This book is the second in the Palace Insiders series, and I read Battle Royal beforehand so I would have an idea of what is going on in this one. However, both of these could be read as stand-alones if you prefer to read one and not the other. This book had grabbed my attention being a bodyguard romance, but he is not her bodyguard. Pet is a PA for Royal Johnny Marchmont, and Matthias is the bodyguard. Together they make a unique sort of team, and when they're forced to fake date for to protect the Royal's reputation, what could go wrong?

I enjoyed this book. It had me laughing and it was definitely entertaining to watch these two fall in love. Their story is very unique, and I liked that I had never read something like this before. I loved the dynamic and the comedy of this book. However, this book had a lot going on, with the couple, the fake dating, the royals, tying in the past book, some of the family things, etc, that made the couple and their relationship seem like it took the back burner for this book when it was supposed to be the main event. Otherwise, the writing was fantastic, the story was hilarious, and I loved this couple.

Lovely to return to Lucy Parker's sweet and funny characters from "Battle Royal." Pet and Matthias form a sweet and shippable couple, as evidenced by the support they receive from friends and the adoring public. This book was very ambitious in its scope of characters and settings. Matthias and Pet are always on the move, whether they're exploring the city or attending a royal event, and I sometimes found myself distracted by the logistics of what was happening versus what they were saying to each other. This world is brimming with many interesting supporting characters (Lia and Oliver were my favorites), and I eagerly anticipate seeing more of them explored in future stories!

Petunia truly loves her job as the personal assistant to Johnny Marchmont despite the challenge of keeping the clumsy royal out of some very precarious situations. Helping keep him out of trouble is his big stoic bodyguard Mathias

In direct contrast to straightlaced Mathias is Pet’s ebullient, open nature. When an awkward moment leads to an inauspicious photo, Pet and Mathias find themselves posing as a couple, hoping to dispel tabloid rumors. Spending time together, Mathias finds the walls he’s put up are starting to crumble.

Pet and Mathias have survived difficult childhoods. Pet hides past hurts behind her vivacious personality and the calm even temperament that makes her so good at her job. Try as he might, Mathias can’t resist Petunia’s efforts at friendship, especially when he finds himself wanting more.

I loved the combination of Pet and Mathias. It’s obvious his grumpy nature is a front. Inside he’s a softy with a big heart and an over protective nature. Pet was determined to be his friend from the time she started working for Johnny. She is able to see beyond the his stern countenance to his soft center and wants to be the one who protects him.

This is the second story in the Palace Insiders series. While I was able to follow the story without a problem, I think the experience would have richer if I had read Battle Royale so I had better references to past events that are occasionally referenced in the story. However, written in a lively, endearing style, and with an entertaining cast of secondary characters, this is a delightfully entertaining story.

A fun, slow burn romance between Royal aide Petunia and bodyguard Matthias.This is definitely a case of opposites attract, as Petunia is all sunshine and light, and Matthias is dour and all business. Petunia has the unenviable task of being the aide to the most clumsy, awkward royal personage ever in Johnny Marchmont, and when the rumor starts that she's having an affair with him, there's no other choice than to embark on another made up affair with Matthias to save her job, and save face for Marchmont. A fun contemporary romance!

This book had a bit of a slow start for me, but it was so worth it! I loved Pet and Matthias so much. As much as loved Battle Royal, this book blew me away even more. Great moments with my favorite characters from the first book without taking away from the story of Pet and Matthias.
This book has all you need, grumpy × sunshine, fake dating, royalty, a protective cinnamon roll love interest. Be still my heart! Love this so much!
received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am usually not a big fan of royalty in romance, but I am all here for this series about royal adjacent characters! In this book, we follow Matthias who is one of the bodyguards for the royal princesses’ husband Johnny and Pet, who is a Johnny’s PA. They are the epitome of opposites attract: she is tiny and happy and pleasant, he is huge and gruff and doesn’t smile much. People are actually afraid of Matthias as he is not conventionally attractive and has a scar marring his face. The two of them get pushed into a fake dating arrangement to take the heat off of our Prince and Princess in the paparazzi.

