Twisted Palace by Erin Watt Review

4 Smooches

Synopsis

These Royals will ruin you…

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.
They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

Review

Twisted Palace brings to us the conclusion of Reed and Ella’s story. Royal Palace was one of my absolute favorite books of 2015 so I have been eager to see how this tale would end. I did enjoy this book but honestly I find that the trilogy on a whole was too drawn out for my taste. There were just too many extra details and what felt like filler. In my opinion this could have been one or maybe two books, But that being said the story as a whole is exciting and surprising and the last 15% of this book in particular had me on the edge of my seat.

Reed and Ella are still in high school so this fully in my opinion falls into the mature YA category so I expected (as I did with the first two books) for there to be a lot of juvenile problems (i.e. sneaking out, mean girls, out casted, daddy issues, etc) and I personally don’t mind these and in a lot of ways I really enjoy these storylines. I find them an escape from my life as a 34 year old stay at home mom. But mix all of those problems in with a murder mystery and you just have drama overload. It felt convoluted and overdone at times. I think I would have been more into the mystery or more into the YA drama if one was played up more than the other but they both seem to be driving forces that were competing for my attention.

Now let’s talk about what I loved in this book. The Royals. The clan as a whole is a win for me. They are fiercely loyal and protective. Sexy, funny and mysterious. I gulp up every droplet of information I get about each of them in hopes of retaining it for future stories. Val and Wade. That is a story that needs telling. The ending. I will admit I did not see that coming. The writing, there is no denying that these are two extremely talented writers who craft some amazing and complex stories and this was no different. It was clear it was all well though out and planned perfectly. And lastly, and this might surprise you, Jordan. I love me a villain and she was just the perfect high school mean girl. She reminds me a lot of Nan from Abbi Glines’ Rosemary Beach series and like Nan she really drives a lot of the drama in the book.

“You. Us. Forever.”

So my overall thoughts are:

Did I love the story as a whole? – Yes

Did I find it too drawn out for three books? – Yes

Is there a too much juvenile drama? – Yes and No (see review)

Will I read more Royals? – Absolutely Yes

Is Easton mine? – Yes and don’t argue this fact.

~miranda