4 Stars
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept
Date of publication: April 24th, 2018
Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Trigger Warning:
Series: His Royal Hotness
Royal Pain – Book 1 (review here)
Royal Treatment – Book 2
Where you can find Royal Treatment: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Trigger Warning: PTSD, talk of past torture
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
What’s a crown prince to do with time on his hands? Or better yet, who? It’s Prince Garrett’s turn to find love in this mouth-watering standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Royal Pain.
Once upon a time, I was being groomed to sit on the throne of Wildemar. Now I’m lucky they let me into the palace through the front door. After I was kidnapped and tortured by extremists, my reward upon my release is that nobody trusts me enough to let me be king. And since my twin brother, Kian, has assumed all my responsibilities, I figure why not take over as the black sheep?
But after breaking things off with my betrothed—we never had much chemistry, anyway—and giving the jet-setting playboy lifestyle a try, I’m starting to wonder if I’m cut out for this s***. Then I meet Lola Barnes, a drop-dead gorgeous entrepreneur from the States who’s as refreshing as she is feisty.
It’s supposed to be a one-night-stand—until the press catches wind of my “new American sweetheart.” Trouble is, Lola’s no sweetheart. But the more I see our names together in the headlines, the more I find myself craving another taste. . . .
My review:
Don’t let the blurb of Royal Treatment fool you. There is more to this book than a jet-setting prince. I went into Royal Treatment thinking that this was going to be a light read. A book with plenty of sex and Instalove. While I got the latter two, I was not expecting the heavy subject that the book explored.
The author did a fantastic job of catching us up from Royal Pain. Garrett is no longer the Prince Regent. His kidnapping deemed him unfit in his father’s eyes and he was let go of his duties. Now, Kian, his twin, is now the Prince Regent. Garrett is hurting. From the kidnapping and torture. From his father’s unrealistic view of what happened to him. Meeting Lola was what he needed. She soothed his broken soul. Can Lola help Garrett face what happened to him? Or will she be another person who turns their back on him when he needs it the most?
I wasn’t the hugest fan of Lola at the beginning of the book. She came across as brash and argumentative. But, the more the story went on, the more I could see how she affected Garrett. She was able to keep his nightmares at bay. More importantly, she soothed him. It was in Paris where I started to like her. I loved her when she stood up to Kian for Garrett. I said “You go girl” and double fist pumped the sky. I also got her hesitation about being a relationship with Garrett. I know I wouldn’t have dealt with paps all over the place. Which is also why I wonder how Megan Markle deals with it? I would have been driven bat poop crazy.
Garrett was such a tortured person. As I was reading the book from his perspective, I realized that he was still recovering from his kidnapping and torture. His nightmares were a huge clue for me. I got his pain from being relieved from his duty as Prince Regent. That was his life. It was all he knew and when he was told “No more“, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
There is Instalove. Dreaded Instalove. I do expect some degree of Instalove in romance novels that I read. But when it is laid on thick, which it was in this case, I do a lot of eye-rolling and sighing out loud.
I couldn’t get over how cruel the King was to Garrett. As a parent, I was appalled by how callous he was to him. If my son had been kidnapped and tortured, I would have been devastated. He was more worried about how the people would view Garrett. I didn’t see an ounce of compassion towards him. At all. After the phone conversation with Garrett, I wanted to drop kick him in the boy bits. What Garrett went through couldn’t be healed like a physical injury. He needed time to heal. He also needed a family to support him. Which he kinda got with Kian. But not from the King.
Of course, the sex was fantastic. Lola and Garrett could heat up the sheets with the best of them. If my Kindle was a book, the pages would have been on fire for sure.
I am not going to get into the ending of Royal Treatment. All I have to say is that it was one of the rawest, most emotional endings that I have read to date.
What I liked about Royal Treatment:
A) Lola. Took me a while to like her but she was awesome towards the end of the book.
B) Garrett. Read above
C) Kian and Savvy making appearances. Loved it!!
What I disliked about Royal Treatment:
A) Instalove. Bleh.
B) The King. Couldn’t stand him
C) What happened towards the end of the book.
I would give Royal Treatment an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is language. There is violence. Also, there is a scene of a breakdown that could trigger people. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.
There are trigger warnings in Royal Treatment. They are PTSD, talk of past torture, and a scene containing a breakdown.
I would recommend Royal Treatment to family and friends. I would include a note about the triggers. This is a book and a series that I would reread.
I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Royal Treatment.
All opinions stated in this review of Royal Treatment are mine.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
