Well, I can live with the fact that the series has now been completely reissued with an entirely new cover design and that the different book spines on the shelf don´t really fit. But I can´t join the excitement everyone is expressing about the story of the book. At some point, I stopped counting how many times the author told the reader that Alexander had quite some difficulties trusting his wife and their love. Or that she would stay with him but not allowing X to control her every move, thought, or action.
Royal Games*
by Geneva Lee
Royal World Series #1
Die Royals Saga #8
Die Royals Saga #8
Translation Charlotte Seydel
Original Title Cross Me**
Publisher Blanvalet on April 27, 2020
Genre Love-Women-Erotica
Pages 383
Format Paperback
Source Publisher
✶✶✶½
Love is a dangerous game … From Bad Boy to King of England. After the fatal attack on his father, Alexander took over the crown. With Clara at his side, he wants to protect the interests of his country. But the royal family still has enemies and the media are just waiting for a scandalous headline. In fact, there is a secret in his father´s past that should never be revealed. While Alexander wants to protect his beloved wife Clara from all this at all costs, the next scandal is already emerging. One he did not see coming and who could not only destroy the royal family but also his love … (personal translation by ©Vi at Inkvotary)
Story
Clara and Alexander are often not really on the same side. While Clara does everything to be a real Queen for England Alexander often steps beyond an invisible line Clara has drawn. His lies threaten their love and when she finally finds out that he was hiding one big secret all along from her, she´s done.
Style
This story is an up and down between the two main characters Clara and Alexander. I don´t remember if their relationship has always been that exhausting but I am sure that the way how he treated her, in the beginning, was very different from the way he is treating her now. For me, it seemed as if Alexander does everything to make it impossible for Clara to breathe. Something that shouldn´t happen between two people who are deeply in love with each other. But the fact, that the author had to tell the reader over and over again that Alexander had his problem trusting Clara or that he needed to be reminded that she had chosen him kind of annoyed me after a while.
Sure, I liked to read how the relationship was going on between them and how they would live their marriage. How they would be as King and Queen. But I didn´t expect it to happen the way it did. Was it necessary to bring some drama into the plot? Did the author need a certain kind of darkness to give the story some spice? On the other hand, I saw scenes and dialogues that were so shallow and foreseeable that I was literally wondering why the author had changed her writing style.
Characters
Good, it has been a while that I´ve read the first three books of this series but I guess I still remember how Alexander and Clara were acting back then. Clara never allowed Alexander to treat her as if she had no will of her own. And she never allowed him to use her for anything he intended to do, except for extensive passionate sex. But his dark side was something she did everything to overcome. And as far as I remember, she was successful. Sure, they never had a relationship that was just flower sex or just holding hands. But for me, it was a great sign that Clara was able to stand beside Alexander without losing herself. When I started reading this book, I was surprised to see that the marriage they have looked more like a constant fight. A fight in which Clara has to prove day by day that she is not only madly in love with her husband but also that she is willing to have sex with him whenever he needs it.
Conclusion
Either I am absolutely grown out of this type of series or this book is one of the weakest of the Royals Saga so far. To be honest, I had my troubles reading it. Therefore, I cannot share the general enthusiasm for this novel. Sure, the plot has some good moments, and if you want to read about passionate sex repeatedly, this story is exactly what you want. But I missed something. Alexander seemed to me to be more of an immature toddler in terms of behavior than a grown man. Clara on the other hand was in some scenes great to watch. Sad to say but I fear my expectations were way too high here. Or has the author changed her style? However, judge for yourself. For me, I hope that the next volume will be better and that I can enjoy the story again.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Blanvalet in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.
