Lady Caroline has watched one of her very best friends Eliza marry a real life Prince in a fairytale love story and wants the same for herself. She is is a vivacious and self assured young lady who goes after what she wants in life. She is fascinated by Prince Leopold and wants his attention. Prince Leopold does not want to be home being forced to adhere to the duties of the crown. He feels useless and just wants to go back to partying. He finds Lady Caroline annoyingly fascinating. The story has some very funny moments as Caro and Leo find themselves in some sticky situations and fiery arguments. This animosity soon turns to passion and a love that cannot be denied. They both find they have grown immensely which leads them to that great love they both needed.

Caroline Hawkes and Prince Leopold met long before her dearest friend and his brother wed, but clearly the introduction meant more to Caroline than it did to Leo. Caroline is used to being admired and pursued, so she can’t seem to accept that Leo not only doesn’t remember her, but isn’t interested and finds her to be annoying, conceited and ill mannered.

A royal prince in Alucia, Leo is the younger son and has never had any real responsibility, he is well liked, well received and welcome everywhere. But lately he has been discontented and bored, he enjoys his life in England, but wants more. While attending his brother’s wedding, his father tells him that he has arranged a political marriage for Leo and that he can return to England to button up his affairs and then return to Alucia by summer’s end to announce his betrothal. Leo is not happy with this turn of events, but will do his duty. He is preparing to return to England when he is approached by a man and told of a serious and concerning situation involving several young women from Wesloria (the neighboring country to Alucia) who have gone missing. The man askes Leo to look into it because he thinks the men involved are members of the upper echelons of society.

Caroline is miffed that Leo doesn’t remember her, it is unacceptable and she goes out of her way to make him acknowledge her. But it isn’t until they return to England that things between them begin to heat up. Leo is having a hard time with his “mission” thanks to gossip written about him in the Honeycutt Gazette – gossip supplied by Caroline. But even as his reputation is tanking, Leo doesn’t give up trying to save the women and bring the men responsible to justice. As Leo continues his investigation, he begins to rely on Caroline for help and they both begin to develop deeper feelings, but theirs is a love that can never be, or can it?

I have to admit, I didn’t like this book as much as the first one, it is a decent read, but I just never really felt the connection between Leo and Caroline. The book itself is well written and the “mystery” portion is well done and paced nicely, but unfortunately, the romance definitely took a backseat and didn’t develop at the same pace. The book does have a bit of witty dialogue, a hero who is misunderstood and underestimated, a very conceited, yet likeable heroine, warmish love scenes, cameos from previous characters, a decent mystery concerning slave trade and some surprising twists and turns that make an impossible HEA, possible. The incorrect title use that annoyed me in the first book is sadly still running rampage in this book and the romance leaves much to be desired – so for me, this was an “OK” read, nothing to get excited about, but still entertaining. This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a stand-alone title with no problem at all.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

I was a little lost at the beginning of the book because I hadn’t read the previous book in the series. However, after the story started moving I was able to figure out things. This is a stand alone book, but I would have enjoyed it more if I understood the backstory. I liked Caroline a bunch and she and Leo were fun together.

Julia London delivers a delicious frenemies-to-lovers romance in A Royal Kiss & Tell!

The second book in the Royal Wedding series follows Lady Caroline as she tries to capture the attention (and heart!) of Prince Leopold. Much to Caroline's disappointment, Leo acts as if he's never met Caroline and consistently rebuffs any of her attempts to engage him. Leo is used to dealing with women who respect his royal title and behave demurely, two things Caroline never does. She speaks her mind and never sugarcoats anything, which ultimately ends up being what draws Leo in. He's fascinated by such an outgoing young woman who's incredibly comfortable being the center of attention. But by the time Leo starts to realizing his growing feelings for Caroline, she's already set out to destroy his reputation through her best friend's gazette.

Julia London does an amazing job of building the chemistry and tension in Caroline and Leo's relationship. Their back and forth banter is incredible and makes their first kiss all the more enjoyable.

I also really appreciated the character exploration and growth for Caroline and Leo as both characters are quite self-centered when we first meet them. It's fascinating to watch them realize they've been behaving quite selfishly and set out to become better, less superficial people. I think this ultimately makes their fairytale ending more rewarding.

I will note that part of Leo's journey to become a better person involves him trying to save women from a human trafficking ring and this plotline might be difficult for some readers. I commend Julia London for tackling this difficult subject matter.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQN Books and Julia London for the digital ARC!

