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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First of all, thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC of "The Rules of Royalty!"
I have been a fan of Cale Dietrich after reading "The Love Interest" in 2018. Since then, I have read everything that he has put out and loved his writing. "The Rules of Royalty" is by far my favorite of his books. I would say anything with a Princess Diaries theme and I am all in, but this book was better than my expectations. While at moments seeming a bit forced and fast, the development of the characters and their stories was great. Definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the early 2000's teen rom-com movies.
I have been a fan of Cale Dietrich after reading "The Love Interest" in 2018. Since then, I have read everything that he has put out and loved his writing. "The Rules of Royalty" is by far my favorite of his books. I would say anything with a Princess Diaries theme and I am all in, but this book was better than my expectations. While at moments seeming a bit forced and fast, the development of the characters and their stories was great. Definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the early 2000's teen rom-com movies.
I loved Red, White & Royal Blue and The Princess Diaries so I expected to love this too. But it really didn't connect for several reasons:
1. The story and characters quite lack depth.
2. The conflict seems super forced to a point where it makes zero sense.
3. I get that it's fiction but the portrayal of European countries at their geographical location fels totally inaccurate to me.
4. Jamie is portrayed as super left and progressive but then never questions royalty at its core and is content with simply doing fundraising instead of systemic change? okay.
1. The story and characters quite lack depth.
2. The conflict seems super forced to a point where it makes zero sense.
3. I get that it's fiction but the portrayal of European countries at their geographical location fels totally inaccurate to me.
4. Jamie is portrayed as super left and progressive but then never questions royalty at its core and is content with simply doing fundraising instead of systemic change? okay.
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
"'You have to fight. This world is filled with people who will tell you what they think you should do. But I've seen what happens when you simply do what everyone wants you to, and trust me, it is a recipe for misery. If you have something you care about, then you need to fight for it with everything you have. You can't give in. You simply can't.'" - Chapter 425, Elise (Stefan's fiancé) telling Erik about how Stefan and her got to the point where they were today
The Love Interest was one of the books I read when I started this reading journey five years ago. Because of that, if I see something from Cale Dietrich, I have no restraints not to pick it up.
The Rules of Royalty feels familiar to a royalty plot I've seen/heard about (maybe The Princess Bride, but I never watched the movie). Jamie Johnson, a seventeen-year-old, grew up in a somewhat nameless town, where his mom wasn't his biological mother, and did not know who his father was. His mother figure is actually his mom's best friend, who decided to adopt him after his biological mother passed away. When Jamie finally turned 17, his mom told him the actual truth about his life, that he was born into royalty, that his father was the king of Mitanor, and that he was invited to stay across the ocean for the summer, to get accustomed to his new life.
Where Erik Lindstrom came to place is, Jamie needs a quick crash course on how to act like a prince. But I guess the story ends up being that the teacher and the student falls for each other.
What I can remember from The Love Interest is the plot threw me into a loop, despite the fact on how the writing was. I recall that the writing was a bit too simple for a YA book and that I didn't take too long to finish the book. With The Rules of Royalty, it felt the writing matured with less simple sentences, but what lacked in simplicity was presented in the plot, how "quickly" Grams changed her mind that Erik is allowed to date Jamie, even though she never really says he couldn't, or how little both Rebecca and Mike (Jamie's parents) played a role in the story, or how the "odd" dynamic of Maria/Tomas being very okay with Jamie (an offspring that was made out of wedlock). The little things within the main plot could have developed a bit more, to add more structure to the whole story, but it felt the driving focus was gay rights and a romantic interest between two princes.
I'm not saying the story is bad, but I would have LOVED more complexity with the story. Compared to the author's freshmen book, it's a lot better and could have been flushed out a bit more to have more substance, rather than a laser-focus theme.
The Love Interest was one of the books I read when I started this reading journey five years ago. Because of that, if I see something from Cale Dietrich, I have no restraints not to pick it up.
The Rules of Royalty feels familiar to a royalty plot I've seen/heard about (maybe The Princess Bride, but I never watched the movie). Jamie Johnson, a seventeen-year-old, grew up in a somewhat nameless town, where his mom wasn't his biological mother, and did not know who his father was. His mother figure is actually his mom's best friend, who decided to adopt him after his biological mother passed away. When Jamie finally turned 17, his mom told him the actual truth about his life, that he was born into royalty, that his father was the king of Mitanor, and that he was invited to stay across the ocean for the summer, to get accustomed to his new life.
Where Erik Lindstrom came to place is, Jamie needs a quick crash course on how to act like a prince. But I guess the story ends up being that the teacher and the student falls for each other.
What I can remember from The Love Interest is the plot threw me into a loop, despite the fact on how the writing was. I recall that the writing was a bit too simple for a YA book and that I didn't take too long to finish the book. With The Rules of Royalty, it felt the writing matured with less simple sentences, but what lacked in simplicity was presented in the plot, how "quickly" Grams changed her mind that Erik is allowed to date Jamie, even though she never really says he couldn't, or how little both Rebecca and Mike (Jamie's parents) played a role in the story, or how the "odd" dynamic of Maria/Tomas being very okay with Jamie (an offspring that was made out of wedlock). The little things within the main plot could have developed a bit more, to add more structure to the whole story, but it felt the driving focus was gay rights and a romantic interest between two princes.
I'm not saying the story is bad, but I would have LOVED more complexity with the story. Compared to the author's freshmen book, it's a lot better and could have been flushed out a bit more to have more substance, rather than a laser-focus theme.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
What would you do if you found out that you were a member of a royal family? In "The Rules of Royalty," Jamie finds out about his truth on his 17th birthday. From there, his life is changed as he had the opportunity to go visit the royal family and country. With the help of another neighboring prince, Erik, Jamie learns about the ins and outs of being royal. Throughout the story, Jamie is also learning about himself and what parts he is and isn't willing to give up. Jamie seemed like such an endearing character. I enjoyed reading about his navigation of the royal family along with remaining a support for his friends back at home. As all teenagers do, there is some natural growing pains that occurred in the book, but Cale Dietrich shows how one can navigate through them. Overall I thought this book was a great read and I didn't want to put it down! I am still thinking about Jamie and his story's continuation now.
This was a light-hearted, fluffy YA book. An LGBTQ+ version of Princess Diaries, with obvious differences. I enjoyed it greatly for being exactly what it was: relatively simple and sweet. I’m not a fan of third act breakups, but it also made sense in the context of Erik needing to grow a backbone and stand up to his grandma (the queen).
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Cute, with decent writing and good narration, but the lack of stakes and tension just have me losing total interest.