Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Paper Princess by Erin Watt
Release Date - April 4, 2016

Publisher Website - Everafter Romance
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 370 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

I'am always in search of books that remind me of Gossip Girl. I want something that is just as sexy, just as debaucherous, just as fun as that television show was (at least in its early seasons). Plenty of books seem like they might have that combination of sexy chemistry, and delicious drama. Plenty of them also fail to deliver. Paper Princess, however, hits all the right notes.

Erin Watt, the pen name of Elle Kennedy and Jen Frederick, crafts a read that is, in one word, addictive. It is the type of story that would be right at home on the CW (or Freeform) network - a group of insanely beautifully teens behaving badly. This co-written book blends together seamlessly. I couldn't tell it was written by two different authors, which is always a sign of a successful co-write. Each of them used their strengths to create an highly entertaining, and tightly paced read.

This is a world of wealth, privilege, private schools, and personal drivers. This backdrop and setting fits perfectly with the story Erin Watt is weaving, and with the characters. It added texture to the story and gives it a heightened sense of drama. This story needs to be set in this particular world, because the environment has helped shaped who these characters are, for better and for worse. When an author nails the setting, the rest of the story often falls into place, and that is the case here.

The Reed brothers are all varying degrees of broken. They are all hot messes that make Chuck Bass look angelic. There is a reason that people say the Royals will ruin you, and each of the brothers should come with their own warning sign. There is something so captivating, and compelling about these broken characters, especially when an author allows them to walk that line between being able to be redeemed, and not. You may not like these characters sometimes, but you understand them and their choices. You see what made them who they are, and that is vastly more important than them being likeable.

Ella is a contradiction of sorts. She is shown as strong, yet fragile. She's street smart, and had to grow up much quicker than other people her age once she had to take care of herself. The authors have turned the typical 'fish out of water' story into something more. Ella is capable of holding her own in her new surroundings, but they allow her to be flawed in a way most characters like her are not. She's not innocent, and certainly isn't a damsel in distress.

A perfect poolside page turner whose ending all but demands you read the upcoming sequel. I, personally, am glad I don't have that long to wait to continue the story of the infamous Royal brothers and the women who dare to love them. If you miss Gossip Girl, or are looking for something fun to read at the beach this summer I highly recommend picking this one up. Just be warned ... it'll ruin you.