A Royal Kiss & Tell was a nice, quick historical romance and while Caroline was slightly annoying at first, I have to admit she grew on me. She's pretty and she knows it but she is looking for someone who will appreciate her for more than her looks. With that said, she is drawn to Prince Leopold but he only thinks of her as someone who has no respect for the rules as she doesn't address him appropriately and she speaks out of turn constantly.

Leopold grew on me as well. As a second son, he never had to worry about any expectations other than the fact that he eventually has to marry. Unexpectedly, he is pulled into an investigation that involves Alucia. Unfortunately for Leo, things take a turn for him and his reputation takes a hit and he now has to work with Caroline to get to the bottom of what is going on.

While I didn't read the first book of this series, I think it was fine. The first book is Leo's brother so the only gap I had was the detail in his brother and now sister-in-law's story. If you're looking for a quick and engaging read, consider checking this one out.

Women like to be remembered. That is my takeaway from this book! I was excited to read *A Royal Kiss & Tell* because I very much enjoyed the first book in this new series by Julia London. And thought there is a brief recap, I think readers will be more satisfied with their reading experience if they start at the beginning, too.

Light on heat, but heavy on character development, this book was a fun read and will appeal to people who are after a good story, but don't need a lot of graphic scenes to enjoy the romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Princess Plan and was looking forward to another book in the series. Unfortunately, A Royal Kiss and Tell was very disappointing for me, and it handled a sensitive issue very poorly. (content warnings for human trafficking / sex trafficking) This is Caroline and Leopolds story.

I had several problems with this book. The pacing is kind of weird. It begins at the wedding of the couple from book 1 and then has kind of a meandering plot. Well into the book, it suddenly introduces this subplot involving trafficked women. It was introduced in a weird way and the stories of these women who had been trafficked by political leaders and then often abused were used a plot device for the personal growth of the hero. And that felt very icky to me. If you want to tackle this very real issue, you need to humanize the victims as fully fleshed out characters rather than write them as props. I was very uncomfortable with how that topic was handled and how it was played for mystery, excitement, and personal growth. It felt really inappropriate and used to make Leopold out to be some kind of hero.

In addition, the characters were both very frustrating. They spend most of the book being pretty self-involved and oblivious, which I realize is intended as an opportunity for growth, but as noted above this is done in a way I did not appreciate. And throughout the book, both characters (but especially Leopold) do a lot of very dumb things with serious repercussions. The romance was okay, but intertwining it with all this other stuff kind of ruined it for me. I'm not sure what the goal here was, but this really needed a sensitivity reader. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Ok, I actually began this book being thoroughly unimpressed with Caroline. She was spoiled and vain and seemed incredibly empty headed. She certainly made matters more difficult for Leopold multiple times. However, somewhere along the way she found herself and really came into her own. Leopold was adorable the whole time, trying to figure out how to do the right thing and messing up again and again. Overall, this was a wonderful story and I can’t wait to read the next in the series!!

The story of Lady Caroline and Prince Leopold. Caroline is vain and self centered, has no social graces and only cares about her appearance. I actually cringed at her earlier scenes. Leo’s all about carousing and drinking, bored by any royal duties. Not a hero I expected. How can one get behind the story of two such unlikeable characters? I don’t know how it happened but somehow I did. By mid story I went from disliking them both to rooting for them as they helped each other and changed together to people I had come to like. The story that started out doubtful for me ended up a delight to read.

Lady Caroline Hawke is a social butterfly and darling of the ton. She’s also a force to be reckoned with and not one to be ignored which Prince Leopold of Alucia will learn the hard way.
Prince Leopold does not understand the impertinence and lack of decorum of Lady Caroline. Heck, he couldn’t even remember the lady’s name or recall meeting her like she’s claimed more than once. But when his reputation is being dragged through the mud in London and the invitations stop coming, he’ll need the endorsement of the lady to gain access to the most coveted events.
This is the second book of the Royal Wedding series, but can be easily read as a standalone as the author does a great job with well-placed glimpses of the previous book along the way.
Leopold and Caroline make a wonderful couple. An apparently shallow woman who wants to be and do more and a second son of a King who’s never found his true self. They’ll find in each other not only love, but the way to their life callings.
With Leopold’s adventures in London, rumors of treason and the imminence of Lady Caroline’s betrothal as a background, A Royal Kiss and Tell is an ingenious tale of love and political intrigue. I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end and will miss the Honeycutt’s Gazette’s commentary until the next time.
#ARoyalKissTell #NetGalley

Another great story. Be forewarned one should read The Princess Plan first. I started to read A Royal Kiss & Tell, but after a few pages....got The Princess Plan and read that first. This is the story of Prince Leopold and Caroline.....and definite love, hate, opposites attract. As always Julia characters are a joy! You will laugh at some of the ups and downs that take place and love the way life had the two grow up.
#JuliaLondon
#NetGalley
#Harlequin

