I had bought this when it was a Kindle daily deal, I think. It hit all my guilty pleasure spots in the synopsis, and I knew it would be a quick and hopefully amusing read.

It was. It was definitely quick and fluffy. The plotting and narrative needed to be tightened up a bit, but overall, I liked it. And it was the first in a trilogy, so I immediately splurged and got the other two. ( )

Samantha Rousseau barely even notices the royals visiting her college campus. She's a wildlife biology grad student specializing in raptors. Between taking care of injured raptors, teaching classes, convincing her truck to keep working, and dealing with her stepfather's medical bills, there isn't much time in her life for anything else. Then she gets invited to what she thinks is dinner with a potential donor, only to be told that she's one of Lilaria's lost royals. The queen wants to reinstate her title and lands, which would mean leaving her studies and life in Minnesota behind. On the plus side, Lilaria is supposed to have an excellent healthcare system - they might have more effective treatments for her stepfather's prostate cancer, and it would certainly be better for her finances.

It's a lot for Samantha to think about, and unfortunately there isn't much quiet time for thinking. Reporters immediately start swarming, and her classes are suddenly filled with people who definitely aren't interested in birds. Then there's the gorgeous and enticing Prince Alex. Is he really as interested in her as he seems, or is he just trying to convince her to go to Lilaria and accept her title? And even if he is interested in her, what sort of relationship could she, an American who knows nothing about royal life and can't speak a word of Lilarian, hope to have with a prince?

If you've read and enjoyed other "ordinary person discovers they're a royal" stories, there's really nothing new here. This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't great either, and in some ways it suffered from me having read (and enjoyed) Alyssa Cole's A Princess in Theory a year ago.

Samantha was an okay heroine, but a little too prone to jealousy for my tastes. The romance's timeline didn't help - during Samantha and Alex's first kiss (right in front of the mouse that Samantha had just sliced up for the injured raptors), I found myself doing the math, and I'm pretty sure they'd known each other for less than 24 hours. No matter how well they connected, both of them should have had reasons to want to take it slow. Samantha was dealing with the revelations about her family and trying to make a life-changing decision. Alex had a relatively recent relationship scandal - he knew full well what the paparazzi could do if they caught a whiff of anything between him and Samantha. Also, they'd literally just met.

The story was surprisingly low conflict. Every time I thought Chase had introduced a character or detail that was going to become a drama time bomb, nothing came of it. The zookeeper who seemed overly interested in Samantha? Mentioned once or twice later on and then never again. Alex's most recent ex? Zero on-page appearances. Prince Alex's sister's romantic life didn't turn into an enormous scandal, none of Alex's other exes were horrible to Samantha, and no one had problems with Samantha becoming a Lilarian duchess. Even Chadwick's relationship problems were resolved without any drama (and while it's great that the book includes a gay couple, you can bet I noticed and raised an eyebrow at their complete lack of on-page appearances together - not even an on-page phone conversation). Most of the book was devoted to Samantha deciding to go to Lilaria, getting used to her new life, fretting about her growing feelings for Alex, and worrying about her stepfather.

Speaking of Samantha's stepfather, I wasn't wild about how the medical stuff was handled. Each chapter started with a news headline, and Chapter 9's was "Lilarian Health Care Makes Headway with Homeopathic Medicines." I spent the rest of the book wondering whether Chase was going to make homeopathy the miracle cure for Samantha's stepfather's cancer (FYI, "homeopathic medicine" is garbage and I consider the word "homeopathic" on product packaging to be an immediate red flag). Now that I've finished the book, I think what Chase was using things like "homeopathic medicine" (87), "holistic and natural methods" (93), and "herbal supplements" (93) as shorthand for "Lilarian doctors are more flexible." Considering that it ultimately made no difference in Samantha's stepfather's medical treatment (chemo), I wish Chase had written about the Lilarian specialist differently.

All in all, this was an okay but fairly forgettable book. It's unfortunate that it's first-person POV - I didn't hate that aspect, but there's an excerpt from the second book, which is also first-person POV but from the perspective of Prince Alex's sister, and Samantha and Cathy's "voices" aren't distinct enough for my tastes. I don't intend to read the next book in the series.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

I really enjoyed reading this story. It was very cute and a light read. The story brought every emotion from happy, sad, and angry. The build up of the story was well written,b but I felt the ending was a little rushed. I would have liked to see more of what happened in the end. All in all an enjoyable read. ( )

Absolutely adorable! This was such a cute book. For me, it had just the right touch of whimsy and romance, and was a nice palatte cleanser after 6 months of non-stop GoT. My one gripe was how one-dimensional Alex was. He was kind of just an avatar that had actions and ideas projected onto him. Still liked his interactions with Sam but I would have loved a more in depth look at exactly what his work entailed, or his side of the leaked photo scandal which you surprisingly never get.

But yeah, totally adorable and I'm already looking for the next book in this series! Just wish it was more about these two, and not another couple. ( )

I discovered this title under Amazon's newly instated "New Adult" category and was intrigued from the get go. I had high hopes this wouldn't just be some Princess Diaries rip off and I wasn't disappointed. We begin in the typical college town atmosphere in the heart of winter. There are the usual formulas, the best friends and the smart-ace whiplash kind of heroine that tends to populate this genre. But Sam is much more than your typical heroine. She's got a tender and fragile heart underneath, and a bucket of brains that can hold their own to any royals. Then came the shocker. I wasn't expecting for the tables to be turned and Sam and Alex to find such a strong connection. I confess I was waiting for the typical plot devices. He would be a playboy (which he...emphasis-WAS). Or the queen would disapprove and try to split them up. Nope. Neither was there any political intrtigue or trouble with the Steward or the half dozen other directions Chase could have taken her novel. I found my respect for her as an author growing for daring to tell so simple a realistic fairy tale. But then the wonderful thing happened. I found myself falling in love with Lilaria and its people. And then of course there is Alex. It's a beautiful thing watching him sincerely chase after her. It's also refreshing to read about a guy who's tired of the b.s and actually work to win a girl he wants to marry. Not just jump in the sack with, but actually be with. They were hot and heavy yet sweet and endearing as a couple to read about, without getting over the top. I'll end this without rambling on as I am inclined to do. This is just that sort of a book. Unexpectedly, when I wasn't looking, Suddenly Royal wormed its way into my reader's heart and doesn't look to be jumping ship anytime soon. Team Prince Yummy! ;) ( )