Review: Bad Princess by Julianna Keyes

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Julianna Keyes just doesn’t let me down. When she shared on Facebook that she had written a short story involving royalty well, color me one happy reader. I could not wait to read it. And guess what, it’s pretty darn sexy.

When Princess Elle Vida abdicates the throne so she can marry a man wholly unsuited for a princess, it is up to her younger sister, Brinley Cantrella of Estau, to step in and take over as the royal in waiting. No one is thrilled about this, least of all Brinley’s parents, the current royals. Brinley has always been labelled the “bad princess” because all her life, she seemed to do things that were just out of line with what a royal should be doing. Basically she is NOT the Duchess of Cambridge type (I had to get a little Kate Middleton thrown in here somehow). But what Brinley supposedly lacks as a princess she makes up for being a normal person who enjoys life, is working hard at college and… just so happens to kind of be in love with the man her sister was supposed to marry.

Thus begins the super quick courtship and marriage of Brinley to Prince Finn. It’s NOT how she wanted to make her connection with him. Little does Brinley realize just how much Finn has admired her throughout the years.

Julianna Keyes makes this shorter story work great, especially given how the constraints of a novella/short story format mimic quite well the shortness of Brinley and Finn’s courtship. It’s pretty much nonexistent for reasons you will understand as you read the book.

I really liked Brinley. She leapt off the pages (so to speak) for me. She is caring, kind, a bit unconventional perhaps, but where it counts, as a person who has empathy and compassion, she is as Princess-y as it is possible to be. I really liked that though she initially didn’t believe in herself, she finds that there are a few people rooting for her. This allows her to find her own strength and realize that maybe she hadn’t been properly trained but darn it, she still makes a great princess, a great potential ruler for Estau.

Finn is a quiet guy but he believes hardcore in Brinley. This is a man who has watched covertly from the shadows as a Brinley grew from a bright child to a smart and funny adult woman. He is impressed with how she handles her parents, how she deals with all the bad press about herself, and that he can find a bagel in her room any time of day.

Julianna Keyes succeeds greatly in making this story a great romance where the two leads grow together but also in showing Brinley taking off on her own, finally realizing that being a “bad princess” is not the end of the world and there is a lot of good she can and will do for her kingdom. I love a woman who realizes her own awesomeness!

Bad Princess is available today! If you like royal romances, add this one to your TBR pile immediately.

Bad Princess
by Julianna Keyes
Publication date: November 27th 2017
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
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Notorious for leaping off roofs, maiming foreign royals, and that twerking incident, Brinley Cantrella of Estau is nobody’s definition of a good princess. She’s fearless and bold, not good and gracious. And after a lifetime of being told she’s unfit to be queen, wearing the crown and helping to usher Estau into a new era is the one dream she’s never dared chase.

But when her older sister abdicates the throne, all Brinley has to do to inherit the role is not twerk, not maim anybody, and definitely not get caught fooling around topless with Prince Finn, her childhood crush, the only man she’s ever loved…and her sister’s former future husband.

Finn embodies the definition of good. Tall and handsome, serious and honorable, he always does the right thing—including agreeing to marry his ex’s sister to cover up this latest scandal. Brinley has fallen down stairs, broken teeth and broken bones, but this is the first time her heart has ever been broken. She now has the crown and the prince, and on the surface, life is good—but is being married to a man everyone swears could never love her back good enough?

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Julianna

Julianna Keyes is a Canadian writer who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. She’s been skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting, but nothing thrills—or terrifies—her as much as the blank page. She loves Chinese food, foreign languages, baseball and television, though not necessarily in that order, and writes sizzling stories with strong characters, plenty of conflict, and lots of making up.

Excerpts, giveaways, behind the scenes tomfoolery – sign up for her very sporadic newsletter: http://juliannakeyes.com/newsletter.html.