She carries a wrench; he carries a secret. When a foreign prince and his brother get stranded in rural North Carolina, it’s up to local mechanic, Ruby, to save the day. But she needs help of her own. Can Prince Leo lend a hand or will things get too messy when hearts become involved?
Like “Roman Holiday” in modern day North Carolina!
Audiobook version: 5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 4 stars narration
FYI, this audiobook is the first volume of a duet, so there is a cliffhanger. I loved the audiobook so much that I can’t wait to listen to the next one, “Blue Bloods and Back Roads”.
The narrator did a great job. Throughout, she was great at all the Southern characters and their accents. She took a chapter to really get the European royal brother’s voices just right. She always had the right posh English accent for them. I think she was a little bit too high pitched for them at first, but she quickly corrected that.
Ruby is a very relatable character. She is a strong-willed young woman from central North Carolina. She gets in a tight spot financially because of a dastardly cousin. Then she meets a bedraggled pair of rich European twins who offer her money to show them around the mountains in her classic car. They are secretly on the run from their security team trying to have a vacation like regular people. The wacky story is so charming and funny! I recommend this for all fans of romantic comedies.
In the first two hours, I had started to lose my patience until, finally, Ruby and Leo met. The story wasn’t cute enough before that, but I had all the adorable romance I wanted from then on. The way that they met was just as funny and awkward as I could ever want. Leo is such a good, honorable, respectful guy. Ruby is a funny, feisty, loyal, strong Southern woman. They were great for each other. Leo’s identical twin Malcolm is rather funny as well. The author is really great at writing romantic comedy.
I requested and received a free audiocode from the author, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
Great Story & Audible Listen Sweet, Spicy & Fun!
Between a Rock and a Royal
Kings of Carolina, Book 1
By: Sylvie Stewart
Narrated by: Meagan Moses
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it is well written and well told with original storylines that captivated me from start to end. Sylvie Stewart created a delightful story here, I loved how well plotted it is and what it is all about, southern charm meets royalty and goes on a road trip. The characters are amazing, you can not help but fall for them, the two brothers, Leonardo and Malcolm, are like night and day and then there is Ruby Green, a character like no other and one to admire. Got to love her car too. There is never a dull moment in this book, there is drama, a bit of angst, some great humor, heartfelt moments and some hot romance. The book does end in a cliff hanger, so be sure to have the next one on standby so you are ready to pick it right up. Thank you Sylvie Stewart for another great story, I am looking forward to the what comes next for Leo & Ruby and Malcolm, who I am hoping talks some sense into Leo.
I listened to the Audible edition, Meagan Moses is a wonderful narrator and voice artist. She brings these characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. She does a great job with the different accents, Ruby’s southern charm and Leo & Malcolm’s British accent. She sets the perfect tone for the story, capturing and landing the humor, the drama of the story, the emotions of the characters are projected into her performance as well. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for this great listen
SPOILER – HUGE CLIFF HANGER AT THE END OF BETWEEN A ROCK AND A ROYAL. Since there was a cliff hanger I am combining my reviews into this double feature review.
Between a Rock and a Royal was a getting to know you kind of book feeling the characters out to see where they are coming from or what they are all about and then it ended. I was so happy that I did not have to wait for the next book to come out, I would have given up reading Sylvie Stewart if that was the case. Blue Bloods and Back Roads continued the romance and I would have combined the two with some creative editing so the reader didn’t have the almost breakdown like I did when it just ended with nothing resolved in book 1, Between a Rock and a Royal. I’m so glad I love reading Sylvie Stewart so I continued on and got my HEA.
Check out both books via Kindle unlimited.
(Note: This is a review for a book duet. You’ll need to read both books, since book 1 ends on a cliffie.)
This is one of those stories that could have crossed over into cliche land REAL fast. I mean, the story of a prince from a fictional tiny land who falls for a small town girl? It’s been done a time or two (or ten thousand). But the author deserves MAJOR props because never once did I feel like I’ve read this story before.
First of all, I loved Leo about 99% of the time. (He’s a bit of a jerk at the end of book 1 for a hot minute, but I kind of understand where he’s coming from, so I’ll let it slide) But except for that 1%, he was a total sweetheart—hot without being an alphahole, sweet and gentlemanly without being a wuss, and witty enough to keep up with the fast-talking heroine. I’d gladly add Leo to my all-time favorite nice guy book boyfriends list.
