Review: Royal Blood (Royal Blood #1) by Aimee Carter

Royal Blood (Royal Blood #1) by Aimee Carter

Blurb from Goodreads:

When in doubt, go to the library...and solve the murder mystery!

Greta Plank, library director in the small, lakeside town of Larkspur, Wisconsin, prefers her rose-tinted glasses extra rosy, thank you very much. It’s how she copes with the hard stuff in life…like her sister’s death and her ex-boyfriend’s deception. But Greta’s cheery resolve takes a hit when she stumbles upon a dead body on her way home from work. What she assumes is a terrible accident Greta soon learns is something more sinister, and to make matters worse, a new-to-town detective cites her as not only his primary source for the case, but his top suspect.

To clear her name and save her reputation, Greta decides to do some off-the-books clue cataloging of her own. After all, asking questions is what she does best. With the help of her fellow librarians and her lawyer mom, Greta flips through the pages of the murder, uncovering details about Larkspur’s real estate market and the deceased’s rare book collection as she tries to understand why anyone would have authored his death.

With friends and neighbors stacking up as both victims and suspects, Greta must cross reference the facts and put a hold on her idyllic worldview if she wants to get the full story without paying the fine of her life.

 This was a big lackluster -- a bit convoluted, a bit too rushed, and not thought out very well. I am curious as to where this series will go but I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to really get into the story so far and the purported facts of the book. Definitely recommend if you like all things royal and love YA, however.

Royal Blood comes out next week on March 7, 2023 and you can purchase HERE.  

I read the code of conduct for St. Edith's -- along with the eight other boarding schools I've attended since the age of eleven-- cover to cover, and I can quote whole sections in a pinch. Knowing the rules, after all, makes it easier to manipulate them. And to break them in spectacular fashion.