Young Royals is one of my favorite shows and Red, White & Royal Blue one of my all time favorite books, so a story combining those into a new book by Julian Winters was of course something I needed to read! Prince of the Palisades might not be exactly of the same caliber as RWARB, but it was certainly a wonderful, sweet, adorable and emotional mm romance story between a struggling prince and a badass pink-haired commoner! Prince Jadon is the spare of the fictional kingdom Reverie as the younger, messy brother of crown princess Annika. After a leaked video of him trash talking the prime minister (who is also the father of his ex) makes his parents lose their patience with him, Jadon gets exiled to Los Angeles and a preppy private school together with his sister and two royal guards. In order to be allowed back home, Jadon must change the public perception of him and prove that he is worthy to represent the royal family. Including making friends with his fellow students, joining the school play and making public non-political speeches. But definitely not getting involved with someone or getting caught kissing in public. Which turns out to be harder than expected when sparks start to fly with a certain pink-haired film student…
Running With Lions is my favorite Julian Winters book, with all the amazing characters. This story had the same kind of vibes and fleshed-out characters, witty banter and focus on love and friendship. I truly adored Princess Annika, the quirky royal guards and Reiss’ family. Jadon and Reiss had a wonderful chemistry and I loved their fun banter and how Reiss kept Jadon grounded and showed him what a “normal” life and family looked like. It was perhaps a bit too insta-lovey the way Jadon immediately was intrigued by Reiss, and it took me a while to warm up to Jadon who came across as a little too immature and selfish at first. But the character development was amazing and at the end I fully rooted for him and his relatable struggles to find his path in life. I also loved the fanfiction references to RWARB and The Princess Diaries in the tweets and comments. All in all, this was a sweet and charming YA read about finding your true self and taking a chance on love! Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Add on Goodreads Author info: Julian Winters
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This was an okay read, but not as good as I had expected. Mostly because I didn’t fully root for the main character and because of the love triangle that wasn’t my cup of tea at all. Right Where I Left You follows the introverted and socially awkward comic fan Isaac in the last summer before he goes to college and has to leave his best (and only) friend Diego behind. Diego has decided to take a gap year to pursue his game designer dream career instead of going to college, so Isaac plans to spend every second he can with Diego this last summer. But it all changes when Isaac’s long time crush Davi suddenly speaks to him at the comic store, and reveals that he’s bisexual. So instead of spending his time with Diego, Isaac ends up swooning over Davi…
I loved Diego from the start. He was such a sweet, nerdy and likeable person. And I absolutely adored him for always being kind to Isaac, even though Isaac mistreated him for most of the summer. The main character Isaac was harder to like though. He came across as whiny and selfish, and not understanding at all how badly he treated Diego for Davi’s sake. I also had problems understanding his hatred for his dad and brother. Yes, his dad left his mom for another woman, but if Isaac’s mother could forgive him, it seemed a bit over the top how Isaac kept hating him, and his brother for just trying to make peace in the family. I also never shipped the relationship between Isaac and Davi. Davi seemed very flirty and unserious all the time, and it never made sense why he would be into Isaac. Spoiler alert: It would have been much better if the love triangle had started sooner, with Isaac struggling with feelings for both Davi and Diego, rather than just suddenly realizing he has feelings for Diego when Davi breaks up with him. But all in all, it was a cute, fast paced read that had a lot of potential. I just wished the friends-to-lovers trope had been better executed and that the main character had been a little more likeable. Rating: 3 stars Get your own copy: Indiebound Amazon Book Depository Author info: Julian Winters Running With Lions was such an adorable read! It’s a little bit a coming out story, but most of all it’s a story about self-image and struggling with living up to your own and others’ expectations. I loved the main characters and the diversity, and the amazing team spirit. This soccer team was like a supportive, bickering, found family that truly warmed my heart. In this story we get to follow a soccer team called The Lions during a summer camp, but also with glimpses to previous events in school, through the main character Sebastian. Sebastian is bi, and pretty open with it with his friends, even though he’s not out to his family yet. On the team there are also two other gay boys, and there is such a wonderful openness and supportive spirit within the team. They bicker and tease each other a lot, but they always have each other’s backs. I loved how they were like a found family where everyone felt free to express their sexualities without judgment.
But even so, Sebastian struggles a lot with anxiety and a feeling of not being worthy of the trust and responsibilities everyone keeps giving him. Especially after being named captain of the team. Then there’s also the new addition to the team this year, Emir. Emir and Sebastian used to be best friends, but somewhere along the way their friendship went wrong. But seeing Emir again awakens feelings within Sebastian. So whilst struggling with his new role as captain and anxiety for the future, he also has to struggle with a new attraction to one of his team mates. I really loved how this story dealt with so many other issues besides the romance part. Even though the romance part was super cute too… Sebastian and Emir were so sweet and I loved every moment of it, even the cheesy tropes parts. What I didn’t enjoy though was the way the only female character, the coach’s daughter Grey, was treated. The way her crush, Mason, was so mean to her and how the others never called that out properly but made jokes about it, didn’t sit well with me. It felt like romanticized bullying and it really made me uncomfortable. But all in all, this was such a cute and sweet and heartwarming feel-good book! Highly recommended! Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Indiebound Amazon Book Depository Author info: Julian Winters |
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September 2023
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