Codename Charming by Lucy Parker
Series : Palace Insiders #2
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication Date : August 15th, 2023
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication Date : August 15th, 2023
Following Battle Royal, beloved author Lucy Parker pens
another delicious romantic comedy about a fake relationship
between a grumpy royal bodyguard and the charming, sunny
assistant who melts his cold, hard exterior.
Petunia De Vere enjoys being the personal assistant to lovable,
bumbling Johnny Marchmont. But the job has its share of
challenges, including the royal's giant, intimidating bodyguard,
Matthias. Pet and Matthias are polar opposites--she's
spontaneous and enthusiastic, he's rigid and stoic--but she can
sense there's something softer underneath that tough exterior...
For Matthias Vaughn, protecting others is the name of the game.
But keeping his royal charge out of trouble is more difficult
than he imagined because everywhere Johnny goes, calamity
ensues, and his petite, bubbly assistant is often caught in the
fray. Matthias hates the idea of Pet getting hurt and he's
determined to keep everyone safe, even if it means clashing with
his adorable new coworker.
When a clumsy moment leads to a questionable tabloid photo, the
press begins to speculate that Pet is romantically involved with
Johnny. To put an end to the rumors, the royal PR team asks Pet
and Matthias to stage a fake relationship and the two
reluctantly agree. But as they spend more time together outside
of work, they begin to wonder what real emotions this pretend
connection might uncover. Especially when a passionate kiss
leaves both of their heads spinning...
Pre-order here!
Could there be anything cuter than seeing fictional characters
being protective about their friends/love interests? So, this came
to my mind because I just finished reading an ARC of Codename
Charming by Lucy Parker and I just can't get over how cute both
Pet and Matthias were in this one 😍🥺 - stinkin' cute and equally
protective about each other. Battle Royal was one of my 2021 faves
so it'd be an understatement to say that I was very excited about
this one too! And the character dynamics reminded me of the ones
from Artistic License(my first and favorite LP book) - talk about
expectations! Anyway, I'm happy to report that it had all the
delightfully cute things a Lucy Parker book has, along with unique
characters that I loved!🥰
Petunia De Vere is the personal assistant of Johnny - the husband
of Princess Rose and the newest addition to the royal family, and
her taciturn co-worker Matthias is Johnny's bodyguard who takes
his job very seriously. This means that he's not a fan of
ideas(especially ones from Pet) that go against protocol 🤣 But
he's the one that keeps coming to her aid when Johnny accidentally
does something. So, when a tabloid photo blows things out of
proportion by linking Pet with her boss, the royal PR team
proposes to counter it by showing that Pet is already in a
relationship. And Matthias seems like the perfect candidate for
this fake relationship as many others on social media seem to ship
him and Pet together. Both of them reluctantly agree to this at
first and as they spend more time together the boundaries between
acting and reality start blurring quickly.
Both Pet and Matthias have a lot more to their characters than
just their outward personas.(I feel like sometimes while marketing
romance books it's easy to focus on the tropes and call it a
grumpy sunshine pairing, etc but that doesn't exactly describe
everything that they have to offer you know?). They might look
like they're opposites but they have a lot in common - especially
the way they're protective of those they love and how they blame
themselves for some things that are out of their control. They're
both confident and mature when it comes to many things but also
hesitant at times about opening up. But as they spend more time
with each other those walls come down quickly.
While there are some instances where other characters respond to
Matthias' looks, it's not a focal point here like in Artistic
License and Matthias doesn't have any self esteem issues either.
But there are some delightful moments where Pet defends him and I
loved it so much!😍 Pet is lively and hardworking but that doesn't
mean she's had an easy time growing up. Similarly Matthias is
still grieving the loss of his best friend. And when they start
fake-dating it quickly turns into something real, when they find
themselves not only enjoying each other's company but also
genuinely wanting the other person to be happier and safer. I
loved how they comforted and protected each other!🥺
In addition to the romance and humor, we also have many subplots
featuring the royal family and Pet's quest to find a woman who
might be a paternal relative of hers. All of this along with the
characters made it a very enjoyable read! I also loved seeing
Sylvie and Dom here again! Anyway, I don't think I have a single
thing to criticize about this one and I really want more people to
read Lucy Parker's books(I honestly wish I could read them for the
first time again) so I might keep talking about this one for the
next few months till it releases!😆
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
You can find my review of the previous book in this series here
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest
review*
Lucy Parker lives in the gorgeous Central Otago region of New Zealand,
where she feels lucky every day to look out at mountains, lakes, and
vineyards. She has a degree in Art History, loves museums and art
galleries, and doodles unrecognizable flowers when she has writer’s
block.
When she’s not writing, working or sleeping, she happily tackles the
towering pile of to-be-read books that never gets any smaller.
Thankfully, there’s always another story waiting.
Her interest in romantic fiction began with a pre-teen viewing
of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (Firth-style), which prompted her
to read the book as well. A family friend introduced her to Georgette
Heyer, and the rest was history.
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