This is very much The Selection but with vampires; the plots are even really similar down to a lot of the same details and plot elements. The major change to the similarities in plot (aside from the vampire thing) is that Gwyn, unlike America, has no lingering love interest back home, so there's no love triangle presented as an obstacle to Gwyn and Dallas having a relationship.

Like in The Selection, we have the United States remade after war where a royal family has sprung up and for political reasons, the prince's bride will come from the settlements to help appease relations between "the Northerners" (the vampires) and "the settlers" (humans) that's broadcast on TV with girls from all the various settlements having girls chosen as potential brides. Although it's not widely known, there is some rumors about the royal family and Gwyn is quickly made aware of their truth the night she arrives and her new friend, Eve, is attacked by the queen. Although Gwyn wants to win for her family's sake (and is very pressured by her mother) and she finds the prince strangely kind and amiable, she remains hesitant about vampires and when rebels attack the palace, she finds herself in a fit of turmoil from trying to understand the politics and reality of war and who amongst everyone is truly a monster and what her heart truly wants.

I will say that this book doesn't focus all that much on the inner conflict of the girls or on the television aspect, preferring instead to stay mostly on Gwyn and her interactions with the prince and how she's handling the nature of vampires and everything political, like the fact that not all rebels are good and not all vampires are evil. I imagine Gwyn's brother and father will become an important plot point in future books and that we'll get a greater glimpse into things.

The world building, to me, was really scant. We're told a war has happened and that the Northerers reportedly "came down" and ended it to "save the settlements" but, what caused the war? Who were the sides involved? Where exactly is "the North"? Canada? I don't know if the author assumed we'd just sort of fill in the blanks or if the lack of history and world building is to try to separate this from The Selection, seeing as it hits so many of the same plot points, but I feel like a paragraph giving us at least a rudimentary explanation about why the war happened and how the settlements happened and all that would have been nice before immediately pushing us into the bride-picking stuff. It wasn't as bad with The Selection because the world had ended long before America was around to know a different life, but Gwyn was a normal kid just a few years prior to the events of the book, so all this stuff seems... relevant. Like her brother and father are still gone, there's a new government regime, how did that HAPPEN just a handful of years prior?

And if there was an explanation it was literally 1 short, inconsequential sentence because I scanned through trying to find it and didn't. World building shouldn't boil down to so little.

I also feel like the blurb is misleading "aggressive competition is encourged" sounds like it would be cutthroat with girls attacking and framing other girls, but they like... take etiquette lessons and exchange a few barbed comments. The Selection was way more cutthroat in comparison. I was actually anticipating girls getting downright violence and deceptive and awful, but the worst thing that happens is Tamara goes "The prince told me he thinks you're annoying!"

Uhm... okay?

All in all, this is a simplistic, direct story that was produced from the idea of matching The Selection with vampires. It was a very easy read and the writing is decent, but it didn't do anything special for me. There's no emotional punch to it and it went a lot lighter and simpler on everything than I would have liked.

It's definitely a YA book though because there's just hand holding and talking and blushing but no mentions of lust or even a kiss between the leads. I think the most sexual thing was Dallas telling Gwyn that she smelled really appetizing and Gwyn thinking to herself that Dallas smelled really good, too.

I'll try out book #2 but my bar is pretty low. Like this is a serviceable YA book especially if The Selection was your jam and you like vampires, but it wasn't really anything engaging or special in my book. It's like a 2.5-3 I guess?

Also, the normal price for this title is, again, ridiculous. This is a 99 cent read. Borrow it or wait for a sale or look for a different read. It's barely 200 pages and 7% of the book is just a sample of the next book. $4 USD is absolutely overpriced.

I recieved an ARC copy of this title from NetGalley and I borrowed a finalized copy from Amazon via Kindle Unlimited but none of this affects my opinion for better or worse

Disappeared before I could download so I was never allowed the opportunity to even read the book. Disappointing!

This book is basically The Selection by Kiera Cass, but with vampires. I really tried to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it. Personally I found the characters boring and flat.
But all in all it was a easy fluffy read and I might pick up the second book.

