Welcome to their kingdom…I never thought I’d step foot in Royal Manor again. But four years later, here I am…back to finish my senior year at Royal Hearts Academy.And forced to face Jace Covington. My first friend. First crush. First kiss. The one I left behind.Only—he isn’t the same boy I gave my heart to.This new Jace is as cruel as he is gorgeous.And he’s determined to make my life a … Jace is as cruel as he is gorgeous.
And he’s determined to make my life a living hell.
Along with the rest of his glorified family and crew of tyrants.
They expect me to worship the ground they walk on like everyone else, but I’d rather eat dirt.
If Jace Covington wants me gone…he’ll have to try harder.
Because I’ve never been the kind of girl to play by the rules.
WARNING: Royal Hearts Academy is a New Adult/High School series of standalones filled with drama, a touch of angst, and boys who are bad to the bone.
This series is recommended for mature readers due to graphic language and sexual content.
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*WARNING* contains sexual content, crude language, and suicide
This is over the top high school drama. I was going to give this 3 stars, but the plot is just so twisty. I could not figure out what Jace thought Dylan had done and then when I FINALLY found out, it’s not anything I would have guessed. It’ll keep you guessing.
This was a well written, surprisingly emotional story. It was way more then academy/bully book. The story was raw and real, the characters were smart and strong. The plot was defined and deep. I very much enjoyed this and will be reading the next book. It is a complete story with a HEA. It’s a friends to enemies to loves but with a lot of heart.
Cruel Prince is a book I couldn’t put down! I feel such hurt and devastation for Jace and his family. Being different doesn’t make you a nuisance or burden. There is not one reason in the entire world that anyone should be bullied. This story had me crying huge hulking tears. Dylan and Jace were a beautiful Disaster together. Their love was raw and Earth shattering. This author captivated me with every word . Such brilliant talent that I felt every emotion with these characters.
Ashley Jade delivers such a heart wrenching book. Cruel Prince has what every ya reader wants. Drama, heartache, angst…it’s a story packed with so much emotions you will be on the ride of your life. I found my heart hurt as she addresses issues people struggle with. It brought me back to a time when you felt alone and lost. But a great support system and understanding goes a long way. You hate to love Jace but understand why he is the way he is. Dylan is amazing. She truly reminded me of my time in hs and not giving a fudge about what people thought. Ashley Jade writes such a phenomenal story! I recommend this book to young adult hs romance lovers out there!
3.5 stars. Emotional, angsty and sensitive issues of bullying and suicide plus teen and family drama in this teen romance. There seems to be a trend of terrible parents in stories these days and this one has a couple of doozies. It’s great that siblings and cousins take up the slack in the lack of parental support. These characters are interesting and the author did a good job of making me care about them. The secret drama between Dylan and Jace went on a little too long for me. I got whiplash from Jace’s moods and behavior. Dylan was terrific and I love a girl that can throw a punch! I loved her bestie, Sawyer and look forward to seeing her in future stories. Likewise with studly Cole and goofball Oakley. It didn’t really get my full attention until about half way when secrets started to be revealed and retribution handed out. I thought a lot of the behavior and language was too advanced for high schoolers especially some of the sexual encounters. I do enjoy YA stories but this was not exactly in my lane but it was worth the read and I look forward to more from these young folks. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.
CALLING ALL ANGST WH*RES! I REPEAT…CALLING ALL ANGST WH*RES! You need to get your hands on this story…like RIGHT NOW! YES I MEAN IT, RIGHT NOW…DROP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING AND PICK UP A COPY!
Cruel Prince is the first book in Ashley Jade’s addictively captivating Royal Hearts Academy series and oh my freaking goodness what the PERFECT introduction to this brand new series! Let’s just say that the angst level in this story is turned WAY up high and you will without a doubt fall head over heels in in love with every single moment of this tale from the characters to this unique storyline. Although I have read several bully romances recently, nothing has quite compared to this phenomenal story and I think I might have just discovered my all-time favorite one!
Dylan and Jace’s story is a gut-wrenching friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance that will keep you on the edge of your seat second guessing every twist and turn! Their story took me on a rollercoaster of emotions that left me laughing, swooning and crying from one second to the next. Just when I thought I had things all figured out, suddenly that author threw me for a loop and I found myself completely shocked by the outcome. I thought that author did an incredible job showing readers both the past and present of these characters so effortlessly that it had me hook, line, and sinker right from the very beginning. Their journey is not the easiest one, but it was the one that they were always meant to be on. Life will constantly throw obstacles in a person’s way and sometimes you have to fight for the one you love!
