A review by brookeisbusyreading
Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick

funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I can see why this book is compared to RW&RB, but it actually feels more similar to Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (BM was published in 2020; PtP in 2021). The whole fake dating, royals/palace drama is probably the reason for the comparison to RW&RB.

First, some things I liked:
-The banter, playful insults, and comparisons were my kind of humor. I found myself laughing or smiling through most of the book.
-Edgar’s insecurities and Carter’s self-destructive tendencies really made me gravitate to the characters. I related a lot to Carter (similarly with Luc in BM).
-The locations where major events happened was interesting and felt very natural. Definitely appreciated that, especially the baking show scenes.

Things I disliked:
-There was SO MUCH happening in this book all the time that it kind of feels like I’ve got whiplash trying to remember everything.
-(Connected to the previous point) I think the book should’ve been longer. It’s like 270 pages and, like I said, A LOT happens.
-The imagery didn’t always come across clearly for me. Sometimes Carter’s thoughts and comparisons would make me lose what I was supposed to be visualizing. It didn’t happen often but I’m a visual person and I like being able to play stories out in my head like a movie.

Lastly, here are similarities I picked up on with BM:
-One MC was betrayed, is self-destructive, and immature.
-The other MC presents themself as perfect but is secretly insecure, desperate for acceptance/approval, and doesn’t see how toxic their family is.
-There’s a parental figure (Luc’s dad in BM, the Queen in PtP) who is one of the antagonists for the couple. The indirectly trigger negative thoughts in the flawed/self-destructive MC.
-At least one of the MCs has a snarky, bulldozer of a BFF who is or is like a sister and has a huge role in the story (which seems to be a common character to have?).
-Both MCs accept their flaws, each other’s, and agree to work on them moving forward.

Those similarities aren’t me saying I disliked PtP. I enjoyed it! The cover reminded me a bit of RW&RB’s, and the story was similar to BM in my opinion but it’s still its own story. If you enjoyed RW&RB and/or BM, you should definitely check out Playing the Palace!