I love vampire stories and that was what drew me in, but Iḿ glas I requested this story because I really liked it.
I voluntarily reviewed an Reader Copy of this book which I received through Netgalley.

This was a fast paced guilty pleasure read. It reminded me of the Selection series, but with vampires. The writing style was easy to follow and the plot lines seem to weave together fluently. I would like to see Gwyn mature a little more in the next books, as I felt she made some really stupid decisions in this book. I liked how the romance has started between Gwyn and Dallas, and would like to see it heat up a little in book 2. It is very intriguing about her brother and Dad, and I am interested to see if they are part of the Rebels. I really enjoyed this introduction to the series and will read on to see what happens.

This was unexpected...

I'm honestly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I've been looking for something like The Selection asfter I've had my fix of that and MAYBE this is it?

Going to have to read the next one now!

This is a YA paranormal book., and it's first in the series. Based on the description, I had high hopes. However, it didn't quite match up to them. Some characters were likeable enough, while others were just annoying. It's a relatively quick read. If you're a fan of vampire stories, you may enjoy this one. I didn't find it to match up to the quality of others I've read, however. It's not all that original, as there are similarities to "The Selection."

This review was posted on Goodreads and Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary from NetGalley, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

I absolutely loved this book! SO different to what I expected but in a good way! If you're a fan of The Selection series I would highly recommend buying yourself a copy of this book.I've been dying for another book featuring Vampires and the supernatural world and I think this series is it!

This is a fluffy and fun cotton candy read.

It's a mix between The Bachelor and every modern pretty people vampire movie ever.

Don't expect anything too serious. And try to get over our vampire bachelor's name (seriously, it's more cowboy than bloodsucker), but if you need something light and fun, you should enjoy this.

Heck, as soon as I finished it, I downloaded the next two and finished the whole thing in a night!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I absolutely loved The Pageant! Dallas is an intriguing male lead and I was rooting gor him more that Gwyn. Gwyn was a great female lead and i love that she has the room to grow in her character development. Shes a bit bratty in this first installment but thats clearly intentional. I would have loved for her and Dallas to have had a bit more of a physical romance but I loved the tension building between the two and I cannot wait to read the next book.
Leigh Walker managed to get the right level of those first stirrings of young love, danger and intrigue. I loved it!

The Pageant was fast paced, easy to read, and always exciting. I love Leigh Walker and her books are always a great way to spend the holiday.

Leigh Walker's style of writing is fun and easy to read. I read this book in less than 24 hours because it's exciting and always kept me intrigued. 

Gwyneth West was a character full of contradictions. She was rebellious yet delicate. She is strong and unrelenting in her beliefs. Although at some moments her actions frustrated me, all humans make mistakes and of course, characters are humans too. 

I loved the Dark Prince's character. He is kind, protective and the handsome factor doesn't hurt. The vampire aspect of this book was really intriguing as I never know just what an author is going to bring to the table but I really was interested in the way that Leigh Walker portrayed vampires. Of course, this book was only the first in the series so there are lots of aspects that were hinted at that will likely play a major role in the next few books. 

I enjoyed this book and always love a quick, easy read from Leigh Walker.

