Codename Charming by Lucy Parker (Review by Caitlin Winkler)

Rating: 4/5 stars

I have found myself in a bit of a romance novel binge this summer and I am completely here for it! I was given the opportunity to review Battle Royal by Lucy Parker, so when I saw she wrote a story from the perspective of Dominic’s sister Pet, I knew I had to read it! Codename Charming was so enjoyable, and I really loved the dynamic between Pet and Matthias!

Petunia “Pet” De Vere is the personal assistant to Johnny Marchmont, husband of Princess Rosie, who tends to find himself in very awkward situations leaving Pet to manage the situation for all involved. Along with the help of his rather intimidating bodyguard, Matthias, they are charged with making Johnny and Rosie’s lives as smooth and safe as possible. So what if they are literal opposites of each other in terms of how to go about doing this? When the media speculate and run stories of Pet being involved with Johnny, “Operation Codename Charming” is strongly recommended by the PR team to put an end to these rumors. Pet and Matthias will pretend to be in a relationship…but what happens when it starts to become very real?

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and found myself rooting for Pet and Matthias, which I feel is very important in a romance novel-getting the reader to really root for the characters to find their way to each other. The reason why this story did not get 5 stars from me is because I found the narration to be a bit confusing at times. I felt that if the author wanted to do dual perspectives, which I absolutely love in a novel, it may have been stronger as first person. Again, this is just my opinion, and many may find this style of writing to be exactly what they want in a novel! Also, while I am all for slow burns, this novel was a very slow burn and then felt semi rushed at the end, but that is just being nitpicky and wanting more, which means I was invested! That being said, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to hopefully more in the series!! Lucy Parker has become a must-read author for me, and I hope she does for you too!