 |
The Controversial Princess |
 |
Smoke & Mirrors #1 |
 |
Jodi Ellen Malpas |
 |
May 22nd 2018 |
| Her father is The King of England.
She is The Controversial Princess. Regarded as down to earth by the press and rebellious by The King, Princess Adeline refuses to bow to the royal expectations her title carries. She knows better than anyone that the united front of the royal family is nothing but smoke and mirrors – lies and secrets masked by power and privilege. She wants no part of it, and she will never surrender to The King’s demand to marry a man she does not love. But despite Adeline’s determination to retain her free will, she remains deeply unfulfilled, feeling caged and suffocated. That is until she meets Josh Jameson. Drawn in by his confidence, Adeline is soon captivated by the scandalously sexy American actor. His ability to penetrate her defences overwhelms her – his touch is pure fire, and his allure overpowering. Nothing has ever made her feel so alive in a world where she’s otherwise slowly drowning. However, while Josh may be Hollywood royalty, he’s not actual royalty, and Adeline knows The King and his advisors will do everything in their power to keep them apart. But Josh Jameson becomes the princess’s ultimate vice. And although she bows to no one, she bows to him. |
| This morning when I turned on the radio – the first song I heard was “Human” from Rag’n’Bone Man – and to be honest – it shocked me how well it fitted the book I just spend an allnighter with. When I finished my last read yesterday and went to check for my next book I noticed that I had a new arrival – I was gifted with “The Controversial Princess” (Smoke & Mirrors, #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas and I thought why not directly start … Well I can tell you it was a good and a bad idea – the bad part being that it was a Sunday and I needed to work on Monday.
If there ever was a perfect time to release this book at the moment than Ms. Malpas sure found it. I love the books by this author since I read This Man when it was released several years back so it was no question that I would at least love her writing style. But I have to admit when I read the blurb of this book I wasn’t to sure if the plot was for me. I am not even sure if there ever has been a book like this – I doubt it. On the other hand I usually do not read books with princesses and it is really only the unique way of writing that this author is able to get me to dive into a plot like that. Also I am trying to remember when I first heard about the book if I knew that it would be a duet – or if that came up later – not that it would have mattered – because I also trust her to be one of the few authors that I will start a series without all books being released. Well back to the issue of the music – so this song “human” really is the essence of this book for me. Adeline is such a contradiction. She knows what is expected of her – and she follows the rules ! … mostly ! …. Sometimes ? … well lets be honest … when she is forced to. Deep down I feel she would follow many of the rules if she had some room to breath but as this is always refused her reactions to that are only logical – rebellion in any way that is possible. So when I heard that song on the radio – it felt like Adeline. Not sure if Ms. Malpas listens to music when she is writing but I could imagine this song to be an inspiration for the character. Then there is Josh – I am not sure I can get a clear picture of him yet. And that is my only problem with this first part of the duet and the reason why I am at 4.5 Stars just now (I always reserve the right to change my mind when a series is complete). So about Josh – The whole story is in the beginning basically Adeline’s struggle with life. And believe me it IS a struggle because I feel deeply sorry for her. So when Josh enters the story he is like a beacon, he shouldn’t be there – yet he is, He is everything she can not have and maybe in the beginning that is the reason that he is all she wants. As the story moves on Adeline gets more desperate by the minute her life is not only a cage – it becomes a prison, the walls are closing in on her and her few ways to escape are shut down one after the other – and her desperation feels very real. Usually when I read books I am very connected to the male leads but in case of this book I felt truly connected to the Princess because even though Josh has a remarkable presence the plot doesn’t give the reader much of his intentions. He felt like the calm right in the middle of the storm without giving away anything of himself to the reader and maybe that was on purpose because he was like a quiet source of strength – while I grew more and more desperate alongside of Adeline. And while we are at that point – there are some very well written secondary characters in this plot – both in the good and bad way of the storyline. Believe me you are going to dislike some people very deeply. I know I did. Oh and – yeah true to Ms. Malpas wicked sense of ?shall I call it humor? … she placed some cruel twists and turns you will not see coming – (well that’s not entirely true because if you read books from her you know what you are in for – so no mercy for us fans) … Yes you are a cruel cruel Woman Ms. Malpas and I mean that in the most loving way ever. Because I am sitting here thinking about what I read and there really isn’t much that I can add to my review as that would add spoilers which I will under no circumstance give away. My thoughts on book one : Just let me say. If you think you know the story – forget about it. There is nothing familiar about this plot. And I officially want to state – that “the Lord” now has a Highness at this side in the bookshelf and this women really bows to no one. My hopes for book two : I want to see more of Josh to understand him better. And all the other things I hope for are too much of a spoiler so please just cross your fingers together with me because I know you will want the same things.
|
