His Royal Favorite picks up immediately after the first book in the duology, His Royal Secret, and so this review will spoil some of the ending of the first book. They should definitely be read in order.

Now that James has made the decision to come out, with Ben as his partner by his side, both of the men’s lives are about to change forever. James will be the first openly gay future king and must face telling the world, while Ben’s whole life is changing from one of anonimity to one where his every move is scrutinized and reported upon. In addition, their once private, secret affair is now open for public attention. No longer do they have their quiet little world together; instead their relationship is now out in the open as they face real life under the spotlight.

Ben and James love each other fiercely and their feelings for each other remain strong. But the constant media attention is stressful for Ben. Every facet of his life is examined and reporters hound his every move. Going to work has become virtually impossible and every detail of his past seems to be fair game. For his part, James faces challenges to his throne and constant worry that the pressure will become too much for Ben to handle. Now that their secret is out, Ben and James face challenges that test their relationship and their future together.

After reading and loving His Royal Secret, I couldn’t wait for the resolution of the story in His Royal Favorite. We knew Ben and James would face hurdles and in this book we see the reality of their decision play out. Some things, like questions about James’ suitability for the throne were to be expected. Others however, like Ben’s difficulty doing his job, or the hard time he has with the public spotlight, were not as easily anticipated. One area I particularly found interesting was Ben dealing with seeing the “public” James for the first time. These guys spent virtually all their time hidden away, so although Ben saw James in his official capacity from afar, he never dealt with the dichtomy of private James versus the public face he puts on. James has learned to move between these two roles, but for Ben it is much more jarring. So I found that to be a really interesting aspect to the story.

Another area I thought was handled quite well was a side conflict with James’ sister, Indigo. We learned in the first book that she suffers from severe anxiety and has tendencies toward self harm, and here we see things come to a boiling point. I think the issue of Indigo’s mental health is handled really well in general, but in particular it also draws some interesting parallels with James. We can see how the royal family puts such a premium on the separation of their private selves and public face. Even though Indigo is sick and in need of care, they don’t want to do anything that affects her public image and so instead leave her struggling for years. Throughout the book we see James (and Ben through James) struggle with that duality of the person he really is and the face the public sees. So the side story creates a nice parallel, as well as a way to really show James stand up for Indigo and risk angering his family in order to help her.

I’ll admit, I am not always a fan of second books that take a previously established couple and puts roadblocks ahead to shake them back up. I tend to prefer external conflicts with my established pairs and at times I struggled somewhat seeing these guys go back and forth as Ben tries to figure out if he can live the way he must to be with James. The plot of this book really comes down to Ben determining if he can live this life with James and so things don’t really move in a straight line, but rather a lot of back and forth. That said, I really love these characters and Pace does an excellent job of really delving into these guys as they work through the situation.

So this is a real wonderful conclusion to the first story and I really loved them. James and Ben remain a great couple and I appreciated that even in their struggles they remain steadfastly in love. I adored the detailed look inside royal life and the way Pace explores the darker side of all that fame and power. And I loved the way the story kept me guessing as to how it would all resolve. So overall I adored these two books and would highly recommend them.

So liked this one more than the first one. The first one was a bit slow but this one had more depth to the story.

~ From the beginning, Lady Cassandra has known what I now wish to tell the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth-I am a gay man."


"I was born heir to the throne. I was also born gay. These are both inseparable parts of my humanity. . . "


"I realize this comes as a shock, Fiona, but we've really got to move the conversation past 'holy shit'."


In first book James was the martyr and now this book it's Ben's turn to be the martyr. :( Sadly martyrs never win me over.


"It's a very fake way to live."

"Oh, yes, and everyone else walks around being utterly sincere every moment of every day. Hardly. All of us engage in some degree of artifice, even if it's just putting on makeup or answering the question of how we are with ' Fine, thanks.' . . . "


"I love James. That's all there is to it. What he wants, I want for him, even if that's an ill-tempered foreigner who roots for all the wrong football clubs."


"We have to be more open with each other. More honest. I think we try to spare each other's feelings, but it just sets up more misunderstandings."


"Your Majesty, I love James despite his position, not because of it."


"No, Not without you. Being without you wasn't freedom. Loving you is what sets me free."


Freedom or James: It was a choice now, stark and irrevocable.

Ben, he knew going in what all this would entail ... He was trying to convince James they should be together then when James is on board he then has to decide if its worth it? WTF?

Well since it was a HEA we all know he got his head out of his A@%. Even though there were some parts that irked me. I did quite enjoy the duet in the end. After writing this review from my notes years ago, I think I may have to read it again because I realized I missed James and Ben.

I was so happy to get my hands on this one as I quite thoroughly enjoyed part one of this story.

At the end of part one we were left with the idea that our boys might've hit the limit of their relationship but we all knew that these two could not be kept apart.  Ben is willing to step up to the plate and be there for James even as it threatens to tear him apart.  He's got his own reasons for not wanting to be in the limelight and his need to be seen as his own person causes him to make mistakes which threaten his happiness with James.  I loved how he was with the family and especially adored the way he figured out how to work with the Queen.  He sees the real truths that are hidden behind the polite masks and stands up for what is right even as it may hurt those he loves.

James was such a sweetheart in this as he tries to do the right thing for everyone even if it means giving up something that is the only real thing he has ever had for himself.  His battles with his uncle to do the right thing, his battles with the Queen...  his battles with everything around him in order to get his sister what she really needs... and the biggest battles...  the ones with himself as he struggles to finally be happy.  I loved seeing him try his damndest to get Ben to feel at home in this new life but I also enjoyed seeing him realize that it wasn't something he could fix.  He didn't try to force something that wasn't there which made him very approachable.  He was scared of what would happen to his sister and what would happen to Ben but he still didn't try to make it be completely about his wants or needs.

The treatment that his sister's storyline gets is important on many levels but the main thing I took from it is...  Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness nor should it be avoided..  Mental illness is something that is not shameful..  it isn't something that can be healed overnight and just by acknowledging that there is an issue that needs help is an immense source of strength.  One should seek assistance even if you are afraid.  Light is available at the end of the tunnel and often the illness LIES to keep you in the dark.

You will enjoy seeing what happens to everyone at the conclusion of this story and I came away from it quite happy.

Compulsively readable. I LOVE these characters. Lilah is becoming an auto-buy author for me.

I think book two was just that much better than book one. What an amazing way to end the duet.

James has decided that he can't let Ben go... and has decided to come out to the world. Ben although he was struggling with his relationship with James because of the secrecy, now is shoved into the spotlight along with James.

This book was a back and forth struggle for both men, trying to not only find where their relationship would be heading but coming to terms with who they are as individuals.

This was a great duet and I highly recommend the books!

Honestly, I didn't love book 1, "His Royal Secret" as much as everyone else seemed to. But, I liked it enough to want to read on and see what happens with these characters.

Book 2 begins right after the end of book 1. (this book cannot be read as a standalone). And now that affections are confessed and we have a couple...it starts to get messy. And this author handled messy really really well.

There was emotional messy: Ben trying to figure out how to remain himself when suddenly to everyone he was the Prince's boyfriend.

And there was relationship messy: Neither James nor Ben had ever been in healthy relationships before and they had to figure out how to work through their challenges.

Then there was the royal messy: How would the people and the church handle a gay prince?

This was written so well, and really, no stone unturned. I found myself totally lost in the book and didn't want it to end. Yet, felt completely satisfied by the time I was done.

This 2-book series is worth reading and definitely recommended!