Author: Emily Albright
Published: January 18, 2016
Publisher: Merit Press
Genre: YA Contemporary
Family can be complicated. Especially when skeletons from the past pop up unexpectedly. For American Evie Gray, finding out her deceased mother had a secret identity, and not one of the caped crusader variety, was quite the surprise. Evie's mom had a secret life before she was even born, one that involved tiaras.
In this modern fairytale, Evie is on a path to figure out who her mom really was, while discovering herself and what the future will hold. Charged with her late mother's letters, Evie embarks on a quest into her past. The first item on the list is to attend Oxford, her mom's alma mater. There, Evie stumbles upon a real life prince charming, Edmund Stuart the second prince of England, who is all too happy to be there to the counterpart to her damsel in distress.
Evie can't resist her growing attraction to Edmund as they spend more time together trying to unravel the clues her mother left behind. But when doubts arise as to whether or not Edmund could ever be with an untitled American, what really ends up unraveling is Evie's heart. When Evie uncovers all the facts about her mom's former life, she realizes her mom's past can open doors she never dreamed possible, doors that can help her be with Edmund. But, with everything now unveiled, Evie starts to crack under the pressure of new family responsibilities and the realization that he perfect prince may want her for all the wrong reasons.
In this modern fairytale, Evie is on a path to figure out who her mom really was, while discovering herself and what the future will hold. Charged with her late mother's letters, Evie embarks on a quest into her past. The first item on the list is to attend Oxford, her mom's alma mater. There, Evie stumbles upon a real life prince charming, Edmund Stuart the second prince of England, who is all too happy to be there to the counterpart to her damsel in distress.
Evie can't resist her growing attraction to Edmund as they spend more time together trying to unravel the clues her mother left behind. But when doubts arise as to whether or not Edmund could ever be with an untitled American, what really ends up unraveling is Evie's heart. When Evie uncovers all the facts about her mom's former life, she realizes her mom's past can open doors she never dreamed possible, doors that can help her be with Edmund. But, with everything now unveiled, Evie starts to crack under the pressure of new family responsibilities and the realization that he perfect prince may want her for all the wrong reasons.
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Lisamentary:
As you can tell from the description and the title itself, this book is obviously about royalty, love (triangle possibly?), and happily-ever-afters (hopefully). If you didn't know, one of my favorite series of all time is The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and this is strongly due to the royalty aspect because it just makes life that much more exciting. To a commoner like myself, being a princess and all that entails--balls, dressing up, traveling, and meeting people from all around the world--seems like a whole lot of fun. And marrying a prince? Isn't that nearly every girl's secret wish? (We can thank Disney for that.)
From all that, I expected the book to be great. Amazing. Freakin' fantastic. However, sadly, it is none of the above.
Evie, the main character, was not the most likable. This is another surprise. She likes books and is sassy and royal, but that just wasn't enough. Evie comes off as immature and quite full of herself. (She even refers to one character as MissBitchyBoobsInYourFace.) She's nineteen, but she definitely doesn't act her age. Also, Evie makes an attempt on Edmund despite knowing that he has a girlfriend, Jax. Edmund and Jax might not be serious, but she should at least have a little respect and not pounce on Edmund the first chance she has. Also, Evie's retorts to people she doesn't like aren't classy, and she has a bit a temper temper. None of these traits are endearing or fitting for a future. I don't know what Edmund sees in her.
As for Edmund, he is a much more likable character in comparison. He has a teasing manner that lightens up the mood with Evie around. He's a bit of a flirt, and some of his lines are even charming. Also, Edmund is smart, considerate (Exhibit A: He takes Evie on a tour of London. Exhibit B: He helps her with her mom's letters. Exhibit C: Her birthday. The Eiffel Tower. Indisputable.), and respectful. Another thing is that he is great with Evie's dad. That's the official seal of approval there, royal or not.
However, I hate how their romance is portrayed in the book as so forbidden and against royal protocol. That is, Edmund could never be with Evie because she isn't royal, but she actually is. Her being royal is beside the point, though, because once Edmund's parents found out, they seemed to fine with. Although, that may be because they ran a background check on Evie and already knew she's blue-blooded. Anyhow, this problem is so easily resolved, and it's made out to be this gigantic ordeal. For what? I don't understand.
Other than that, Edmund and Evie just do not have very much chemistry. Sure they love art history, but what else do they have in common. They never really connect on a deeper level than that because Evie is too scared to even tell Edmund that she is royal. They admit some deep, heartfelt secret to each other that would make them closer. Yes, they go on the quest, but I don't feel sparks igniting. No moment happened where their eyes met and we, as the readers, just know they're meant-to-be. And it doesn't even have to be in the cliché fashion, but nothing happened. They just fall in love through their love of art history. However, I don't understand how that translates to love for each other because it's their royal heritage that ties them together. Simply, Edmund and Evie are presented like friends, so it's hard to understand why they are portrayed as head-over-heels in love with each other.
Also, when they throw Preston in the mix, it is completely unnecessary. Evie uses him to try to get over Edmund/get Edmund jealous, and the only person that hurts in the end is Preston, who is actually nice.
To add more to the disappointment, the plot itself is okay. I like the aspect of how the secret is unraveled through her mom's letters, but other than that everything is too predictable. It didn't have it's own twist, making it easily forgettable in comparison to other books. Her mom's letter may be the only redeeming aspect because the romance and Evie's character herself throughout the novel are lackluster. In addition, the book is very slow in some parts, while it completely rushes the end. Everything happens so fast in her learning about her secret and she and Edmund getting together. Evie even wanted to quit Oxford and return to Seattle, but then changes her mind a 180 when Edmund meets her at the airport. It should be romantic, but the predictability ruins it all.
If you think about it, the title is very deceiving. It's called The Heir and the Spare, but the heir only has a brief appearance in the book. On an even bigger note, he's MARRIED. Only Edmund, the spare, was available for the taking. So yeah, what a lie the title is.
As you can tell, this book isn't my cup of tea. I am sorely disappointed. This book had so much potential, but it just couldn't deliver. Everything seems so on the surface, and nothing really dug deep for me to find meaning in this in any sense. I wouldn't recommend this book because believe me, there are much better royal reads out there.
Enjoy!
As you can tell from the description and the title itself, this book is obviously about royalty, love (triangle possibly?), and happily-ever-afters (hopefully). If you didn't know, one of my favorite series of all time is The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and this is strongly due to the royalty aspect because it just makes life that much more exciting. To a commoner like myself, being a princess and all that entails--balls, dressing up, traveling, and meeting people from all around the world--seems like a whole lot of fun. And marrying a prince? Isn't that nearly every girl's secret wish? (We can thank Disney for that.)
From all that, I expected the book to be great. Amazing. Freakin' fantastic. However, sadly, it is none of the above.
Evie, the main character, was not the most likable. This is another surprise. She likes books and is sassy and royal, but that just wasn't enough. Evie comes off as immature and quite full of herself. (She even refers to one character as MissBitchyBoobsInYourFace.) She's nineteen, but she definitely doesn't act her age. Also, Evie makes an attempt on Edmund despite knowing that he has a girlfriend, Jax. Edmund and Jax might not be serious, but she should at least have a little respect and not pounce on Edmund the first chance she has. Also, Evie's retorts to people she doesn't like aren't classy, and she has a bit a temper temper. None of these traits are endearing or fitting for a future. I don't know what Edmund sees in her.
As for Edmund, he is a much more likable character in comparison. He has a teasing manner that lightens up the mood with Evie around. He's a bit of a flirt, and some of his lines are even charming. Also, Edmund is smart, considerate (Exhibit A: He takes Evie on a tour of London. Exhibit B: He helps her with her mom's letters. Exhibit C: Her birthday. The Eiffel Tower. Indisputable.), and respectful. Another thing is that he is great with Evie's dad. That's the official seal of approval there, royal or not.
However, I hate how their romance is portrayed in the book as so forbidden and against royal protocol. That is, Edmund could never be with Evie because she isn't royal, but she actually is. Her being royal is beside the point, though, because once Edmund's parents found out, they seemed to fine with. Although, that may be because they ran a background check on Evie and already knew she's blue-blooded. Anyhow, this problem is so easily resolved, and it's made out to be this gigantic ordeal. For what? I don't understand.
Other than that, Edmund and Evie just do not have very much chemistry. Sure they love art history, but what else do they have in common. They never really connect on a deeper level than that because Evie is too scared to even tell Edmund that she is royal. They admit some deep, heartfelt secret to each other that would make them closer. Yes, they go on the quest, but I don't feel sparks igniting. No moment happened where their eyes met and we, as the readers, just know they're meant-to-be. And it doesn't even have to be in the cliché fashion, but nothing happened. They just fall in love through their love of art history. However, I don't understand how that translates to love for each other because it's their royal heritage that ties them together. Simply, Edmund and Evie are presented like friends, so it's hard to understand why they are portrayed as head-over-heels in love with each other.
Also, when they throw Preston in the mix, it is completely unnecessary. Evie uses him to try to get over Edmund/get Edmund jealous, and the only person that hurts in the end is Preston, who is actually nice.
To add more to the disappointment, the plot itself is okay. I like the aspect of how the secret is unraveled through her mom's letters, but other than that everything is too predictable. It didn't have it's own twist, making it easily forgettable in comparison to other books. Her mom's letter may be the only redeeming aspect because the romance and Evie's character herself throughout the novel are lackluster. In addition, the book is very slow in some parts, while it completely rushes the end. Everything happens so fast in her learning about her secret and she and Edmund getting together. Evie even wanted to quit Oxford and return to Seattle, but then changes her mind a 180 when Edmund meets her at the airport. It should be romantic, but the predictability ruins it all.
If you think about it, the title is very deceiving. It's called The Heir and the Spare, but the heir only has a brief appearance in the book. On an even bigger note, he's MARRIED. Only Edmund, the spare, was available for the taking. So yeah, what a lie the title is.
As you can tell, this book isn't my cup of tea. I am sorely disappointed. This book had so much potential, but it just couldn't deliver. Everything seems so on the surface, and nothing really dug deep for me to find meaning in this in any sense. I wouldn't recommend this book because believe me, there are much better royal reads out there.
Enjoy!
Rating:
Story: 4.7
Characters: 4.5
Enjoyment: 5
Overall:
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