Review: Royal Tour

Royal Tour 
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Having saved Princess Evelyn (and become her new BFF) Sam must accompany Evelyn on a world tour, so she can keep the princess (and everyone around her) safe with a power-binding potion. But Sam also has another reason to scour the globe. Someone has tampered with her grandad's mind, and Sam is the only one who can unlock his memories to save him and the family business. And that's not all that's at stake. The stolen memories contain the recipe to a potion which many would kill to get hold of. With the post powerful people in the world desperate for the recipe, Sam must save her grandad in order to save everyone else... 

I read The Potion Diaries last year and I completely loved it, it was exactly what I needed, light, funny and cute, and it left me wanting more! I've been so excited for this book, and to see what happens to the characters next and I can't even with how the book ended but more on that later! Royal Tour picks up not long after The Potion Diaries, and there's everything you loved from the first book...and more! 

Alward gives us an original and fun world that's incredibly vivid, there's modern touches like phones and tablets, but there's also old school potion makers, princesses and castles and most importantly...magic. It's a nice combination of the two, and it's a world I'm happy to get lost in! In this book, we get to see more of that world and I was so excited, I was so curious about other parts of the world mentioned in the first book, and in this book and the author lets us see so much more...yet I still want more. Because I'm a glutton for bookish worlds. But whatever! I loved getting to explore more of the world of the book, and see more of the creatures occupying it! One of the things I love about these books are that they're imaginative and give your own imagination a workout, with all the different creatures, and magic, and other touches! 

One of the things I enjoyed about the book was Evie. I was expecting her to be the usual Princess type, and basically not a very nice person, so I loved to be wrong and I loved how she became BFF's with Sam. She was an incredibly good friend in this book and went to such lengths to  help her, I loved seeing the two together! Anita and Arjun are back, and damn I so needed more of them! I kinda felt for Anita because her friend suddenly has a boyfriend and a new friend and we didn't see as much of them as I'd have liked, but they where there for Sam when she needed them! One of my favourite characters from the first book is also back, Kirsty! I loved her in the first book but in this book I kinda wanted to smack her one because of all the damage she caused! But she was on top of things and right in there with Sam when she needed her! 

I love, completely love, Sam and Zain. Sam's so determined and intelligent and I always feel for her because she's constantly trying to help and do the right thing and having to keep it from her family. Zain's the perfect match for her, I have to say, he's always willing to help her with whatever she needs. They're totally adorable together, I've been so excited to see more of them, they bring the cute and the warm and fuzzies, I'm not going to lie! Although I was internally screaming at Sam at one point because C'MON IT WAS SO OBVIOUS. But that's spoiler territory so we'll walk away from that now! Sometimes in sequels, you end up with the male MC being a douche, but I loved that Zain only has eyes for Sam, and he's protective of her and loyal to her. THEY'RE JUST SO CUTE. 

I basically read most of this in one go, staying up really late, because I only meant to read a chapter or two but I couldn't stop reading. I got sucked in really badly! The narrative is brilliant, with forum posts to break it up and impart little tidbits. It's fast paced, fun and full of magic and adventure, and it really is a brilliant read. It's perfect for when you need a pick me up, or just need a read that's going to hit  you with the warm and fuzzies. It delivers on multiple fronts and there's never a dull moment. We get new characters, old characters, and new parts of the world to explore! Not to mention a mystery from the first book is solved, just as a new one arises. And that ending. I thought things where going too well, and that someone was unaccounted for. I shouldn't have been surprised, but Alward always manages to surprise you in these books with her twists. So when I read the ending I was staring at the book like 'EXCUSE ME?!' God damn. I genuinely cannot even, and now I have to wait an entire year to find out what happens next! TORTURE! IT'S TORTURE I TELL YOU!