“But the heart doesn’t choose who we love by their worth. Because love isn’t a choice. It’s an illogical, all-consuming consequence that results from someone stealing a vital piece of you”.
Holy shit, this was my first Ashley Jade book and I LOVED it. I devoured this book in about 3 hours or so. If you are a fan of friends -to- enemies, enemies -to- lovers, angsty, bully, asshole stories then this book is definitely for you. Jace and Dylan were childhood friends but were torn apart by tragedy and circumstances that were beyond their control. After living in different cities for sometime, Dylan returns to attend her senior year at Royal Hearts Academy. Still harboring resentment, pain, and guilt, Jace vows to run her out of town by making her life miserable, but he wasn’t expecting Dylan to fight back.
I enjoy reading a good bully romance, but this book exceeding my expectations because Jace wasn’t a bully to be a bully. Don’t get me wrong, I am not excusing his behavior at all, but Jace had endured a lot of pain and guilt over the death of his brother that he took out those feelings on the one person he always relied on to complete him. Dylan and Jace were to complex characters who endured a lot of loss at an early age. Their broken pieces reflected through their eyes and it connected their hearts in a way that completed them. I enjoyed reading both characters. I also enjoyed the secondary characters who all played a significant role in each other’s lives.
This was more than a bully romance, it was a story that touched on topics of tragic loss, mental illness and betrayals. It is a story of the sacrifices some are willing to face because of their loyalty to family and friends, but also a story on the choices other are willing to make because of their resentment to family and friends.
I’ll be looking forward to Cole and Sawyer’s story.
Holy crap this book was do damn addicting!
I was so fascinated by Jace and Dylan’s story that when I got to the end I didn’t want nor was I prepared for their story to be over!!
Even though Jace and Dylan friendship ended on a bad note even though she couldn’t understand why he started hating her, she was still the person very much in love with him and she would take all his hurtful things because that’s just how much she loved him.
This book had such a pull on me because the constant push and pull between Dylan and Jace had me puzzled and I had to figure out why he hated her so much and she was blaming her for his hatred. But as the story wore on, the more and more I got to figure out what in the world was going on.
I did not like the fact that instead of talking to her straight up and telling her, making her aware of why he had so much animosity towards her and why she was to blame for his feelings. But I got it, if it was known so early on in the story then the story wouldn’t have had purpose nor would it have taken us as far as it did.
Now I’m looking forward to his brother’s book next. If I was so immersed and invested in Cruel Prince, you bet your bottoms that I’ll be just as invested in the next books in the series!
Ms. Ashley Jade really knows how to write a book with so much angst and pain.
“Butterflies appear when angels are near.”
Cruel Prince is book 1 in the Royal Hearts Academy series. No cliffhanger.
I never expected to cry ugly tears reading this book but the pain radiating off these pages absolutely gutted me.
”Kiss me like you’re mine. I dare you.”
The emotions A Jade takes you through in this book are no joke. I laughed my ass off at Oakley’s stupid comments, I cried my eyes out at the heartbreak that encompasses both Dylan and Jase’s worlds, I screamed at my kindle because I was so damn frustrated with the actions of the characters and had to take several deep breaths.
A Jade shows you that family isn’t always blood. Family are the people who are there for you in times of need. It’s people who are loyal and have your back when you are at your darkest. Family is the person who would take a bullet for you without even blinking. Blood or not.
”I’m destroying the kingdom.
“And just like a game of chess.
“You have to take down the queen before conquering the king.”
The love that Jace and Dylan had for each other was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. It was raw and emotional but it was so damn perfect.
Their journey was not easy. It was not kind. But it was raw and real and everything that I’d hoped it would be.
I won’t give any spoilers away because you need to go into this book blind to experience how epic it is.
A truly heartbreaking love story that will break your heart and then fix it all over again.
Dylan and Jace’s story was riveting. This friends to enemies tale is was so intense that I could not put it down. Ashley’s builds intense chemistry between her characters and the story is full of mystery. Once again her story does not disappoint. I love her secondary characters and cannot wait and see their stories as well. This book is a standalone with no cliff hanger. I laughed, sighed, cried, raged and swooned – in no particular order.