I thought the book started out slowly, and I’ll say right up front that I’d consider this book a pretty slow burn, but there are lots of smoldering looks, intimate touches, and some pretty hot kisses for the cameras that spin kind of spin out of control.

Add to all of this a couple of secrets to figure out, and the whole two people who grew up thinking themselves unlovable finding love sort of aspect, and I was caught hook, line, and sinker. Lucy Parker writes some real gems and while her Battle Royal still is in my top spot of her books, this one was a great addition to the series!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute and I did enjoy it but it took me forever to get into. I don't know if it had to do with the fact that I haven't read the first book yet or if something just didn't connect with me immediately but I started to contemplate giving up on it. I'm glad I didn't though because I did start to really like this book.

I'm giving it 3.5 stars rounded down.

I liked this. I have not had a chance to read the first book in this series but am excited to go back and hear about Dominic's story. Pet and Matthias have been keeping their distance until the tabloids throw them together. What was supposed to be a fake relationship maybe hasn't been so fake from the start. Such a sweet story with tons of laugh out loud moments and character growth. Its going to be fun to see what this author brings next.

I enjoyed this fake dating bodyguard/assistant, grumpy/sunshine, steamy British romance between two lonely co-workers. Set up to fake date in order to deflect the press from false assumptions that the prince is dating his personal assistant, Matthius and Petunia (Pet) take one for the team only to find themselves falling hard. Full of fun outings (including a Witch festival) and cameos with Dominic and Sylvie from Battle Royal, this was a solid sequel with delicious spicy open door scenes! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I don't want to be too harsh, because this book is..fine? It's also boring. There's zero real conflict between the main couple and a half-hearted mystery that sort of meanders through the plot, popping up to be filler occasionally. I've liked other Lucy Parker books but had to drag myself through this one.

This book was so freaking cute! Having not read Battle Royale, I didn't realise that it was a sequel, and after a few references to the previous story, I was able to settle in to the character dynamics. Pet and Matthias' mutual pining was so sweet, yet funny in the wry way they handled the scandal created by their shared charge's constant high profile faux pas. Their blossoming into romance as they put down their walls and reveal their secrets to one another was so warm yet had lovely moments of silliness that made it so lovely!

3.5 stars- This was an immersive, and at times very emotional story, but it just felt way too long. I preferred the first story, but was glad that Pet got her own story as well. I’m not really into the beauty and the beast aspect, but that did make it kind of unique. I enjoyed the side story about Pet’s father and really felt drawn in and emotional during that part of it. There was something about this story that didn’t quite click with me and I think it’s at least partially because I had a lot of trouble picturing Matthias. I felt like I spent way too much time trying to figure out what he looked like. I almost would have rather the cover show more of his face.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

TW: death of parents (past), parental neglect (abuse), parental emotional abuse (past), family tensions, internet bullying, death of a loved one (past, recounted on page), attempted murder (past, on page), PTSD, growing up in foster care system

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-fake dating
-workplace romance
-slooow burn
-opposites attract

This was such a soft and sweet story. Two people who have never really been the main characters, in the orbit of royals, becoming the main characters in their own love story. Pet and Matthias keep popping into each other's orbits, but it takes a fake dating plot to get them to see what was right in front of their faces. Both lonely and not feeling deserving of love in their own ways, finding it in each other.

Steam: 2.75

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

Looking through the reviews, this was just me but DNF at 21%

I couldn't get into this title. At all. In my opinion it moved so slowly and the wiring kept the characters at such a distance I couldn't ever seem to care about them or anything that happened to them.

I'm unable to recommend this title.

This is the 2nd in the series. I really enjoyed Battle Royal last year. Loved the chemistry between Pet and Matthias. They both were interested but needed this fake relationship push. Oh look paps we need to make out <cough> 😉
The media that covers this royal family just innocent situations into ruinous headlines. They have to keep up pretenses. I love fake relationships when they are both interested and a bit married to their job and also don't think they deserve a relationship. Both have been burned in relationships in the past.
Plus there's a family mystery happening which is interesting.