Julia London draws me into her novels regardless of whether they are contemporary or historical with her wit and humour as well as her candid observations of society. That was certainly the case with this, her latest historical. Set in 1846, A Royal Kiss And Tell is the sequel to The Princess Plan and for my money it’s just as good. This story once again incorporates snippets from the Honeycutt Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies at the beginning of each chapter, each of them providing a hint of gossip and the sort of wonderful old household tips that your grandmother might pass on. This story has an enemies to lovers theme as exquisitely beautiful Lady Caroline Hawke and indolent drunkard Prince Leopold of Alucia admire each other from afar while throwing metaphorical daggers whenever they’re within range. Each of them lives a surreal life, far removed from the every day lives of the people around them. Neither of them has a sense of purpose when the story opens—for Leo it’s all about drinking the day away because there really is nothing else for him to do, while Caroline’s life is all about bedecking herself in beautiful clothes and flitting from one function to the next bestowing her dazzling smile and laughing comments on all around her. Of course as the story unfolds they each have their eyes opened, gain a sense of purpose and develop into much more valuable human beings but it’s their journey that is fascinating. I found the story both engrossing and entertaining and am hoping there’ll be more in this series.

Lady Caroline Hawke is used to having everyone notice her. She is beautiful and a centrepiece of London’s society… So of course, when it comes time for her to fall in love, the only man she is interested in can’t even remember her name!?!? That and he’s a completely dissolute rake of a prince.

Prince Leopold of Alucia has never had much responsibility. He was expected to marry one day for the good of his country, but other than that he was left to his own devises. Then he is brought into an investigation between his country and high ranking British nobles, and he must finally show what he is worth and risk loosing everything in the process.

Too bad the pesky Lady Caroline is following his every unsavoury move and publishing it in her friends gossip paper… can these enemies find a common side and work together? Or will their mutual attraction tear apart both of their futures?

Oooooh! So much drama and heat!!! This was a delightful continuation of the first Royal Wedding book. Prince Leo is a true delight as he tries to find his purpose in life while Caroline thwarting him at every turn had me completely sympathetic for the bumbling prince. These character were so fun to watch as they came together and both of their characters went through such substantial growth. As you start the story, neither are that likeable, by the end they are lovable!

This book held on tight to me from start to finish! I can’t wait for the next royal wedding!

A Royal Kiss & Tell by Julia London is scheduled to be released May 19th, 2020.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Harlequin through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Blog link: https://pinkcowlandreads.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-royal-kiss-tell.html

#ARoyalKissTell #JuliaLondon #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

What great fun this series is so far.!A Royal Kiss and Tell is the story of Caroline and Leopold who we met in the first of this series The Princess Plan. The entire story is set in Victorian times mostly in the fictional country of Alucia with England as the main backdrop in this book. Caroline is beautiful, spoiled and very sure of herself. At least this is how we perceive her in the beginning of the story. Leopold is a second son of the King of Alucia and unsure of his place in the world taking on the persona of the useless Prince. Two opposites that so need each other. Their relationship unfolds as a true happily ever after fairy tale as they go back and forth between love and hate giving us readers many laughs as their true personalities come to light. There is also a serious side to A Royal Kiss and Tell in the mystery which brings our hero and heroine together and gives readers some anxious moments. If you like historical fiction, fairy tales and mysteries you will love this series. I can't wait for the next one. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC. All comments and opinions are strictly my own.

I must admit that I don’t remember much about Caroline from book one, she was definitely an acquired taste in this book. End of book Caroline was much more likeable than the previous version.
Leopold, like his brother, was a huge snob at first. It took an eye-opening situation to get him to make changes. The rescues felt a little rushed, I would have liked a little more leading up to each one.
I hope Hollis is next for a book, though I don’t know how it will be tied in with the royal series. It looks like she and Beck will be paired, though I think everyone is hoping for her and Donovan. I think there is something else to that relationship.

Safety warning attached at end

This is my very first Julia London. This book is okay to read as a stand alone, but might be better in order. There was recap in it, so I'm not sure if that would be annoying for a person that read the first book, but it was brief. I'm thinking both hero and heroine from this book were in the first book so again I'm not sure how much you got to know them in that book.

Caroline's good friend Eliza (heroine from the first book) has married the crown prince of Alucia, Sebastian (hero from first book). She is so offended when the prince's brother, Leopold, doesn't notice or even remember her. Leopold is rather tired of being the useless second prince with no responsibilities. His father demands a marriage to secure relations with another country, but before he does, he wants one last trip to England.

