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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
Dull. It is so unbearably dull.
The plot is fine, very juvenile and surface level, and every conflict resolves itself in like two minutes with barely any effort. But fine. As long as you decide to forget every single thing you know about european royalty. I do, sadly, live under a monarchy, and it's not like I'm well versed in the day to day life of the royals, but be for fucking real. "Oops, we only booked two rooms in the hotel, you'll have to share." Are you kidding? That hotel would be booked IN FULL months in advance. But okay, whatever, this is a fairytale and the there-was-only-one-bed trope is too strong to resist, WHATEVER. That's not what's wrong about this book.
The writing is so boring I wanted to claw my eyes out. Is it suddenly illegal to write beautiful prose? Emotionaly charged, aesthetically pleasing, profound prose? This book reads like it was written like the Simple English wikipedia, if you know what I mean. Like it was written for a class of English-as-a-second-language 13 year-olds. It is DULL!!
The plot is fine, very juvenile and surface level, and every conflict resolves itself in like two minutes with barely any effort. But fine. As long as you decide to forget every single thing you know about european royalty. I do, sadly, live under a monarchy, and it's not like I'm well versed in the day to day life of the royals, but be for fucking real. "Oops, we only booked two rooms in the hotel, you'll have to share." Are you kidding? That hotel would be booked IN FULL months in advance. But okay, whatever, this is a fairytale and the there-was-only-one-bed trope is too strong to resist, WHATEVER. That's not what's wrong about this book.
The writing is so boring I wanted to claw my eyes out. Is it suddenly illegal to write beautiful prose? Emotionaly charged, aesthetically pleasing, profound prose? This book reads like it was written like the Simple English wikipedia, if you know what I mean. Like it was written for a class of English-as-a-second-language 13 year-olds. It is DULL!!
It scares me how much I like Jamie and how wonderful I think he is. Because I don't know what the future holds for us. What we're doing is fun, but I am becoming attached to him in a way I never have before.
I feel myself slipping into a coma. This scene should be emotional, it should make you feel for the characters, but I doesn't. How can it? It's all "I feel this, I feel that, I'm scared, I'm falling in love." SHOW ME, THEN. And it's repetitive, too. That same thought is expressed like twenty other times in the same dull, cold writing style.
We're in my room, with the door closed. Our bodies are pressed against each other, and we're practically tangled. It feels nice and cozy and perfect. I think I'd be truly happy if I could have moments like this for the rest of my life.
These are real quotes!! Verbatim. I don't feel the niceness, the coziness, the perfec... (ugh) the perfection of the moment. It doesn't feel warm like cuddling with the boy you like should feel like. It should feel like skin and wandering hands and the tickle of breath on a shoulder. Telling me "this is cozy" doesn't make it cozy! This is robotic and it makes me sad, honestly. Because even a silly little fairytale book about a teenager discovering he's a prince and falling in love with another prince deserves better than this. And maybe nobody else even cares about writing being good and beautiful and having heart anymore. Clearly there's a lot of people that have loved this book. But I care! I have a condition and it's called CARING TOO MUCH, and it's incurable!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
I loved the rumored Prince of England being gay mention đ if that wasnât a nod to Red, White, and Royal Blue then I donât know what was
My Recommendation: Definitely a read from me. It's cute and Erik and Jamie were adorable and perfect together. I loved that they were different enough but both grew into their own in the story without having to lose themselves in their families or their royal identities. There were so many minor characters that I loved and wanted to know more about, but Dietrich left us wanting just enough. Dietrich has also evolved as an author, this one has a bit more finesse and polish than his last solo novel I read, The Friend Scheme.
My Response: Imagine the Princess Diaries, but gay, with a few more edits and that's what you get here, and I loved it. I accepted this galley at some point last year and finally got around to it on vacation in March.*
My Response: Imagine the Princess Diaries, but gay, with a few more edits and that's what you get here, and I loved it. I accepted this galley at some point last year and finally got around to it on vacation in March.*
Seriously, imagine on your 17th birthday your adoptive mother is like oh heyyyy remember how I've been open with you about your mom. Well your mom actually wanted me to keep all of this LIFE CHANGING INFORMATION FROM YOU. As if you weren't going through enough issues as a gay teen, throw in that you're apparently also a crown prince of a small European country, yeah oof.
*I received a copy of The Rules of Royalty via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
I didn't care about any of the characters. Seemed more juvenile than young adult.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-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
I couldnât suspend belief enough for this to work. Wayyyy too much convenience and inexplicable happenings. Dialogue is also super odd and writing is very tell-y (âthis is happening.â âThis happened.â)