Romance Schmomance
Written on Nov 17, 2018
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LOVEEEEE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!
Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.
He’s not handling it well.
Hoping to help her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him "space"—but while the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:
Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.
A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world's most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.
While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.
The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit... and her naughty sense of humor.
But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.
As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.
- ISBN13 9781682307762
- Publish Date 9 March 2017 (first published 21 February 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Diversion Books
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 276
- Language English
Reviews
LOVEEEEE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!
Leigha
Written on Feb 10, 2018
I'm torn on this novel. On one hand, this story stayed with me far longer than the first novel, Royally Screwed. On the other hand, it was a little icky reading about Prince Henry dating other women as he fell in love with Olivia. As you can probably guess from that statement, I am not a fan of reality dating TV shows. This aspect may not bother other people, but it did bother me.
I also had problems with Olivia's characterization. I am SO OVER the shy librarian stereotype. I'm a librarian, and I probably wouldn't get any work done if I was as painfully shy as Olivia. Hell, I probably would not have finished my Master's degree with that amount of shyness. I can let some of it go because a) her position is not necessarily driven by customer service and b) Wessco may not have the same job requirements America does. While it ultimately works for her characters arc - overcoming her shyness to be the future queen of Wessco - I'm looking forward to the day when librarians are no longer synonymous with "shy."
Ultimately I did enjoy reading Henry and Olivia's story, but I also had some reservations on loving this story. I'm hoping to read the next book in the series, Royally Endowed, sometime in the future.
tl;dr An enjoyable romance if you can get through the cringe worthy reality TV aspects of it.
Nicole Lynn
Written on Sep 11, 2017
Rowena
Written on Aug 24, 2017
Henry Pembrook is still reeling from the fact that his older brother abdicated the crown and he is now the heir to the throne of Wessco. He’s not handling things very well and there’s so much to learn and so much to do that he needs space to figure things out on his own. When he gets the Queen’s permission for some space, he kind of goes nuts. He plans a super hush-hush reality dating show to find himself a wife while hooking up with every eligible woman he can.
We met his heroine in the first book in this series and I was thrilled when I found out for sure that she was Henry’s girl. Why, you ask? Because she was adorable and bookish and nerdy and just…my kind of gal. She obviously has some stuff that she’s working through and I was mighty curious to find out what her deal was. Her name is Sarah and she’s one of Henry’s friend’s sisters.
Sarah accompanies her sister to be a part of Henry’s show and she’s supposed to serve as her sister’s moral compass. She’s supposed to pull her sister back when she’s trying to get too crazy. Penelope (the sister) is there to try to win Henry’s heart and capture his attention and wouldn’t you know that Henry’s attention is captured by someone who isn’t even on the show.
I adored how the friendship that sparked up between Henry and Sarah became so much more than either of them were expecting. I loved seeing how important they became to each other and I just adored their alone moments together. You really do see them grow individually and then together as the book progresses and I thought Emma Chase did a wonderful job of pulling the reader into their love story.
This was a fun contemporary romance with characters that really pulled at my heart strings. I adored the support system that both Henry and Sarah had in their family and friends. It was good to see my friends Nick and Olivia and Elle and Logan. They were a fun addition to an already fun book. I definitely recommend this book.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Mar 23, 2017
Even in Royally Screwed, I found Prince Henry to be a much more interesting character than his brother. Emma Chase has taken a side character from Royally Screwed and developed him into a protagonist. I love it when authors fully developed their minor characters into main characters. The end of Royally Screwed left Prince Henry in a surprising predicament. I’m glad that Chase allowed her readers to witness part of Henry’s journey from that point.
Henry’s romance with Sarah was definitely more insta-love than Nicholas and Olivia’s and a lot more cheesy. There wasn’t enough resistance to make Henry’s transformation seem plausible. But I still enjoyed him as an independent character and found him very funny.
However, I never quite warmed to Sarah. Her character didn’t feel as fully formed as Olivia’s, possibly because she wasn’t as relatable (being of noble birth). We are only ever told of Sarah’s family and don’t meet them as we did with Olivia. And this entire story takes place in one setting, the palace, and it was a setting that didn’t exactly bring out the best side of Sarah. She is always on Henry’s turf.
It felt like Sarah’s disabilities were used as convenient ways to make her stand out as an even more “unlikely” choice for Henry, when the emphasis on her shyness, love of books, and relationship inexperience already did that. In my opinion, Sarah’s abusive background and her disabilities should have been given more weight (further development) or left out altogether, not treated as convenient character “traits”. There’s a deepness there that wasn’t realized.
Again, I found myself drawn to a sibling in the story. In this case, it was Penelope, Sarah’s younger sister. Penelope’s character felt full of potential and I’m hoping Chase will explore it at some point. I know the next installment is centered around Olivia’s younger sister, but maybe there will be a Penelope story somewhere down the road.
