February 14, 2017

RELEASE DAY REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Royal Affair (Royal Scandal #1)


ROYAL AFFAIR by Parker Swift turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year. I loved every single thing about it - I can't wait for you to experience it too!


Royal Affair (Royal Scandal #1), by Parker Swift
Publish Date:
February 14, 2017
Publisher: Forever Yours
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS


(Synopsis) Behind the posh British accent, Dylan Hale possesses a down-and-dirty sexiness. Off-the-charts gorgeous, a ruthless architect . . . and did I mention he's a future duke? Every time we touch, it's wildfire. All need and lust and heat. But Dylan has rules: just sex, no one can know, and in the bedroom he gets complete control. All I have to do is follow the rules, because falling in love with Dylan Hale is all it would take to screw everything up . . . royally.

I am a total sucker for royal romances. For the past six months or so, they have been my jam - I seriously can't get enough of them. It's why I picked up Royal Affair in the first place. There's just something so utterly and completely romantic about a rich royal alpha male who is willing to give up everything for the right woman. 

In the case of Royal Affair, Dylan Hale might not be enamored with his charmed, royal life, but he's accepted it as a cross he has to bear. He has to put up with his stuffy, stuck-up, socialite parents and superficial socialite women who are only interested in him for his money and his title. There's not a lot of real in his life, but the real he finds, he is determined to keep all to himself - safe from prying and judging eyes. 

Lydia Bell very recently became an orphan. Even in her twenties, that's a hard thing. So, she's shaking up her life and moving to London for her dream job as an assistant to a famous fashion designer. Through a circuitous route, she meets and charms Dylan, and he completely sweeps her off her feet. But, to protect her from the vultures, Dylan resolves only to be with Lydia in secret. 

Can you even imagine? What choice would you make? I can't even answer those questions. Everyone - Lydia included - says that they would rather experience the heat and passion and connection with someone like Dylan in secret rather than not at all. But, I don't know. Because being the dirty little secret - the hot piece on the side - would make me feel like crap, no matter how special our times together were. 

Being with him felt less and less like a choice every time we saw each other. I couldn't imagine turning away from him, even if I wanted to. And even if I was hurt by the walls he was erecting between us, I now knew, without a doubt, that he regretted their existence as much as I did.

And, also like Lydia, I'm the type of person who would have no choice but to fall in love with someone like Dylan - someone who is handsome and charming and sex on a stick and knows how to treat a woman. Which would be a problem since Dylan is 100% committed to keeping things between he and Lydia completely on the DL. 

I think my favorite part about Royal Affair is that Dylan changes and grows and learns as he gets to know Lydia. He realizes that living and loving out loud and unafraid is so much better than keeping the best part of yourself a secret. 

It's obvious from how Royal Affair ends that Dylan and Lydia's story is not even close to over yet. Dark days appear to be before them. Will they be able to handle what's coming? I can't wait to find out. 

We weren’t a foot inside when he closed the door behind him and said, “Turn around, damsel,” indicating I should face away from him. I complied, and he slowly came up behind me, running his hands along my bare upper back and down my arms. He unzipped the dress and pulled it off my shoulders so it pooled at my feet. I was naked except for my insanely high heels. Grabbing my hips, he pulled my naked ass into his front, and I could feel his hardness pushing against the seam of his trousers. “Can you feel how much I want you? How much I want this?” he said firmly, increasing his grip on my hips, pulling me even closer.

I tilted my head back and to the side to try to steal a glimpse of him, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. His hands wrapped around and palmed my breasts. He pushed them in and up, molding them in his palms, and he began to tug at my nipples, rolling them between his thumb and finger, teasing them to the point where pain met pleasure.

“I’m breaking all sorts of rules for you, aren’t I?” He was kissing my neck, sucking my skin, nipping it gently between his teeth, devouring me in motions that mimicked what he was doing to my breasts.

“What rules have you broken for me?” I asked, practically whispering, searching for steadiness in my breath.

He spun me around and lifted me by my ass in one swift move. I locked my ankles behind his back. “For starters I rarely sleep with the same woman twice, at least not in the same week. I don’t spend the night. Ever. And neither do the women I see. And I don’t invite women into my office. Ever. But I couldn’t resist with you. I’d been dreaming about having my mouth on that pretty pussy on that table for weeks. Picturing you just as you were.”

“Did it live up to the dream?” I nuzzled into his cheek, desperate to get to a place where he was naked, where I could feel his skin on my skin.

“The dream didn’t stand a chance.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want you breaking any of your rules, would I? I mean, maybe we better stop now, and you could sleep on my sofa. Or you can get back on your horse—”

“Not on your life, smartass.”

Parker Swift grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and then grew up again in New York, London, and Minneapolis and currently lives in Connecticut. She has spent most of her adult life examining romantic relationships in an academic lab as a professor of social psychology. Now, she's exploring the romantic lives of her fictional characters in the pages of her books. When she's not writing, she spends her time with her bearded nautical husband and being told not to sing along to pop music in the car by her two sons.

Social Media Links:
www.twitter.com/parkeraswift

www.Instagram.com/parkeraswift


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