Silver Crown (The Forbidden Royals Trilogy Book 1)

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. An absolutely perfect start of a trilogy about friendships, betrayal, love and so much more. When the royal family is almost completely gone within just a few weeks Emilia suddenly is the sole heir to a kingdom she never had any intention to reign one day… A very different kind of story than you’re used to read by Julie but absolutely well written. Sure, there’s a lot of Drama, what with Octavia being Octavia, but who cares, it’s the royal nevertheless… The cliffhanger was to be expected which doesn’t make it any better since there is no resolution for some weeks…

A new forbidden romance from Julie Johnson’s new trilogy.

There is a lot of world building but for me that made the pacing a bit slower then I would have liked. I can see some GOT similarities. Beware a cliffy ending that makes you want the next book asap!

this was not what i expected!!!! A comedy and a fairytale all mixed up in one fantastic book!!Ended on excitement and anxiety!!

Full review on my blog: https://kingdomofromancenovels.blogspot.com/2019/02/julie-johnson-dirty-halo-velemenyezes.html

*ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Until then, I have read only one novel by Julie Johnson, and it was Not You It’s Me. It was a super sweet and cute and funny story, I can highly recommend it to romance readers. And now, I finally read another one by her, and it was the first book in her newest trilogy, which is The Forbidden Royals, and the first book is Dirty Halo. To be honest, it was amazing, but after finishing it, I felt that something is missing for me. I am 100% sure that I will continue reading this series because I am too curious and I wanna know what happens with the characters, especially with the heroine. This book ends in a cliffhanger and I think what happens there will have a huge impact on her life, so now I can’t wait to read Torrid Throne.

“You know the funny thing about fairy tales? You never see what happens to the pretty scullery maid after she rides off into the sunset with a dashing prince in a gold-plated carriage and shacks up in his castle.
Fade to black. Roll credits.
And they lived happily ever after.
Or… did they?
How are we so damn certain the minute the maid steps foot in that unfamiliar fortress, she doesn’t realize what a monumental mistake she’s made? Why are we so sure the prince doesn’t reveal himself to be a total prick once the haze of lust has cleared from her head? What if instead of a happy ending, the pretty maid spends the next thirty-odd years wishing she’d never met her goddamned fairy godmother in the first place?”

Julie Johnson did a wonderful job with Dirty Halo. It was a fairy tale set in a modern times with huge twists. It is not what you expect. You can believe that you know what happens next, but probably, this book will surprise you, because something completely different will happen.
Besides the unique storyline, I really do think that one of the biggest strenght of this novel is the writing style of the author. This book is full with absolutely fantastic sentences and thoughts, and while writing my review, I read these little quotes again and again, these really make you think and question some things. Simply amazing.
The whole story has a more serious tone, but Julie put some really funny scenes into it in an amazing way. In my opinion, these are really needed, and I did not feel that these were too much, these little moments even made the book more complete.

“No one’s ever ready for anything. You just suck it up and do it and hope that eventually the pieces fall into place. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.”
“That’s your best advice? Suck it up?”
“Hmm…” She thinks about it for a moment. “Yep.”
“Chloe, have you ever considered a career writing greeting cards? Since you’re such a fountain overflowing with heartwarming wisdom?”
“You never know, it could be my true calling. Watch out, Hallmark, I’m coming for you!”

