The Pageant by Leigh Walker is is a fun, fast paced and highly enjoyable novel with a wonderful blend of romantic possibility, sass and action that is The Selection meets The Hunger Games....with vampires!

After the most recent world war, control over the world eighteen year old Gwyneth West lives was seized by a mysterious family who rule over their new subjects in the shadows. Rumours of this new Royal Family run rampant in the various settlements that make up the kingdom; they don't sleep, they don't eat, and they don't go out in sunlight. They're also rumoured to be immortal, something Gwyn isn't so sure about. Then a pageant is announced where girls from each settlement will journey to the palace to enter a competition where the winner will receive a marriage proposal from the infamous Dark Prince, Dallas Black. Gwyn dreads the idea of being chosen for the pageant, but also knows that there isn't an option of saying no. Arriving at the palace marks the beginning of a dangerous new journey and as Gwyn begins to discover some startling truths and secrets about the world she lives is, will a vampire fiance be the worst thing she faces? Or are there bigger horrors out there?

From beginning to end, I thoroughly enjoyed The Pageant. Weaving together various elements that make for a wonderful paranormal novel with a dystopian vibe, The Pageant was very The Bachlor-esq in a fun way with many of the interactions and dates between the prince and the contestants filmed and televised for the public to witness as well as various rounds and "cuts" that saw contestants eliminated.

Leigh Walker offers readers only a taste of her world in The Pageant. Hinting at more to come and various secrets about the settlements, I'm quite keen to learn more about the ruling Royal Family and the world heroine Gwyn inhabits. I feel like we haven't discovered enough about the world in The Pageant, instead jumping straight into the competition as Gwyn is whisked off to the palace. I'm hopeful we'll discover more with the next book as I just haven't had enough to leave me satisfied where the back story is concerned.

I'm very much a fan of main character Gwyn so far. We learn quickly that she came from wealth before the settlements were conquered but she's in no was uptight or snobby and instead quite likeable with just enough sass and attitude to keep us on our toes. She's smart enough to keep many of her opinions to herself but is also opinionated and clear in how she sees the world. Something I think will change as she learns more about The Dark Prince.

At its base The Pageant is a love story and Leigh Walker writes this aspect oh so well. The Prince and love interest Dallas is actually very kind while also being mysterious, well spoken and even quite cheeky where Gwyn is concerned. I loved that Dallas and Gwyn quickly become quite comfortable with each other and drop most of the presences. It makes for some spirited and occasionally sweet interactions with their chemistry evident throughout the whole novel. Gwyn doesn't want to fall for Dallas because he is a vampire---something she routinely reminds herself and the reader but ultimately can't deny what her heart is beginning to feel.

Fresh and delectable, The Pageant is such a promising start to the Vampire Royals series and with the novel ending right when things were starting to get even more addictive, I'm eager to dive straight into the next novel as soon as possible! Highly recommended this one!

A competition to win the hand of Dallas Black, vampire prince. Selection of girls chosen. Our main character is opinionated and not following the rules but it seems to work. Sound familiar? Of course it does...just a few tweaks.
Derivative plot aside, it’s humorous enough and definitely easy to read.
I’m hoping we get some development further on to move it into new territory. I will certainly look out for part two, and thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my thoughts.

The Selection by Kiera Cass mixed with vampires, yes please. That is the description that grabbed me immediately and was a little similar but much more enjoyable character wise and it definitely kept my attention.

I was so intrigued by The premise of this story. The Selection + Vampires = something That I can possibly devour!
Gwyn is strong, stubborn and for sure strong willed! I hate when stubbornness is the main thing and make a character unlikeable. Here I really liked Gwyn.
Dallas, Dark Prince, secretive, Full of Power, lovely but yet lethal. He was a fresh feel here.
The plot just started Here, but for sure it will be able to keep readers interested in it
I will grab book 2 for sure

Loved it!!! I was a huge fan of The Selection series and this has the bonus of Vampires!! Yes!!
I am so excited to see how the lovely Gwen and Dallas progress!!
If a certain prince is anything less than my current good opinion I’m going to be very upset!hahah But with two more books who knows what is going to happen! I've already bought book 2 and 3!
I would also recommend this to my students. Very giggle worthy and sweet. No cursing (that I can remember...maybe a Hell or Damn) and no sexual content. Though a very swoon worthy read!

Thank you Netgalley for providing this in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

You can also find my review here:https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....

I requested a review copy of this title for a few reasons, it was compared to The Selection by Kiera Cass and it is also about vampires. When I got the review copy I realized that Leigh Walker also wrote Premonition which I read and reviewed around the time that I first read my blog. I look back on my review of Premonition, which was Leigh Walker's debut novel, and I remember that I enjoyed the novel, but it was just okay. I do remember that the writing captured me emotionally, so going into this book I was hopeful.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was. Leigh Walker has made a lot of progress since she wrote her first novel. This did remind me a lot of The Selection by Kiera Cass, if you enjoyed that book you will like this one. They are different, but similar in some ways. This book has vampires and the dates the girls have with the prince are televised kind of in the style of The Bachelor. Another similarity to The Selection is that this book felt like it was cut a little short. Only the first two rounds of the pageant occur throughout the novel leaving you needing the next book.

