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Reviewed by Priya Mathew for Readers' Favorite
Royal Rebel, Holly Kerr’s fifth Love in Laandia novel, is built on a very particular kind of heartbreak that comes not from losing something, but from watching it walk away. Princess Lyra Erickson, who’s been in the background of every book in this series, signs on as the next Suitorette. She tells herself that it has nothing to do with the fact that Spencer Laz, her brother’s best friend and the one person she has never been able to shake loose from her heart, is now dating someone else. Will the reality show with twenty-five men on a tiny French island off the Canadian coast help her move on? Or will Spencer and Lyra be able to stop circling each other and explore the mutual feelings they have?
Royal Rebel by Holly Kerr is warm and witty. Although it’s part of a series, it works as a standalone too. In the other books, Lyra comes across as a wild card, but in this story, Holly Kerr made me want to root for her. Kerr’s writing, like in her previous work, is deceptively simple. It’s inviting and uses short but snappy interactions to keep the story moving forward at a breakneck pace. I loved the dual points of view from Spencer and Lyra in alternate chapters. Although I’m not personally a fan of reality shows, the Suitorette works as a premise for Lyra because it forces her to be seen by cameras, by strangers vying for her attention, and gradually by herself. The contestants are lightly sketched, with each of them having their own eccentricities. Some of them had positive points, but none of them would be right for Princess Lyra, and Kerr makes that clear. Royal Rebel is a classic friends-to-lovers trope. It is also about what happens when the shell you built to survive becomes the thing keeping out the person you want most. The supporting cast, including Odin, Camille, Bo, Hettie, and Tema, continues to shine. I was rooting for Spencer and Abigail, but the final pages, with Abigail’s story set in motion, put me in the right mood: satisfied, a bit emotional, and looking forward to reading the next book.
