{"id":38689,"date":"2018-11-29T08:14:56","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T13:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=38689"},"modified":"2018-11-29T08:14:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T13:14:56","slug":"review-cracked-kingdom-the-royals-5-by-erin-watt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=38689","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cracked Kingdom (The Royals, #5) by Erin Watt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

3.5 YA soap opera stars<\/b><\/p>\n

This book is the final book in the Royals series, and the second part of Easton and Hartley\u2019s story that began in Fallen Heir<\/em><\/a>. As expected, it\u2019s an absolute soap opera, with ups and downs, twists and turns, laughs, heartache and a whole lot of drama as relationships are tested, and Easton and Hartley will have to fight like never before for their happy ending.<\/p>\n

The last book left off on a huge cliffy, and this book picks up immediately where that one left off. And to get the soap opera ball rolling, Hartley is injured and wakes up\u2026. with amnesia! I had to have a giggle at that one, but it certainly sets up an interesting dynamic, especially as she is now very \u2018suggestible\u2019, and returning to the viper pit that is her exclusive private school and chief mean girl is on the rampage.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Easton is dealing with his own family drama, and has been left in charge to manage the situation. Heartbroken, lost and alone, he falls back into all of his old vices as he struggles to deal with it all.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all very heartbreaking, and I hurt for the pain and confusion that both East and his \u201cHart\u201d were going through, but things take a very welcome turn as our star-crossed lovers slowly find their way back to each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t seeking a place, but a person. I\u2019d come home.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the drama is not over! Hartley still needs to deal with her crooked, violent, controlling father and protect her little sister, early series nemesis, Steve, is still causing major problems, and there is still a heap of school drama, bully drama, and even more family drama that they need to wade through. There\u2019s a lot going on, and it all felt a bit much, when I would have preferred to focus on one or two particular plotlines rather than so many high-intense dramas, but it all blends together well, and even though it\u2019s a bit unrealistic at times, it fits in with the feel of the books in this series that have that sense of OTT about them.<\/p>\n

And in the middle of it all, we have a gorgeous love story, and I loved seeing beautiful, messed-up Easton Royal finally find the person who is just right for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re both smiling as we go our separate ways, and once again I\u2019m struck by the magic that is Easton Royal. The one person in my life who\u2014at my lowest or my highest\u2014never fails to put a smile on my face\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I enjoyed catching up with the whole Royal clan \u2013 even though the twins were annoying \u2013 but it\u2019s made up for with lots of Ella time, glimpses of Reed, and a really strong theme of family, loyalty and having each other\u2019s backs. Though they do have their moments of hot mess, the whole clan together have a fantastic dynamic, and I loved watching them all continue their path to healing from the past and being there for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Royal because I\u2019m loved by Easton Royal. There\u2019s nothing more pure and wondrous in the world than that.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s an entertaining read, and a strong finish to the series, with an epilogue that left me grinning like a loon.<\/p>\n

3.5 stars \u2013 rated up because Easton \u2665<\/p>\n

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The Royals<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"paper \u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \"twisted-palace\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Paper Princess (#1)<\/strong> (Ella & Reed)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Broken Prince (#2) <\/strong>(Ella & Reed)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook <\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Twisted Palace (#3) <\/strong>(Ella & Reed)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: Kindle Ebook<\/a> |\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Tarnished Crown (#3.5)<\/strong> (Gideon & Savannah)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Fallen Heir (#4)<\/strong> (Easton & Hartley)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Cracked Kingdom (#5)<\/strong> (Easton & Hartley)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback Review 3.5 YA soap opera stars This book is the final book in the Royals series, and the second part of Easton and Hartley\u2019s story that began in Fallen Heir. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,9,12],"tags":[302,48,388],"class_list":["post-38689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-romance","category-young-adult","tag-erin-watt","tag-review","tag-the-royals"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/crackedkingdom-final.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-a41","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}