Review: Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Title: Twisted Palace

Series: The Royals #3

Author: Erin Watt

Release date: October 17, 2016

Cliffhanger: No

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

These Royals will ruin you…

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.

They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

Ella and Reed's story has been such an unpredictable and thrilling ride. After the stunning ending to Broken Prince, I was desperately waiting to get my hands on this book to finally get some answers and some closure. This is the kind of series that will knock you right on your ass the minute you think you have the direction of the plot pegged. You sit and analyze everything you read and come up with so many theories, that you end up right where you started and begin again. Twisted Palace didn't have that same shock factor that I've come to expect, but I enjoyed myself all the same.

Reed and Ella have struggled to accept, love, and forgive and are finally at a place when they are confident in each other. They've never had it easy, despite their lavish and luxurious home, but they know they can face anything as long as they stand strong together.

This house is ridiculously large, ridiculously beautiful, but everyone inside of it is so messed up. Including me. I guess I really am a Royal.
Just when Ella has found comfort and a place of belonging in the Royals household, everything is threatened once again. On top of that, Reed is preparing for the fight of his life, and their desperation grows by the minute. Now when they need each other more than ever, they're finding it difficult to look into the future without fear. Their hope is dwindling fast, and the family may very well be torn apart.

We’re just a tangle of wild, hopeless emotions trying to find peace with our bodies. No matter how hard we try to forget, we can’t.

I'm not going to expand on what happens much more. This is the type of book that you really can't go into detail about the plot. I will say that there were several things that didn't get enough attention in my mind. For anyone who has read the book, see the spoiler.
(view spoiler)[We never get a concrete answer whether or not Dinah really did plot to kill Steve. Gideon's predicament with Dinah was completely skimmed over and the resolution so fast and convenient at the end it made my head spin. The twins very minimal appearances, if you blinked you almost wouldn't see them. And Wade and Val? Call me crazy, but the thought of them together really grew on me. I was really hoping for some development and details of how these two connect, but once again we were given the bare bones of that while the focus was on Reed's case. I felt like there was a lot of time in the middle of the book that started to feel like you were just waiting rather than racing. (hide spoiler)]

There was certainly somewhat of an unfinished feeling to things, but there is talk of Easton getting two books of his own, so hopefully we will get more insight about things left unsaid in the future.

While this one was missing some of that "wow factor" that the other two had in spades, Reed and Ella have come a long way from the bitter rivals they were in the early days. They've both grown and matured so much, and it was especially evident in Reed. His anger, and sense of entitlement has fallen away and you really see him make some tough choices that I couldn't imagine him making in the past. I loved seeing that. And Ella was just as strong as ever, if not stronger. She had a tendency to run when in a tough situation, but when tempted to do so again, she stayed and faced her fears.

Erin Watt knows how to write characters that draw you in and won't let you go. As many more books as they plan to write, that's how many I'll be reading. It's just that simple.

Ella Harper is all I’m ever going to see, because she’s my future. She’s my steel and my fire and my salvation. She’s everything.

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