This was a cute grumpy/sunshine fake dating romance, but I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. After reading Battle Royal I was looking forward Pet and Matthias’ story - the set up and the tropes sounded right up my alley. Codename Charming is certainly full of charm and fun workplace/royal hijinks, but I think it suffers from a little too much going on. Overall it read a bit slow and I had a hard time connecting to the romance. I think this series just might not be for me.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely adore this book and had trouble putting it down. I loved the characters so much. Additionally it seemed like this wasn’t the first book in the series but I was given enough information that it worked well standalone.

DNF at 40%

I struggled to get into this story or find a reason to keep going. The writing felt overly wordy, and the chapters were so long. I haven’t read the first in the series so it’s possible that I would have felt more invested had I read that and had some context for the characters.

I was gifted an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 STARS

Petunia “Pet” De Vere is the personal assistant to royal Johnny Marchmont. Everything is going great, until the tabloids post a photo and suggests that Pet and Johnny are having an affair. In order to combat this, the royal PR team suggests Pet fake-date Matthias Vaughn, one of Johnny’s guards. There are already people who “ship” Pet and Matthias, what’s the harm in playing into it?

I was so excited when I heard there was going to be a spin-off featuring Pet after reading <I>Battle Royal.</I> Unfortunately this book was very slow and I had to force myself to get into this book. Pet and Matthias are absolutely adorable together though, so I’m glad I pushed through. The way they love each other and protect each other was absolutely adorable.

If you enjoy the pretend romance trope and also like any romance that is royal-adjacent, you’ll have fun with this story. Pet is the super competent personal assistant to the new husband of a royal princess. The new guy is so clumsy that he somehow keeps shoving Pet into what would be potentially dangerous accidents except that his personal protection agent, the giant, silent Matthias keeps rescuing Pet. In order to throw the ever intrusive press off a fake story, the royals ask Pet to pretend to be dating Matthias because social media has started shipping their romance.

And wouldn’t you know it but Matthias and Pet, despite their physical contrasts, actually are a perfect match. Add in a little mystery about Pet’s unknown father and you have a sweet romance.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This was such an enjoyable read and I kind of did not want it to end. It was great to catch up on all the characters from Battle Royal and dive deeper into Palace shannaigans. There is even a bit of mystery with Pet which has a satisfying resolution. Lots of good supporting characters in this as well adding to colour and life of the story with the royals making an appearance (lovely Johnny and Rosie), Dominic and Sylvie and Benjii.

I adored both Pet and Matthias in this book and just wanted to smoosh them and protect them and give them all the love. Pet was lovely, smart, fierce and loyal (the way she always went full on protective mode whenever anyone was remotely mean.rude about Matthias’ looks was everything. Matthias was just a giant, loyal, soft, protective, ever watchful teddy bear masked underneath a tough, stoic, rule following exterior. On the outside (physically and personality wise) they seemed like opposites but as the story unfolds you see how alike they actually are. They both had pretty sad/difficult childhoods and pasts that they overcame and were both unconsciously looking for a connection they never thought they would find. I loved all their interactions during the fake dating and the growing realisation of their friendship and attraction. A really enjoyable, satisfying read (4.75⭐️ rounded up)

I loved this adorable and hilarious book about a public relations stunt to save the reputations of a royal and his assistant. A royal bodyguard serves double duty as a supposed love interest. The characters are funny, some without meaning to be, and intriguing. If you are looking for a sweet, romantic comedy that will have you smiling throughout, you have found the right book! I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book absolutely had me from the beginning. Everything from the writing style to the characters drew me in, Pet and Matthias have my whole heart- they have the happiest of happy endings I have read this year. I also adore Rosie and thought she was a fabulous royal/boss/matchmaker. Loved the genealogy mystery thrown in. I did have a couple instances where the chapters seemed disjointed but I am also reading the ARC and am sure it will come out in the wash! Highly recommend and will probably assign to my book club when it comes in!

Codename Charming
#2 Palace Insiders
By Lucy Parker
Pub Date: August 15, 2023
Avon
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a great Rom-com. There were parts that made me laugh out loud. I had not read the first book in the series but really enjoyed this one.
Adorable, strong, interesting characters.
4 stars

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker is another amazing room-com!
It's smart and completely swoony. It's filled with excellent characters. It was completely bingeable and practically perfect.
The characters felt real and shine perfectly on the page. They are so real and flawed but work so well together.
I was immediately drawn in and could picture everything so perfectly.
Codename Charming is a captivating romantic comedy about a fake relationship between a grumpy royal bodyguard and the charming, sunny assistant who melts his cold, hard exterior. What’s not to love!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this
amazing eARC!

From page one, I knew this was going to be an impactful book. The author has developed a story loaded with descriptive prose that catches you off guard in a surprising way. I had to slow down a few times to grasp everything that she is loading into the story but once I got familiar with the writing tempo, it was great!

The author certainly has a way with words. She delivers quirky conversations that are a tad flowery and wordy but delightful in a dry, witty way.

This story is part two in a series and while there were a few instances I had to figure out what they were alluding to, most of the book was easy to follow. Regardless, this story can easily stand on its own with the unique and endearing royal court characters that are forever trying to stay out of the eye of the paps (paparazzi), the rags, and social media.

Codename Charming is a fun, wacky, romantic twist of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Parker delivers an entertaining and witty story that will surely have you laughing out loud and leave you with a smile on your face.

