Royally Exposed

Her Royal Harem #2

by Catherine Banks

One shady deal could kill them all.

A mysterious illness plagues shapeshifters at the Summit, and if Jolie can't find out what's causing it, she may lose her best friend and one of her former lovers.

But when a note appears demanding Jolie in exchange for the antidote, Jolie must choose between her friends…and herself.

ROYALLY EXPOSED IS A FULL LENGTH REVERSE HAREM FANTASY AND IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE HER ROYAL HAREM SERIES. IT HAS AN HFN/HEA ENDING.

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Audiobook, Magic

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2018

About the author

Catherine Banks is an award-winning, USA Today Bestselling fantasy author who writes in several romance subgenres under multiple pseudonyms. She began writing fiction at only four years old and finished her first full-length novel at the age of fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who she has two amazing children with. After her full time job, she reads books, plays video games, and watches anime shows and movies with her family to relax. Although she has lived in Northern California her entire life, she dreams of traveling around the world. Catherine is also C.E.O. of Turbo Kitten Industries™, a company with many hats including being a book publisher and store full of nerdy fun.

Reviews

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a step up from the first book.

Royally Exposed was basically their coming out party. No, not out of the closet but as a five person relationship. It's out and I am okay with it. A bit happy it finally happened because it was taking forever but I also feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop in a way? A lot happened in this book, don't get me wrong.. but something was missing in this one.

In it, you are still with the same group of people you met in the first book. You will still get a crazy ass villain, which you also meet in the first book, and you get some pretty good danger added as well. The one thing that was a bit weird to me was getting to see all of her damn exes. Like I get that she wasn't a virgin or whatever.. but hot damn - there was a lot. Luckily, we didn't meet all of their exes because then this would've been a hot ass mess.

Besides all of that, I actually really liked getting to see their families in this one. Dan is by far my favorite character and I can't wait to see more of him. Even after that ugh ending, I guess I will continue on with this series but only because I kind of want her to eat her own words. Hopefully.

[Tiera McMillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yea we have definitely gone off into the rabbit hole with this series.. I don't even know what is happening anymore. This series has taken a turn off into some serious ridiculousness. I mean like I legit don't know where the story line went but it took off running like it was being chased by demons. We aren't getting any answers what we are getting instead are a whole bunch of other dudes besides our guys all over our FMC and her flirty back just about 99% of the time and then getting mad because the dudes are jealous.. a backstory/ies that came way out of left field that honestly.. how is this girl even old enough to have had all the time to be with all these dudes, and why the heck is everyone in love with her? I keep waiting for either the story to point out why she is so special or for someone to slip up and say why but it never happens.

I'm just going to have to chalk this series up as just not for me.. I don't even have the energy to put up a good rant lol. I don't know what is going on but its extremely irritating. For all you readers out there that finished the series good on you. For anyone fixing to take the plunge.. bring floaties ...or wine.. wine will work.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series sometime earlier this year and it kept my interest enough that I decided to pick up the sequel today. I decided why not revisit Jolie and her interesting world. I definitely enjoyed my time back in Jinla.

Royally Exposed is a different kind of test for Jolie and her guys. They're still keeping their true relationships under wraps but as Jolie gets to see more of each supernatural race, it becomes harder for the truth to remain a secret. Plus a summit is happening and Jolie is invited to it, but that means encountering a bunch of her exes and her guys are not amused.

The jealously stuff definitely gets old for me quickly, but I liked that Jolie doesn't let them get away with that shit. We do even see some growth from Deryn, so I have hope for the rest of the series. The ending was pretty wild and seemed like a weird way for things to be tied up, but I still enjoyed it. I find it really awesome that Jolie knows she doesn't want children and she's not afraid to fight for her choice. I wish there were more gracious attitudes like the ones the guys displayed in this book towards women choosing to not have children.

I also really liked Jolie getting to have more platonic bonds in her life. Though why literally all her friends are men I don't know. It would be nice to see her have more girl friends. Definitely curious to see what happens in the next book.

