Every prince has his secrets. And she’s determined to unravel his… Every young man in London’s ton is vying for Lady Caroline Hawke’s hand–except one. Handsome roué Prince Leopold of Alucia can’t quite remember Caroline’s name, and the insult is not to be tolerated. So Caroline does what any clever, resourceful lady of means would do to make sure Leo never again forgets: sees that scandalous … scandalous morsels about his reputation are printed in a ladies’ gossip gazette…all while secretly setting her cap for the rakish royal.
Someone has been painting Leo as a blackguard, but who? Socially, it is ruining him. More important, it jeopardizes his investigation into a contemptible scheme that reaches the highest levels of British government. 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…
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A Royal Kiss & Tell is the second book in Julia London’s fun A Royal Wedding series. I very much enjoyed the first book; the heroine was sweet and really made me laugh. I didn’t like the heroine here – at all – until the second half of the book. But stick with it…you will like her in the end, plus the hero ended up being wonderful.
Lady Caroline Hawke is in the country of Alucia attending her friend Eliza’s royal wedding. She finds Prince Leopold, brother of the heir to the throne/groom, to be quite handsome. However, he cannot seem to remember who the heck she was; in his defense, he was probably in his cups when he’s seen her. So she’ll teach him to ignore her…she will feed details of his exploits to her friend Hollis to publish in her gossip gazette! Back in England, Leo’s reputation is increasingly in tatters and he is being dropped from the guest lists of Society functions. This makes things difficult, as he is attempting to rescue missing women who are being ill used by those high in government. He needs Caroline to help him regain entrance to entertainments. Can Leo help these unfortunate women with Caroline’s help?
As I stated earlier, I wasn’t a big fan of Caroline’s for at least half of the book. She was vindictive, vain and self-centered. Also, she giggled. I can’t stand adult women giggling…just a pet peeve of mine. She eventually began to grow on me, as hidden layers of her personality were revealed. It’s Leo, though, who shone here. He felt lost in the world, wanting to do something that would benefit his country. He wanted to be needed, not just be used as a tool to make an advantageous marriage for his country. He fed his ennui with alcohol. When he had the opportunity to make something of himself – saving unfortunate women of a neighboring country – he began to turn his life around. It wasn’t easy, as he really hadn’t DONE anything before, but with Caroline’s help was able to turn into a true hero. I am totally looking forward to the next book in this series, starring Caroline’s friend Hollis, a widow who writes and prints the lady’s gossip gazette.
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
I have been a huge fan of Julia London’s books for many years now, I have always loved her witty, clever and passionately romantic writing, her historical’s are in a league of their own – especially those Highlander…phew, those are scorching!! But, I do have to admit that the first book in this series wasn’t the huge boom I had expected it to be, which I do hate saying.
You know me, I hate saying anything negative. But that wouldn’t stop me from continuing with this series after all this is the great Julia London we are talking about, and I am pleased to say that this is soooo darn good!
Don’t you just love a proper rogue, a scandalous, cavorting and debauched; rake? Off course you do, and with gorgeous, sexy, exciting, mysterious, scandalous and aloof; Prince Leopold of Alucia …sigh!! We have got one hell of a swoon-some hero!
Lady Caroline Hawke is the shining star of society, she is lusted over by every man except the man she would like to lust over; he doesn’t seem to like her at all which makes him hugely fascinating to her but also infuriates her, for our Caroline is exceedingly vain, it’s not actually her fault it’s just how she has been treated that has made her that way. But she cannot abide the fact that the such a man can’t even remember who she is, so she thinks up a way to make sure she is well and truly imprinted on to his mind and suddenly scandalous stories about him start appearing in a ladies gossip rag. Which is the last thing that our hero needs at the moment as he has bigger fish to fry, one that could very well cost lives? Leo needs help so what does a prince with a blackened reputation do? Go straight to the source of all of his problems – even though at the time he doesn’t realise it.
This is the second book in the hilarious romantic comedy series; A Royal Wedding by Julia London, this is marked as a stand-alone which it could very easily be read as such, but my personal opinion is that you should read the previous book first. Even though with all of Julia’s books each story is very central to the two lead characters I do think to really grasp the entirety of the series then you should read the first book – just a suggestion. I personally think that this one is far better than the first book, there is far more wit and well I can’t put my finger on it but this one has that Julia London magical feel which we all know and love back which I don’t think the first book in the series had. This is full of belly laughs, I was happily giggling away at Leo and Caro’s shenanigans, what a marvellous could they are even though they both have huge flaws.
