Customer Reviews

The Royal Mess (Wheeler Softcover)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the third and possibly final (say it ain't so MJD!!) book in the Alaskan Royal Family series. Alaska is not a state it is its own country ruled for generations by the Baranovs. The first book in the series was The Royal Treatment (Alaskan Royal Family, Bk 1)followed by The Royal Pain (Alaskan Royal Family, Bk 2).

When King Al receives a letter from a woman claiming to be his 30 something illegitimate child, Al can't wait to meet her and welcome her into his zany family. Nicole Krenski loves the outdoors and is a wilderness guide in Alaska. She writes the letter to King Al as she promised her mother she would do so. She plans to have no contact with him after that; she wants no part of the royal life.

King Al and his bodyguard Jeffrey show up at Nicole's trailer hoping to lure her into the family. Hilarity ensues and the journey from guide to Princess begins.

It seems like forever since I read the last two books and I was concerned I wouldn't remember the family or the previous stories. It took no time at all to reacquaint myself with the Baranovs and all their eccentricities. Nicole is a typical MJD heroine; she's loud, brash, sarcastic and sexy. Her chemistry with the intelligent and dutiful bodyguard was electric and this book was impossible to put down.

At the end of this book MJD states that this is possibly the last of the Royal series, unless the Baranovs demand to be heard. I hope that they do because this is one family that is endlessly entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I hope you do to.

I couldnt even finish this book. The first one was great, the second passable, the third one awful. The characters are so irritating!

i usually like MJD books and download all 3 Alaska books. after reading the first one, I was sorry I download the others. all the books are so similar in plot and characters. the character are one dimesions with no depth or feelings. they jump into bed at the beginning of each book with no drama, conflict or conscience. there is no plot, no intrigue, no angst. sooooo disappointing. don't spend your money.

Nicole Krenski has completed the last request of her dying mother - to contact her father, who was only just revealed to Nicole herself. Imagine her amazement at learning her father is King Alexander II (known as King Al) of the Alaskan Royal house. Nicole really doesn't want anything else to do with the family; after all, she has lived her life without them so far. However, when circumstances make it so Nicole has to agree to the acknowledgement of King Al, she decides there is at least ONE thing she just might like from the palace.

Jeffrey Rodinov is a royal bodyguard who is from a long line of protectors of the Royal family. When he is put in charge of Nicole's safety, Jeffrey has a moment of doubt - not in his ability to protect Nicole from harm, but in his ability to protect them from each other. Trying to fight their attraction has put Jeffrey between a rock and a hard space. Now, throw in the rest of the Royals and Edmund, along with the daily antics that just seem to happen, then add it all up and you have what just might be termed as a royal mess.

I will say right off the top that my wait for the next book in the Alaskan Royal Family was totally worth it. The Royal Mess is about a new royal child and how she learns to cope with her new identity and that so includes her hunky bodyguard, Jeffrey. To avoid saying too much, I'm just going to say that Nicole had me laughing and sighing from start to finish. Ms. Davidson has once again taken her down-to-earth royals and given us yet another dimension to their unique family, using her trademarked humor and false insults to reveal the deep love they all feel for each other. I could not put The Royal Mess down and then turned around and reread it all over again. There was no aspect I did not love in following Nicole's trials. If you have been reading this series, this is a book you won't want to miss. If you have not been following the Alaskan Royals, then get up right now and go find them - you won't regret it, I promise. Of course this could only be a Joyfully Recommended Read from me.

As a side note, Ms. Davidson has said this might be her last in the series. I will say several questions are answered and ends are tied up. However, after re-reading I found at least one sibling who was left open and I'm hoping she will decide to do his story at some future time. And as this has edged its way into being my favorite series from Ms Davidson, I'm not above begging.

Jo
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I enjoyed the first book in MaryJanice Davidson's Alaskan Royal Family series The Royal Treatment. The idea of an alternate reality where Alaska became its own principality combined with MJD's trademark snarky humor and idiosyncratic characters worked. However, the 2 books that followed (The Royal Pain, The Royal Mess) were, respectively, somewhat joyless and a rehash.

My chief complaint about The Royal Mess is that although it does tie up some loose ends (rather briefly), Nicole, the illegitimate daughter of King Al that he never knew he had from a 2-week stand, was essentially identical to Christine, Al's daughter-in-law. Yes, Christine appears in the book, and she and Nicole aren't exactly best gal pals and their backgrounds aren't the same, but their prickliness, snarky dialogue, and behavior toward the king are pretty much interchangeable.

