Royal Blood by Aimee Carter (Royal Blood book 1)

 

“As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, 17-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about keeping secrets.

But when she’s forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family, who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists, her identity is mysteriously revealed, and suddenly the world is dying to know every juicy lie the press prints about her.

After a fun night turns deadly and Evan becomes the primary suspect in a murder investigation, the escalating rumors and fallout threaten to tear her life apart. As she fights to uncover the truth about what happened, she discovers royal secrets that are even more scandalous than she imagined – secrets that could change the monarchy forever.

And her own may be next.” - taken from Goodreads.

All Evangeline Bright wants is to leave behind her boarding school and return to her mother. When her latest escapade at boarding school lands her in jail, her father’s representative decides to take Evan back to her father, the King of England. Definitely not welcomed by the royal family, it’s not long before her existence is leaked to the press. With few friendly faces in the palace, Evan finds herself as the prime suspect of the murder of Jasper Cunningham, the boy who befriended her and then attempted to take advantage of her at his party. Determined to clear her name and make her way in the palace, can Evan discover the truth about Jasper’s death while finding her role in the royal family? A delightful read that I sailed through.

The good news is that there will be two more books in the Royal Blood series.

Visit Aimee Carter’s website.

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon (Dimple and Rishi book 3)

 

SPOILER ALERT! This is a companion story that takes place after There’s Something About Sweetie. While it’s not necessary to read the previous book first, I wouldn’t want to spoil any of the details for you. 

“Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.

Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady.

Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they'll never forget.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I enjoyed Pinky and Samir’s story who we first meet in There’s Something About Sweetie. This book is your typical fake boyfriend troupe but it really works well in this story. Both of our characters grew over the course of the summer. Unfortunately for fans of the previous books, only Ashish has the briefest of mentions at the beginning and end of the story. I hope that the author writes an epilogue of all six of these characters in the future to see how everyone turns out.

Visit Sandhya Menon’s website.