The characters were done well. I like Gwyn and Dallas, but my favorite character was Eve. Eve it is so outspoken and bold. I actually really enjoyed the romance also, when typically that isn't my favorite part of novels. It was so sweet and I like that Gwyn got jealous because she liked the prince so much. The romance was adorable and I hope to see more of it in the next book.

I really want to read the rest of this series. I was completely captivated and read this book really fast. In comparison to Leigh Walker's first book, this book is leagues better. Clearly her experience writing her first series helped her become a better writer for this one. You can find my review of Premonition here, in case you want to see how vastly my opinions are on the first books of her two series

The Pagent is incredibly addicting ! I have always liked Vampire novels but this one takes the cake ! I found myself enthralled with each turning page loving more and more of the prince ! As soon as I finished the first book I had to go right away and buy the second book! I am literally dying to know what will happen ! Throughout the book many questions plague me, mostly about the settlement and Gwen’s brother and father ?! I hope they will be answered in book 2 ! This is a must read for any fan of vampire/ human romance, comedy and all together bad asses !

Wow....Not what I was expecting at all. This book was like a breath of fresh air. This book was just incredible. An absolutely fantastic storyline that immediately sucked me in right from the start. The characters were down to earth and relatable. I felt as though I was right there in the moment watching it all fold out in front of me like any good book should.

This book was a fun, easy read that kept me engaged in the story line. I will say that I felt that the book closely followed the plot of Kiera Cass' The Selection series, at least in this first book, so I'll be interested to see where it goes next. Leigh Walker had some interesting plot twists in the first book, that left me wondering what was gong to happen in the second book - would Gwyn's family appear? Are they part of the rebel group that attacked the palace? Dallas keeps giving her small pieces of information that don't link together yet - what else will we find out? Overall, this book was a fun read and I would read more of this author's work.

A teenage dystopian tale with bite. Vampire Royals 1: The Pageant is a beauty pageant, vampire love story and teen dystopian drama. The book was incredibly well written and swept me away immediately. I like the characters and found the story development excellently crafted. Overall I enjoyed the book although there were some drawbacks for me. The biggest drawback I found was the similarities between this story and Kiera Cass' Selection series. The plot line was almost identical. Apart from the addition of vampires and the changes of names and places the story was a near dead ringer for The Selection. I even continued the series and read the rest and apart from some minor plot changes the story continued to follow the selection series plot as well. I'm not sure you could call it plagiarism outright there is a definite change in the writing, for the better than the original series possibly, but the idea of a televised beauty pageant that involves women from various parts of a country in a dystopian era to compete for the honor of becoming the wife of the heir apparent to the kingdomn the midst of an uprising is pretty much identical. I will say the added aspect of vampires did change things up quite a bit though. My other comment is the title. I would call the book just the pageant and keep vampire royals as just the series instead of the title. I think rating it all out as The vampire royals 1; the pageant sounds very self published book instead of a real professional book. Putting it on the cover in the same way gives off the same vibe, which I think can detract from the appeal of the book to a wider audience who tend to avoid self published novels. Overall I liked the book, but I was very conscious of the fact that I was reading a rewrite of the Kiera Cass series and a self published book. It was well written, but felt a little too close to plagiarism for me.

This book was an easy, light read. There are some glaring errors (Crown King and Crown Queen don’t make any sense as they already have the crown in question) but it’s a fun little book for when you need an escape.

New rulers have come, King and Queen Black and their son, Dallas. People are hungry and poor after the war that took so many men away. Gwyneth is entered into a pageant with other girls to see who will marry the Prince. Gwyneth becomes a favorite with the Prince but keeps insulting the Prince and his family. Calling them names Until the girls were there, no one really knew what type of person they were but it soon becomes obvious that they are vampires. This is the first book in a series and does have a cliffhanger. I quite enjoyed this book. It is a different take on vampires. Will be reading the next one. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Oh Prince Dallas.... The Dark Prince. So easy to swoon over, even I wasn't immune. He has this dark, tall, handsome, being misunderstood thing going for him. It was really amusing to see how Gwyn did all she could not to like him and failed miserably. And I'm sure Prince Dallas liked her refreshing honesty, since he was kept in the dark about a lot of things happening in the settlements. Just like Gwyn being raised in a bubble, not really knowing what's going on. Even Eve, the rebellious contestant, who met her fate before the pageant even began is hilarious. So, I cried, laughed, held my breath and swooned (a lot). Felt my patience being tested by Tamara (ugh what a brat) and enjoyed the easy to get along with Shaye. Summary: A fast pacing, page turner for everyone loving some swoon worthy vampires and a smart mouthed, witty human girl falling hard for the enemy (or so she thinks, and we don't know any different - yet). Loved it!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and CMG Publishing!