Where do I even begin?!?!
This first book of her new series is not like her previous work but is all at the same time. Ashley Jade has the unmatched ability to write some of the most devious characters but make you love them anyway.
Ashley Jade consistently delivers when she puts words on a page. Each and every book she has ever written grabs hold of your emotions, takes them through a literal rollercoaster and then drops you off the edge.
WORTH IT.
Cruel Prince set the bar for the bully romance trope.
Jace is the perfect angry, bully, alpha. All with a good reason. He owns the halls he roams in high school. But his exterior personality is only a mask; an emotional wreck, a broken boy.
Dylan is such a strong heroine. She refuses to be victimized and literally will have you laughing out loud with her witty comebacks. Her inner emotional turmoil will have you gasping for air as she navigates the changes in her life.
Somehow, Ashley Jade delivered tragedy of high school, bullies, suicide, mental illness, and anger and turned it into an HEA.
Jace and Dylan will have you flipping the pages as fast as you can to find out more.
This was a stunning intro into this world and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
**Side note: Oakley is my HERO. This man is going to be everything in this series.**
And as always from my reviews, my top quotes of the book:
“It turns out there is something even worse than unrequited love. Being forced to pretend it doesn’t exist at all.”
““I see you,” I breathe between kisses. “You’re my favorite color.””
“The kiss is vibrant desperation laced with spiteful greed. Our lips soothe and clash like lovers and enemies who are indulging and sinning…trying to see which will win out.”
“The possession in his kiss is absolute…as if he has a point to prove.”
Absolutely Fantastic!
Cruel Price is the first book I read by Ashley Jade and I was completely blown away. I loved the way the story was written not only in duel perspectives but in past and present. It allowed me to figure the couple out and have an understanding of them before the whole mystery is revealed. Jase is terrible there for a little while, but you always know there is more to the story. He also doesn’t do anything unforgivable even if it is harsh and hurt my heart. I also love that Dylan while confused and hurt and definitely taken to task never seems weak or meek. She isn’t going down without a fight. Both make mistakes and I definitely wanted to shake them and have them just talk to one another but the story would have been a lot less interesting if they had. The type of strong emotions this story evokes only happens when I feel connected to the characters. I was very angry one moment, borderline tears the next, and laughing the very next. It was awesome. As far as “high school bully romances” go this is one of the best recommendations I had this year. It is high school and bully but there is so much more that make it a great overall read. Not only am I happy that I read this story I can’t wait to see what is in store for the other characters that are introduced. Highly recommend!
Five cruel stars! Warning: Gut-wrenching friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance inside!
For the love of everything sacred! What a way to start a new series filled with drama, angst and boys who are arseholes with capital A! Ashley Jade took the high school drama to a whole new and refreshing level. She ticked all the right elements to make Cruel Prince a heart-touching and angsty new adult romance. You can feel all the emotions running intensively from the first page to the last one. It was a brutal and rough bully YA romance with plenty of vicious and cruel touches that make this book a hell of a journey.
Cruel Prince is a phenomenal, captivating, compelling, powerfully irresistible and unputdownable masterpiece! Nothing stopped me to devour it in one sitting. This book held me captive the moment I started it. It held my heart hostage. It possessed me and owned me wholly. The plot is unique and too consuming. So utterly addicted! The storyline is mesmerizing. It pours emotions, drama and rough romance filled with scorching hot lust and unforgiving desire.
This book is about tragedy bringing together two damaged hearts by fate. Two souls who were destined to feel for each other so deeply even though they couldn’t stand each other. They were childhood best friends who turned enemies. And when they see each other again one is going to destroy the other. Jace and Dylan took hate and love to far. Their demons don’t leave them in peace neither the secrets nor lies around them. The tension and the denied love is palpable between those two. The attraction is out the charts and when they fight there is a bit of beauty in the hurtful words. They will play a dangerous game. They are like Yin and Yang. Light and darkness. Damage pieces of the same puzzle.
Jace and Dylan’s story wasn’t easy. It was raw and emotional. Full of highs and downs. Jace kept his feelings at bay and Dylan was forced to leave but when she reappears in Jace’s life he will make her life a living hell. He will make her burn to the ground although he will be burn with her too. While Jace wants to make Dylan pay, Dylan wants to recover her best friend. Their love flourished pure but stained in lies.
