Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Royally Screwed
AUTHOR: Lynn Van Dorn
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 75,000 words
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2020
BLURB:
Take one betrothal gone awry…
Prince Angelo is destined to marry Prince Yuri. Never mind that Angelo isn’t gay and didn’t choose to be saddled with a moony-eyed princeling who is determined to ruin Angelo’s life. Then one day Yuri goes too far and Angelo has to take matters into his own hands.
Add one doomed arranged marriage…
Prince Yuri is destined forever to pine after Prince Angelo. Arranged marriages are archaic and awful enough without being stuck for life with someone you want who will never, ever in a million years want you back. Still, for someone who claims to want nothing to do with Yuri, Angelo is surprisingly possessive.
And you just might get one unexpected romance.
Two men, thrown together by fate and scheming parents, shouldn’t have a prayer of finding a happy ever after. But fate can be fickle, and love can exist where you never thought it could.
Royally Screwed is a 75,000-word M/M novel featuring royalty, a poorly-thought-out betrothal, one prince in need of a firm hand, a second prince who isn’t as straight as he always thought, drunken texting, bickering, practice kissing, odious British nobility, and falling in love despite all the reasons why you shouldn’t.
REVIEW:
Yuri and Angelo are princes of neighboring countries. They have been promised to each other before they were born. Yuri was expected to be a girl, but oops! Regardless, the two of them are raised as betrothed and are to be married by age 30 so that they cement the trade partnership between their countries. For his part, Yuri adores Angelo. Unfortunately Angelo does not feel the same and he feels like he’s saddled with someone he doesn’t want. Oh Yuri is beautiful – but he’s a boy and Angelo is straight.
As the boys grow up, they continue to fight and Yuri continues to pine after Angelo. When they are at boarding school, Yuri discovers something about himself, with Angelo’s help, that somehow binds them together. While it’s not something Angelo has ever thought about really, it is something that Yuri needs and he’s willing to give it to him.
When they go to college, Yuri continues to seek out what he needs from other men. Unfortunately he chooses unwisely and Angelo ends up rescuing him. This solidifies for Angelo his bond to Yuri. He experiences a very possessive reaction to Yuri from this point on. But Yuri wants to be loved and cherished in all ways. It’s not clear how they can move forward. No more on the plot because it should be read without prejudice. Let’s just say it’s good 🙂
Well this was certainly unexpected. The story started off a bit slowly for me – I was not impressed by either prince as youngsters. They were both a bit spoiled (no surprise there) and not terribly likable. But as the story continued, and the boys grew up, I came to appreciate each of them for the way they played the hands they had been dealt. Neither was terribly happy with their lot in life and they didn’t have a lot of control over so many things. Angelo in particular took a long time to understand just what role Yuri did play in his life and how he did really depend on Yuri in ways that he came to appreciate. At first it seemed like he didn’t want Yuri, but he didn’t want anyone else to have Yuri either. Yuri, for his part, has a difficult time dealing with his unrequited feelings for Angelo and is quite skeptical at Angelo’s seeming change of heart after Yuri is hurt. But seeing Yuri truly suffering seemed to trigger Angelo in unexpected ways. His dawning discovery that maybe his feeling for Yuri have changed somewhat are also scary for him. But the prospect of life without Yuri is not one he really wants to contemplate. I loved the supporting characters in this story as well – particularly Jacqui – Yuri’s best friend – and Phillipe, Yuri’s valet. Both of them see their true feelings and do their best to help Yuri and Angelo find their way together. As the story went on, I was more and more invested in these two figuring out how they fit together and how to make things work. Their love had a very zigzag path, but ultimately ended up where they needed to be. Highly recommended for those who love stories of enemies to lovers 🙂
RATING: 
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