Paper Princess » Book Review

Whaaaaaaaat on earth did I just read? And why, oh why, did I like it so??? This isn't quality literature by any means. Ellen described it as having a jaunt through the gutter in her review (here), and I'd have to agree.

I think of Paper Princess as having consumed a Big Mac from McDonalds. You bite into it, and it's delicious and you crave more. But after it's over, you're left with a faint feeling of nausea and/or disgust but also may have developed a mini-addiction to it.

Ella, our Paper Princess

Our main character, Ella, has been supporting herself since her mom's death by stripping. She is a focused student living in abject poverty so as to avoid the foster care system and get herself into college. In walks Callum, her father's best friend, who wants to take her into his mansion so she can live in luxury and comfort with his five teenage boys.

She resists as much as she can, but she ultimately decides that this is what is best for her and tries to make the most out of her situation. And I LOVED her for it. She is a survivor.

The Royal Brothers

THEY ARE ASSHOLES. Actually everyone in the story is an asshole. But we shall focus on our five boys. The oldest is Gideon, who's usually away at college but comes back on weekends. He seems nice enough. Reed is next, and he is the one to be obeyed. He also happens to be Ella's love/lust interest. Then we have Easton, followed by the twins, Sebastian and Sawyer.

Easton was my favorite brother, because he had the most genuine brother/sister relationship with Ella. And I'm a sucker for those kinds of relationships. Probably because I've always wanted an older brother. Instead I ended up with a baby sister and a baby brother that I'm basically another mom to. Thanks parents.

Have I mentioned that the brothers are assholes? No?

ASSHOLES.

But they come around. Sort of.

And then, you kind of fall for them as characters.

I don't know how or why it happened. But now I kind of love them all. Please don't judge me.

Recommend?

This reads like a fast-paced, slightly better written version of Fifty Shades with less creepy characters for the new adult genre. If you are in any kind of a reading slump, I would tell you to pick this up. I guarantee you that you'll read it one sitting.

All I can say is that Ellen and I are eagerly anticipating the next installment.

We also have a spoilery discussion post coming up. Stay tuned!

Paper Princess » Book Review

I shouldn't have enjoyed this book as much as I did, but it was a fun little traipse through the gutter.  "Gutter," you say, Ellen?  Mightn't that be a touch harsh?  Nah.  Ask the author to her face about whether or not Paper Princess is even moderate literature, and I bet she'd be like, "No, no, no. This book is just for funzees."

The novel is a rags-to-riches tale following Ella, a seventeen year-old who is a smart cookie, but also a burgeoning stripper.  She's taken to naked dancing following the death of her mother, who was her sole caretaker.  Ella would like to graduate high school and even go to college, but she has to keep herself fed and off the streets, first thing. She's moving right along, making it work, when the best friend of her long-lost father shows up and insists upon becoming her guardian.

Ella accepts his offer and he jets her off to his home on the southeastern coast.  There's a problem though, Daddy Warbucks has five teenage sons...

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!

I'm sorry for laughing, but it's just so gratuitous! Stepbrother romances are NOT a new thing under the sun, in fact they're a full-on trope, but I've never seen a book that's like, "We'll have one, two three.. FIVE stepbrothers. Yeah!" Talk about going all in. And making them all teenagers, too... Lol.

But anyway, the combination of a troubled girl moving into a mansion full of buff stepbrothers reminded me very strongly of Fallen Crest High, the flagship novel of indie author, Tijan.

Against my better self, I have a huge soft spot for Fallen Crest High.  I remember reading that book a number of years ago and thinking, Wow. This is like the Iliad of high school drama. The book is about a girl, Sam, whose mother has an affair with one of their California town's multimillionaires.  One day, Sam comes home and her mom is all, "I'm leaving your father and we're moving in with my uber-rich boyfriend. Pack up."

What follows is a dark, twisty little fairytale that ends in the triumph of feral children over their pathological parents.  The series has since lost its theme and has become one big epilogue, but I will always remember fondly the experience of diving into the weird brilliance of Fallen Crest for the first time.

Paper Princess is both everything like Fallen Crest High and nothing like it. The books have very similar content but are somehow worlds apart.  They're not unlike identical twins — same DNA, unique manifestations. And it's so funny... Paper Princess is the better written book, undeniably, but somehow, it manages to be inferior on every other level to Fallen Crest High.

But down to the bottom line... Should you read this book?  Why the hell not?  I can't promise that you'll be impressed, but I guarantee you'll be entertained.