Paper Princess (The Royals #1)

Edit 3-16-17:

Rating: 1 Star. I know I initially said no rating because it is not my normal genre, but forget that, this book was awful.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rating: No Rating (mostly because I do not think it is fair, when this is not a book I would typically read)

I know, I know. Fiction. And not even HISTORICAL FICTION. Just plain old trashy fiction disguised as YA when it is really not.

The whole time I was reading it I could not stop thinking how unbelievable it was. Not in a good way unbelievable, but in the literal, this is not actually believable. The whole thing where no one knows her mom has died because they moved around so much? Not going to happen, no matter how many times you've moved. I could not stand the female lead, or any of the Royals, except maybe Easton. He was a douche in the beginning too, but he became like this lovable dumb puppy once they started getting along.

Don't even get me started on Reed. I don't understand being attracted to someone who completely treats you so terribly. I mean, I probably did understand in my early twenties, but not any more.

The twins were just weird, and not even involved that much in the story.

Gideon just came in and out and was not much of a presence either, until the end when he told Ella to stay away from Reed. Big shocker about what happened when Ella saw Reed next *sarcasm*.

You might wonder why I even bothered with this one, as it was not in my typical genres. This is not meant in any way to offend anyone who loved the book. If you loved it, that's awesome and I am glad you found a book that worked for you. But I, on the other hand was painfully reminded of why I tend to stick to non-fiction. First and foremost, a lot of people did love it and when a fellow book blogger (Hey Candace!) had Tweeted about the book only being 99 cents, I jumped at it because, why not? And really, truly, I am so far behind on my Goodreads Challenge that quick fiction helps me get caught up. That's why I devoured Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars in a week over the summer, to help me catch up. Only this time, I am not 6 books behind, I am 32 books behind and in dire need of MORE fiction to help me not fail. I am far too competitive, even with myself, to fail my Goodreads Challenge this year.

One of my biggest issues in general is the fact that this is not a YA book and I feel like it is marketed that way because the characters are in high school. I feel like YA (can we just call this 'Teen'? Because seriously, that's really the range) is basically meant for 13-18 year olds. But this was far more adult than young. I definitely would not let my daughter read it at 15 or 16 for sure. There were some seriously rapey-like scenes and I was not down with that. No one is actually raped in the book, but there is a close call, and there are a few times when it is a very rapey-vibe, especially early on. 

The book ends on a cliffhanger that would imply epic proportions if it had not been predictable. I completely expected Reed to do what he did, just wasn't totally expecting it to be his dad's ex, the name of whom I can't recall at this moment. I am sure there are answers in book 2 and book 3, but I can' actually say I am inclined to find out. Though I do hope nothing bad happens to Easton with his little gambling problem. Seriously, big dumb adorable puppy ((much like how I refer to Gronk as such - he, (Rob Gronkowski), is a tight end for the Patriots, FYI for those unfamiliar)). I think he was the only character I actually liked, and it took a ways into the story for me to feel that way. If I do grab the other two, you can bet it will be for free or no more than 99 cents, and it will be to help me catch up on my 2016 Challenge.