Give this book a try if you like
-Royalty tropes. The hero is a prince for a fictional country.
-A bit of a different location. About 1/3 of this book takes place in Alucia, which was really fun. The rest is England.
-Where the heroine is the more aggressive one in the relationship
-A story with a bit of humor and a bit of mystery
-Lighter on the sex, only 1 full scene, 1 partial scene, and a few kisses
-A sprinkling of enemies to lovers

I have never loved a heroine as much as I loved this one. Many reviewers disliked her, and honestly thinking about her personality traits – being a bit vain, over confident, a tad spoiled – I would have thought I would too. But I just loved her. She was just so HAPPY. I felt her smile light up the book. She was so spunky never gave up her beliefs and freely shared her feelings. I adored the first half of the book with her attending the wedding in Alucia. She had me grinning and laughing and I just wanted to see her, be her friend. Leo doesn't want much to do with her in the beginning and she at first seems just determined to prove him wrong.

As the book goes on though, I felt like the romance was so lacking. It was so slow in the beginning already, and then once they return to England, this mystery takes over the book. Leo is given sensitive information about plots against his country and he tries to make headway into solving the mystery and protecting those who are vulnerable. But I felt like a lot of it was him doing it himself. Maybe I would have liked this more if the two were doing it all together, but that doesn't happen until the end of the book. I felt like a lot of their time was spent apart from each other. I will say I just adored all the parts they were together. I enjoyed every scene of that. But it felt like it was only half the book. And they didn't have sex until after 90% and I just don't think I'm that patient hahaha.

This definitely has not turned me off Julia London. So many parts I just treasured and she made me laugh and smile quite a few times. The kisses were so sweet and full of feeling. I think she could be a hit for me in another book.

Safety warnings (slight possible spoilers)
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slavery, human trafficking, sexual assault (implied)

This was my first Julia London book. I loved Caroline and Leo!! They were so cute and perfect!! I love all the royalty in this historical romance. I also liked Caroline‘s relationship with her brother. I look forward to the series continuing on and reading about more of the characters.

This was my first time reading a Julia London story, but it won't be my last! I really enjoyed reading Caroline and Leo's story! Great historical romance. Loved reading about fictional countries and their royal families. Can't wait to read more.

A Royal Kiss & Tell
Series: Book two in A Royal Wedding
Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to the author/publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I had fun with this one! Lady Caroline Hawke was a very refreshing character because she was so confident. It may seem to come off as being a little conceited but I liked her for it. It nice to see heroine have such good self esteem and at the same time know what she really wants. She knows she's pretty and talented at making dresses but what she wanted was for someone to really like HER for who she is on the inside. I liked how she flirted with Leopold and his reactions to her at first were funny to read. He really didn't like her! Lol!
Leo was such a mess. Due to being the second son he felt he did not have any duties to which he had to follow. He only cared about himself and what he could do to have fun. It is not until he is later approached for help that we finally see that he changes for the better. He decides to finally do something unselfish and even puts his reputation through the floor in order to help out. He became a more likeable character and a hero to those he helped.
Caroline and Leo were so cute together once he began to see her for how she really is. A young woman full of life and someone he could fall in love with.
I enjoyed all the secondary characters, especially Beck. His relationship with Caroline as the older brother who didn't know what to do with her was fun to read. I loved how he really cared for her, she did come second to his horses sometimes.
I look forwards to the Hollis' story!

Book 2 in Julia London’s A Royal Wedding series, A ROYAL KISS & TELL picks up almost immediately after THE PRINCESS PLAN with the threesome of Eliza Tricklebank, Hollis Honeycutt and Lady Caroline Hawke in the province of Alucia to see Eliza marry her Prince Sebastian.

Caro, the belle of any ball she attends, is miffed that Price Leopold, Sebastian’s younger brother won’t join her legion of besotted gentlemen. Leo, meanwhile, considers Caro brash and lacking in the manners required in royal society.

Back in London, however, the duo finds themselves both at odd and working together to solve a mystery that threatens Leo’s family and country. Suddenly Leo has moved from being a throwaway second son to an integral piece of stopping a horrific plot.

Watching both of these two grow up during the course of the book was a delight. Caro, thankfully, lost her self-centeredness, which was truly annoying at the beginning. Leo, meanwhile, grew from the royal playboy to a responsible leader after facing how little he really knew about the real world.

A ROYAL KISS & TELL had clues pointing to a third story, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to catch up with Caro and Leo later.

Note: I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.