Not my fave of hers but still cute. Having a little trouble coming up with anything to say because this is so solidly in the ‘just fine’ category in my mind, which is unusual for a Talia Hibbert. Usually if nothing else, her narrative voice pulls me through and gives the book a boost.
This book follows Cherry and Ruben. Cherry is working for a corporate academy school, and Ruben is a prince of a made up country I can’t remember the name of. He has a scholarship program for disadvantaged children and he’s visiting her work to see if partnering with her “school” would be a good fit (it wouldn’t, it’s a terrible school). Cherry doesn’t know who he really is. He really likes Cherry. They go out on a date that very lunchtime, then he asks her for dinner, too. “Dinner.” But before they can even make it up to her flat, they’re caught in an alley by paparazzi, and Ruben having a bad history with them, immediately lies and says that Cherry is his fiancé, so the paparazzi will leave them alone and destroy the photos (they have a deal with his brother the king). Cherry is not pleased, but she goes along, mostly because Ruben agrees to give her a shit ton of money. They will stay together for a year, she will come with him to his country and meet his family. Nobody is happy. You know, until they are.
I think what’s giving me the ‘meh’ feelings here is the that something I usually love, a mix of tones, didn’t fully work. The book was half princess fantasy, half tough stuff (domestic violence, homophobia/biphobia, fatphobia, racism) and criticisms of monarchy, but the two halves didn’t really blend together for me. Also, because I never developed an emotional attachment to either of these characters, or for their relationship, I was annoyed by all the sex scenes. I skipped all but one.
This was a fine time, occasionally cute and funny, and I’m glad I read it, but I won’t be re-reading and have already sold my copy.
[3.5 stars]
Read Harder Challenge 2023: Read a romance with bisexual representation.