I had such high hopes for this book. It has good reviews and ratings on Goodreads, it was compared to ‘the selection’ one of my favourite series, and it sounded like an interesting paranormal romance, a genre I used to love but haven’t visited in a while. So I was looking forward to this. But I was in for a big disappointment.
The book opens with the protagonist Gwyn and her friend remarking on Gwyn’s outfit for one of their friend’s marriage. Her friend telling her it was a little too revealing to wear in this situation (even though later on Gwyn refuses to wear a revealing dress when it’s asked of her saying that it’s ‘not her style’). It appears that the friend is going through an arranged marriage to someone we hardly know. But we never really find out why, or revisit this for the rest of the book. So I found it a really strange opener that to be honest, set the tone for the rest of the book.
I did like the world building, the society and the set up of the poverty that Gwyn and her family are facing. But this was contrasted later with Gwyn doing everything she could to throw away her one chance of getting out of this poverty stricken life her family and friends are forced to live in. She never once thought that if she wins the competition (the prize being she can marry the prince and one day become queen), she would have a say in changing all this, and improving everyone’s lives, not just her own.
At first I got excited, when she set up the book a little like the selection, and the first section of the book was actually okay to read. But as soon as she reached the palace for the start of the competition that’s when this book really started to go downhill.
The only part of this book that I liked is the society and the idea that the poverty is tying a lot of the girls to the competition to save their families and represent their sectors. But that’s hardly mentioned as a motivation again for the rest of the book, and Gwyn never really tries to get to know the other girls, who she should try and make friends with considering one day she’ll be ruling over them and their families and friends if she was to win this (which I assume she does later on in the sequels or otherwise she wouldn’t be our protagonist). Alliances are an important part of ruling, and Gwyn made more enemies than friends. Most probably because she wasn’t really a likable character at all.
Before Gwyn though came Eve, the other competitor from Gwyn’s sector four (50 in all, two from each sector). Oh my. I wanted to slap her. She was just so mouthy and rude that it was obvious that she was going to land herself in trouble. The author went a little over the top in setting that up as a plot device.
Then there’s Gwyn. she’s just so needy, it drove me insane. Never once did she have a nice conversation with Dallas (the prince) without demanding stuff from him. And he was actually likable, he seemed genuine and kind. But Gwyn always wanted something from him, never to actually ask how he is, or talk to him. It was all a little one sided, needy and selfish to be honest. But she is also really annoying and very gullible as well as having literally no common sense what’s so ever. It’s mentioned more than once that she had lived a ‘sheltered life’ but you’d think her years living in poverty would have changed that? apparently not. She constantly had things explained to her, and she was given rules to follow to keep her safe. But she constantly ignored the explanations, instead whining about how she can’t trust the prince (when there was so much reason for her to trust him), and she ignored all the safety plans throwing herself into danger more than once and having to be rescued. She’s a damsel in distress, who created all her own distress. What’s with that!? She also has no sense what-so-ever and, even though she believes nothing the prince tells her, instead believes everything someone else tells her later on in the book causing her to put herself in the most danger she’d faced yet, when their real intentions were so obvious for the reader and you just wanted to slap her and tell her to stop being so stupidly gullible (unless it came to the prince, where she was completely uptight and disbelieving, practically calling him a liar every three seconds). She would be such a terrible choice for a princess. I was shouting at my kindle trying to tell Dallas that Gwyn would the worst choice as princess in the history of choices. She has no tact, disbelieves everything he tells her, but believes the enemy, and she constantly puts herself in danger. Her -only- friend Shaye would be a much better choice (and better as a protagonist too to be honest) as she has poise, grace and a sense of humour.
Whoever compared this to the selection was very, very wrong. Gwyn has nothing on America, and although I liked Dallas, he has nothing on my lovely Maxon. It’s been compared to twilight too, and in it’s own ways, twilight is even better than this. At least I feel like Bella and Edward should maybe be together, where to me Dallas and Gwyn seem like a terrible match. I didn’t even really have any ships or emotional involvement in this book. At least I had a little when I first read twilight. It’s also been compared to vampire academy…. BUT NO! Rose is a badass, and she’s awesome, and her chemistry with Dimitri is off the charts! But Gwyn and Dallas had nothing. It felt cold to me. Shallow. Literally the only thing I can think of to compare this to is Love Island, and even that has more drama and some real romance.
I guess I could also compare this to Olympian challenger too, purely for the fact that the protagonist in that and Gwyn might get on. They both need to be slapped out of their whining and needy attitudes.
But here’s the reason that my rating dropped from the two stars I was still going to give it (as per my review of Olympian Challenger, as this book is on par with that). Walker used the term ‘spastic’. She used it to describe Gwyn’s hormones playing up around the prince, but even so, that term is derogatory especially used in that way. So I couldn’t give this book anything over one star after that.
Of course this is just my opinion on the book, and a lot of others seemed to have enjoyed it on Goodreads, so I urge you to make your own mind up about it. But boy did I want to slap some of the characters in this.