Ruby was all kinds of fun. She’s a successful mechanic who owns her own garage (girlpower!), and never once traipses into TSTL land. (I might’ve questioned her sanity for a second or two in book 1 when she agreed to roadtrip with Leo and his brother, but again, I understood where she was coming from, so I cut her some slack. I also think that if it came down to it, Ruby could take both Leo and Malcolm in a fight, so there’s that…)
There are also some genuinely hilarious moments in this rom com duet, too—and y’all know how much I HATE IT when a book is being marketed as a rom com and there isn’t anything funny about it. Most of the truly great comedy came from Leo’s brother Malcolm, and I loved every minute of it.
(Side note: I will 1-click THE CRAP out of Malcolm’s story when it’s out)
The dialogue is fun and snappy, the sex scenes are hot, and the chemistry between Ruby and Leo is combustible. Additionally, I adore road trip romances, and this one fits the bill nicely.
Anyhoo, long-story-short, this was a fun, light-hearted, low-angst read that I’d recommend to any rom com lover out there in the reading audience. It’s a lot of fun, and you can 1-click with confidence.
And don’t forget to check out the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/
Entertaining story from the beginning there was chemistry and the characters were likable, suspicious circumstance, twist and turns
A fun enjoyable story full of loveable characters, witty banter, hot chemistry, and a few sweet and sexy times. I love that is was told in dual point of view and the chemistry between Ruby and Leo is sizzling hot. Can’t wait for the rest of the story a entertaining fun road trip.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Love the adventures of Leo and Malcolm with Ruby along for the ride. Humorous laugh out loud moments. Malcolm the fun loving brother wants a break from his responsibilities when Theo is the serious voice of reason. Ruby needs help and accepts the brothers offer. There’s an attraction between Leo and Ruby but they both have secrets that challenges their new relationship. This is cliffhanger. Engaging from beginning to end. Recommend read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this book. The author wrote a fun book with great characters. I felt like I was a character in the book given how she wrote it. The descriptions, dialogue and characteristics of the royals were spot on. Their interaction with her was so well written, I wish I was her. Recommend
My brother is the crown prince and thinks he is the clever one which he lets them think. Now they are in a man and he needs to get them out of it. Her uncle and her owe money and they will pay it for a ride. Easy right. Maybe not so easy? Trouble is coming so see what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I found myself totally captivated as I turned the pages of this well written story with characters that were so well developed that I couldn’t put this book down until I finished reading the very last page!
Between a Rock and a Royal
This is my very first book I have read by this author and let me tell you it won’t be my last! Wow! What an amazing read!! What an amazing attention grabbing funny story!
Do recommend!
3.5 stars
Wanna get to know someone? Take a road trip together. In this case, Ruby just might bite off more than she can chew. Between a Rock and a Royal is an amusing, fast-paced read with witty dialogue and a bit of steamy fun. The romance revolves around Leo and Ruby, who are both likable characters, but the driving force of this adventure is Malcolm, the fun-loving, trouble-making future king. The angst level is relatively low through most of the book – at least until the end when we get a pretty big cliffy. That part surprised me with a lighthearted romcom, but it did feel necessary with the way the story unfolds. In any case, I did enjoy the read and will be interested to see where it goes from here.
The book is a good small town romantic comedy read. The characters are good. Both the story and the characters meshed well together.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a great read, I really loved the brothers….twins guys, they’re twins! But seriously, the characters are fantastic, the story line is great. It’s funny, and witty, entertaining and original. The author drew me in right away, the characters were not just great but they are easy to relate to, and their plight is one I easily got behind. The ending had me biting my lip and getting a bit heated at Leo, but was understandable. I very much look forward to reading what Sylvie Steward has in store for them in book two.
*Received copy via Booksprout in return for honest review, all opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review*
ok, maybe she found two princes – but it is up for debate which one is the bigger royal a%$##h&^le !
hilarious road trip mixed with messed up romance and family turbulence.
time to hit the road with the rest of the story!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cliffhanger – Great Story
I loved this book until the last page when I found this was a cliffhanger. Not leaving the door open for the next story, but a bonafide end of the book in the middle of the plot. I hate that. I never read cliffhangers. The story had me completely intrigued. The plot and execution were just wonderful. And then it ended. What a lousy way to sell more books. I received this ARC book for free and this is my honest opinion.
The cover is so vibrant and happy that I wanted to dive right in. The book was unfortunately a slow starter for me and it took a few chapters to get into the story. By the end I was super upset to find it a cliffhanger! I need to know how it ends!!! I loved the characters…
Bummer it’s such a good story till it ends. Then it ends unresolved. I hate that. But they are a entertaining bunch.
Sucks you into buying all of the series. which is what it is supped to do and so rarely does.
A good story, ended in a cliffhanger