Paper Princess (The Royals, #1)

by Erin Watt

[stacey_is_sassy]

One flick of the Royal wand and all her wishes came true…NOT!!!

Geez, Erin Watt, talk about crushing childhood dreams? As a child, I dreamed that a good and kind man would save me from my dreary life, place me in a castle and give me an endless supply of money. Paper Princess sure showed me the ugly side of wishes coming true. Turns out being rich, living in fancy castles and never having to work another day isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I didn’t see the nasty rich people looking down on me because I didn’t know what fork to use. I didn’t think I’d have to prove myself to be accepted. I though people with money got a free pass into society. Don’t you just hand over your gold/platinum/black credit card and the doors open? To think…I should have just been happy with what I had. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Ella Harper has had a HARD life. Her mother was a stripper who went from one boyfriend to the next but eventually died a painful death from cancer. Ella loved her mother, but she knows that her mother didn’t always do right by her. Her mum loved her so much, and while she did her best, it still wasn’t a great life for Ella. Ella worked three jobs to financially support her mother when she was sick and one of those jobs was stripping. Not full nude mind you, more dancing in skimpy outfits. When her mum died, instead of working to pay for medical bills, her money paid for a roof over her head and food in her belly. Ella is old before her time. She never met her father all she knew was his name was Steve and the watch she wears was his.

Imagine young Ella’s surprise when her world gets turned upside down. She’s kidnapped by a man…with a driver…who drives the car into the back of a PLANE…and tells her he is her deceased Dad’s best friend and he’s now her GUARDIAN. Hells bells…WOW!!

Now, young Ella’s been around the block a time or two. She’s not so keen to put her life in the hands of this supposed “Guardian”, Calum. But, he speaks a language that Ella understands. He negotiates with her to come and live with him. Hmmm…sounds a little too good to be true. Ella’s willing to take the gamble though because she’s had it rough, she thinks she can tough it out until she’s finished school.

So, young Ella moves into a castle. Unfortunately, she has to share her space with Calum’s 5 sons and they are not nice boys. These guys are big, brawny and EVIL. They go out of their way to make Ella’s life hell both at home and at school. But Ella’s made of sterner stuff.

I loved seeing Ella stand up to these guys and the nasty girls at school. Her strong will and determination see her overcome hurt, bullying and invasion of her privacy. Eventually, her “brothers” decide she’s not so bad and start to defend her when she’s targeted. There’s this one brother though that she can’t get out of her head. Talk about falling for the bad boy…

Reed Royal is the second oldest of Calum’s boys. He holds way too much power at the school his brothers and Ella attend. He knows the rules, and he knows what he can get away with…so breaks what he can and twists the rest to his favour. Seeing Ella, gets his heart pumping, but he doesn’t want attachments. He has plans. But he can’t get his “sister” out of his head.

Paper Princess is just part of the story. Those mean boys haven’t had the easy life that first impressions lead you to believe. Losing their mother and having a father who put business and his best friend first, leaves them questioning his change into Super Dad. It doesn’t help that Calum has a blonde bimbo living with them and he quite often displays his fondness for her body…IN FRONT OF THEM.

We are left with a horrible and wicked ending. I AM SO SUCKED IN!!! What was Reed thinking? Why would he go there? Will Ella recover from this?

I’m kind of glad that I jumped on the bandwagon late…I don’t have to wait as long as all the other suckers (sorry my lovely friends) have had to wait. I need to know…WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Oh…and by the way, I don’t like or read YA normally and I gave this 5 stars. I’m not converted as such, but I really did not think I could love a YA as much as I did this one.

To buy Paper Princess from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1UhodgM



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 -