HIS ROYAL SECRET (His Royal Secret #1) by Lilah Pace-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 19, 2016

James, the handsome, cosmopolitan Prince of Wales, is used to being in the public eye. But he’s keeping a king-sized secret…James, next in line for the throne, is gay.

He’s been able to hide his sexual orientation with the help of his best friend and beard, Lady Cassandra. Sometimes he feels like a coward for not coming out, but he daren’t risk losing the crown. If he did, the succession would fall on his deeply troubled younger sister, Princess Amelia. To protect her, James is willing to live a lie.

While on holiday, he meets Benjamin Dahan—a rugged international reporter with a globe-trotting, unattached life—who catches far more than James’s eye. And when Ben is transferred to London, it seems fate may finally be smiling on James.

But what began as a torrid fling grows into something far more intimate and powerful. Soon James will have decide who he is, what he wants from life and love, and what he’s willing to sacrifice for the truth.

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REVIEW: HIS ROYAL SECRET is the first installment in Lilah Pace’s contemporary, adult HIS ROYAL SECRET M/M romance series focusing on the fictional Prince of Wales and the British Royal family. This is heir to the British crown Prince James, and journalist/reporter Benjamin Dahan.

NOTE: HIS ROYAL SECRET is a M/M story line with M/M sexual situations.

Told from dual third person perspectives (James and Ben) HIS ROYAL SECRET follows the building but forbidden relationship between the British Prince of Wales and heir to the throne James of the House of Hanover, and reporter Benjamin Dahan. While on assignment in Kenya, Benjamin comes face to face with the Prince of Wales, and within minutes is acutely aware that the young prince is hiding a secret, that if revealed could destroy any chance of ascending to the throne. James is a closeted gay using his best friend Lady Cassandra as his beard, and a man desperately lonely and looking for love. What ensues is a friends with benefits relationship that must remain hidden lest the British people, and the world, discover that the heir to the British throne is gay.

The relationship between Ben and James is fraught with issues of secrecy and trust. James and Lady Cassandra ‘pretend’ to be in a relationship but Cassandra’s numerous sightings with another man begin to destroy the façade that James had been building for years. Along with the need to keep their affair a secret, James must also contend with his younger sister whose emotional health is slowly beginning to unravel. The $ex scenes between James and Ben are intimate and hot; our couple switch between dominate and submissive at different points throughout the story.

We are introduced to several secondary and supporting characters including Lady Cassandra, and James’s long suffering younger sister Princess Amelia (aka Indigo), and several other members of the Royal Family including James’s uncle Richard whose line to throne is pushed further away. James’s personal assistant Kimberly, and his butler Hartley who keep James’s personal life a secret; Benjamin’s boss Fiona and co-worker Roberto , as well as some personal and private emails from Ben’s ex Warner Clifton who may be a future source of trouble.

The world building focused on the relationship between Ben and James-their growing love, and their need to keep secret the affair behind closed doors. Most of the conflict comes in the final pages of the book, wherein James has come to a decision about his relationship with Ben, and the secret he is going to reveal. I did have one issue, as it pertained to James’s coming out to the Royal family-the reader is not privy to the reveal; we are told and not shown, which is a bit of a let-down considering several members of the Royal family are stuck in the past.

HIS ROYAL SECRET is a slow building story line with a little bit of heartbreak, romance, lots of $ex, and two young men caught between falling in love or letting go. The premise is easy going and entertaining without too much angst or over the top conflict although I suspect book two HIS ROYAL FAVORITE will up the conflict and anxiety factor. The characters are colorful and interesting; the romance is a struggle towards a happily ever after-for now.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy