Not really my kinda book , I couldn't really get into it and the story was a little predictable. The involves protagonist Olivia learning she is of Royal lineage and included in the Circle, a group of secret Royals who run the world, basically. Not my cup of tea but it could be a fun light read.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me this copy in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was exceptionally difficult to get into. The grammar and syntax of the author is hard to decipher, and at times doesn’t make any sense. The concept of the story seemed like one I’d enjoy, but in the end, I struggled so hard with language issues, I could even focus on the plot line.

This book has some harsh reviews on Goodreads. It's an enjoyable read for what it is. There's always room for improvement with the story if she chooses to continue on with it. It says "volume 1" on Amazon so I'm assuming there is going to be more.

The description did not match the content of the book. I thought this would be a fun royal romance, but I was left disappointed.

This book started off well, but then it took a turn that made no sense. I found The Circle to be intriguing. I liked the secrecy and royal treatment that it gave Olivia. I loved Connor and didn't mind the return of Alex. I hated how Olivia just dropped Maddy and her friends for months at a time. Another odd thing was the introduction of characters who seemed like they'd be influential, only to never hear from them again. The oddest part though, was the last few chapters. In those few chapters, there was Olivia going back to work, being kidnapped, breaking free, kidnapped again, breaking free again, a birth mystery reveal, Maddy being adopted, Olivia having to choose between Alex & Connor, and her taking the royal oath. The ending was so rushed and inconsistent. I was really rooting for this book, but it definitely fell short.

From the title, I thought this would be an awesome royal romance. Sadly, The Secret Lives of Royals fell short for me. I don't know what I was expecting when I started reading it but it wasn't what I thought it would be. Our main character, Olivia, is pulled into this secret society called "The Circle". From the first time we meed the Circle, I was a bit freaked out by it. It's a group of highly respectable people or those with royal blood that basically oversee everything. I guess the idea of people secretly influencing the world scares me.
There were times where I did enjoy the inner dialogue of our main character. Olivia is light hearted and funny, which I liked. Other than that, I felt that the interactions with other characters didn't create a connection with the reader. I ended up slightly bored and struggled to finish the book. I don't think The Secret Lives of Royals was a right fit for me.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I thought Olivia came across as a twelve year old. There didn't seem to be a character to balance her immaturity. Since I did not finish the book, I do not intend to publish a review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As always, thank you Netgalley.

I picked this up on Netgalley based on the description: Shopaholic meets Adjustment Bureau. Couple this with the royal wedding, and I was in the mood for some, light royalness. I had just finished The Heir and The Spare, so why not continue the trend?

I wanted to like this book, but based on the Acknowledgements, I don't think it has ran through an editor. And it needs one badly. This read like a not bad third draft, before it should go to an editor for review. At the very least, a copyeditor, as there are periods missing — I think even at one point at the end of a chapter. Also — the kindle addition has wordstogether every so often, which is jarring and hard to read and you never canquite get used toit.

First off, the book is written in present form — i.e. "I walk down the street and say hi to the mailman," rather than "I walked down the street and said hi to the mailman." This isn't a deal breaker for me, as long as I can get to the point where I don't recognize it. But the way this book flows is as if she's writing in her journal....but not....so it really shouldn't be in present tense, and thus is continuously awkward.

Second of all, I am tired of the trope of "woman starts job and no one tells her what she's doing because NYC jobs are above that." Look. I moved to the city two and a half years ago, to do a job that I was already doing for the same company I already worked for, and my boss:
*still walked me around to introduce me
* set me up with a desk and made sure I was connected to IT and who I needed to be
*took me to visit some of our brokers before making me go out on my own
*set up weekly meetings that we STILL do to this day.
Anyone I know who has walked into a job where there "is no training" has quit it fairly quickly or the company has gone under. NOT TO SAY THAT TRAINING HAS TO BE PERFECT, but god stop trying to be Devil Wears Prada people. The trope is tired.

Third, this book is written again like a third draft, where the author is still working out the dialogue. Most of it in here can use some work as it reads like twelve year olds are talking (the Main Character is 26), and other places there are just PARGRAPHS of info dump like:
"He gives me my newly assigned laptop and phone and shows me how to login and get my email from home. Then he says he has to go. And leaves me alone. I login and delete the auto-generated welcome message. I glance around. I look at my laptop. I walk down to the common room kitchen. I examine the snacked and the drinks selection. After much debate, I choose a yogurt and a blended juice. I walk back to my desk. I sit down. I open my yogurt and take a bite. I sigh. Loudly.

