The Prince and the Apocalypse By Kara McDowell
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Confession:
This was such a cute and fun YA romance. I saw a review for the second book and just knew that I needed to check out the first book. I am so glad I did. I mean come on, who doesn’t love an end of the world romance? And then add in the royal family’s bad boy prince on the run? What a perfect scenario!
I loved both Wren and Theo. They were so cute and fun together. I loved Wren’s need for control, but she also had a heart of gold and a soft spot for dogs. Theo was also very relatable, he never let his royal status get in his way of doing what he wanted. He is sensitive and caring and also spontaneous, something Wren is definitely not. But Wren has the ability to think on her feet and make plans on the fly that help them get across Europe all the way to Greece before the comet hits.
A lot of this story seems plausible, but of course you do need to suspend a lot of disbelief as well. Many things go wrong with their plans, mostly because Theo keeps getting recognized. But the writing and pacing were great as well as the banter between these two. The ending was not what I was expecting, but I was glad that the next book was about to be published so that I didn’t have long to wait after that cliffhanger.
If you are looking for a fun exciting YA romp through Europe, this is the book for you. It is funny, full of lovable characters, and of course romance!
“Every time we’re together, the universe tries to kill us. It was never going to work.” Heir, Apparently
Heir, Apparently by Kara McDowell
Publication Date: July 9, 2024
Confession:
I was so looking forward to reading this sequel, and while I did enjoy spending time with these characters and getting to know their extended families, I was also a bit disappointed in it as well. The first book was a mad dash across Europe and a romantic comedy, while this one was more how to survive on a desert island and the romance seemed to fizzle out. How they ended up on the island was something that really bugged me as well, and I had a hard time enjoying the story because of that.
Wren and Theo are reunited after a few months and things just continue to go wrong for them. I did enjoy meeting all of Theo’s siblings and it was nice to see how much they supported each other even while they were getting on each other’s nerves. Wren’s sister and her best friend are also a lot of fun and I was glad we got to see more of them. I still liked both Theo and Wren but the romance part of the story just seemed to take a back seat to all of the crazy stuff that was going on in this book. I also didn’t like the ending, not because Theo and Wren didn’t deserve their Happily Ever After, but the way it came about was just too complicated and convoluted and some of it seemed unnecessary.
The pacing and the witty banter was certainly there in this book and I really enjoyed that. I even to some extent enjoyed the survival aspect of the story, even though it really does stretch credulity quite a bit. The storyline with Theo’s sister, Victoria, having diabetes and her issues with that on the island just wasn’t credible to me. As was Henry’s storyline at the end. I just needed a more plausible way for Theo and Wren to be together that didn’t feel so contrived.
All in all this was a decent follow up to the first book. This is also a very fun and light YA romance that I recommend for your next vacation read.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 