I will admit that as much as I loved the sexy banter, chemistry and blossoming romance between Caroline and Leopold, it did take a while for me to see past her vanity. I was in two frames of minds about her, she is beautiful there is no questioning that and she knows it, but she has this marvellous catty wit and brilliant mind hidden beneath the mask she wears, at times I found her to be quite the enigma; rather aloof and then thoroughly passionate. But deep down past all that bravado she just wants a good man to actually see the true her; the brainy owl and not just the beautiful swan. But, the more you get to know her, and see her with Leo; how she shines, I did start to warm to her and ended up really liking her.
Another winner for Julia London, it captivates and entertains; its full of danger, passion and intrigue. Highly recommend, I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series.
This was an arc copy via the author, which I voluntarily reviewed. Thank you, Julia and Nitty.
* I received an advance copy ebook arc from Julia London through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Spoilers possible below. *
This book is the 2nd of the ” A Royal Wedding” series by Julia London. It can be read as a stand-alone, but I have read the first book of the series, which is called “The Princess Plan.” This second book is about the characters Leo & Caroline. At first, Caroline and Leo are both self absorbed characters. Caroline craves attention & is kind of a busy body gossip queen. She knows everything about everyone, and keeps up on all of the latest news and fashion, etc. She has to have the best of everything; for example the best clothes, accessories, etc. She lives with her brother, Beck, and spends his money. These traits might not sound like she’s a likable character, but she did grow on me. She speaks her mind, is witty, and doesn’t back down from getting herself noticed. Leo is also used to getting what he wants, as one of the Prince’s of Alucia. He can bed any woman he wants, drinks, and ignores Caroline. If you’ve ever heard of the saying, “the heir and the spare,” Leo is the “spare.” The world revolved around his brother more than him, but now that his brother got married, all eyes are on him, and he’s in the societal spotlight.
Eventually, through a series of unfortunate events, Leo and Caroline come together. Leo stumbles upon a sex slave ring, and has to figure out where it’s coming from and how to stop it from happening. He and Caroline work together, and thus they fall in love. I liked this book, but out of the two, I enjoyed the first book better. This book has a slower start than the first one. I feel like it took these characters a long time to be into each other. It seems like there wasn’t a lot of chemistry from the start, even though they do end up together. I like the way Julia London describes the details of the era, such as the gowns, the kingdom, etc. You can picture the place in your mind based on her well-written descriptions. I look forward to reading Hollis’s story when it comes out in Book 3, in September of this year. She’s the character who has fascinated the most since book 1.
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.
Julie London shows us in A Royal Kiss and Tell that dreams can come true in the most roundabout ways. Like most girls (if we’re honest with ourselves) dreams of marrying her prince and prince charming and that included Caroline. But Caroline found him so annoying as he was the only man who she couldn’t her good looks. Prince Leopold (Les) felt like the ‘extra prince’ all his life, in case something happened to his brother. He preferred to be as far away from Alucia as he could possibly get and party. Through this they have some interesting situations and end up working together to solve them. Will they find love together or will the circulstances keep them apart?
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. Talk about wonderful character developments!! Overall, this was a wonderful story and I can’t wait to read the next in the series!!
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
4 stars
Every prince has his secrets. And she’s determined to unravel his… Feeling stressed? Isn’t everyone? This smart, fun second book in Julia London’s historical romance Royal Wedding series is just what you need! You don’t have to have read the first book—the Princess Plan—but you should because it,too,sparkles.
This second book in the series, quickly follows on the heels of the first. Sebastian, the Crown Prince of Alucia has bucked the system and is marrying the woman he loves, Eliza Tricklebank. Her sister Hollis and their best friend, Lady Caroline Hawke have come to the royal wedding in Alucia. At first, Caroline seems to be a very egotistical woman, but as one gets to know her, she is also loving and giving, just very assured of herself. She is confounded by Sebastian’s brother, Prince Leopold, who doesn’t even remember the first time that they met, but she is also attracted to him. When Leo was younger he wanted to make a difference, but as the spare heir he was ignored by his parents and felt ill of ease about the unfairness of his privilege without having done anything to earn it, but he grew jaded and became a rake when he went to London for his education. He also bristles under all the rules that govern his behavior. After the wedding, he learns about human trafficking of young women of both Westonia and Alucia and is recruited to rescue several of these women in London. But after the political intrigue that had threaten Sebastian recently, Leo doesn’t trust anyone, but also has no idea how to go about the rescue, and makes a mess of it. However, he had befriended Hawke, Caroline’s brother and eventually comes to know the sassy, beautiful wonderful woman that Caroline is. Eventually, he does tell Caroline and Hawke about his plight, but I kept expecting hime to enlist Hawke’s help much earlier. Nevertheless, it is a very entertaining read, made more so by his bumbling attempts at rescue.
I read an ARC provided by NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
A delightful story that captured me from the start! Julie London is one of my automatic go to authors who never fails to pen a marvelous tale full of her descriptive prose laced with humor and a wonderful storyline.