Despite of all, Dylan is feisty and strong. She stand up to everything Jace threw at her way. She never lowered her head. She fought back. She didn’t let the only boy who could destroy her do it. Her life wasn’t easy. She lost her mother and since then she never was loved. Dylan was the unloved princess until she meet the enigmatic boy who claimed her young heart.
Jace, oh my god, he is the cruellest Prince, ladies! He is dangerous. He is enigmatic. He is possessive. He is very complex and intense. He doesn’t forget easily and his past defined him in a darkish way. He is loyal and a protector.
So many secrets around them. So much hurt. So much hate. So much attraction. So much heat. So much sexual tension. So many angry fights. So much contempt. So many feelings.
It was easy to be drawn into Royal Hearts Academy. Everyone has secrets. I WANT MORE of this series!
Cruel Prince is a first book from the Royal Hearts Academy series.
The story is about Jace and Dylan, which were friends, but now they are enemies.
I am a big fan of hate-to-love plot in books. When I saw Cruel Prince on my Kindle, I just sat on the bed and start reading this story.
And I totally love it!
This chemistry between Jace and Dylan is so steamy. In this book we have everything which a bad girls love – stalking, needing and wanting. This book is like all books with hate-to-love inside, BUT the background is different.
I know that I must write about Jace and Dylan more, but for me they are only main heroes, nothing more. They have their moments, but they didn’t took my attention for longer.
It is different side when You ask me about Oakley.
Dylan’s cousin is my favourite hero in this book. And I have hope that Ashley Jade will think about Oakley’s story and write it.
I need it! Pretty please!
I really like this book and I am waiting for Cole’s story now. Ashley Jade bought my heart with Oakley.
Cruel Prince is a really good series start and you really must read it.
CRUEL PRINCE by Ashley Jade is the First book in the Royal Hearts Academy Series. This is the story of Dylan and Jace.
Dylan and Jace at one time where best friends going through things together with their friendship of support. But then Dylan was taking away by her father with no goodby or anything. Now in their present day Dylan is back after being gone for a few years. Dylan wants to finish high school and connect back with her best friend. But she quickly gets the wake up call that Jace isn’t the same nor is the closeness they once had. It actually the opposite he seems to hate her but can they find what they used to have?
Enjoyed their story.
An angsty, sometimes gut wrenching, emotional enemies to lovers romance!
I can’t get enough of this trope. It’s my guilty pleasure.
“We were best friends before we were enemies, therefore my love for him will always be stronger than my animosity.”
I DID NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I love love love bad boys, and Jace checked all the boxes. I was almost past thinking he could redeem himself, but Ashley Jade came through with an emotional twist that left me begging for something happy to come of this story. My heart hurt, my stomach felt sick, whiplash in epic proportions. This story had it all. Dylan held her own with fierce determination. Kudos for writing a fighter. And the side characters were just as interesting. Some of the drama had me rolling my eyes, then I’d have to remember the ages of the characters and it was like walking down memory lane. As awful as that can be. I’m ready for more from this twisted town!
If you like enemies-to-lovers, bullies, or bad guys, you’ll definitely be snuggled to the pages of this book. I totally reccomend!
And Ashley Jade does it again.
I can not get enough of her words and her characters.
They capture you from page one and never let go.
So sad it’s over but can’t wait to read about Cole and Sawyer.
I received an advanced/review copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content and honesty of my review.
I’m a huge fan of Ashley Jade‘s. I’ve been a fan since I first read Complicated Hearts and I think she’s one of the biggest talents in the indie publishing scene right now. So when I first found out she was writing an academy/bully series, I was absolutely ecstatic. Nobody writes angst and asshole-ish behavior like Ashley Jade, and since I’ve always loved the academy subgenre–and I’ve been particularly into the bully subgenre recently, as well–I was beyond ready for this book!
Jace is … wow, dude. He is an Asshole with a capital A. He is absolutely awful to Dylan through most of the book and I can’t even tell you how many times his behavior pissed me off, lol. The thing about Jace, though, is that he has a fairly legitimate reason for the bullying–at least in his and his family’s mind. It’s a little easier to give him some more forgiveness once you understand the why behind his actions, even if it doesn’t completely redeem him.
