, I was not a fan of the romantic interest which brought down some of my enjoyment while reading. 

Writing. Despite my issues with the plot I still liked Emory's writing style. I will be checking out more novels from this author. 

What I Disliked: 

Marketing. Thanks to the blurb I was thinking that this would be similar to Princess Diaries but it was far from a light read. 

Romance. I'm that person who is super picky when it comes to romance, so this one was not my favorite. The two main love interests had a whole love/hate thing going on and for some reason it only annoyed me. I liked the two characters separate but not together.

Plot/Unrealistic. I went into this for a light and humorous novel like Meg Cabot series but was disappointed when it turned into a action/mystery novel. I also found the plot unrealistic for contemporary/romance novel. 

I recommend checking this out if you're interested in the romance. 

My Rating:

3 Stars Out of 5 Stars