ARC Review: Royal Blood by Aimee Carter

Royal Blood
Author: Aimee Carter
Series: Royal Blood (Book 1)
Publication: Delacorte Press (March 7, 2023)

Description: An American girl becomes the British Monarchy’s greatest nightmare in this thrilling new series where royal scandals just got deadlier.

As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, 17-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about keeping secrets.

But when she’s forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family, who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists, her identity is mysteriously revealed, and suddenly the world is dying to know every juicy lie the press prints about her.

After a fun night turns deadly and Evan becomes the primary suspect in a murder investigation, the escalating rumors and fallout threaten to tear her life apart. As she fights to uncover the truth about what happened, she discovers royal secrets that are even more scandalous than she imagined – secrets that could change the monarchy forever.

And her own may be next.

My Thoughts: Seventeen-year-old Evan Bright's life is up-ended when she learns that she needs to spend the 25 days until she turns 18 with the father she believes has abandoned her. That father just happens to be the King of England!

Evan has attended and been expelled from 9 boarding schools since she was eleven. Now expelled from the ninth, and the fire wasn't really her fault, she finds herself on a plane to London under the care of Jenkins who has been the only one there for her since she was 11. All she wants is to be with her mother who is an artist who suffers from schizophrenia but who is managing her life with medications. 

Evan is a strong, independent young woman who soon learns that the Royal Family is hiding all sorts of secrets behind their glossy images. And those secrets are on the edge of being exposed when Evan is accused, by the court of public opinion and perhaps Scotland Yard, of the death of Jasper Cunningham who is the son of a media mogul and a school friend of her cousin Prince Benedict.

I really enjoyed this story. The story was strongly emotional. Evan seems to get her beliefs assaulted from all sides and she doesn't know who she can trust. I liked Evan and felt for the lonely young woman. I liked that she had support from Jenkins and from her new minder Tibby as she tried to navigate her new life. I liked that she built a new relationship with her half-sister and her father. And I liked learning that what Evan believed about her father and her parents' relationship was only part of the truth. 

While this story explores the common daydream of becoming a princess, it adds depth to the daydream and doesn't gloss over any of the difficulties of being suddenly thrust into a family not expecting you and finding yourself at the mercy of the press and social media. 

Favorite Quote:

"You have as much right to call them family as Princess Mary does," he says, "But perhaps it would be best to allow everyone time to ... adjust to your presence first."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.