So, I had a rough time starting this book, but NO trouble finishing it! And I am thrilled that there is a perfect set-up for future books in a series. I really really dug the story and I especially love the background between the king and Evan’s mother. So sweet and so tender. And though there were some predictable moments or elements, I was still surprised at the big reveal. So that’s cool. I will LOVE having this in the library to recommend next year. 💜📚

I love books about royalty and this one was definitely different from other royalty books I've read. I really enjoyed it and all the twist and turns it took.

The part of this that I read, was a ride.
The problem I had with this was that it used names of actual royals, and I just couldn't overlook it and suspend my reality to enjoy it. It confused me.

This was such a fun YA read, filled with mystery, royal scandals and a little romance! Evan is the illegitimate daughter of the King of England and heads to spend the summer in London. As you can guess, not everyone is happy she’s there Evan is such a cool main character and this book read well for an older YA audience. It is part of a series, but this one wrapped up quite a bit of the story so you’re not left on a huge cliffhanger.

I liked this book a lot. I thought the mystery was really well done. It kept me guessing throughout and I definitely fell for the red herrings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this pond-jumping murder mystery. Must say, I never saw the victim coming! While I wouldn't teach this no el, I would certainly offer it in my lubrary! When's the sequel releasing?!

I really enjoyed this book! It was a fast read and a lot of fun. I would recommend it to my students who are interested in royalty in general and want to start a new series (get in on the ground floor). The central mystery and drama were convincing and not too complex for even the most reluctant of readers. And there was enough realistic family drama that made the book instantly relatable. I'm looking forward to the second book. Nagivating an exclusive and elite world is a theme I enjoy. But nothing is more elite than royalty!

All the scandal!

Secret family? ✔️

Fire to a prep school? ✔️

Murder? ✔️

And all involving the royal family??? Yes, please!

Evan, Kit, Maise, Jenkins, and and even Alexander will have you loving them before you even know it. Evan constantly means well but finds herself in a bit of a mess …all the time. Definitely read this one if you love anything royal, scandal, or mystery. Can’t wait for the rest of this series!

This was a fun read -- I was rooting for unwilling royal Evan(geline) Bright the whole way through -- and I look forward to the sequel!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm excited to read the rest of this trilogy. This first volume wastes no time in getting the action going, has a satisfying ending, and tees up some unanswered questions/a potential big bad for the next books. I enjoyed Evan's perspective, and the cast of secondary characters was well-formed. Mental health and sexual assault storylines are handled with sensitivity and care. American Royals/Tokyo Ever After vibes, plus murder...I'm into it.

A stellar start to this new contemporary young adult trilogy!

"Royal Blood" is the first book in author Aimée Carter’s new contemporary young adult series of the same name. The book is exciting and full of intrigue, and definitely not the typical fairy tale or rags to riches story; it addresses some very serious topics. Evangeline, or Evan as she is called, is a wonderful heroine with a quick wit and a kind heart and carries some heavy issues on her young shoulders. I was rooting for this unique and engagingly sympathetic underdog from the first page.

Evan is surprisingly resilient and very understanding of the Queen’s and her half-sister’s feelings, even as they treat her horribly. So much information about her past, including her parents’ history with each other, had been kept from her, and it is no wonder that misunderstandings occurred. With the death of her grandmother, her mother’s mental illness, and her absentee father, she has way more hanging over her head than a child should ever have to handle alone. She deals with her situation the only way she thinks will be successful; she purposely acts out and gets expelled. Other than her having to change schools, though, her actions have no consequences.

Once ensconced at Windsor Castle and among the family and their coterie of relatives and friends, Evan is targeted by the media and attracts all manner of abuse from the press and their followers. But the intrigue starts immediately and although, Maisie, Gia, and Rosie start out as typical ‘mean girls,’ they eventually start to relent, especially when Evan holds the key to keeping their princess out of serious trouble. However, she finally has something she’s not had in the past: a friend her age.

The story includes an incident of drugging, attempted date rape, and death, and the author presents the events from Evan’s point of view without excuses from the perpetrator. As the tragedy unfolds, readers will recognize and relate to how easily the awful events happened.

Each chapter starts with either a text message exchange between characters, a news story, or a media interview related to what is happening in the story. These add some fun insight or extra needed information in an interesting way. Each chapter ends on a small cliffhanger that worked like magic on me to keep reading! The story completely hooked me from the start, and those teasers had me reading page after page until done. I am looking forward to the next book of the trilogy with great anticipation.

With its exciting plot, family intrigue, and great characters, I recommend ROYAL BLOOD to readers who enjoy contemporary young adult fiction, especially those who like a secret baby or fish out of water theme.