I received a copy of this for a fair and honest review. I went into this thinking on thing and it was going to be something like most pageant stories. It was not like that at all. There always seems to be something going on in the palace. I had my doubts about the prince. He was not like what I assumed he would be and that is a good thing. I have to say my favorite character is Eve. I am still trying to figure out if I like Gwyn. She is a little all over the place and very much ruled by her emotional that gets her into trouble at times. I am wanting to read the next one. It ends on a sharp cliffhanger. Grrr....

The Pageant by Leigh Walker is YA, Paranormal, Romance and the first in The Vampire Royals series.
After the wars, the world as Gwyn knows it has completely flipped. Once rich and well-off, Gwyn and her family are now barely getting by and find themselves selling their more expensive items to afford the basics. A mysterious family is now ruling over the lands. Rumored to be vampires, Gwyn doesn’t know what to believe just that she must do whatever it takes to care for her family. When a pageant is announced and Gwyn is amongst the handpicked to be a contestant, she has no choice but to participate. The prize? A marriage to the handsome, mysterious prince of the royal family. Thrust into a competition she’s not even sure she even wants to win, Gwyn must learn how to survive this new world and how to survive her fellow competitors.
The Pageant was a quick, easy read that I finished in one sitting. Some characters I liked (hello, Dallas) and unfortunately some I did not like as much (Gwyn, honey, please, please, please stop with your impulsive nonsense). While I found the plot to be exciting, I feel like the author could have done a lot more with this. It felt a bit rushed in parts and I wish we could have gotten a bit more details. I rated this 3 stars because I didn’t love it nor hate it. I will be reading the next book in the series because with that ending, how could I not?

This book was a very quick read (a few hours to complete). It was reminiscent of Twilight, but not just because of the vampire storyline. The romance developing between the main characters does have some sexual tension/curiosity around "turning" a human. All in all, I enjoyed this as a quick fantasy escape read, but I wish that there were more unique plot points that defined this story beyond pageant/royal/impoverished background/defying the odds romance. Also, the prince kept using the phrase, "heads will roll".

Vampire Royals 1 is a great addition to the paranormal genre. I won't spoil the premise but I do enjoy the authors effort to create a unique world and the perspectives presented by the main characters. Was not prepared for the ending and its a great leadup to Book 2 which I am promptly adding to my must read list. I highly recommend Vampire Royals as a great nighttime and summer read.

I recived an ARC from netgalley for my honest opinion.

Did you like The Selection by Kiera Cass? You would most likely like this book too then. I found the book interesting and I was a bit surprised by the portrayal of the vampires as well as how the people in the world now lived but all in all it was an enjoyable read.
The romance wasn't all that gripping right now, but I assume it will develop further in the next book(s?).
All in all, I'd read this one again and when I'm finished with my way too long TBR I'd pick the next books in this series up.

Three years ago, Gwyn's country was conquered by an army from the North. Her father and older brother are missing and her family, once wealthy, is on the verge of starvation. Now the new King and Queen are about the host a contest: girls from across the country will be invited to the palace to compete for the hand of the crown prince. Although Gwyn doesn't want to be a princess for the invading regime, she knows this might be the only opportunity to keep her family alive. What Gwyn didn't expect was Prince Dallas Black, kind, charming and ... oh yeah, a vampire.

While entertaining and well-paced, this book felt a little too much like a lighter version Kiera Cass's The Selection. Gwyn is well developed but since she makes no effort to interact with the other contests, they all fall flat. If you are looking for a quick summer read, check out The Pagent, but I warn you, the cliffhanger is deadly.

Fan's of Twilight will love this series. This book held my attention from the first page to the last, and I can't wait to read more novels from Leigh Walker.

First of all I loved this book so much I bought the second book after reading the first 4 chapters.... That being said, if you are a fan of The Selection by Kiera Cass, and Twilight/Vampire Diaries, this is the book for you. It is basically those two books put together, but loving those things made this book just so entertaining for me. I couldn't put it down. Now I have to say, the writing wasn't spectacular, there was more description in the clothes and smells than in the actually people or landscapes, however, that does leave you to your imagination a bit more. I really can't think of much more than that to say that I disliked, this was a very enjoyable summer read, and I would recommend, and will pick up other books by this author in the future.