Review by Veronica

Series Name: Closest Protection, #1

Bear was right behind her. His heat was like a wall. Anger radiated off him. There was something satisfying about denying this man and making him lose control. She wasn’t like this with anyone else, yet with him—this virtual stranger—the temptation was too much.

Regally Binding is spicy and swoony bodyguard romance.

Liss is an average twenty-something woman with a regular job working in a bar…until the day she learns during a televised broadcast that her grandma had an affair with the king decades ago and she might be his granddaughter.

The dying king’s announcement throws Liss into a world of paparazzi, royal parties, and death threats. But it also gives her hope that she could finally be part of a family, something she’s wanted her whole life and especially after her mum died when Liss was nineteen. Now she has to decide if she’s ready to give up her privacy, safety, and independence to be a princess.

To protect Liss in all this danger and stress is her swoonworthy new bodyguard, Bear. He’s cheeky, grumpy, and has secret tattoos beneath his suits. He’s also stubborn and bossy and clashes with Liss constantly. But Bear has a soft side too. He sits with Liss when she sleeps to make sure she doesn’t have nightmares and buys her stunning ballgowns to make her happy.

It’s not long before all the bickering and tension morphs into sizzling hot chemistry. Both Liss and Bear know that giving into their attraction is a terrible idea…but it’s getting harder and harder to fight their feelings for each other.

Will Bear keep Liss alive long enough for her to decide her future? And what if the one person keeping her safe is the same person she can’t live without?

I had super high hopes for this book. I grew up loving Princess Diaries, and when I came across this book and saw it was a spicy version of Princess Diaries, I knew I wanted to read it. Unfortunately, this one didn’t click with me. It is indeed very spicy, and there is plenty of dirty talk throughout the book, but something just didn’t work for me. I think I had a problem with the pacing, and some of the dialogue just didn’t flow the way the author may have wanted it to. Sometimes romance books that have banana, whack-a-doodle plots work and sometimes they don’t. I think them working or not working depends on the reader. I am sure there are readers out there who are going to devour this book and love it to bits, but I am not one of them. For this review, I will go over the good and bad aspects and let you decide if it’s a book for you.

Let’s start with the good. I love a book with lots of drama; the more ridiculous and bat-shit crazy the drama or, hell, the story is, the better. This book definitely falls under the only would happen in Romanceland plot. Our heroine, Liss, has just discovered that she is the long-lost granddaughter of the King of England and potentially the heir to the throne. As you can imagine, this creates quite an uproar both in society but also within the royal family. Liss finds herself in a dangerous situation. Her grandma leaves her in the care of two very broody bodyguards. Liss instantly has lusty chemistry with Bear, who is one of the bodyguards. The plot in this book is bonkers and I like it. There are many ridiculous things that happen in this book, and it is fabulous. If you are a fan of bodyguards, force proximity, royalty, and broody hero romances, then you might enjoy this book. Bear’s character surprised me. I thought he would be this alpha male character, but he really has this soft side to him that I wasn’t expecting. Some of the dirty talk that comes out of Bear’s mouth is VERY spicy and we get a taste of it right from the first moment we meet him. There is chemistry between Liss and Bear, and if you like your romances to have that lusty tension, you will enjoy the romance between Liss and Bear.   

Now, let’s chat about the bad things about this book. Let’s start with the pacing; it felt a bit off at times. There were moments when I felt like I was going at breakneck speed and then suddenly things would slow down to a crawl. It really created this unpleasant reading experience. While spicy at times, the dialogue between Liss and Bear didn’t necessarily flow the way I hoped it would. Part of it was because Bear’s character would go from hot to cold in the blink of an eye, which caused the dialogue to abruptly change in a jarring way. 

Thank you, Victory Editing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.