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A review by danireadsbooks1
His True Queen by Jodi Ellen Malpas
4.0
3.75 Cause it’s entertaining as hell
The conclusion to a novel I in no way expected to be so entertaining, I thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion and the message it sends: choose the path in life that’s right for you.
Trigger warnings: Familial neglect; familial betrayal; harassment; assault;
Quick Synopsis: The conclusion to the first part of this duet -- The Controversial Princess -- this second novel follows Adelaide’s journey navigating being queen, dealing with her father and brother’s death, maintaining a relationship with a man she can’t technically be with, and trying to figure out what she wants out of life.
What I liked:
-I really liked the message that the ending sends: choose your own destiny and don’t let others set it for you.
-The spice is spicy and I think even better than the first novel.
-I really enjoyed the dynamic Josh and Adelaide have. He is supportive but also pushes back enough to challenge her to do what is best for her, despite the challenges and hurdles they’ll have to overcome.
-The ending (I mean the epilogue) was fantastic and I loved how dramatic it was which fit with Josh’s acting career. Highly entertaining.
-Some of the scenes, while extremely unrealistic and idealistic, were entertaining as hell i.e. the Whitehouse dancing scene, when she smuggles Josh into the palace, etc.
-I liked the internal struggle we see Adelaide go through as she figures out how her new role is going to hinder her relationship with Josh and also how much she would have to deal with as Queen and how much Josh would have to give up.
What I struggled with:
-At the end, there is a twist with a lot of explanations involving various characters that I just could not keep straight no matter how hard I tried. I could go back and try to understand but I probably won’t. I’d need a diagram.
-Some of the dialogue was incredibly cheesy. I loved Josh’s snark but Adelide lost her snark throughout the novel and I missed it.
-Some of the scenes I was just puzzled and some of the things that happened I just question why. Like the bar scene? Why there and not in a private room? Why did she loose her tiara what was the purpose of that?
-It could’ve been cut by at least 100 pages. This a long book (450 pages) which I expect for maybe a fantasy for for a contemporary romance where I have already put in 300 pages for the first book, this was a lot and not all of it was necessary.
-I’ll be honest: half of the conversations these two have are redundant. They have the same conversation at least 4 times throughout the novel.
-If you’re going with a story about the Princess of England, just go for it. Use Buckingham Palace, use Kensington Palace, use Windsor Castle, don’t change the names. It made it gimmicky.
-This is minor but Ronald Reagan Airport in Virginia is a National Airport, not an International Airport so Adeline would've had to fly into Dulles airport which is like 12 miles outside of Washington, D.C. and is the nearest International Airport. Also I HIGHLY doubt the Queen of freaking England would've flown British Airways.
It was entertaining and I’ll give it that. I enjoyed the read, especially after the first 150 pages or so.
The conclusion to a novel I in no way expected to be so entertaining, I thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion and the message it sends: choose the path in life that’s right for you.
Trigger warnings: Familial neglect; familial betrayal; harassment; assault;
Quick Synopsis: The conclusion to the first part of this duet -- The Controversial Princess -- this second novel follows Adelaide’s journey navigating being queen, dealing with her father and brother’s death, maintaining a relationship with a man she can’t technically be with, and trying to figure out what she wants out of life.
What I liked:
-I really liked the message that the ending sends: choose your own destiny and don’t let others set it for you.
-The spice is spicy and I think even better than the first novel.
-I really enjoyed the dynamic Josh and Adelaide have. He is supportive but also pushes back enough to challenge her to do what is best for her, despite the challenges and hurdles they’ll have to overcome.
-The ending (I mean the epilogue) was fantastic and I loved how dramatic it was which fit with Josh’s acting career. Highly entertaining.
-Some of the scenes, while extremely unrealistic and idealistic, were entertaining as hell i.e. the Whitehouse dancing scene, when she smuggles Josh into the palace, etc.
-I liked the internal struggle we see Adelaide go through as she figures out how her new role is going to hinder her relationship with Josh and also how much she would have to deal with as Queen and how much Josh would have to give up.
What I struggled with:
-At the end, there is a twist with a lot of explanations involving various characters that I just could not keep straight no matter how hard I tried. I could go back and try to understand but I probably won’t. I’d need a diagram.
-Some of the dialogue was incredibly cheesy. I loved Josh’s snark but Adelide lost her snark throughout the novel and I missed it.
-Some of the scenes I was just puzzled and some of the things that happened I just question why. Like the bar scene? Why there and not in a private room? Why did she loose her tiara what was the purpose of that?
-It could’ve been cut by at least 100 pages. This a long book (450 pages) which I expect for maybe a fantasy for for a contemporary romance where I have already put in 300 pages for the first book, this was a lot and not all of it was necessary.
-I’ll be honest: half of the conversations these two have are redundant. They have the same conversation at least 4 times throughout the novel.
-If you’re going with a story about the Princess of England, just go for it. Use Buckingham Palace, use Kensington Palace, use Windsor Castle, don’t change the names. It made it gimmicky.
-This is minor but Ronald Reagan Airport in Virginia is a National Airport, not an International Airport so Adeline would've had to fly into Dulles airport which is like 12 miles outside of Washington, D.C. and is the nearest International Airport. Also I HIGHLY doubt the Queen of freaking England would've flown British Airways.
It was entertaining and I’ll give it that. I enjoyed the read, especially after the first 150 pages or so.