Rep: MC with PTSD and panic attacks, in a polyamorous relationship with 4 non-human men.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, kidnapping, mental illness (PTSD/anxiety), misogyny, sexism, sexual content--multiple partners and very graphic, torture, violence, panic/anxiety attack, fatphobia.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

More dramatic than the 1st

I liked this book, although sometimes it was overly simple. I did think it was better than the first. It had more sweet and funny moments, plus some sexy times ;) The bad things didn't seem to last long and drama seemed to be easily remedied. Seeing the guy's families was fun, especially their siblings. I do enjoy the overall lightness and the guys are fun to read about. Their jealousy over Jo's exes was funny and I like how much they love her. There's something deeper going on with Jo, I'm just not completely sure what it is yet. This was fairly short and an easy read.

[Runningrabbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

KU

I think I enjoyed this book better than the first. The writing seemed more fluid and more depth. The plot thickens as new characters are added and the whole story expands giving more colour to the tale.

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was so much better!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/2/2021)! 🎁

[❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the first chapter I thought maybe this time things would be better, maybe I’d enjoy this book more than the first but alas that did not happen. Honestly all the positive reviews surprise me, I found nothing likable in this book. Jolie is such a whiner, a selfish child who only thinks of herself. This book contained all her exes, all shifters, and the whole experience was just corny, lame and sad. Nothing seems important such as when of the guys is shot and they literally just go on about their day as if nothing happened. Some parts of the book are completely meaningless and the parts that should be drawn out or even explained are glossed over and onto the next dumb drama we go. I was just disappointed in the entire thing, especially all these men who are in love with her, fawning over her and how lame and corny it all was. Jolie also has a habit of crying over everything. Not even when she’s sad, distraught or emotional (and she’s those things constantly) she also cries practically every time she laughs at something, it’s just cheesy and I really have nothing good to say about the book. Everything is jumbled, there’s no real storyline as if the author literally wrote it as she went. Most disappointing was how she treated her men, she honestly is a horrible mate and it wasn’t until the last few pages she finally accepts their claim. So disappointed and I’ll definitely be calling it quits after this one, I can’t even imagine what fake drama the next two books could even contain and I lack the ability to care 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

[Ms. Cyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story but there was some things that bugged me. Jolie was constantly putting herself down and saying that she isn't good enough for the princes and she is too selfish to let them go. Her sacrificial lamb mentality got repetitive. I was able to connect with her though and in her darkest time she didn't deny her love for her princes. I was seriously amused by the many ex's that were mixed into this story. I also enjoyed getting to know the families better.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same thing, says RH but is vague at best. MC says one thing does another. Not awful though. Still gona keep listening.

[Killion Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry I’ll behave… just please don’t make me read any more

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was slightly better than the first one. It still has a lot of issues with it. Like it's still being simple, meaning everything is solved without big troubles. And like book one there is drama ahead, so you read, and just wait for the bad events. A lot of sweet moments, like book one, too. And some scenes with funny moments, too. Steamy times are there too, but just with book one, it's not my taste. Too tame, but better than book one again.

I don't like, that there is so much repetition regarding her issues. She always says the same, as 'I should give them up, I'm not worthy, I feel like they shouldn't be sharing and have all their own mates, but I'm selfish and can't live without them.'. But she isn't selfish enough to mate them. Sure, in this book it finally happens. But it took till the end of this book. And the mating itself doesn't fit, what they told her, when she asked how mating for each of their species work. Maybe it was their own little fore-ceremony or something. But she said, she is mated too them.

Another thing I actually had noticed in book one, but didn't mention before, is that I wouldn't consider being a female liking video-games as something unique or rare. I do like gaming myself. Since childhood, so in some way, even if I didn't do it each day anymore, it's a part of me. And I agree, if you talk from my early gaming years, there were much fewer women there. But today? I would say, it's nearly balanced.

Last thing, I noticed during reading, are her strange panic attacks, when she thinks about normal conclusions. She refers to logical things as 'crazy thoughts'. Like the part, what is after they mate. If they wanted to share a house or pooling their money together etc. I think that's normal. Sure, everyone handles it individually, but the most married people are living together.

