Kate O'Keeffe

I adore royal romances and The Back Up Princess was so much swoony fun! It’s my first book by Kate O’Keeffe and definitely won’t be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this enemies to lovers romcom with its Princess Diaries vibes.

Madeline “Maddie” Josephine Turner is a Texas gal who finds herself the potential future queen of the small European country of Malveaux when her uncle Nicholas threatens to abdicate his position. Suddenly she goes from fetching coffee to being whisked away on an airplane to Malveaux to be trained as a princess. Her first few forays into the public eye are somewhat disastrous especially when she accidentally punches the future king of Ledonia, Prince Alexander Archibald George Canossa, aka Prince McHottie. The gorgeous, smug, playboy prince immediately gets under her skin and brings out all her feistiness.

Alex is tired of his reputation as a bad boy. He wants to settle down and find a woman he can share his future kingdom with. When he meets Maddie, he’s immediately intrigued. He soon goes from disdain to admiration as she tackles her new role. He finds himself falling in love and as they grow closer, he hopes to find a way for them to be together.

I loved Maddie and Alex! There was such depth to their characters and I felt like I really got to know them well. Maddie has social anxiety and tends to be a bit clumsy so her role as a princess really stretches her limits. I loved the way Alex understood the pressures and helped her flourish in her new role. I also loved the way Maddie saw beyond Alex’s playboy reputation. Their witty banter & fun flirtations were so good as they go from enemies to friends to more.

Some of my favorite things were:

-the meet-cute punch
-peacocks
-funny hashtags
-cute nicknames
-rooftop fireworks
-mint chocolate chip gelato
-balls and tiaras
-swoony kisses
-The Games

Highly recommend this fun, swoony, royal romcom! Can’t wait for the next book in the series. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided. 4-4.5 stars!… (més)

Very cute. And yes, laugh out loud funny.

Emma agrees to be a contestant on a dating show called Dating Mr. Darcy. But not because she wants to win the guy. No, she does it to promote the clothing line she and her best friend design. But right from the start her life on set become a comedy of errors. And somehow despite her intentions, she starts to fall for the pompous Mr. Darcy. Sebastian also has his own reasons for participating in the show. But it doesn’t take long for him to fall for Emma too.

Such fun and cute pair. I loved watching their romance bloom form sort of enemies to something more. All while he’s trying to “date” a houseful of determined women.… (més)