REVIEW: Paper Princess by Erin Watt

OUR REVIEW!

Shel: Let me just be real here. I saw that this novel was being released and I was so curious...and slammed at work, slammed with blog reviews, slammed with house stuff...just crazy busy, so I resisted the urge to buy it and read it. I resisted when I saw all of my favorite bloggers rave. I resisted when Court said she was going to buy it. I resisted when a favorite author was all YOU HAVE TO READ IT. I was super busy. I AM STILL super busy. Court: (She is! We are) Shel: But then Court read it and told me that she'd beat my ass if I didn't read it RIGHT NOW DAMMIT. I'm serious. She told me this blog was OVER if I didn't read it....or at least that's how it went down in my head...so I said fuckitall, I'll buy it and read it as a reward for grading a shit ton of papers. Court: GASP!!! Shel: And that's what I did. I graded. I read. I graded...I read. I read..and DIDNOTGRADE because I got totally sucked in and somehow decided that staying up late to grade papers was an okay trade off (WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!!). Moral of the story: I'm a complete wuss when it comes to a good story and will willingly sacrifice my mental health and sleep to see what's going to happen next. By the way, if you're one of those readers who has to know how this story ends, the joke is on you because this is part one of three and the next book doesn't come out until JULY. fml. Since I'm being honest, I'll also tell you that the cliffhanger isn't tooooo agonizing (or at least that's what I'm telling myself so that I don't fixate on how many months I have to wait to see what happens next). 

Court: So...for the record, I apparently have this weird obsession with stressing Shel out (she really doesn't, I just like to tease her) , needling her until she gives in to my demands. And this one. If I get something in my head, a book I want to read, it doesn't matter what I"m supposed to be doing...I can talk myself into justifying reading it. And I did. And I am honestly so glad. I loved it! I have a love of guilty pleasure novels such as this with sky high sexual tension and foreplay, but with a great plot and moving story surrounding that. I really felt for Ella in her struggles, and how strong she forces herself to be simply because she has no other alternatives. She hangs in there with the meanest of the mean girls, the truly meanest of the mean boys and all of the other shenanigans in between. I haven't told Shel yet, but OF COURSE I teared up. (I tend to do that a lot!) SO, that definitely makes it a great book in my book because I felt a lot of feels for these boys and girl. DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ALERT! 

Shel: Paper Princess is an absorbing read; it's very easy to get sucked in to the drama of it all. It's a total escape from the drudgery of the real world and it kinda reminds me of the nighttime soap operas my grandmother used to watch--with fewer 80's shoulder pads and less blue eye shadow--it's got intrigue, sexiness, hot bodies, snarky bitches, rich bitches (and assholes), a strong heroine, and more questions than there are answers. I loved it. (...and I'm sure I just dated myself with the 80's reference, haha, but I don't watch tv anymore and I haven't for a while so all the PLL and GG references have completely missed the boat with me). Anyway, I'm a known snob when it comes to reading teen fiction since I work with teens all day everyday and I typically hesitate when it comes to reading things that are going to feel like my work day, if that makes sense? I'm thrilled to say that this felt NOTHING like my job and I'm absolutely looking forward to reading the other books in this series. Let me also say that I wouldn't be disappointed if this series happened to have more than three books in it, for what it's worth. The dynamic between the Royal boys and Ella, between the people at school and Ella, and the people who either want to or have some sort of control over Ella is addictive to read and I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Court: Hahaha! I however AM a product of the PLL and GG generation so I LURVED it! And it was my big concern for Shel. I knew that she'd love it or hate it. Teenagers are hard for us, because I'm *ahem* finally a grown up I think and some of the things I used to enjoy for thousands of pages on end just aren't as appealing, and Shel like she said works with teenagers all day...so she isn't always feeling the angst. But...I don't know what it is about Erin Watt's writing, or the boys in these books but we loved the angst. Oh, I think I actually can think of TWO reasons to love Erin Watt (and I love these ladies!) and I just cannot wait for more of this series immediately. I KNOW, we've been purposefully vague about the story, but I think you seriously need to just jump in with both feet...and enjoy the ride! There almost aren't enough words for me to describe how much I loved it! I stayed up SO LATE reading it, and it was the bomb-dot-com...yep, I went there. 

Shel: Thanks, Court, for encouraging me to read it. Thanks also to the writing team who is Erin Watt--I look forward to reading all the things you write together. Court: *Curtsy* You're welcome. This one is sassy, sexy and seriously steps up the foreplay and gave me some serious nostalgia for when my husband and I were dating (TMI? SORRY!) but for reals y'all...All those hormones have to be good for something right? Wowza! 

BUY IT: http://amzn.to/23t2BWp

Want to know more? Read the synopsis below or check out their goodreads account.

Kindle Edition, 370 pages
Published April 4th 2016

Source: Purchased

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.