Read if you like:
🦜 Grumpy sunshine
👑 Royal bodyguard and PA
🐺 Beauty and the Beast
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn
🥸 Fake relationship

Thank you avonbooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

If you're looking for :

- A protective hero,
- Fake Dating,
- Grumpy Sunshine,
- Slow burn.

Then this is the book for you.

I took my time reading this one because Battle Royal is my favorite book by Lucy Parker and Codename charming is the 2nd book in this series. It follows Dominic's sister Pet and the grumpy royal guard Matthias as they need to fake date in order to end a royal rumeur.


I liked this book. It had some tender moments, laugh out loud moments and a lot of swoony scenes. I loved their interactions, how Pet and Matthias share an understanding due to their pasts. How Pet was protective of Matthias as much as he as of her. Everytime Pet realised what she meant to Matthias, how he showed her he cared without really showing off... the little things. I'm sure we all love fake dating for the blurry lines, and boy this one had them. How they can't stay away from each other, can't stop touching even when no one is watching.

This book is definitely a slow burn in my opinion. A bit long in my opinion but worth the read.

When I say that this book is one of the best books i’ve read with the fake dating trope, i mean it! In Codename Charming we follow Pet and Matthias who both work for the royal family. When false claims are being made regarding Pet and their employer, Pet and Matthias begin a fake relationship to drive the attention away.

Petunia De Vere is such a GRAND character. She is the type of person where if you were to meet her no words could describe how much of an amazing person she is. She is so enthusiastic and cares so much for those who surround her. Matthias might appear to be intimidating and mean but in reality he isn’t. As an ex soldier he is very disciplined and serious about the task at hand. Although he doesn’t show it much he’s incredibly caring and loyal to those he holds close.

Pet and Matthias were so similar due to their life experiences. The best way to describe their relationship is by saying that they both didn’t know they needed each other until they found one another. It’s like they both complete this hole in their life that they didn’t know needed to be filled.

There were so many things throughout this book that made me laugh my ass off but there was also very emotional aspects. It was an equal balance of both. Overall I really enjoyed Codename Charming and highly recommend! Can’t wait for more of Lucy Parker’s work.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC of this book!

Highlights:
Grumpy/sunshine
Royal bodyguard/Royal PA
Fake relationship
Beauty and the Beast vibes
TW for grief, PTSD, and child neglect

Battle Royal was one of my favorite romances last year, and Codename Charming was one of my most anticipated books. It is a romance between Matthias, a grumpy Royal Bodyguard, and Petunia, a sunny Royal PA. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Matthias and Pet have great chemistry, and I loved their slow-burn sweet romance. Several amusing secondary characters provide great comic relief. And I loved revisiting characters from the previous book, especially Sylvie and Dominic, who remain my favorite.

I have rated this book 3.5 stars.

This book contains some of my favorite tropes: bodyguard, fake dating, & work place romance. I ended up finishing the story within two days. I enjoyed the characters and all of the cute scenes they had together. It made me smile and laugh at some of the situations they got into. Also, I like the connection that they had and they became very protective of each other. It was easy to see why they should be together and how much they cared for one another. Favorite thing about this book is how cute the nickname Button is. I did tear up a little when we got a closer look into Matthias backstory. He is just a big teddybear that needs a hug.

What I think was missing :
-I feel like there were a lot of plots that were happening in the story. I wish we could have had a little more time to explore them.
-The ending did feel kind of rushed and anticlimactic. It needed to be a little more flushed out. I wished we could have seen more with the characters being in a 'real' relationship and not the fake one. I would have also liked to see more from them getting to know each others families.

I have really enjoyed other Lucy Parker books but this one just wasn’t for me. Right from the start it felt so forced and over the top I was pulled out of the story. I can understand Johnny being clumsy or accident prone but can’t understand how he bumps Pet hard enough to send her flying off the stage? And then to learn later in chapter one that it’s happened four times??

I tried to stick with it but unfortunately this one just wasn’t working for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book to review.