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readutation's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Verdict: It Was Okay
You know, it pains me to say this, but I have to do it anyway: I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I'd hoped. *yelps* See, it still physically hurts me to admit that, but it has to be done.
When I read Get a Life, Chloe Brown and Take a Hint, Dani Brown and absolutely enjoyed those books, I expected that I would also like this one since it's by the same author. Unfortunately, it seems like Talia Hibbert isn't a foolproof author for me — apparently, there might be some works of hers that would be a miss for me.
Now, don't get me wrong: this has the impressive writing style that Hibbert possesses. There's the charm, the banter, the sexual tension, the humor, and the wonderful representation of marginalized people that I've come to know and love from her other works. But The Princess Trap falls flat for me simply because of preference.
You see, I'm never the biggest fan of the kind of romance where the love story is founded on sexual attraction and lust. I know this thing happens in real life and what not, but I never enjoyed that kind of storyline in any book (though I could always be persuaded otherwise because reading preferences don't exist in a vacuum). Rather, I prefer when the two leads get to know each other first, build some form of friendship first, and then eventually fall in love. This type of story keeps me going, and I just die from the wholesomeness.
Unfortunately, The Princess Trap features the other kind of storyline. As a result, I wasn't really onboard with Cherry and Ruben's story from the get-go, and I didn't see their chemistry — aside from the supposed attraction and horniness between the two of them. Also, it did get a bit irritating the first few chapters when all Ruben could think about was how he wanted Cherry. Like, I get it! You're horny for her! Now, please either do something about it or start thinking of other thoughts. Like, damn!
In other words, I found their love story to be kind of bland, which is both ironic and sad. Ironic because their sex scenes are steamy AF and sad because, well, this is a romance novel, and the romance part was a bit disappointing for me.
But despite my disappointment, I still think this might be a good read for other people. Plus, this book handles child abuse and domestic abuse really well — you can tell that Hibbert takes a great deal of effort to portray these dark themes as respectfully as she could manage — and the story ends in a happy note (which is required for romance books, but still, it's nice to know that the victims end up happily ever after). So, I can still recommend this. It was just not for me.
I'm still willing to try out other Talia Hibbert books. I've come to realize that the type of stories she likes to write is something that I don't tend to gravitate all the time. You see, she likes "plot-less" books — or romance books that are just in it for the fluff — and normally, I love those books. It's just right now, I'm in a fantasy kick, so books with not much action or conflict aren't speaking out to me as often as they did before.
You know, it pains me to say this, but I have to do it anyway: I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I'd hoped. *yelps* See, it still physically hurts me to admit that, but it has to be done.
When I read Get a Life, Chloe Brown and Take a Hint, Dani Brown and absolutely enjoyed those books, I expected that I would also like this one since it's by the same author. Unfortunately, it seems like Talia Hibbert isn't a foolproof author for me — apparently, there might be some works of hers that would be a miss for me.
Now, don't get me wrong: this has the impressive writing style that Hibbert possesses. There's the charm, the banter, the sexual tension, the humor, and the wonderful representation of marginalized people that I've come to know and love from her other works. But The Princess Trap falls flat for me simply because of preference.
You see, I'm never the biggest fan of the kind of romance where the love story is founded on sexual attraction and lust. I know this thing happens in real life and what not, but I never enjoyed that kind of storyline in any book (though I could always be persuaded otherwise because reading preferences don't exist in a vacuum). Rather, I prefer when the two leads get to know each other first, build some form of friendship first, and then eventually fall in love. This type of story keeps me going, and I just die from the wholesomeness.
Unfortunately, The Princess Trap features the other kind of storyline. As a result, I wasn't really onboard with Cherry and Ruben's story from the get-go, and I didn't see their chemistry — aside from the supposed attraction and horniness between the two of them. Also, it did get a bit irritating the first few chapters when all Ruben could think about was how he wanted Cherry. Like, I get it! You're horny for her! Now, please either do something about it or start thinking of other thoughts. Like, damn!
In other words, I found their love story to be kind of bland, which is both ironic and sad. Ironic because their sex scenes are steamy AF and sad because, well, this is a romance novel, and the romance part was a bit disappointing for me.
But despite my disappointment, I still think this might be a good read for other people. Plus, this book handles child abuse and domestic abuse really well — you can tell that Hibbert takes a great deal of effort to portray these dark themes as respectfully as she could manage — and the story ends in a happy note (which is required for romance books, but still, it's nice to know that the victims end up happily ever after). So, I can still recommend this. It was just not for me.
I'm still willing to try out other Talia Hibbert books. I've come to realize that the type of stories she likes to write is something that I don't tend to gravitate all the time. You see, she likes "plot-less" books — or romance books that are just in it for the fluff — and normally, I love those books. It's just right now, I'm in a fantasy kick, so books with not much action or conflict aren't speaking out to me as often as they did before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Biphobia, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Racism
ellornaslibrary's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Confinement
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Chronic illness
chief_cook_and_librarian's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’ve yet to read a book by Hibbert with a protagonist I didn’t like. Cherry is bold and clever and fun, and I liked her from the beginning. My issue was with the love interest, Ruben, who seemed like a decent guy but inexplicably rubbed me the wrong way. I also wasn’t a big fan of the sex scenes, as he wanted Cherry to submit to him and do as he said. Maybe that’s a form of BDSM? I’m not familiar with any of it. I respect people involved in it, but it’s definitely not my cup of tea. Additionally, it was kind of disappointing to see my two other favorite characters shoved to the back burner in favor of Cherry and Ruben’s romance. Extra half star given because the bonus epilogue—which is available to subscribers of Talia’s online newsletter—was rather cute.
Representation
Representation
- fat Jamaican bisexual protagonist
- bisexual love interest
- Jamaican sapphic side character with sickle cell disease
- Muslim hijabi side character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Fatphobia, Biphobia, Body shaming, and Racism
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy
Suicide occurred prior to the story, by a minor character. It’s briefly mentioned.allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This royal romance doesn't look on monarchy with admiration or fairy tale heart eyes. Instead, it implodes a fictional royal family with a fake engagement, scandal, and some honest heroism.
Cherry finds out her date, Ruben, is royalty when the paparazzi catches the two of them in a compromising position. Ruben can only get the photos deleted by claiming her as part of the royal family, so 🎶 dun dun dun dun here comes the bride 🎶 (or at least a yearlong fake engagement to stop the paps and Ruben's half-brother King Harald from suspecting a lie).
This whirlwind romance included some delightful side characters in the Denmark-adjacent fictional country, a stand against kink-shaming, and a story about escaping domestic abuse. For such a quick, light love story, I'm always impressed with how much Talia Hibbert can squeeze in and how she can create steam at the drop of a hat. I enjoyed the story even though I will always be Team Slow Burn til the day I die.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
plant_the_read's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia
marissasbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Suicide, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Chronic illness
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