Review + Excerpt: His True Queen by Jodi Ellen Malpas!
His True Queen was one of my most highly anticipated sequels of this year and OOOOH MY GOD did it blow all of my expectations to smithereens. This follow up was everything I never could’ve possibly predicted, a sequel full of sweet romance, royally delicious drama, jaw dropping scandal, and heart wrenching impossibility. And it’s all illustrated so vividly through what, I swear, is Jodi Ellen Malpas’ most stunning writing to date.
This is not a book you can easily devour in one sitting. This is a loooooong sequel that I curled up with all weekend long. But don’t mistake me. There’s no lulls in this royal romance. Malpas guarantees that every single page of this book is jam packed with mouthwatering sensuality, stunning revelations and heart stopping romance. I was just as captivated by Adeline Lockhart’s struggle with acclimating into her new role as I was by her romance with Josh Jamieson. This is truly a forbidden romance of royal proportions. The scheming and plotting and the deception these characters must commit as they feed their need to be together in secret is just… I have no words. It’s delicious. It’s sinful. It’s often sacrilegious which also makes it rife with humor. But this is more than just a love story. It’s one of tradition and obligation, one of duty and servitude. It’s a story of family secrets and deceit, a story filled with betrayal and pulse pounding twists. This intoxicating duet follows an impossibly forbidden romance between a lowly American actor and his true queen but it’s filled with unrelenting drama and seemingly insurmountable obstacles at every turn and it all makes for an absolutely unputdownable, unforgettable read.
I never saw this book coming. As completely blown away as I was by The Controversial Princess, as hungry as I was for this sequel, my expectations didn’t hold a candle to what Jodi Ellen Malpas had in store with His True Queen. This duet is extraordinary. It’s completely unpredictable. It’s angsty and funny, heartbreaking and infuriating. In the moments where I was forced to step away from it, my stomach was left in knots. I was completely consumed with Josh and Adeline’s story and I couldn’t wait to dive right back in just to see what would happen next.
Jodi Ellen Malpas’ meticulous crafting of this story has left my chin on the floor. When I think back on all of it, on where Josh and Adeline began versus where they end up, when I consider the character development and the world building and the brilliance of this fierce attraction set against the backdrop of the British monarchy, I am left STUNNED. I’m still sitting here shaking my head over all that I went through in this series, all the secrets that were unearthed. Decades of smoke and mirrors come crashing down at the hands of a fiery princess who refuses to follow tradition in the face of love and what transpires, what Jodi Ellen Malpas creates with her brilliant storytelling and lush writing on these pages, is nothing short of BREATHTAKING.