ROYAL BLOOD is an enjoyable read about a girl struggling to find her place within the world. I devoured the first 30% of this novel. I was fascinated by the story and couldn't wait to learn more, but then things slowed down about 40% through the book and I struggled to want to continue. Thankfully, the story quickly picks back up and delivers a hell of an ending.

Fans of the royal family and all of the endless drama that surrounds them will adore ROYAL BLOOD. The book does deal with some important topics that could be triggering to some, so please keep that in mind, but Carter does a great job at handling these topics delicately.

Is it predictable at times? Yes.
Are the characters frustrating? Absolutely.
Is it an enjoyable read? Yes.

ROYAL BLOOD is reminiscent of teen flicks from the early 2000's, and I mean that in the best possible way.

While I was online window shopping (well adding to my ever increasing wish list) I came across Royal Blood and the synopsis really intrigued me. So you can imagine my excitement when a book tour sign up came days later for that book I knew I had to get on that tour and I did. Mark my words this will be a Tik Tok made me and be on top of a lot of readers favourite books of 2023 and that includes me.

Meet Evan Bright who is quite a main character and this is all I am saying. I know no fair but you should really read this book for yourself but I will say is you are going to be on quite a ride. I felt like I was on rollercoaster ride. There were so many twists and turns it made me dizzy and omg the ending and I am left hanging cheers Aimee tut . For all these reasons I am giving Royal Blood 5 stars

This book reminded me how much I enjoy reading young adult mystery books. "Royal Blood" by Aimee Carter is the first book in Royal Blood series. It's about an illegitimate daughter of the King of England.

Evan hated her father all her life because he was never there when she needed him the most. When she was forced into a situation to spend time with her father, Alexander, the King of England, she wasn't happy about it. Queen hated her, her half-sister(Princess Mary) hated her, and the press was so interested in her life than her father.

The pain Evan was going through because of not having her parents around her was so well described. There are so many scenes where I felt sorry for Evan. I love Jenkins, King's secretary, so much. He was such a great support system to Evan whenever she needed anyone.

I loved Evan's character; her counter replies are top-notch. She always wanted to show herself strong, even when she felt so vulnerable inside. I love that about her. She met the wrong person at a bad time, which led to an inappropriate situation that ruined her life in many ways.

But every bad thing has something good in it. Kit helped her to get over the trauma. He was such a caring soul and a sweetheart. Eventually, their relationship grew beautiful, and I loved them both so much.

Mary's relationship with Evan started to change gradually. At first, I didn't like Mary, and she seemed like a bully. But in the end, she became one of my favorite characters. Her character development was so extraordinary and unhurried.

Alexander's backstory was so heart-wrenching. I am not going to get into any details. It just felt so sad to know about his reasons for the break in his relationship with his daughter, Evan. What happened to him was so unfair.

The murder mystery plot added a great touch to the story and made it fast-paced. I suspected many people except the one behind everything that turned Evan's life upside down. It's like hiding in plain sight. The perfect twist was revealed at the end.

This book has been a fantastic read, a page-turner with an excellently executed thriller plot and many scandals. I can't wait for book two, especially for Kit and Evan.

Evan entering the Royal life felt fairly realistic for a fictional character. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked Evan’s character, and she was definitely very American. The supporting characters were very well done, and we get at least a little bit of history/background on each. There were only a handful of characters that didn’t have enough background in my opinion. Since this book is slated to be the first of a trilogy, I think the author did a really good job setting up the characters and hopefully, if they’re important enough they’ll get more page time.

I really liked that none of the main characters (Evan + crew) attempted to become amateur sleuths seemingly overnight. I will say that the murder part of the story was fairly short and seemed to be the springboard for Evan being thrust into the spotlight. The fallout of Evan’s existence and everyone’s opinions of her, why she even exists, and if she’s guilty make up the meat of the book. There are some hard subjects covered in this book; attempted rape, date-rape drugs, and mental health in the form of schizophrenia (not a complete list). The author navigated these sensitive subjects extremely well and I couldn’t help but feel deeply for Evan.

"My memory may be fuzzy, but that part isn’t, and I understand exactly what almost happened. What did happen. I pull the blanket tighter around myself and bite the inside of my cheek. I can still feel every blistering kiss, every burning caress, and I desperately wish I could shed my skin like a snake, leaving behind every inch that Jasper touched until I belong to myself again."

The romance aspect in this book was blessedly light and fairly chaste (other than the assault) and I am thankful for it. I don’t mind romance – it just doesn’t need to be in EVERYTHING. I quite honestly wasn’t expecting some of the twists and turns in Evan’s story – nor did I expect those behind it.

