Take a photo of a barcode or cover
quixoticreads 's review for:
Ruthless Princess
by Rachel Van Dyken
The Laughing Listener
May 2020
Format: eBook
I was graciously given a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
Story Rating: 4 Stars
Did anyone order some intensely angsty drama? Because it’s being served PIPING HOT TODAY MY FRIENDS. Having never read the previous Eagle Elite books (which definitely isn’t required for Mafia Royals), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this. Being a mafia romance, obviously I knew some craziness would be in my future, but DAYUM. I was not prepared for the wild ride this book took me on and I mean that in the best possible way.
First of all, I really do feel like it’s important to read the short prequel novella [b:Royal Bully|52244660|Royal Bully (Mafia Royals, #0.5)|Rachel Van Dyken|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583801894l/52244660._SY75_.jpg|77334824] before diving into this, especially if you’re like me and haven’t read Eagle Elite. You could probably get by fine if you really wanted to dive straight into this book (honestly, who could blame you?), but it really helped me get a good feel for the characters and mafia hierarchy. Plus, the ending of the novella sets up the feud between Junior and Serena, which plays an essential role in this story.
Reading the novella gave me a small taste of how awesome these characters would be, but oh man, they were so much better than I could have hoped. Seeing them all bicker with each other one second and then get fiercely protective the next was great. At one point Serena stabs Junior in the leg with a knife during class, they throw down on the school’s front lawn (first blood wins), and then they all argue over who steals the bread rolls at dinner. I’m 100% ride or die for this family now. BLOOD IN, NO OUT.
I’m so excited to see the other characters get a spotlight in the future books!! I’M LOOKING AT YOU BREAKER.
And let’s not forget the actual story because wheeeeeeew, WHAT A RIDE. During the first few chapters I thought I knew exactly where this book was going to go, but WOW WHAT A CLOWN.
ME:
There were so many twists that I didn’t see coming at all and I loved it! Both Junior and Serena are perfect and I liked watching their relationship progress over the book, but by the end I was completely hooked by this mafia family and I NEED to know what happens to them. Admittedly, I did kind of feel like there were a few deeper histories at play that I didn’t completely understand since I haven’t read the previous series. There was a very intense hatred towards the De Lange family that I never fully got a handle on. Now I’m just dying to go back and read all the other books in the universe because I need MORE.
FINAL WORD
This book was craziness and I mean that as a compliment. If you don’t mind some violence with your romance, this is definitely for you. But remember, BLOOD IN, NO OUT.
#0.5 ↦ [b:Royal Bully|52244660|Royal Bully (Mafia Royals, #0.5)|Rachel Van Dyken|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583801894l/52244660._SY75_.jpg|77334824] ↦ ✦✦✦✧✧
#1 ↦ Ruthless Princess ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Scandalous Prince|52060336|Scandalous Prince|Rachel Van Dyken|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583273827l/52060336._SY75_.jpg|76815310] ↦ ????
#3 ↦ ???????? ↦ ????