Some of her decisions, I totally get. Like her wanting to be independent and have her own money. Or that she doesn't want children. That is her body, and her decision. That's okay. Though, I would have preferred that each of her mates get one child. They seem to want them. So, I hope it's not off the table, and it's just her anxiety speaking. And there are at least two books left, with the possibility she changes her mind.

And I loved seeing more of the families in this book. Furthermore, some mysteries from the previous book are solved. Like what happened to her and Martin. And seeing her ex-boyfriends. This setting was truly strange, though I liked the characters. They really loved her. The jealousy part was funny, too.

I have the feeling there is more about Jolie, because her ability to be able to recognize the dragons and to be at ease with nearly every Other, she meets, is mentioned as unique. But I can't come up with a reason for it. So, maybe there is more in the next book.

Overall, I give 3.5 stars, and round it up to 4.

[Mel B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It just gets better and better!

I truly love this series! I enjoyed Royally Entangled, but there were a few “things” I had issues with...namely I felt as if some of Jolie’s issues and past were “glossed over” AND that her father (the evil villain) just sort of fizzled...i.e. the conclusion with him was very anti-climactic, it just felt like this huge war was brewing that he was heading, and then, it just, poof, was over. Well, not such issues occurred in Royally Exposed, IMO, I’m very happy to say :) we get to lean more about Jolie’s past AND her past relationships, and honestly, I have to say, it was really refreshing that Jolie was not “pure as the driven snow” before she met her guys, ie no blushing virgin is our Jolie :) too often in RH, I feel as if we get the completely innocent virgin who is suddenly thrust into a RH situation and expected to just jump into carnal relations with hot guys that have a ton of experience (until they meet their ONE). If virginity is necessary to the plot, that’s fine, but it’s nice to have a heroine that is knowledgeable (no, she didn’t sleep around) and is able to hold her own amongst her very uh, knowledgeable men, lol. I also like that she’s human (or is she, lol) and that she has to “grow” into accepting her place in her guards/mates/princes eyes. Royally Exposed gives us more depth and fleshes out our fearless five better than the first installment, and makes me very excited to see what Royally Elected has in store for us. I adore that we get love and intimacy and yes, steam—but not an over abundance of unnecessary “steamy scenes,” there is a good balance. In between those scenes we get action and a great sense of how the different sects “work” and get along/or don’t get along - in some cases. My ONLY little “niggle” (the only thing that bothered me) was just HOW evil Justina aka former best girl friend is. Her true evil nature wouldn’t have bothered me except that she is portrayed sooooo lovingly and soooo “best girlfriend” in the first book — to the point that when her deception is revealed she still doesn’t want Jolie hurt. But in Royally Entangled she does a complete about face, total 180! She is stark raving psycho horrible evil evil evil!! It just seemed like it didn’t quite “make sense” although I guess if she was always crazy...then her change could be understood. In the end, that little issue didn’t take away from my absolute enjoyment of Royally Entangled! I bet much look forward to Royally Elected!!! I can’t wait to read more of Jolie and Rhys, Deryn, Foxfire and Nico!!!

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been brilliant - instead it turned into an inning juvenile mishmash.

This book has so much potential and the characters so interesting and what the heck happened here?

All of the sudden we're calling our enemy "trident douche"?

These are supposed to be princes who are about to take power as kings. They're not 18 year old boys on the hockey team and yet that's pretty much how things go with this book.

The female MC was always a little bit immature but in this book it just kind of goes from an experienced immature to emotionally childish. And there's a big difference between childlike versus childish.

And I find that disturbing considering that's supposed to be an adult based story. I mean there's enough sexy time that I really don't want to be listening to the character pouting and sulking like a child who didn't get her way.


I know some full grown women do that but this is just kind of over the top and ruins the story for me.

The other thing that's very challenging is how many times the female character gets what I call stupid for plot advancement - meaning that her character is just suddenly gone and she does something totally out of character to bring the story along.

This girl has had so many instances where her whole self esteem is running the show. And so many times where she'd never do it again swear swear swear I'll never do it again and then she does it again. And I get that that's what a lot of us go through in real life and have to learn from. But this characters never ending vacillation from proud confident Warrior to the most insecure girl in the world is just grating.

