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Seventeen-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about secrets. As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, she’s been told all her life to keep her identity hidden. But when she is forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family — who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists — her identity is mysteriously revealed. Suddenly the world is dying to know every juicy lie the press prints about her.
When a night of partying turns deadly and Evan becomes the primary suspect in a murder investigation, the escalating rumors and fallout threaten to tear her life apart. As she fights to undercover the truth about what happened that night, she discovers royal secrets that are even more scandalous than she imagined — secrets that could change the monarchy forever.
Along with the allure of fictional royalty, Royal Blood provides readers with a murder mystery featuring surprisingly heavy topics.
If you are triggered by stories with sexual assault, this book may not be for you. One particular scene, while not graphic, does include Evan finding herself drugged and nearly raped. A main part of the plot revolves around this moment, and it becomes a hot topic for the media and a relentless source of cyber bullying for Evan.
Overall, though, Royal Blood is smart and riveting. In some places, the story definitely pulls on heartstrings, and due to the addictive quality of the writing, readers may even find themselves thinking about Evan Bright after they’ve closed the book. She’s a character who can certainly hold her own, and it’s easy to fall in love with her as the story unfolds.
Rated: Moderate, primarily for harsh topics revolving around sexual assault. A character is drugged and undressed. Nothing happens beyond that, but a video of the intended rape is leaked and trending, resulting in tabloid persecution and online bullying. Evan is blacklisted and crudely belittled for her illegitimacy. Sexual content also includes two girls found making out (one of whom is topless) and infidelity discovered among family members. Characters kiss. Violence includes one death and some blood and threats. Evan’s mom struggles with mental health, which created an unsafe atmosphere for Evan as a child. Evan visits a club, and does not drink, but false rumors spread of her doing drugs. Profanity includes 14 uses of moderate language, 41 uses of mild langauge, and 10 instances of British (bl-) profanity.