Just....I think I get what the author is trying to do, but because there is already so much info dumping before and a ton later, it just hurts. Again, not bad, just needs a good editor or a beta-reader who isn't afraid to be tough.

Gigi, our main character, turns out to be a secret Royal, a member of an elite and secret society that runs the world from behind the scenes. Not the Royals like the British, but even more intense. Cool premise! Except this means for most of the book, Gigi doesn't do her job and instead runs around the world shopping and partying — which would be fine, except that we are told that these dudes (three of them that have a crush on her) all like her writing. But we never see her write anything.

There is also apparently a prophecy of (view spoiler) This is, again cool, except that it isn't first mentioned until 67% of the way through the book — in passing at a party. And then the Main Character acts like it's actually the biggest deal and that she's been hearing about it the entire book and WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE PROPHECY?!

Except for 67% of the book, no one has.

Which brings me to my last issue with this book: there is a major time inconsistencies and lack of description of things that suddenly are important later:
*Gigi is the first American — except that we are never told that the other people who are members of this group that we have been introduced to are anything but American. One gets hinted at being Italian, and one might be British?
* Kings are called Your Majesty or My Lord. A Duke is Your Higness. These are used backwards.
*Chapter 16 ends at night and goes through Chapter 17 but then it's suddenly mid-afternoon in Chapter 17 without any mention of it being a new day as it goes into night and then is night again later. Again — this needs an editor or a beta reader that isn't afraid to point out inconsistencies.
*You cannot fly NYC to Italy, get out and shop for hours, fly back, all in literally one day and get back in mid-afternoon.
*The Main Character is the first American, yet "America's nobility is established through heirs to the existing Royal families." So is Gigi the first, or not?
*You've just met a guy who called you to take a job for the second time — he's taking you up to your job — and you are whining and asking for the tenth time if you can go upstairs??
*Your characters are supposed to be in their mid-20s to 30s(?) and yet they're acting like teenagers.

Overall, all the characters are just too flat to care about and the story meanders to a place of just a main character eating, drinking, and partying, but not even in a fun Gossip Girl kind of way.

I wanted to love this book after being disappointed with another 'Royal' book ...but sadly it just didn't win my heart. while a fun adventure some of the characters and concepts needed a bit more exploring and depth.
Bonus is i didn't hate it....I just did not fan girl over it.

I needed a break from so much heavy fantasy, and this seemed like an alright choice so I decided to go ahead and request it. I needed some kind of romance and I didn't really care if it was cliche - and also, I love any story involving royals.

This one was particularly predictable and cliche. I wasn't convinced that Olivia was 26? Because she was immature. As was many of the other characters. I skimmed most of it because the was childish and the plot was far-fetched, but I had nothing else to read to feed my needs for a love story. I know love triangles are overrated and out-of-date now, but I'm always a sucker for them.

This was a quick, 'alright' read, but I have nothing much else to say.

IN SUMMARY: If you've watched a single chick flick movie, you've already read this book. THE SECRET LIVES OF ROYALS brings nothing new to the table, with a plot so dull, a heroine so generic, and cast so forgettable that finally finishing the read was a moment of pure relief. Not even the royal wedding fever could keep me interested.

MY THOUGHTS:

Honestly, my summary says it all. The main character, Olivia Thorpland, is a speshul snowflake walking cliché with two identical love interests (who are of course super rich, powerful, and royalty to boot) mooning over her. She is the epitome of a generic heroine: a ‘normal girl’ thrust into high society and a prophecy, with zero personality or agency beyond impulsive moments of stubbornness.

The forgettable and interchangeable supporting cast don’t tell the protagonist anything until it’s convenient for the barebones plot. Absolutely nothing of value happens until the last tenth of the book, and even then, stakes and urgency required to keep a reader invested in the story sorely lacked. Relationships are superficial and not at all fleshed out.

There isn’t even enough of the captivating factor in the writing to immerse you. Dialogue is weak and never advances the scene half the time, with a hundred repetitions of character names (“Olivia, how are you?” “I’m well, thank you, Connor. How are you, Connor?” “Olivia, I’m fine.”).

I skim-read this from 20% on, and I still missed nothing.