In addition, as with Ms Davidson's other books, which I enjoy but I'm not blind to the inherent faults, the characterization and plot are weak, and much of the backstory is left out. For example, we never really understand who Nicole's mother was and why she made the decisions she did; everything is mentioned briefly and in passing. Considering how bitter Nicole appears to be, that's a conspicuous lack. Also, still not clear to me is why King Al remains so loyal to the memory of his ex-wife, someone who was unfaithful to him, whereas he never strayed. In any case, there's no real character growth or development, and the storyline doesn't really go anywhere, despite the relationship between Nicole and royal bodyguard Jeffrey.

Ms Davidson has indicated this book is the final one in the Alaskan Royal Family saga. I'm wondering if this is because her writing schedule is so packed that she doesn't have time to write more (a very real possibility; I'd like to know what happens with the youngest royals, though) or if the sales from this series haven't been as great as the publishers would have liked. All pure conjecture on my part, of course.

Why do I keep reading MaryJanice Davidson? Excellent dialogue, entertainingly ditzy characters and....nothing else comes immediately to mind. The first one in this series had a nice plot. The second had almost no plot but the basic situation and character development provided at least a minimum amount of depth. This one is a glorified short story, with no conflict of any sort. Nicole Krenski is the illegitimate daughter of the King of Alaska. Since "legitamacy" doesn't seem to mean much in this fictional world, and since she is the oldest of his children, this newly discovered princess is the heir to the throne. She makes contact with the King, is welcomed into the royal fold and gets the hots for her bodyguard. One might expect at least a few commoner/royal, rich girl/poor boy complications, but no...in the words of Edmund Dante, the King's chief advisor (I'm paraphrasing just a little), "You're a woman in your mid-thirties. You can any have lover you want." And so everybody lives happily ever after. And for the bargain basement price of only 14 bucks. Jeez...why even bother?

I rushed the reading as much as possible to get it over with. A reviewer for Romantic Times described the book as follows. "crude, quick language" and "Readers will delight in the everybody's-thinking-it style statements made by the characters." I did not enjoy the crude language at all. Two examples follow: Nicole's mother had died of cancer and Nicole took care of her before she died. Christina asked "you took care of her?" Nicole replied "No, I slammed her a__ in a nursing home." Another example: Nicole is eating dinner and says "sh__ I dropped one of my eight forks." I'm ok with foul language used in appropriate and/or stressful situations, but this author used it constantly within everyday conversation. It irritated and annoyed me. I don't respect or feel comfortable with these types of people, and I certainly don't find it humorous. I don't care to read a story about them. In addition, there was no interesting character development other than Nicole being rude to most people. Most of the book consisted of conversation with very little time spent on plot, and what plot there was was too simple. The plot for the first 76 pages of the book consisted of the family's attempts to get Nicole to submit to a DNA blood test. Not much time was spent on Jeffrey, the male protagonist. The description of him on the back cover almost told me more than the book did about him. I would have liked to have seen more of him and less of the rude, bratty, food throwing family members. I imagine there are some readers who would find this book funny, but not me. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: two. Setting: 2007 Alaska. Genre: contemporary chick lit with a little bit of romance.

In the independent Kingdom of Alaska the Rodinov clan protects the royal Baranov family as they have for generations. So when wilderness hunting guide Nicole Krenski informs the royals that her recently deceased mother left her proof that her father is the king, Jeffrey Rodinov is sent to protect and escort the wrong side of the bed princess to her father's palace.

Nicole Krenski makes it clear that her body does not need guarding, but besides obeying a royal command to give her THE ROYAL TREATMENT, Jeffrey likes guarding her body although she is a ROYAL PAIN. As he teaches her Alaskan royalty and keeps her safe, suitors come from all over the kingdom, but only Jeffrey seems right as Nicole struggles with the ROYAL MESS caused by her deathbed pledge to her mom.

The third Alaskan Royal Family alternate history is another wild zany romantic suspense caper with the laughs coming in rapid machine gun fire from start to finish. The story line is fast-paced but a bit anemic. However, MaryJanice Davidson's fans will roar in laughter at the antics of the un-royal royal, as her vulgar earthly retorts to her polished upper crust suitors and especially the hero's zingers make for a fun lighthearted frolic.

Harriet Klausner

This is the second book I read by MJ Davidson and it will be my last. I also read "Really Unusual Bad Boys" -- it was a really unusually bad book.

The characters in The Royal Mess were stupid, rude, nasty, over the top. I had no idea how anyone could love anyone. The relationship between Princess Nicole and body guard Jeffrey could have been good, but it was never really developed. All of a sudden they were in love... how? when? and most of all, why???

There was a lot of cursing in the book and although it did not offend me, it was not necessary, over the top, and unbelievable. Also the King's "relationship" with "The Dragon" was so stupid.

Please don't waste your time.

Love the Royal series. There are very few Davidson books I haven't read twice, but this one I bought instead of renting from the library. The King of Alaska is hilarious, as is the main protagonist. The whole family is crazy and wonderful