The most mindblowing thing in this novel are the characters. Emilia is a genious heroine. She does not want to accept and does not like that they just grab her, take her away from her life and want her to be a princess with a huge smile on her face. And yes, she is so strong, but she has a emotional side too, so many things changes around her right now, and it was so good to see that sometimes she get a little bit emotional, she is not always that powerful, and because of that, she feels so real, she is a character that readers can easily relate to.
Carter… Oh Carter! I wish he would have got a lot more role in this story. I mean, he has a lot role, but I wanted a little bit a lot more of him. For me, he is still so mysterious, however, near the end, I think we can get to know him a little bit better, but still: so many unanswered questions.
At the beginning of the book, I really loved Owen, he is such an amazing and caring friend you can really trust in. And later, something really bad happens, and I was so disappointed. I could understand him, but it was a little bit too much. But near the end, I think he is the “old” Owen, or even a lot more than that, he really want to make everything better and he really wants to help.
You can not not love Chloe. When she first appeared in the story, I thought that she will be that typical spoiled princess, but I was so wrong and I am so happy that she is who she is. It was so good that the main character can find an ally in a stepsister, and they are not enemies. Her stlye is absolutely awesome, this girl is incredible, I would love to read more and more about her too.
The Lancasters… I think it is not really new that I do not really like Octavia, but if you read it, you may agree with me. But who knows, she may surprise us. Two more books are coming, so anything can happen. I have mixed feelings about Linus. And then, he did what he did, and we could really see the darker side of these royals. I think we could assume what will happen at the end, but I thought it will happen because of a completely different thing, so it surprised me. And that is was the end!! I tried to flip the pages, but nothing happened, that was it. So now, I am impatiently waiting for Torrid Throne because I wanna know what happens next. I hope release day is coming soon.

“It’s strange – you do not fully appreciate the freedom of choice until it is snatched away from you like breath from your lungs after a sharp fall. You take your future for granted as you do the presence of stars in the sky up above you each night. All those endless possibilities stretching out into infinity, each brighter than the last. But when the clouds pull in and the galaxies fade from the view of your faulty mortal eyes… you find yourself alone in the prison of your own darkness, inconsequentially trapped by a circumstance far beyond your own conception.”

Taking everything into account, Dirty Halo by Julie Johnson is an excellent way to start a trilogy. We can really get to know the characters and their background and we can learn a lot about their history. After finishing this novel, there were some unanswered questions which makes the readers even more curious for the next book in this series.
All in all, if you like to read about royals, princesses and all things like that, then I think you will like this one too. Give it a chance, it is not your typical royal romance, it is so much more than that.
I give four stars to Dirty Halo. I can’t wait to read Torrid Throne and find out what happens next.

Most people dream of the fairytale of living in a castle, being the princess…or even better, the queen. Not Emilia. She’s the illegitimate daughter of a Duke. When danger strikes and the King and Queen are murdered, Emilia is pulled in under the guise of protection. Now she needs to decide whether she can handle living the life of a princess and eventually taking over reign. She may not get the option as danger strikes again and forces her hand. Between betrayals at every turn and the intense attraction to her step brother, she’ll need all the help she can get. In a world where everything is now turned upside down, who can she trust?
I could not put this book down for a minute. Julie always writes amazing books but this one is so different. I was a little weary at first, but she never ceases to amaze me with her stories. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for book two and the continuation of Emilia’s story. I can’t wait for the next installment of this amazing new trilogy.

Dirty Halo is the start to a very intriguing trilogy. A modern day fairytale wrapped in an evil shroud where an evil stepmother seems to hold all the puppet strings in the castle. This first book put all the players in riveting positions to what will be a very scrumptious trilogy that includes murder, mystery, passion, and a forbidden romance.

Emilia is the illegitimate daughter of newly crown King of Germania. She knows her father only by name and when chaos comes to their quaint country, Emilia and her birthright are thrown into the spotlight. She must take her place in the family that includes an evil stepmother, a fun and sassy stepsister, Chloe, and a broody sexy stepbrother. And that stepbrother, Lord Carter Thorn, turns Emilia’s insides to molten lava. Their attraction is explosive and it will only lead to trouble because he becomes “Her Brother” though not related at all.

I will say that the beginning started out with a bang but it also was somewhat askew. It was a small section and it made me double think the situation but after that the story continued with intrigue and internal passion. Emilia is a strong and opinionated heroine and the situation that she gets thrown into turns her life upside down. She must navigate this journey on her own and when their are evil forces lurking in the castle, Emilia must be careful and savvy. And on top of all that, she must fight the sexual attraction she feels for Carter.

