A Royal Kiss and Tell
Series: A Royal Wedding #2
Author: Julia London
Published May 28th 2020 by Mills and Boon

Goodreads Synopsis
Every prince has his secrets. And she’s determined to unravel his…

Every dashing young man in London’s ton is vying for Lady Caroline Hawke’s hand—except one. Handsome, delectable roué Prince Leopold of Alucia can’t quite remember who Caroline is, and the insult is not to be tolerated. So, Caroline does what any clever, resourceful lady of means would do to make sure a prince remembers her: sees that amusingly risqué morsels about Leo’s reputation are printed in a ladies’ gossip gazette…all the while secretly setting her cap for the rakish royal.

Someone has been painting Leo as a blackguard, but who? Socially, it could ruin him. More important, it jeopardizes his investigation into a contemptible scheme that reaches the highest levels of government in London. Now, Leo needs Lady Caroline’s help to regain access to society. But this charming prince is about to discover that enlisting the deceptively sweet and sexy Lady Caroline might just cost him his heart, his soul and both their reputations…
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As soon as I finished The Princess Plan, I knew I needed to start book 2, so was so happy I was approved for A Royal Kiss and Tell on NetGalley. This time around, we are following Lady Caroline Hawke, who can't believe that of all the people who aren't impressed by her, it's Prince Leopold of Alucia. After some disastrous meetings while in Helanamar, at Eliza and Sebastian's wedding, Caroline is adamant she doesn't want to see Leopold again, but it seems he's made friends with her brother, Beck, and is always hanging around. Leopold, for his part, doesn't seem to know how to think about Caroline. She's brash and speaks her mind, and isn't deferential at all. After the royal wedding, his parents want him to marry soon, and to a Westlorian lady for diplomatic relations, which is not what Leo wants at all. He's also found himself entangled in a plot to find and recover a number of Westlorian women who have been sold into slavery in England, and all of his efforts to help them is leaving him with a reputation that is bound to ruin all his social standing, and hinder his future efforts to bring down the scheme. Will Caroline help him regain his reputation and save the girls, or will he be called back to Alucia before he can finish his task?

Now after adoring The Princess Plan so much, I was expecting the same for this one, but it took me a bit too long to warm to Caroline, so it's a four star read for me. The first 5 chapters or so, Caroline was a bit too annoying, but after an illness, she grew on me, and I found myself understanding her more than I had. Losing her parents so young, and being raised by her brother who wanted her to marry as soon as possible, I saw why she was a bit too much at first, because she'd always known she was beautiful, and hadn't really been parented enough. She also was acting a part, too, as society expected her to be one type of person, and it was easier acting as if she was, rather than changing their minds. The subplot of her creating gowns for other ladies was a nice one, as we saw something she really cared about, and with how Beck acted towards it, we saw their own relationship a bit more clearly.

I loved the character growth in Leopold, as he was quite rakish when we met him in The Princess Plan, but after we see how he was treated in Alucia by his parents, and then his care and compassion to recover the Westlorian women sold into slavery, or worse, in England, he was neigh on perfect. His actions might not have been the most thought out, but his intentions were pure, even if they could bring about his own downfall.

Both Caroline and Leopold together was enjoyable from the get go. Their banter and chemistry was undeniable, and we really saw their affection for one another grow the more time they spent together, and excessively so after Caroline was made aware of the heinous scheme and Leopold's rescue efforts. The ending of the book was fantastic, and really made me desperate for A Princess for Christmas because I need to see more of both these couples, and also need to see Hollis happy and in love!

May 22, 2020

Rating
4 Stars