WILL I READ ON? Noooooope.

Ok...um.

I give this one two stars. I didn’t like the writing style. It was, I don’t know, not very immersive maybe. I wasn’t sucked in.

The characterization was sorely lacking. The main character stays pretty much the same throughout the short novel. The best friend was treated with vague mentions and two or three big scenes. The two, yeah love triangle, love interests were without chemistry.

I don’t think we can even call it a love triangle.

Neither boy put up much of a fight or even an inkling of feelings for Olivia.

Until the end. The almost very end. Like what even is that? One boy she had history, not chemistry, with and that was what they were building their relationship on when they hadn’t seen each other in over 10 years. What?!

I might not have had many(read any) significant relationships but even I know a person changes so much over the years that one can’t go back.

The other guy, she was working with.... and that was it. Until he could suddenly sing....and made her a cute little picnic. And then they made her choose between them. Like....um...nope.

The parents. Ugh. They completely changed their tune as soon as their past was revealed. Instead of acting like they have for the last twenty something years; I forget how old Olivia is; they turn around and are all for everything they just condemned. Why?

All in all, I really didn’t like this book. I couldn’t get into it, the chemistry was nonexistent and the “problem” they had to solve was extremely vague. It seemed as though the main focus was on the “budding romance” that the main character had.

Shalini Dua’s “The Secret Lives of Royals” is a career-in-New-York-publishing story crossed with a conspiracy-theory page-turner – imagine if Dan Brown had written the TV show Ugly Betty. It makes for a fun, light read.

Olivia (sometimes called Gigi or Gracie) is a Yale grad still working as a barista in NYC at age 26, while looking for her big break in publishing. One day it appears out of nowhere, and she lands her dream job at Le Salon magazine.

Just a few weeks into the glamorous new gig, she finds herself whisked off to the midnight meeting of a secret society of endlessly rich, non-reigning royals, who run the world. (Being whisked off at a moment’s notice is a recurring theme in this book. Olivia isn’t a big packer, apparently.) The Circle informs her that she is actually an elite, so they’re grooming her for bigger things and a fabulous life.

That is, those things will be hers if she chooses to join the Circle, a decision made simpler by luxurious international travel, cost-free pampering, little work, and multiple love interests. But, what about her parents and best friend? (You’ll find out.)

The story proceeds without a lot of tension or drama, as Olivia seems more delighted than curious about her new fortunes. The last third of the book involves a Circle-related conspiracy, which propels things to the end. Without giving up the ending, Dua seems to have left the door open for another book in the future.

The book could have used a stronger editorial hand, especially in smoothing out timelines and details. (Names of fake countries, travel times, and details like passports get a little bungled.) But, it’s a cheerful, pleasant story.

This book has everything including the kitchen sink; but, not in a good way. There's a secret society that runs the world, a normal girl who finds out she's a 'princess', a love triangle, and OF COURSE a prophecy about the girl. All of the characters are flat and there's occasionally a very weak plot.
Olivia, the protagonist, is obnoxious and is willing to just go with the flow until events start to involve her best friend. Then she decides to run away from the world for weeks or months (the timeline was hard to follow). Olivia's parents want nothing to do with the royal life until they find out Olivia seems to enjoy it. They warn her against it for about a page and then five pages later they're moving into a castle!
The most interesting plot point is introduced in the last 20% of the book, forgotten for about 2 chapters, and wrapped up in another couple chapters.
Thank you Net gally for giving me an advanced copy of this book. I only finished it because it was an easy read and I was hoping a real storyline would eventually emerge.

This book started out reminding me Of The Devil Wears Prada for a moment and then seemed like Gossip Girl. It wasn't what I expected and it took me a moment to really figure out what was going on but I really liked it. I read it all in a out a day. The whole royals thing could have been fleshed out more, I am left with a lot of questions. Is this a standalone book or a series? After that ending, I would expect a series. If it isn't, that ending was a little unsatisfying. I thought it was an interesting and original idea for a book and I flew through it.

I received a copy from NetGalley for review.

