Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Paper Princess by Erin Watt is such an utterly entertaining, surprisingly fun, roller-coaster and oh so hot read. The description of this book as “This generation’s Cruel Intentions” is so accurate.

This is normally not my genre, I don’t like too much erotica or too explicit content, but I have to admit that this soap opera is utterly entertaining. I do however want to point out that this is NA and has a lot of sexual scenes that should only be read by mature audiences. There are also other trigger warnings, such as physical and sexual abuse, bullying, toxic and even cruel relationships, attempted rape, alcohol and drug use, addiction, a lot of slut shaming and stereotype gender roles. That said, if you use caution before going into this book, it makes a good ‘guilty pleasure’ read. Sometimes you just want to be entertained...

What pulled me in to this story and got me hooked was the strong heroine, Ella Harper, and the twists, turns, angst, drama and the insane chemistry and hate-lust going on.

I was surprised by how much I liked Ella. She's strong and tough, but not over the top. She’s only 17, but ever since her mom died of cancer, she’s been making it on her own. She yearns for love and acceptance, hiding it behind a hard exterior, and her character was well-developed throughout the story. Out of nowhere, a man she’s never met, Callum Royal, claims to be her legal guardian and takes her home to live with him and his five sons.

The Royals are rich, privileged and entitled. They’re not really good people though, they're amoral but they are also utterly fascinating. These Royal boys can be brutal, especially the leader of their pack, Reed. Reed can be downright despicable and intolerable at the best of times. But I enjoyed how Ella handled them, never giving in to them. She always stays true to herself and says what is on her mind. And the sexual tension between Reed and Ella is off the charts. All the power play between Ella and Reed slowly develops into one of the most passionate hate to love relationships I’ve ever read.

One of my favorite characters, next to Ella, is Easton Royal. Poor broken Easton. He is so sweet, that you just want to cuddle with him and heal his broken heart, but he also has such a great sense of humor. And I like how he was the first to become a friend to Ella, when she most needed one.

All in all, Paper Princess is a fun, feisty, addicting and entertaining soap opera. There is so much drama, revenge, betrayal, love, friendship and jaw dropping moments than you will feel like you are on a roller-coaster. There is a lot of sex but I enjoyed the sexual undertones as well as the romance. And that cliffhanger ending… I can’t even.

As for the rating, I give this book full points for the addiction and entertainment, but I have to take off a point for the romanticizing of sexist and abusive relationships, which is never okay, no matter how entertaining the rest of the story is. So I rate this book 4 stars.

Find out more about the book and the author here: Erin Watt