Royal Replicas - Review

Royal Replicas by Michael Pierce

Genre: YA Dystopian
Release Date: July 11th 2017



"Princess Amelia is dead... and one of you will replace her."

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Sandalwood has served the Duke and Duchess all her life. Over the years, she’s learned to make due with what she has and endure her surrogate father’s awful punishments. She dreams of escape, but never expected it to come in the form of a message from the Queen of Westeria.

Victoria learns that she’s the Queen’s daughter, the younger sister to Princess Amelia, and it’s time to come home and claim her birthright. When she arrives, she discovers she’s not the only one who received the royal message.

Victoria must compete with six other girls to earn the affection of both the Queen and a princely suitor… and to replace the secretly deceased Princess Amelia. If she fails to win the crown, Victoria may just have to fight for her life…

Royal Replicas is the first book in a YA dystopian series. If you enjoy courtly intrigue, heart-pounding adventure, and sweet romance, then you’ll love this captivating story. Perfect for fans of Kiera Cass, Bella Forrest, and Veronica Roth. 
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I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: Royal Replicas is a strange sort of amalgamation of a few different things. Take the competition part of The Selection, the sci-fi elements from Orphan Black and a lot of Luce's indecisiveness from the Fallen series and to be honest you're still not even close, but heading in the right direction when it comes to describing Royal Replicas.
Once a servant, now the daughter of a Queen, Victoria Sandalwood finds herself abruptly thrust into a dangerous game with the ultimate prize - being the next Princess of Westeria. If Victoria thought discovering the truth about her parentage and birthright was the biggest challenge she'd face, she's in for quite the shock.
Victoria is determined, headstrong and really flipping confused. I felt as though she takes everything in her stride and never looses sight of doing the right thing even to her own detriment.
Westeria itself is a kind of fantasy dystopia where futuristic technology is mixed with elements of the distant past. Some of it is beautiful, whilst others really unsettling.
I have to admit there were certain elements of the story I was extremely uncomfortable with. I wasn't expecting the abuse Victoria faces at the hands of the horrific Duke. I wasn't prepared for it in a YA story. BUT and it is a but, I felt it represented the brutal treatment servants received in the past and really devastatingly the abuse many people suffer today.

Oh the romance! Kale and Prince Byrone had me completely confused over which side Victoria should chose and whom I preferred. As a rule I really don't like love triangles but in Royal Replicas I kept changing my mind right up to the end...

3.5 Stars in my Sky


Author Spotlight:

Michael Pierce is the author of the young adult contemporary fantasy Lorne Family Vault series. He writes fast-paced, character-driven books filled with adventure, mystery, thrills, and a pinch humor and romance to spice things up. The thread that ties all of his books together is the possibility of belief: what you believe becomes your reality. 

Michael currently lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and two blood-thirsty chiweenies. When he’s not at the computer, he enjoys spending quality time with family, practicing yoga, playing guitar behind closed doors, and listening to as many audiobooks as possible. 

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