Princess Beatrice realizes what’s expected of her as heir apparent—and it is not riding in cars, alone, with her Revere Guard. But what the Crown doesn’t know won’t hurt it…right?

Princess Samantha is already bored of her own graduation party. She swears she isn’t looking for trouble, but when the king and queen are away, the spare will play….

Nina never dreamed of acting on her feelings for Prince Jefferson. Tonight, though, anything seems possible: even a prince and a commoner.

Meanwhile, Daphne is hiding more than one secret beneath her perfect exterior. A royal party might just be the window of opportunity she needs—until everything comes crashing down.

This short prequel novella to the American Royals series takes place the night of Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson’s graduation party. Like the novels, the story is told from the perspectives of Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne in alternating chapters. 

I enjoyed seeing Connor in the story again, since he was Princess Beatrice’s Revere Guard prior to her becoming Queen, and the chemistry between them. Their little adventure driving back to the palace was fun to read, though the scene inside the gas station is totally ripped off from The Princess Diaries movie. As much as I love Beatrice and Connor, I really loved Samantha’s adventure sneaking out of the palace to go to a concert with a young guy from the kitchen staff.

There’s really not much more to say about this novella. It’s very short and even though I loved getting a glimpse of these characters again, I kind of feel like this story wasn’t needed. Maybe if it had been a longer prequel, it would have some merit. Honestly, I would have loved to see a prequel that starts the night of Sam and Jeff’s graduation party, and then follows the characters the six months afterward leading up to the first American Royals book.

If you’ve read the three American Royals novels, but not this one, you’re not missing much. It’s cute, but again, there’s really no point to it.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars