Review: The Sinful King by Claire Contreras (Sexy Royals #1)


Claire Contreras's new series is called Sexy Royals, and this first royal she has for readers is, indeed, sexy but he's quite sweet as well. The Sinful King is book one and when we first meet the main characters, Adeline Bouchard is eighteen while Prince Elias is twenty-three and they meet in Marbella, Adeline's mother's hometown and the place where the prince has been known to spend his summers. One meeting, one night, one moment Adeline will never forget, but nothing more can come of it, not when she has to fly to the United States to begin college, and especially not when she realizes that the stranger she was with is none other than the Dauphin--the next in line to the throne. Five years pass, and a scandal has Adeline flying from her home base of London to Marbella to escape the backlash. She has no idea that Prince Elias is there as well, and there's no avoiding him, not when she's tasked by her uncle to deliver baskets of requested items to the prince's rented cottage. Adeline may have walked away mostly unscathed the last time they were together, but can the same be said if France's future king pursues her?

There was a lot to like about this new royal romance from Claire Contreras. Both Adeline and Elias were passionate individuals who were far more than how many other people saw them. They had a truly strong connection that demanded to be explored further, especially since they never really had that opportunity the first time around. The politics involved when it came to the French monarchy in this story was interesting, especially considering that said monarchy no longer exists and so I get the idea of this fictional one being "traditional" and Elias hoping to follow in the footsteps of the more real British counterpart. Here, the French Revolution of 1789 did not succeed in overthrowing the monarchy, but the reasons for what sparked the revolt centuries ago appear to still be prevalent in this day and age, thus creating some unrest, which is also why Adeline's father is a very vocal critic of the ailing king, with the man's disdain passing on to the younger royals. It's this political aspect of the story that fascinated me most about the book with my interest with history in general and the history of European royalty in particular.

For the most part, the story was an easy read and I was very much engaged. I loved the romance between Adeline and Elias. Her being as strong-willed and independent as she is made her even more memorable, and him being someone who truly had his people's best interest at heart and refusing to pass the buck in terms of responsibility but rather wanting to create a balance of power made this future king even more swoon-worthy. There were times, though, where the flow of the story was stilted and there were inconsistencies when it came to the actions of the main characters. There were also moments where there were changes in circumstance but it's never really explained how those changes came about. I would have also wanted some sort of actual interaction between Elias and his father because it is mentioned that while Elias may not have agreed with all of his father's policies, he loved him dearly but we never get to bear witness to it. All that being said, I did enjoy the book as a whole, and I look forward to Princess Pilar's and Prince Aramis's stories in the Sexy Royals series. Four stars for The Sinful King. ♥

Date Read: 06 March 2020

Learn more about Claire Contreras.

Purchase The Sinful King on Amazon.


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