Royally Matched was basically a naughtier version of Keira Cass’ The Selection. It was romantic, sexy, and funny, but it still didn’t pack the emotional punch of Royally Screwed. Even though Royally Matched has a slight case of the “second book slumps”, it’s still an easy and worthwhile read (or listen), especially for those committed to the series.
Narration review: What is there left to say about Andi Arndt and Shane East that I haven’t already said in my review for Royally Screwed? They were excellent. Although I did initially have slight problem removing Shane East as Prince Nicholas from my head in order to wrap it around Shane East as Prince Henry. But that was nothing that a few weeks in between installments didn’t fix. I think Shane may have out-edged Andi in this one, but only because Andi’s prolonged accent sounded slightly strained the more I listened. But honestly, I shouldn’t even complain. This production was very well done with two top narrators. ♣︎
leelu92
Written on Feb 23, 2017
thebookdisciple
Written on Feb 22, 2017
stacey_is_sassy
Written on Feb 21, 2017
Prince Henry found his match behind the scenes…
I’m sitting at my laptop trying to get my thoughts together and I’m struggling. See, I have a problem. I really enjoyed Royally Matched... for the most part. The problem is, there’s this one little part at the end that nearly broke my heart. It’s not cheating or anything dodgy like that, it was merely the main characters being smart and wise. BUT…at that particular moment, I didn’t want smart and wise, I wanted reckless devotion and crazy stupid love.
That kind of reckless devotion and crazy stupid love would have had me satisfied for 5 minutes but I would probably be questioning their longevity. So, on further deliberation, I've come to realise that Emma Chase has given me a fairytale story injected with real life, real problems and real love. It's romance that has been tested for strength and endurance which gives it the backbone that other modern day fairytale romances lack.
Henry is now the heir to the throne because of his big brother, Nicholas, deciding to break the rules. How dare Nicholas be happy and find love, leaving him with Granny Battleaxe, AKA The Queen, and…duh…duh…duuuuh… RESPONSIBILITIES.
What a dirty word for a man like Henry who’s the life of the party and chief mischief maker. All he wants is a little fun with a few drinks and a lovely lady sharing their time and talents with him. Henry is not coping well and if they don’t get off his back he may end up doing something reckless and stupid.
TOO LATE…
What a great idea for a Prince to be a reality TV star hosting 20 prospective Queens all vying for a place in his castle…what could possibly go wrong?
Lady Sarah is a little nerdy…the good kind of nerdy, in my opinion. She loves reading, wears glasses and works in a library. Now, Sarah is a good girl who leads a very structured life and is painfully shy. She doesn’t take many risks and her friends are limited to a few.
Sarah’s sister Penny is a wild child who tends to act recklessly. When Penny hears of an opportunity to be on TV and hang out with Prince Henry for a few weeks she jumps at the chance. Sarah being the good girl, offers to go as her assistant and keep her in line. As long as Sarah stays behind the scene…what could possibly go wrong?
Henry and Sarah have a very cute start to their friendship and the more time they spend together, the closer they get. The problems they face have a lot to do with Henry’s responsibilities and the image he created for himself. How can Sarah look past his partying and talent with the ladies? Will the nerdy girl have a chance with a Prince? Can the Prince convince the nerdy girl he can't see any other woman but her?
Royally Matched tells the story of two people who seem opposites but are actually perfectly matched. Both of them have faced heartache and pain that they still struggle to get past. As we get to know them we seem them grow and mature. Instead of hiding from their fears, they face them head on and become better people for it.
Really looking forward to more in this series.
I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -
Cocktails and Books
Written on Feb 6, 2017
Oh how I loved this book. Prince Henry turned out to be so much more than the playboy he wanted everyone to see. I couldn't wait to see how spectacularly he'd fall!
Who would have thought a royal "Bachelor" type show would be something that would force the Crown Prince to step up, but that's exactly what happened. Henry, who was somewhat bitter and reluctant to do what he needed to do now that he was Crown Prince, figured being the bad boy everyone thought he was would solve his problems. In one way it did, buying him time to fall in love with unassuming Sarah. But it also ended up forcing Henry to grow up. To become the man his brother knew would step up to one day be king. To prove to himself that he was worth all of it.
While this might sound very angsty, there was still quite of a bit of the Emma Chase flair for comedy. There was still some laugh out loud moments that had me falling for Henry each and every time. Henry did everything he could to escape the responsibility that he eventually found was his calling.
ROYALLY MATCHED was another great Emma Chase book. I laughed, got a little emotional and fell hard for future King Harry. This is definitely a book you need to pick up.