Just image, your dearest fiend marries a Prince, who would one day be King and she Queen? Lady Caroline Hawke was so happy for her friend, Eliza Tricklebank (yes, I love that name!) who married Prince Sebastian.
But Caroline has her eye on Prince Leopold, Sebastian’s brother. What would it take for him to notice her?
Oh he notices her alright, with her loud brass talk and hand gestures!
Leo just wants to get back to England to his entertainments and rakish life, but several things happen. First he father tells him he is going to marry a young lady who will help unite the country. Then he hears about the women who are being kidnapped from his country and taken and sold in England. It becomes his mission to save them. Well at least until things go awry!
I love the verbal sparring between Caro and Leo and how each seems to come together and eventually for a joint cause.
So sit back and enjoy this scrumptious story of how the royal fall, in love that is, and the wonderful journey to get there!
At her best friend’s wedding, Caroline was upset that her friend, the bride, wouldn’t go against Alucia’s custom of only having flower girls so that she could be in the wedding party. She was upset that Eliza chose her sister over her to be matron of honor. I almost threw the book down at that point, but I kept reading. For about one-half of the book Caroline was pretty insufferable in my opinion.
We see that the hero is not much better than Caroline. Prince Leopold is the spare. His brother will be the next king, and Leopold spends his life without much care. He loves to spend his time in Lindon, far away from royal duties, living the life of a wastrel. Drinks, parties, and women are all he’s concerned about. That is until he meets up with an old acquaintance who begs for his help. It seems that there is an underground sex trade operation going on and it involves Alucia, their neighboring country of Westloria, and England. Prince Leopold is asked to help uncover and stop the deplorable crime and find out who’s behind it.
Everywhere he turns is Caroline, he’s already put her in her place once. One simply does not act like you’re a friend to a royal if you barely know them. He doesn’t remember her from their one meeting in England, and then their time together for the wedding of his brother to her best friend was spent with him trying to steer clear of her. Caroline needs to learn her place in his haughty opinion. Now that he’s back in England, packing up his household and using his last bits of freedom before he has to go back home and wed the daughter of a Westlorian noble, Caroline is at every turn and he can’t keep his eyes off of her.
You see the sparks fly off the pair every time they meet. You wait and wonder when the sparks will turn into an explosion, and when they do, it blinding. You start to see the change in both, when you realize that he’s using his life as a wastrel to cover the fact he’s rescuing the women who’ve been sold to English nobles, you begin to root for him. When you see Caroline’s attitude shift from being so self-centered, to actually helping Leopold in his quest, you become hopeful. The ending couldn’t be better, true love wins, the plot exposed, the criminals arrested.
I definitely did a 180 in my opinion of the main characters of this story. I seriously disliked both Caroline and Leopold, and almost stopped reading. I’m so glad I didn’t because this turned into one of my favorite reads so far this year. If you’re a fan of historical romance, I definitely suggest this story.
**I was given an ARC of this story by NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Lady Caroline Hawke easily attracts men’s attention but cannot understand why it’s so difficult to catch the eye of Prince Leopold, brother to Prince Sebastian of Alucia. The answer is simple in that Leopold is generally inebriated or hungover at their encounters. However, Leopold may simply need a purpose in his life and he welcomes a mission to save enslaved girls when he returns to England. He needs to learn how to do so and comes to rely on Caroline for help. Her assistance changes once she learns of his good intentions.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.
While it wasn’t my favorite of Julia London’s books, I still enjoyed “A Royal Kiss & Tell,” the second book of the Royal Wedding series. The romance between main characters Prince Leopold Chartier and Lady Caroline Hawke took a bit of a backseat to the intrigue in which Leo found himself to be embroiled, but they were both relatively likeable characters, so I was glad that they found a way to be happy together in the end.
It took me a while to warm up to Caroline in this book, which was disappointing because she was so much fun in the previous book of the series. Here, she seemed cheerfully vain and shallow at first, obsessed with fashion, spreading gossip, and being the center of attention at all times. However, as the story progressed and I got to know Caroline better, it became apparent that her cheerful exterior was a facade hiding her fear that no gentleman would ever want to marry her for anything other than her beauty or fortune. I certainly couldn’t blame her for her desire to be wanted for herself rather than her looks or money, and she did seem to have a genuine desire to help others even if she wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.
The highlight of the story for me was Prince Leo and his investigation into the human trafficking ring, which seemed to give him a purpose and help him mature quite a bit in a very short period of time. His tendency to bungle things, while unfortunate, was also sometimes amusing, as well as completely understandable because Leo hadn’t exactly been raised to participate in schemes and intrigue. However, I loved his determination to do the right thing by helping those women, and it was wonderful to see his efforts pay off in the end.
The secondary characters were just as much fun in this book as they were in the previous book of the series, particularly Caroline’s brother Beck and her friend Hollis. I hope there are plans for both of them to get stories of their own in the future!
