ARC Review: His Royal Secret (His Royal Secret #1) by Lilah Pace

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: July 19, 2016
Publisher: Intermix
185 Pages

The first in an enchanting new male/male romantic duology from Lilah Pace, author of Asking for More and Begging for It ....

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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So, I was a little scared going into this. Mostly because of the titles of Pace's previous works. Yes, I admit it, I judged books based on their titles. But come on, I'm not the only one. Anyway, however, when I saw this involved a royal family I had to jump in. My love of royals knows no bounds.

Source

You don't have to tell me, Obama.

Anyway, the book. 

Future King of England is hiding something from the people - and a majority of his family. He's gay. His very public relationship with Lady Cassandra is a lie conceived between two best friends to protect the monarchy and James's little sister. Because James knows that England is not ready for a gay King and if he abdicated the throne it would fall on the shoulders of his little sister who is riddled with anxiety and suffers from some sort of mental disorder. But all that changes when Cassandra falls in love (not with James but someone else) and James meets Benjamin. 

Reading this was like reading the OK! magazine or something along that line. It was just so scandalous! All of the lies, the sneaking around - it made me feel like I was in on this huge secret and the rest of the world was oblivious, which I guess in a way I kind of was. 

I found James to be adorably mature. He knew what his role in this world was and what was expected of him: to put duty before family. And he was doing just that. But we also got to see the side that wasn't so put together and was scared and just wanting something real. Ben, on the other hand, was openly gay but didn't want a relationship. Having been burned in the past he was completely fine just being casual. The way these two came together and made each other stronger was fun to read. I really liked how the author combined the royal duties with Jame's sexual orientation and the consequences of coming out. 

Based on the way this one ended, I cannot wait to read the next one to see the fallout of James's decision. 

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.