Recklessly Royal Review

Catherine has spent her life being the perfect princess. She’s kept her hands clean, her head down, and most importantly—men at arm’s length. After all, most men are after only one thing, and for Cathy there’s a lot more at stake than her bed; she has to worry about the fate of an entire nation. But at the rate she’s going, Cathy is afraid she’ll give the Virgin Queen a run for her money. She is tired of waiting for someone good enough to come along. She has a plan, and it all hinges on seducing the one man who seems utterly unimpressed by all things royal. The one man she is tempted by more than any other . . .

When David arrives at the royal wedding of his friend, the newly ordained Duchess Samantha Rousseau, he expected to feel uncomfortable and out of his element, but he wasn’t prepared to be targeted by Prince Alex’s gorgeous younger sister. With Cathy’s giant blue eyes, killer figure, and sense of humor, it won’t take long before he gives in. But when he finds out just how innocent the crown princess really is, will he play the part of knight in shining armor or the dashing rogue?

You need to know right off the bat that Recklessly Royal is the second book in this series so if you haven’t read Suddenly Royal, you may encounter some spoilers.  If you’re interested, my review for Suddenly Royal is here.

I adored the first book and couldn’t wait to read the sequel but as it turns out, Recklessly Royal is not a direct sequel, but more of a companion novel featuring Princess Catherine or Cathy, who is Alex’s younger sister.  Do not fear though, what I liked immediately about this book was that although it was Cathy’s story, we still got to find out what happened to Samantha and Alex.

The story is told from Cathy’s point of view.  She’s a good girl and has done exactly what has been expected of her since birth.  She knows how to be a princess but she doesn’t know how to relax as someone is always watching.  When it comes to men? That’s pretty much a no go area as she is afraid that guys will just use her to land a princess.  In a lot of ways, I felt sorry for Cathy because although she leads a very privileged life, it certainly has its downfalls.  Samantha and Alex are getting married and one of Sam’s friends, David, has been invited to the wedding.  There’s an instant mutual attraction (and one funny scene were Cathy gets unexpectedly drunk) and suddenly, Cathy feels like being more than a little reckless where David is concerned.

Recklessly Royal is a cute read and I enjoyed seeing things from Cathy’s point of view not just as a person, but as a princess.  Her relationship with David was more cute than hot but I liked it just the same.   The only thing that irked me was a decision they both made toward the end of the book which blatantly went against everything she was ever taught to believe and everything David was telling her.  It was something so stupid and I really thought Cathy was smarter than that.  I’m still not sure it was a massive oversight from the author or whether maybe it’s a set up for a future storyline but either way, it was a small omission that would have made all the difference.  I will say though that I read an advanced copy so perhaps this has been changed in the final copy, I have no idea.

If I’m honest, I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first book and I’ve been trying to figure out why ever since I finished reading it. Maybe it’s because the dashing prince isn’t there anymore because it’s the princess who’s narrating.  Regardless, I still liked the book and I will read the next book which will no doubt feature Alex and Cathy’s brother, Prince Max. 

Overall, Recklessly Royal is a cute story and I’m glad I got the chance to read it.


Recklessly Royal is published on 25th March, 2014.  To find out more about Nichole Chase and her books, please click here to visit her website.

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