I didn’t read the first book so I was slightly lost in the beginning. But that’s okay because around the 25% mark, fake dating was mentioned and I was hooked. I loved the chemistry between Pet and Mathias. And one of my favorite characters was a backtalking movie quoting parrot that was just hilarious!! . I do believe that about 30% of this book was filler that really didn’t need to be there. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

This was a cute book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did Battle Royal. It's kind of hard to get into a romance when you're told repeatedly that the main man is not attractive. I loved the premise of this but it was kind of all over the place. The stuff with Johnny (and the bird) went on way too long and it seems like there could have been other ways to force close proximity between Matthias and Pet. Overall, the charm of Lucy Parker's writing was definitely present, but know that the spice in this one is not as hot as Battle Royal. I would have liked more love scenes and a more cohesive plot but I would still recommend this to patrons, especially if they enjoyed the first one or if they are looking for royal romances in general. 3 stars. Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review. I'm definitely looking forward to what Lucy Parker will do next.

I thought this one was cute. I don't feel like anything really stood out to me. But I thought it was a really cute romance book. I like this series, I hope there are more books coming. If you want a light cute romance read this one be a good one to pick up.

Another excellent romance from Lucy Parker. Her books never fail to make me smile. She has a way of writing characters and character interactions that feel so real even if the circumstances of the stories sometimes feel farfetched. All of her books are perfect comfort reads for me and Codename Charming is no exception.

I was very fascinated by Pet as a side character in Battle Royal and am so glad that she got her own book! She is a quirky oddball character but Parker does a great job writing her in such a way that she doesn't feel like a "not like other girls" type or like a manic pixy dream girl. Matthias is a character who is more reserved and quiet, he is still grieving the loss of his best friend but his perspective never feels bleak or boring. I definitely felt the chemistry between the 2 of them and it was fun following along on their fake dating antics.

I also really loved Rosie and Johnny appearing as side characters again, they are a fun couple to follow even when they are background characters.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to all of Lucy Parker's future releases.

What a delightful book. I loved Battle Royal and I loved this one too. It's a different focus, away from the bakeries and into the middle of the day to day management of the royal couple from the first. Pet and Matthias are a couple that seem radically different on the surface, but are so well matched underneath, from their mutual unloving childhoods to their protectiveness of their loved ones. It is a veeeeeery slow burn, but the deepening emotional intimacy balances the lack of physical intimacy for most of the book. And it totally makes sense for the characters, so I'm not mad about it. It classic fake dating, mixed up with workplace dynamics, and lots of characters from the first book all mixed in. And it has its own little family mystery too.

One of the best thing about this story is how fiercely protective Pet is about Matthias. He is huge, hulking, and conventionally ugly, and she sees right to the heart of him from the beginning. Like happens when you love someone, she finds him more beautiful all the time, and doesn't tolerate anyone saying mean things about him. As a bodyguard, he is obviously protective by nature, and I love seeing her be just as protective right back. It was a gorgeous detail that really helped sell the romance for me.

These books are so wonderfully human, and everyone has missteps, and it's absolutely clear that they deserve love anyway. Balanced with a lot of light and funny moments, most notabley bring trapped in a closet because of a parrot and some adulterous officials, I loved every up and down in this one. This series is so good, and this definitely lived up to the previous one for me.

Pet never thought acting as a Personal Assistant would lead to being wrapped around her boss' bodyguard's head like a human ski mask, but that's just what happened. Several times. While being filmed by the media.

It's all part of the fun of working for a man married to a princess. The media loves catching anyone attached to royalty in a scandalous situation which is how Codename Charming comes to be.

Rumors started circling that Pet and her boss are an item, so the Public Relations department came up with a plan: have Pet publicly date someone else - someone she's already been pictured with - to halt the rumors.

Lucky for her, that man is Matthias, the bodyguard who keeps using his head to catch her. Their task is simple: pretend to date until the rumors die down. If only pesky feelings didn't get in the way...

Codename Charming was a breath of fresh air. I love my dashingly handsome alpha males, but reading about a man who isn't conventionally attractive was just what I needed!

Matthias is big, strong, and a natural protector. He also has, according to his description, an uneven face that caused a few people to cringe while looking at him.

But not Pet. Never Pet. She sees his beauty even when he doesn't.

Pet needed someone who could catch her when she fell - often literally - and Matthias needed someone who saw HIM not just his body. There's a scene with white chocolate mice and one with whittling in a closet that show just how important the small gestures are and just how perfect they were for each other.

Codename Charming is funny, sweet, and has some of the most memorable side characters I've ever encountered. Pet's openness with Matthias - in particular when she thought he might be smuggling a tree trunk - had me cackling. The bird, castle klepto, bumbling boss, and starfish attacks. The mystery, dark secrets, and inner fears. All small pieces that made this whole book difficult to put down. There's even a fair amount of spice that will leave you wanting a gentle giant of your own!

Thank you, NetGalley and Lucy Parker, for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Delightful just as most anything Lucy Parker writes. I did realize I forgot major plot points of the last one and some of the ending and went back for a second turn. LP is one of the only authors that I don't mind the"gigantic hulk of a man" trope, probably because they aren't all caricatures.

Fake relationship, grumpy sunshine, slow burn cuteness overload. I adore all things Lucy Parker writes

By turns achingly sweet and startlingly funny. Grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance, found family, pining. Definitely recommend.