I enjoyed this book immensely – it took me by surprise with how much I loved it. I am very much looking forward to seeing where the rest of the trilogy goes from where we see Evan at the end. I would like to thank TBR & Beyond Book Tours for having me as a host and for the chance to enjoy an advanced copy of Royal Blood. Thank you Aimée Carter for writing a fantastically unexpected gem – I can’t wait to read the rest!

This was a fun YA book filled with mystery, family drama and royalty! I’m a sucker for books about royalty, and I enjoyed following along Evan as she’s navigating her new role as the daughter of the King, a role that was kept secret all of her life until now. The plot was entertaining and kept me wanting to read to find out what really happened. The ending sounds like there’s going to be a second book and I’m all for it! I highly recommend to those that enjoy YA suspense/mysteries.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Royal Blood is a story about Evan, the secret daughter of the British monarch. When she is once again expelled from boarding school, she is brought to England. There her secret identity comes to light together with a murder for which she is accused.

“Your job – your only job – is to be the best version of yourself.”

I grew up watching The Princess Diaries and I have loved princess stories from a young age. Just like everyone else, I dreamed of being a princess hahaha. I was immediately drawn to this story with the intriguing synopsis this book has and couldn’t wait to dive in.

Right from the start, I noticed how easy the book was to read. The writing really flows and the pacing is not slow or too fast. The way information is given and the pace slowly fastens together with the stakes getting higher. The tension just builds and builds and that makes this such an engaging book and an addicting one that is super hard to put down!

The plot is very fun and not at all predictable hahaha. You might know some plot lines from reading the synopsis, but the details and everything happening in between blew my mind! Personally, I dubbed this The Princess Diaries, but sarcastic! I just loved and enjoyed every minute spend reading this book! The humor added also made it such a fun read. Right from the very first sentence in this book, it had my attention: “Breaking into the academic wing of St. Edith’s Academy for Girls isn’t the most reckless thing I’ve ever done, but it defniitly comes close.”

The bits of information given at the beginning of each chapter, an interview excerpt, a phone call, text messages or an article, it is really interesting and engaging to get some background information in this manner.

The characters are so much fun! From the writing, certain words that are used the personalities and accents shine through, which is fun. I love Evan as a character, who really grows a lot during this book. Her humor and sarcasm, used sometimes to defuse tension and to cope, was very fun and really added to her charm as well. Alexander is a character I really liked, I like how he is trying and doing (what he thinks) is best. The one character that stole my heart is Kit! He is just the sweetest bean ever and so understanding! He was so mature, but in the best ways and it really contrasted but complimented Evan’s personality.

The romance wasn’t as present, mostly a little side plot to the main plot. I liked how it was complementary and how it didn’t overpower the rest. I do like the couples in the story and I hope they get to shine a bit more in the sequel. The family bonds did shine more and I liked Evan getting to know that side of the family and making these bonds with them. I really liked the relationship between Evan and Maisy, which had lots of ups and downs and probably will have many more.

The ending was so good! The reveal (one of many hahaha) was really unexpecting and I hadn’t seen it coming at all! I liked how the story unfolded and all the drama! And that ending, I am so excited for the sequel and seeing how this story will continue! I know it will be a trilogy and I can’t wait!!

Overall, Royal Blood is a humorous, sarcastic, dramatic and engaging start to a series which will probably keep me on my toes while reading it!

If you're a fan of American Royals, you'll definitely enjoy reading Royal Blood! I was intrigued by the synopsis of Royal Blood the minute I read it. I wanted to know more about Evan, and thankfully, her character and growth in particular, throughout the story impressed me immensely!
Aimee Carter's writing style has the power to draw you in to the storyline from the very beginning. The first chapter was written really cleverly ~ and I just couldn't put it down until I had to to finish up some chores hehe. I was not expecting the book to touch on sensitive topics at all, so I was really impressed with how the author explored mental health and sexual assault with so much care and attention. She did a great job with those themes!

The mystery aspect of the novel was really interesting as well! I am not going to talk more about that as I want to keep my review spoiler free, but I'll say this: The plot will have you hooked and at times, at the edge of your seats. I am so glad that Royal Blood is a part of a series! Cannot wait for the next book omggg ✨

Wow! What a fun and thrilling read! There were so many twists and turns that I didn't dare put the book down. I liked reading "Royal Blood" and can't wait for the second book to come out.

Wow—I really enjoyed this book! The story was very interesting and thrilling. It gave me The Princess Diaries vibes, but with some murder, mystery, and deceit thrown in. This book has set up an interesting story line, and I can't wait to read more in the series. I really enjoyed The Goddess Test series—so I know Carter won't disappoint!

CW: Sexual assault, murder

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's - Delacorte Press for the ARC!