The book ends in a cliffhanger. Not a surprise but it will make for a very tumultuous second book. This book is fast pace and reads quickly. It is full of mystery, danger, fantastic banter and a forbidden love plot. I can’t wait for book 2.

“THE KING IS DEAD”

Dark. Edgy. Bold.

Dropping you right in the middle of chaos, Julie Johnson perfectly executes jaw-dropping scandal, a cunning and mysterious threat, and the soul-shaking angst that comes along with forbidden romance. Throw everything you know and have come to love about a JJ novel out the castle window because she completely flips the script and taps into her dark side with this new sinister, modern-day fairy-tale, and proves that not every princess wants to wear the crown.

Emilia Lancaster is a straight up bad-ass. She’s feisty, headstrong, and smart. And while she may stumble navigating her way through betrayal and strict royal ways, she always stays true to herself. Her sharp-tongue and snark challenges the Royals and sparks the interest of the callous Lord Carter Thorne. My! Goodness! I thought the two of them were either going to kill or kiss each other every time they shared a page. They were blunt, harsh, and at some points cruel to each other, but that underlying sexual tension added that extra charge to their interactions. And I can’t even talk about how many times I swooned each and every time Carter had her back.

This book kept me captivated for hours. I was completely lost within the pages of this novel until I finished that last breathtaking sentence. Also, can I just say… THAT. CLIFF-HANG-ER. THOUGH!!!!! WHAT. WAS. THAT. I think my heart stopped beating. DEAD! I need book two like yesterday!!

XX,
Jennifer

Ho. Lee. Shit.
What a book!!

Dirty Halo was everything I didn’t know I wanted to read. I know that without question I will love everything that Julie Johnson writes, and I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to get in Dirty Halo, but it was utterly breathtaking, suspenseful and jaw-droppingly sexy.

This modern day fairy-tale is just the beginning of clandestine tale where there are so many moving pieces so aren’t sure who you can truly trust. A villain so evil that you shouldn’t ever turn your back on her, she very much pure evil like every Disney step mother you have ever met.

Emilia is such a fierce woman who fights for what she wants and continues to fight with her back against the wall. She has the odds stacked against her and I cannot wait to see where things go from here.

Her new step siblings really add intrigue to the this tale, between her step sister Chloe who is pretty much always high and hilarious and her sexy af, brooding stepbrother that she isn’t quite sure to what to do with, because he is definitely forbidden.

The Forbidden Royals series is sure to be a must read, grab Dirty Halo and take this journey to Germania with me!

What an interesting concept woven through the pages of the newest romance in the Julie Johnson collection. I loved the reader’s note and prologue; how they provide a springboard for this author to take readers on her unconventional spin of a fairy-tale. The characters are luminous led by Johnson’s signature brand of snarky, loveable heroine. This time though she delves into a darker, troubled anti-hero who becomes someone we least expect. The idea she’s put into play in Dirty Halo gives us a new, exciting take on a familiar trope and it works great for these characters and the construct of the story Johnson tells.

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share why I couldn’t rate this book 5 stars, because I really wanted to do just that. After that prologue, the first 30% left me questioning much of it. It’s just too wonky in the beginning, a direct contrast to the tightness and agility of the storytelling for rest of the book. There’s holes and contradictions that I unfortunately didn’t find believable in that first third. Johnson hits her stride though and after that point and then I fell in love.

Being a trilogy you can expect some questions left lingering at the end but this first installment doesn’t stop in an uncomfortable place. It feels exactly right to end here, the anticipation for the next installment sweetening the deal. The tension between all of the characters is palpable and provides just the right amount of angst. Each character gives readers something to love about them yet still provide such a cloud of mystery.

There’s passion and conviction in Dirty Halo. It really shows the breadth of Julie Johnson’s creativity and fervor for her world building within the constructs of romance. Her memorable characters round out a solid, entertaining read. I can’t wait for book 2 to see where she takes us next.