You get to the point where you just don't care about her anymore because it's like yeah yeah you're just going to do it again so why do I want to read this?


There's also quite a few sections that feel like they were written at a different time and just plunked in.

Kind of like well the girls a gamer so we should have a whole episode where she's at the gaming convention - fantastic idea! But then it's filled with so many details that are completely over the top. Like why are we not having details on the characters and having them developed. No instead we're going to have every freaking detail of the video game.

I don't care!

It's not helping the story or helping me understand her. It's just seems like something that was thrown in there to fill the book out a bit

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am so excited to come back to the world of Jinla with Jolie and her four guards/princes. In the previous book we see Jolie's evil vampire dad who has hurt her growing up. And we find out that he has a relationship with Jolie's co-worker, Justina. In the first book, she was pretty likable. But here in the second book she will be our villain. And it will be a total turnaround to the Justina we knew from the first book. So the Others have this event called the Summit where all of them come to represent their species. Jolie is invited to the event being crowned Princess of the Four Clans and all. And then, one by one the Others are getting sick and the Healers are unable to find a cure or what was causing this sickness. So it's a bit sketchy where this virus came from or how it spread and how the Others got them. But I guess it was something minor for me because it did not affect me enjoying the story anway. But if you are the type who wonders about things like this, the nitty gritty, then it might become an issue for you. The relationship of our group will be developed more in this book and we will see them get closer and surpass the stage of guards bond issue that Jolie had from the first book.

Just like Royally Entangled, this ended on a happy note. Overall, I would recommend this to people who want to escape reality for a bit and enter a world where species of all kinds are accepted in the world. Fantasy, through and through.

[Michelle Fritz PA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Fun Jolie Adventure 💖 The second book to this series delved deeper into the personal lives of Jolie and her guys. It was so entertaining to read about Jolie meeting the families in a more personal manner. I'm not gonna lie... Dan has got to be my favorite character! He's larger than life and so very take charge! While he is not one of Jolie's guys, his presence in the book really just makes the book even more memorable! There are of course plenty of steamy scenes as well as those that crack your heart just a bit. Jolie and her feelings and her weariness of having a harem really are the focus of this book and it's interesting to note that she isn't totally fine with being in a multipartner relationship simply because she's worried that she is not enough. She's human with flaws and a past and that to my mind makes this story so captivating. How will she cope and how will Jolie accept that she can trust that her guys are dedicated, happy and are all in and are not jealous of each other.... you'll have to read this very different RH to discover just how things come together. Be warned though! There are some jaw dropping moments and some scenes will make you laugh out loud!

[Rachel-Leigh LaBuschagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew that we hadn’t seen the last of this one character from the first book. Not gonna spoil it, but I was waiting for this character to pop up again. I think it was really nice to be more immersed into her mates culture. Seeing their dynamics between the families. Her becoming more apart of the family. There was a little bit more growth within the character. And sometimes I find the second book has more depth to it because the characters know each other more than what they did in the first book. I still think they’re trying to figure out the dynamic some more but they’ll eventually get there. I like the fact that Jolie isn’t whiny. And that each of her mates do you have different personalities. don’t really know where the third books gonna go though.

[Beth C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb section needs book in the amazing series

Wow! This book was just so emotional! Jolie and her guys fall deeper and deeper in love...but of course, people are still trying to kill her, so there's always a lot of drama there. She is trying to decide if she wants to truly be their queen and or their mate. She's still trying to get to know the four clans and the princes' families...and trying to decide if she wants to break the witch's curse. Lots of decisions! And then she ends up at the clan summit...no spoilers, but holy crap!! This is one you don't want to miss!

[Tiffany Copple · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for Royally Exposed by Catherine Banks. This is book two in the Her Royal Harem series. This book picks up right where book one left us. This book goes more into Jolie and her guys personal lives. We learn about all the princes and their families. Dan is amazing. Just wait until you meet him. I enjoyed seeing the softer side of Jolie. We get more of her feelings about the guys and having multiple partners. Also, we get more of Jolie’s past relationships and I loved getting to see how jealous the guys get. The steamy scenes, man oh man are they hot! I am loving where this story is heading. Picking up book three now.

