Royal Mess – Jenna Sutton

From award-winning author Jenna Sutton comes a story of two princes who discover that falling in love is messy…

Prince Leo’s icy demeanor has earned him an amusing nickname—the Polar Prince. Unfortunately, the king doesn’t see the humor. If Leo wants to secure the throne of Alsania, he must improve his image. Participating in an organ donation campaign seems like a good start. He expects to donate his organs on his deathbed, so he’s surprised to be matched with a complete stranger who needs his help now.

Tessa Lulach hates to admit it, but she’s a damsel in distress. When a handsome prince offers to save her with a hunk of his liver, she joyfully accepts. She can’t wait to feel like herself again and return to her beloved flower shop. Instead, her identity is revealed, and the quiet life she loves is turned upside down.

As Leo and Tessa deal with the nosy public and ruthless paparazzi, she realizes the Polar Prince is much warmer than he seems—scorching hot, in fact. He willingly gave her a part of his liver, but can he give her his whole heart?

*****

Everyone loves Prince Marco of Alsania, despite his reckless antics … or maybe because of them. So why does sexy schoolteacher Cassie Lulach prefer a boring investment banker over him? Wounded by her indifference, he has an erotic encounter with a masked woman at a royal ball who reminds him of the one he really wants.

After another failed relationship, Cassie is frustrated with immature, inconsiderate guys. Wanting to escape reality, she attends a masquerade ball and finds herself alone with a masked stranger. For the first time in her life, she acts on impulse, only to end up pregnant and absolutely clueless about the identity of her baby’s father.

When Marco learns of Cassie’s pregnancy and her plans to raise the baby alone, he promises to be there for her, hoping she’ll finally see him as more than just a playboy prince. But then he discovers she’s the woman from the masquerade ball and panics. Will the truth destroy his chance to win over Cassie, or will he convince her that they can have their own happily ever after?

Goodreads

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Those who have followed my reviews for a while know this about me: I’m not a huge fan of novellas. I always feel like things are rushed and its honestly torture. GIVE ME FULL BOOKS! I don’t mind an informational novella in a fantasy series, but I prefer my romance novels full length for sure. That being said, this particular duo of novellas was really enjoyable for me. Alert the presses! My tastes may be changing! (Not likely, I’m sure this an exception to a rule that will live on)

The first novella, Tess and Leo, was just too damn cute. They were all kinds of awkward and adorkable and I loved it. The cold prince falls in love with the woman he donated his kidney to. Really, nothing cuter. Do you guys think that if I get sick I can snag a prince? I don’t know how cute I would look with my ass hanging out of a hospital gown, unfortunately. Anyways! Tessa and Leo were adorable and the chemistry between them literally sizzled. I’ve read quite a few romance novellas, and have never seen chemistry jump off of the page in such a brief story. I laughed, I cried, I had to fan myself. It was really, a fantastic little story.

Now, onto the second novella in this book. Oh Marcus, you adorable little cinnamon roll. Who the hell doesn’t love a bad boy? A reformed bad boy is one of my all time favorite things and I adored Marco’s tale. He was sweet and thoughtful but also still a complete idiot. The conflict in this particular novella was a little more developed than the conflict in the first. It honestly had my stomach in knots as I screamed at Marco to get his shit together for Cassie.

I’m sure at this point you’re wondering why I gave a book I clearly enjoyed less than five stars. Its just…I wish they had been full length novels. I loved their stories, but there was so much room for growth and development and I will always miss out on those things when I read a book that is too short.

My Takeaway: The two novellas in this book were sweet, smile inducing, and hot as all hell. Though I do wish that they had been separated and written as two full length novels, I did enjoy the stories and the chemistry between the characters.