The Princess Trap

“But he had this idea of falling in love that involved earthquakes and fanfare and, frankly, disaster. This all felt very normal. As if he’d been waiting his whole life to feel like this. To want someone like this.”I truly loved this. Mostly, it was just a joy to read, although there is abuse within the storyline so just be aware of that. The spark between Cherry and Ruben was amazing, the steam yes! Because damn Ruben. Ok. I see you. Whew. But honestly it was often the way they just worked so well together and that they often slipped into this enemies to lovers kind of vibe sometimes which was so much fun. the dynamic is fantastic and just thinking about it makes me smile so much. Some parts gripped my heart and squeezed. Which honestly is rude because hello I didn't agree to feels. For me, this whole book just worked so well and it was a joy to get lost in this world.Would have loved a Demi/Hans book. But there's still more characters I'm hoping get books.F*** Herald and Sophronia

Hooray - a book with a British heroine of colour! And one of the supporting characters is Muslim. Another is mentioned as being bisexual. But they 'just are' - accepted without causing issues in the story.Cherry is a stunning, voluptuous, confident, powerhouse of a young woman.OK, so she seems totally inappropriate for her HR job in a school...err...academy, but hey, it's fiction.Enter in damaged Prince Ruben. Of course, he's devastatingly attractive too. And from some little European island.At the start, I thought his character was going to be into BDSM, but it's more power play.Still, the few sex scenes are hot af!I really liked how Cherry was there to rescue the prince; the reverse 'damsel in distress'.There was good character development and plenty of action. I cared about what happened to the characters and sped through this book.Talking of speed, some aspects did feel a bit rushed. A little more time to expand on some points would've set this book at a 5*.What I really did appreciate was Cherry calling Ruben out on his errors. She was upset and he was made to know about it, but she asked why he'd acted that way to gain understanding. She showed empathy and compassion.Trigger warning: domestic violence/abuse.If you're after a fab, modern, sexy read, pick this book. Because who doesn't love a misunderstood guy trying to be better?

Loved it!

Cherry was just a normal girl getting her flirt on, hooking up with some charming sexiness after work, basically doing her thang. And then she gets interrupted cos it turns out her guys a prince.Ruben, just wants to flirt with a pretty girl and maybe go back to her place, but when they’re caught in a kiss he can’t afford yet ANOTHER scandal.Hans just wants Ruben to stop and think.Throw in the fake engagement trope and some sisterly love and we’ve got an adorable contemporary romance you’dEnjoy reading.I loved how it got straight into the plot (it was just what I needed) but the first reaction was too intense for a contemporary romance novel. I understand that it’s supposed to be a strong sexual attraction but it was just trying too hard!Absolutely loved the diversity. We got POC, different religions, LGBTQ, the whole shebang! Which was just so normal! I mean in my (pre-covid) daily life I interact with a range of people. Gay friends, friends with different beliefs and POC’s. And I think our main cast was quite natural. Even if the multiple mentions of the ‘sparkly hijab’ were a little overkill. The sentiment was certainly appreciated.I was also ON BOARD for the sisterly love. It was the most realistic thing ever.I will however, argue that it needs another round of serious edits. Some parts didn’t flow very well and there were quite a few grammatical errors in there too. Another thing that annoyed me was the use of punctuation in texts. There was a 4 word text with 2 full stops and a comma. Like she’s talking to her sis and in this context it’s okay to let the grammar go. But also it wasn’t always correctly used to begin with which kind of made it worse.All in all it was an enjoyable read with an extremely satisfying ending!

@taliahibbert was one of my favourite new to me authors of 2020. I read Get a Life, Chloe Brown and completely fell in love with her style, her characters and her stories. While waiting to hear if I’d received an ARC of the next book in the Brown Sisters series I downloaded The Princess Trap as part of my goal to read Talia’s back list. ⁣⁣This might be one of my favourite reads of the year so far... although now that I’m writing this review I’ve just finished Eve Brown and completely loved it. The story follows Cherry and Reuben. Cherry works in a school admin office where Reuben visits with his foundation. They have an immediate zing between them and Reuben’s pursuit of Cherry is immediate - certainly no faffing about! ⁣⁣This is a royal romance - Reuben is a prince - with a well written fake fiancée trope. You can expect lots of steamy scenes, angst, tension and genuine feelings. ⁣⁣Talia writes diverse characters who are so down to earth and real that they are easy to fall in love with. There is positive representation of marginalised groups in an honest and respectful way. I love the way her characters are written, they’ve got a great sense of humour, a great sense of their self and an understanding of who they are but above all that they are proud of who they are. ⁣⁣I cannot wait to read more of Talia’s books this year. What’s your favourite? What should I go to next? ⁣