[Margaux Espinosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cried!

Ok, I felt a bit harsh after my review of book one but after book two, I have to say this was so much better. The characters were better the story line was better and it all flowed better than it did in book one. Jolie isn't the same as she was in book one and I really like her now. The guys went a little annoyingly possessive for a bit there but it pulled through nicely. The story line was so intense, I laughed a lot, but I also cried and the amount of love is just beautiful. This book was great and I look forward to book three.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cant even begin to explain how awful this book was ... the main character is beyooooond annoying. Every 2 minutes there appears to be a new male introduced who is convinced she was their 1 true love. The main princes seem so ridiculously written to put up with her 12 year old flirty/bossy/imnotgoodeenoughletmedie attitude. There is at least 3 different story plots within this one book. I had to finish the book just to see the direction this went and honestly each book after this went more downhill.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious story with a happily ever after

Except for an hour nap, I spent the last 17 hrs binging the entire series. Yes, there are elements to the story I wish I got to find out about more like another review mentions but that is completely besides the point.

I started reading the first book when my migraine hit, and this series kept me laughing so much that I read straight through the entire series despite my throbbing head and skipping sleep.

If you want a paranormal romance with a happily ever after and a bunch of humor -- then this is the story for you.

[Brittany Duszczyszyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still like the characters well the 4 males at least, the female indecision about completing the mate bond has been so boring & dragged out!

It was fun meeting her ex’s and there was good humour, the competition & self sacrifice we’re so predictable it was annoying.

I’m hoping the next book gets better there’s obviously more to her story then we know since all these Alpha Males keep falling in love with her and she has a calming effect on them. Maybe we even find out what really happened to her mom or that she alive… I’m crossing my fingers things get more interesting!!!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different

I've found with this series the happy ending is always a very large portion of the book. When the main plot of the story happened, it was over so quickly. The sickness barely spread and Jolie let herself be taken it was over very soon! Barely any of the book was spent with any angst not related to the guys. I love it but it's less plot and more character and relationships building.

[Amazeballs Book Addicts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I jumped into this one right after finishing book one. We get more of Jolie and her men. I love Deryn, Nico, Fox, and Rhys, they all are great. In this one we get more charterers added and get to meet more of Jolie's exes. This a lot more stuff going on in this one. I was hoping Jolie would take her men as mates. There's another a twist in this one that had me going OMG and questioning how this one was going to end.

[Dorothy Y Nunamacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I loved this book. The chemistry between them is amazing. Jolie is an amazing head strong woman who doesn't understand her worth. The prince's complete her. I love the relationship between the wolf King and Jolie. If you love shapeshifter with a love twist meaning more then one, then I definitely suggest this book. But make sure you read the books in order or you will be lost.

[Emily Humpal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had me on an emotional rollercoaster in a good way. I loved seeing the relationships deepen. I absolutely loved the relationships we saw between all the family and fathers. There’s just something about a giant alpha loving that his daughter in law called him dad that just gets me in the heart. This book was less action packed than the first one it had more political issues in it but it was still amazing

[Amber Ivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but confusing

The story is great and I hardly put it down. The characters are loveable. The only problem that I had was the confusion.
In one part, Rhys had a girlfriend but then, a chapter or so later, all of a sudden Rhys didn't do girlfriends.
There are others but the latest one was their mating traditions. It went from the mark and mate for the shifters, and magic for the other two, to adding magic and blood to bloodstones.

[Liza Koppens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still not my gerne book. Even if I do love the fantastical setting. I liked this book more than one, and the little bits of character develeopment. And the part that annoyed me the most from book one was a lot better in this book.





Mini spoiler warning:












I did like how mates where a choice of both (or all) sides instead of a; this is your soul mate and if they treat you like sh*t thats your problem. You get what you get.

[need4read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t really know how to rate this yet. 3.5stars seems right?? Idk. This series has me feeling all types of ways. Sometimes I hate the fmc (most times tbh) but then I really really like her and the way she handles certain tough situations. Ugh idk I’m going to keep reading because I’m just a girly with nothing better to do than take hot girl walks and read.

The guys are simps which I’m into this week. 🤪