Seemingly ordinary girl Olivia receives dream job, and everything is not what it appears to be.
Finds out she's part of a secret society, a shadow governments that is descended from royalty from Europe. Raised in anonymity from parents who tried to protect and shield her, to give her an opportunity at a normal life away from this organization. While the jet set life of the wealthy and celebrities comes with the trapping she's always imagine and dreamed of, it has hefty strings attached and instructions that must be followed from those above.
Deciding how the rest of the world proceeds, runs, from what music is in, to what food is popular, so world wide economic decisions, The Circle pulls all the strings, nothing is random, nothing is by chance, everything is a coordinated dance, decided by this elite group of people.
Is this life for her, or is the weight of it too much to bear?

While the premise is interesting (it honestly reminds me of the plot line for the Josie and the Pussycats movie), and the girl thrust into it is just as benign and not as alert as I'd like for a main character who really should know better. She seems so content to just go with everything. I know it's an ARC but I hope the editing mistakes and corrected before it's published because they are glaring and many.

The plot when a little sideways for me, and it's all just too much, hardly believable, and it's got tons of holes. It's even comes with a prophecy and a love triangle. I wanted to like this because the premise is good but. It's kind of a mess.

This book was intensely readable and had an interesting premise that pulled me in from page one. I will say that the last twenty percent of the book felt rushed and a bit disjointed, but I'd love to read a sequel to the story.

I found the characters enjoyable, the plot entertaining, and think this would make a perfect summer pool or beach read, as well as a great TV show, on a network like FreeForm or The CW or Netflix.

Another "just okay" read from Netgalley. I like the concept and the character reminds me a bit of Andrea from The Devil Wears Prada. However, I am finding the writing style to be very immature and young. I don't think this story is intended for adults, but rather more for the mid-t0-late teenagers age group. I think that, should the author adjust Olivia/Grace's age by a few years (so maybe 21 instead of 26), the story will really hit its stride with the young-young adult genre.

The Secret Lives of Royals,  Shalini Dua

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General fiction (adult), New Adult.

I was intrigued by this, and really wanted to like it. It seems to be a debut book, at least I can't find any others by this author so I wanted to be able to write a positive review. Writing is darn hard work, so I admire those who go on to actually publish. Sadly for me this book just didn't work though :-( I'm sure others will love it but for me its a fail.
I didn't really like Olivia much, she veered from over confident to cautious, all about the wrong (IMO) things. She dropped her long time friends like a hot brick and seemed to just accept this strange job, one she dreamed of but was totally unqualified for without any worries of why it just fell into her lap. Tells her long time friends she's too tired to go out, but jumps up and happily goes off with her new friends when they call.

The story itself was so intriguing, a society within society that's really running the world, calling the shots. If that were so though they would never let some un-briefed, unsigned new girl be party to all the facts.
I felt when they were having meetings, especially with the King that there were lots of heavy words put together to make what they were doing sound good, but in fact there was little or no detail about what they were actually doing and how. “Beets need promoting Olivia, trundle off and talk to Gordon Ramsey, push it in the top mags, get it talked about on TV”. “OK then, super, jolly good sir”. Well, it wasn't quite like that but it ran along those lines. I couldn't really believe that this society with few rules, very lax on details was capable of running the world, and that was a disappointment because I really wanted to be convinced. I needed to know how things were arranged, how all this lush lifestyle was financed, how they got and kept control of information, checked fats, actually did things. I'm not convinced the royal tags were correct either, we in the UK have some strange ways about titles and they don't always run as simple as it seemed here. TBH I felt that the Royal stuff, the details of how the Society ran were too thin, too poorly researched and it showed. It could be a great novel, its a terrific idea, secret bloodlines, people behind the scenes forcing changed, and running things for the greater good, but in my view it needed a lot more work on the details.

I think maybe the New Adult tag is correct and the General fiction (Adult) is over optimistic, and maybe teens will take this as its meanr, while older readers like me are too much a cynic to believe in this without more detail of the how, why, when stuff.

 Stars: Two, a story with lots of potential but which I struggled to believe, didn't feel real to me. Maybe will have greater appeal for younger readers.
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

3.5 stars ~ "Welcome to The Circle." For being a debut novel, this was really well-written, easy to read and kept my interest throughout. The lead, Olivia aka Gigi aka Gracie, was an extremely likable character and despite her "royal" blood, felt really relatable as well. This was a fun book to read!

The last 10% of the book seemed....rushed....and strange (ninjas anyone?). And that ending left me in a state of dissatisfaction. I assume there will be a sequel to this?? I hope so! I'll definitely read it just to fulfill my love of #TeamConnor.