Deutsche Rezension
Stil
Diese Geschichte ist ein Auf und Ab zwischen den beiden Hauptfiguren Clara und Alexander. Ich erinnere mich nicht, ob ihre Beziehung immer so anstrengend war, aber ich bin mir sicher, dass die Art und Weise, wie er sie am Anfang behandelte, sich sehr von der unterscheidet, wie er sie jetzt behandelt. Für mich schien es, als würde Alexander alles tun, um Clara das Atmen unmöglich zu machen. Etwas, das nicht zwischen zwei Menschen passieren sollte, die so sehr ineinander verliebt sind. Aber die Tatsache, dass die Autorin dem Leser immer wieder sagen musste, dass Alexander seine Probleme damit hatte, Clara zu vertrauen, oder dass er daran erinnert werden musste, dass sie ihn ausgewählt hatte, ärgerte mich nach einer Weile.
Klar, ich las gern, wie die Beziehung zwischen ihnen lief und wie ihre Ehe sein würde. Wie sie als König und Königin auftraten. Aber ich hatte nicht erwartet, dass es so passieren würde. War es notwendig, dieses Drama in die Handlung zu bringen? Benötigte die Autorin eine bestimmte Art von Dunkelheit, um der Geschichte etwas Würze zu verleihen? Andererseits sah ich Szenen und Dialoge, die so flach und vorhersehbar waren, dass ich mich buchstäblich fragte, warum die Autorin ihren Schreibstil geändert hatte.
Charaktere
Gut, es ist eine Weile her, dass ich die ersten drei Bücher dieser Serie gelesen habe, aber ich denke, ich erinnere mich noch daran, wie Alexander und Clara sich damals verhalten haben. Clara erlaubte Alexander nie, sie so zu behandeln, als hätte sie keinen eigenen Willen. Und sie erlaubte ihm nie, sie für alles zu benutzen, was er vorhatte, außer für ausgiebigen leidenschaftlichen Sex. Aber seine dunkle Seite war etwas, wofür sie alles tat, um diese zu überwinden. Und soweit ich mich erinnere, war sie erfolgreich. Sicher, beide hatten nie eine Beziehung, die nur aus Blümchensex oder simplem Händchenhalten bestand. Aber für mich war es ein großartiges Zeichen, dass Clara neben Alexander bestehen konnte, ohne sich selbst zu verlieren. Als ich anfing, dieses Buch zu lesen, war ich überrascht zu sehen, dass die Ehe eher, wie ein ständiger Kampf aussah. Ein Kampf, in dem Clara Tag für Tag beweisen muss, dass sie nicht nur in ihren Ehemann verliebt ist, sondern auch bereit ist für ihn, wann immer Alexander sie will.
Resultat
Entweder bin ich absolut aus dieser Art von Serie herausgewachsen oder dieses Buch ist eines der schwächsten der Royals Saga bisher. Um ehrlich zu sein, hatte ich meine Probleme beim Lesen. Deshalb kann ich die allgemeine Begeisterung für diesen Roman nicht teilen. Sicher, die Handlung hat einige gute Momente und wenn man wiederholt über leidenschaftlichen Sex lesen möchtest, ist diese Geschichte genau das, was man will. Aber ich habe etwas vermisst. Alexander schien mir in Bezug auf das Verhalten ehe wie ein unreifes Kleinkind zu sein als ein erwachsener Mann. Clara hingegen war in einigen Szenen großartig anzusehen. Traurig zu sagen, aber ich fürchte, meine Erwartungen waren hier viel zu hoch. Oder hat die Autorin ihren Stil geändert? Überzeuge dich selbst. Für mich hoffe ich, dass der nächste Band wieder besser wird und ich die Geschichte wieder genießen kann.
**This book was published Cross Me by Geneva Lee LLC on October 25, 2019
Geneva Lee
Geneva Lee was since always a hopeless romantic, who prefers fantasy to reality – especially fantasies involving powerful, dangerous, and sexy men. With her Royals Saga, the love-story between the English crown prince Alexander and commoner Clara, she hit into the heart of the reader and took the international bestseller lists by storm. Geneva Lee lives with her family in Kansas City.
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