Then, one snowy night in Manhattan, the prince meets a dark haired beauty who doesn't bow down. Instead, she throws a pie in his face.
Nicholas wants to find out if she tastes as good as her pie, and this heir apparent is used to getting what he wants.
Dating a prince isn't what waitress Olivia Hammond ever imagined it would be.
There's a disapproving queen, a wildly inappropriate spare heir, relentless paparazzi, and brutal public scrutiny. While they've traded in horse drawn carriages for Rolls Royces, and haven't chopped anyone's head off lately, the royals are far from accepting of this commoner.
But to Olivia, Nicholas is worth it.
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“She has no idea who I am … Her ignorance is rather…thrilling. There are no expectations, no hidden agendas, no reasons to pretend – what she sees is what she gets. And all she sees is me.”
Royally Screwed was exactly what I needed this week. It was wildly fun and made me laugh constantly! I loved Olivia and her no-nonsense attitude. She would flirt and banter with Nicholas, but she didn’t put up with his nonsense, and I think that made him appreciate her even more in the end.
Nicholas and his brother Henry are genuinely good people who care deeply about their country and its inhabitants. There’s a war being fought in the background (not many details are given), but it impacts Henry in a significant way. There were a few darker threads woven into the story, which I wasn’t expecting, but they added so much depth to the characters. They felt more real because of it. Their pain and struggles—despite being royalty—were raw and honest. At one point, Nicholas mentions that they have to be men worth fighting for. They’re in a position to help people, so they need to do whatever they can to improve the lives of others.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Olivia and Nicholas. I don’t think she fully understood his position in life until she spent time with him in his country. There were no expectations surrounding what he could offer her—Olivia was simply happy with what they had and wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. I also appreciated that she wasn’t a catty girlfriend, even though she had moments of jealousy. I can only imagine the comments and scrutiny she faced just for being in a relationship with a prince.
This might be random, but I also loved Nicholas’s personal security team. They’re the kind of people I’d want to be friends with, and I’m really hoping the next book in the series focuses on one of them—and possibly Olivia’s sister. Fingers crossed!
The romantic scenes were definitely a highlight.
In the end, Royally Screwed kept a smile on my face and was a joy to listen to. The audiobook was absolutely perfect. The voices suited the characters so well and made their stories feel even more believable. Someone I follow was reading this recently, and I just want to say thank you—if I hadn’t seen it on your blog, I probably wouldn’t have started it when I did.
Warning: this book will make you crave pie, so you might want to have some nearby! Halfway through, I started making an apple crumble (not quite the same thing, but close), and I regret nothing.
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