I won’t lie; Jace is one of the most incredibly written “bullies” I’ve read. He’s sexy, brooding, angsty, mean, and so, so complicated. There’s so much more than meets the eye with this character and each new facet to his personality left me more intrigued than the last. He isn’t soft, he’s not hearts-and-flowers, and it does take a bit to warm up to him, but the wait is definitely worth it!
I greatly enjoyed Dylan. She’s no pushover, but she isn’t in your face either. As is the case with most of Ms. Jade‘s heroines, she’s flawed–which I love–and doesn’t try to be anyone other than who she is. She’s had a rough life for several different reasons and losing Jace as her best friend was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back. She’s completely oblivious to why her childhood best friend and first love hates her so much, but she’s determined to figure it out.
There comes a time where she seems to somewhat accept the non-relationship they have, which I actually enjoyed seeing portrayed in this storyline. I mean, obviously, once you reach that point where you recognize this relationship is going nowhere, you’ve got to let go and attempt to move on. Considering this is fiction and it does have a happy ending, the plans do change, but I definitely enjoyed seeing a side other than “I’m going to keep fighting even if it looks like there’s no iota of hope left.” If for nothing else, it added another layer to the story that I found to be both intriguing and raw.
I also want to mention Dylan’s best friend, Sawyer, who is easily the coolest best friend character in any book I’ve ever read. Ms. Jade wrote her incredibly beautifully. She’s a Christian girl who makes it known that she loves Jesus, but she’s about the furthest away from pious or holier-than-thou that you can get. She curses, she’s relatable, and she’s a great friend. The best part is simply that she acted like a real person instead of someone who felt the need to judge her friends/peers for their faiths–or lack thereof. It was so nice to read about a Christian character that didn’t have my teeth setting on edge from the hypocrisy or bigotry.
This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. I had pretty high hopes when Ashley first announced she was writing this series, but I have to say that she blew me out of the water with this book. It was somewhat reminiscent of Bully by Penelope Douglas, which I mean in the best way possible because Bully is kind of the quintessential bully romance for me.
This book is not an “easy” read. You’re going to get bombarded with drama, a crap ton of angst, and a lot of heartache–but keep holding on. You’re also going to get tons of steamy, kindle-melting scenes, some hysterical weed-induced randomness, and a love that burns hotter than any hate. Trust me, it’s so worth it in the end <3
Now, I can’t wait for Sawyer and Cole’s story Oh, be still, my heart!
Happy reading!
Original review on the Alated Bibliophile blog: http://bit.ly/cruelprincerev
Cruel Prince Review
I’m not sure what to say about this book that hasn’t already been said honestly. A story filled with drama a touch of angst and some major hot moments making you beg for more.Cruel Prince has it all!Royal Hearts Academy has many bad boys but Jace Covington the biggest A hole of all is the one who makes you hate him but crave him nevertheless. (Not A Safe Romance Book)
Dylan is back home in Royal Manor but things aren’t the same since shes been gone and her best friend she fell for is now her enemy. After her dad has landed himself behind bars she is living with her Aunt and Uncle and step-cousin Oakley. Day one being back at Royal Hearts Academy is worse then she thought possible.
Jace lost his brother and swore to keep his other two siblings safe and allow no one to hurt them ever again after what happened to his brother Liam. He holds one main person to blame and that’s the one he thought he knew the most Dylan. Now that she’s back he’s ready to make things a living hell for her until she’s running out the doors and back out of his life. Dylan’s still in love with Jace even now that she feels like she has no clue who he is anymore and Jace still has feelings he can’t deny for Dylan even with the guilt he’s feeling a disaster is bound to happen. With Jace doing his worst and wanting revenge and Dylan not willing to go down without a fight.. Let the games begin.
This was a fast read for me once I started reading I had trouble stopping. I can’t wait to read Cole’s story. I’m deeply hoping that maybe Oakley will have his own story some day.
Five cruel stars for Dylan and Jace !!!
This is the first book I’ve read by Ashley Jade. I must say that I absolutely fell in love with this book and Ashley’s writing style.
“Cruel Prince” is a dark bully high school romance with a lot of angst and love/hate relationship between Dylan and Jace that makes you continue reading without taking a break because you want to know what will happen next .
This was a book I chose to review without reading the blurb and only because I love the cover and genre of book.
My intuition was right (as always ) and I loved this book.
If you’re looking for a romance book with angst and friends to enemies to lovers tropes, this is a perfect book for you !