In summary, “A Royal Kiss & Tell” was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it for all fans of witty historical romances, though with a content warning since the topic of human trafficking is a fairly important part of the plot. I look forward to the next book in this series.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
I liked this tale well enough. I did have a problem with the Prince through most of the story though. It’s like he didn’t have any sense and Caroline was to full of herself. It did come together though and I did enjoy the read. You just can’t not like a book by London. Looking forward to reading the next installment of this series.
3.25 Stars
Every dashing young man in London’s ton is vying for Lady Caroline Hawke’s hand—except one. The handsome, delectable, rogue, 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. Someone has been painting Leo as a blackguard. Socially, it could ruin him. More important, it jeopardises 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.
This is the second book in the series & could very easily be read on its own. I’m sitting on the fence with this book, there was much I liked, I loved the humour & it did have me laughing out loud & raised my mood but I found it very hard to like Caroline, she grated on me. I also found the pace of the book was a bit erratic. Overall a well written book which dealt with some darker elements but also had humour, a very loveable hero but a heroine I couldn’t relate to
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Royal Wedding Book Two.
Lady Caroline Hawke and her friend Hollis Tricklebank attend the wedding of Eliza Tricklebank and Prince Sebastian of Alucia. When Caro encounters Prince Leopold of Alucia she is dismayed to find that he doesn’t remember her from their previous meeting. His lack of memory leaves Caro cold and she decides that he must not be worthy of her attentions. However, her brother does not have the same idea as he has become friends with Leo. When Leo travels to London to follow up on a tip he receives, he finds that Caroline is quite intriguing.
If you’re interested in historical stories that deal with larger issues, this is the book for you!
*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
In Julia London’s latest, A ROYAL KISS AND TELL, book 2 in her A Royal Wedding series, London creates an entertaining romance that had me giggling as I turned pages.
Lady Caroline and Prince Leopold are two interesting characters who, initially, are more concerned with themselves, but as Leopold gets caught up in a mystery and Caroline hinders his progress, these two find out how much better life is when they think of someone else. Their antics left me laughing, and Leopold met his match when it came to Caroline. I still laugh when I think of the chickens and the pile of rocks…
This is another fun, romantic read that will keep you reading as you watch Caroline and Leopold turn into people who are more than their titles. Even though this is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel.
Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
#julialondon #harlequin #aroyalkissandtell #aroyalwedding
A ROYAL KISS AND TELL By Julia London is book Two in A Royal Wedding Series. This is the story of Prince Leopold of Alucia ‘Leo’ and Caroline Hawke. I have read the previous book but did feel you can make this a standalone book. Caroline is the darling of the town and adored by men but for some reason Leo doesn’t remember her from a earlier meeting then choices to ignore her when they are together again with her best friend marries his brother. Caroline works to get his attention and to seek to be noticeable to him. Leo has detective work on his mind and when he starts to fall from the town grace it starts to hurt is case. So Leo turns to Caroline for help which leads them to work together and of course their feeling grow. Enjoyed this book.
Story of a prince and a lady who go from acquaintances to something more when they both least expect it. Good read!
Caroline and Leopold’s love/hate story is a tale that follows the trope of enemies/friends to lovers in A Royal Kiss and Tell by Julia London, book two in A Royal Wedding series. It is a tale that also reminds us of that fine line between love and hate. I will be honest; I struggled with liking this heroine. Caroline was annoying, a nuisance, egotistical, self-centered, very tenacious, and clueless of how her actions affected other people. Yet, I learned much about why she is the way she is as we continue reading the story; orphan, raised by older brother along with Eliza and Hollis, her best friends. Leopold has always known he’s the spare and had no idea of what he wanted to do with life; so he drank his way through the parties and introductions. He is surprised when his father, the king, informs him that a marriage has been arranged for him and which will benefit their country. Leo was quite good at ignoring women who thought they could demand an introduction to him and have him offer for her as well as men who wanted to know him with a hope to gain; especially politicians who wanted his ear. When an exiled, wanted protestor informs Leo of human trafficking occurring between their country and England, Leo is quick to find a solution to uncover the men behind it, find the girls and return them to Alucia, and figure out how to do all this and stop it without being discovered. In the meantime, Caroline has set her heart on Leo, at the same time her brother is trying to marry her off. Thanks to the gossip rag, Leo’s reputation is in shreds and he has socially been black-listed. Needing Caroline’s help to regain access into society, he beings to see her differently than before. Spending all this time together has them feeling the sparks and off the charts chemistry between them. They both just might lose their hearts when Leo is required to return home, if not their reputations.
Ms. London wrote an emotional story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with sizzling chemistry, unusual banter, and characters who love to hate, giving Caroline and Leopold a chance at love, happiness, and a future together. I highly recommend A Royal Kiss and Tell to other readers and look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.