Casey Griffin

An exciting new title coming soon from entangled teen.

Secrets of a Reluctant Princess

Abi Baker

Secrets of a Reluctant Princess follows Andy, a girl who has to reinvent herself as Adrianna, when her family scores a reality TV gig due to the success of their bathrooms and accessories line. 
After moving away from a place and life she kind of loved, she becomes popular and has to dress and act completely differently from what she's used to, but one day, after evading the camera crew that constantly follows her, she meets Kevin, a boy who works in a small yet rival bathroom store, who has an interest in LARPing. Suddenly, Andy develops multiple interests, and has to battle between the girl she wants to be, and the girl she thinks she has to be.

Yep, this is essentially a fun, slightly ridiculous, version of Romeo & Juliet, in an American high school, with multiple references to bathrooms and other related products. Also, it's about LARPing. I almost can't wrap my head around it.

Kevin meets our protagonist as Adrianna, the new girl who has a reality TV show and who's popular and mean ad everything he doesn't want to befriend. Unbeknownst to him, he also meets her as Andy, a girl who is entirely his type. 
Andy feels free when she's LARPing, but people would make fun of her if they knew she did it. She'd end up disappointing her parents and losing her friends and lots of other overly dramatic consequences. Instead of coming clean with Kevin about who exactly she is, she leads a double life, and continues to try to interact with him as both Andy and Adrianna.

The more I think about it, the more it reminds me of A Cinderella Story, except instead of talking online, they talk behind masks. If you liked A Cinderella Story and like cutesy and fun stories then you'd probably like this. 

The story has a happy ending, because I'm not sure these kind of stories are allowed to have endings that aren't happy. You'll root for Kevin who really does seem like a nice guy, and you'll end up liking Harper, who's deeper than what she seems. Maybe you'll even enjoy the basic references to 'nerd culture' that they throw in too.
This is a big of feel-good fluff with some angst thrown in, but it's a nice way to spend some time.

Jessica Nottingham

Be still, my heart! Friends, I'm about to shamelessly gush about this book. Consider yourself warned. I mean, I admit that it did take me a few chapters to warm up to Andy but once I did? Well, you couldn't have pried me away from this book if you tried. It has everything I love. Great characters, realistic life lessons, sweet romance, and LARPing. Yes, LARPing. My nerdy heart is so happy right now.

Andy, or Adrianna as her mother prefers she goes by, is the type of character that I wish we saw more of in YA literature. Used to being bullied and mocked, she uses her fresh start in her "new life" to remake herself into someone who avoids all that. The problem is, that she soon learns that it's difficult be someone you're not. Even more than that, she learns that sometimes fitting in means being the bully. If more teens learned that lesson early on, well, high school might not be such a difficult space to exist in.

My absolute favorite part of this story though was that it was a love letter to nerdom. Griffin points out the deep divide that exists between the popular crowd, and the "nerds". However she goes beyond that by showing that it's perfectly acceptable to love what you love. Comics, drawing, cosplay, it's all in here. I was instantly able to tell that Griffin did her research, and I adored the spotlight that she gave to this group that is often ignored.

Then there were the characters. Most importantly, or maybe I have a minor crush myself, is Kevin. Kevin is sweet. He's kind, honest, and he loves LARPing. It takes his character, unafraid to be himself, to teach Andy who she really wants to be. The awkward, often tear-jerking relationship between these two was the icing on the cake really. I would have loved them even if they were just friends.

Secrets of a Reluctant Princess has it all. Family loyalty, forever friendships, high school drama, and enough giggle worthy moments to make the tear-jerking moments totally worthwhile. I loved this book! I genuinely hope you'll add it to your TBR, because it's well worth you time.

At Beverly Hills High, you have to be ruthless to survive... Adrianna Bottom always wanted to be liked. But this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. Now, she’s in the spotlight...and out of her geeky comfort zone. She’ll do whatever it takes to turn the rumor mill in her favor—even if it means keeping secrets. So far, it’s working. Wear the right clothes. Say the right things. Be seen with the right people. Kevin, the adorable sketch artist who shares her love of all things nerd, isn’t exactly the right people. But that doesn’t stop Adrianna from crushing on him. The only way she can spend time with him is in disguise, as Princess Andy, the masked girl he’s been LARPing with. If he found out who she really was, though, he’d hate her. The rules have been set. The teams have their players. Game on.

Jackie

Disclaimer: Earc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This book was a little slow to start out with, I couldn't get over how self-pitying Andy was and found myself rolling my eyes at her. It was when Lennox was introduced that I found myself going, “Oh no, not ANOTHER book where the girl changes herself for a guy!” but I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't how the book actually went. 

Adrianna became more likeable as the book went on, her character developed despite the fact that she hiding behind a mask - literally. We were able to explore the difference sides of her that completed the full human being and I even felt bad for her once her secret was revealed and her life fell apart. 

I enjoyed actually learning about LARPing, I'd heard of it but never actually seen it done other than in a couple episodes of a TV show I used to watch and they never really explained anything with it. 

When I finally got into the story, it really flew by! Adrianna did manage to get herself into a lot of trouble on her own but she also managed to stick up for herself in the end and admit what her mistakes were. 

Overall, this book was very enjoyable. I'd definitely recommend it as a book to look out for.

Secrets of a Reluctant Princess

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