Reviewed by Liz (Bent Bookworm) on
Fluffy. A little bit funny, a lot ridiculous. Requires much more suspension of disbelief than my usual picks, but even still it was entertaining enough to finish. The title feels a bit misleading, as Thea never really seems to run away…she just sort of flounces off and disappears for a few days but doesn’t really go far. But anyway…
The plot is a bit…farfetched. Hence the required suspension of disbelief. The locale is obviously based on England, but the author has invented another country (I suppose so no one can say she’s dissing the actual British royal family?) and culture. Said country and culture is pretty much England…except England is also mentioned. Color me confused, for the first few chapters until I gave up trying to understand and just rolled with it. Then there is the issue of Princess Thea’s fiance’ abandoning her at the altar, and all the other super-secret-squirrel-stuff…and then there’s the other guy, who, yes, sounds hot, but in a very generic sense. Oh well, it was still cute.
I struggled a bit to really connect with and feel for the characters. Both Thea and Nick are just kind of…flat. Not in an annoying way, there just didn’t seem to be a lot there other than Nick’s oh-so-attractive-secretiveness about his past life and Thea’s terribly, exhausting choices between family duty and her heart’s desires. Oooookay, first world problems much? That is, at least, pointed out in the book. Thea needed a backbone. Nick needed to think more with his big head instead of his little one, all James Bond style.
The end was a little rushed, but it tied up all the loose ends nicely. All in all The Royal Runaway was a light, quick and easy read but without a whole lot of substance – which sometimes is exactly what is needed.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 3 August, 2018: Finished reading
- 3 August, 2018: Reviewed