Her Royal Highness (To-Be)

Glitter by Apprilynne Pike

Published October 25th, 2016

Second review of the week guys! I'm on a roll.

Danica Grayson is a willful, pannier-wearing,17 year-old from the future. And She’s totally relatable.

Outside the Palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.

When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.

Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can
sell for more money than she ever dreamed.

But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

Glitter first attracted me because of the cover. Then I heard what is was about and it was one of those “I HAVE TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW!” reactions. Unfortunately, “right now” ended up being six months later. But, I did read it and it was amazing.

The world of Danica Grayson is a blend of Sci-fi and Historical Fiction that fit together perfectly. Pike does an amazing job of connecting you to Danica almost instantly. The 18th century persona the citizens of the Palace of Versailles don is an exciting, lavish, world full of secrets and strategy.

Danica’s two best friends Molli and Lord Aaron are always kind and supportive of her. Lord Aaron is gay and makes a few comments about another man looking good or Lord Spencer, his love interest. Their relationship is not described or dwelled upon and is not a major part of the plot. Molli is a redeeming character in the story. She is innocent, kind, and sweet-natured.

Our anti-heroine struggles with morals throughout the entire book. She’s unsure if the the price of freedom is a price she can live with. Danica deceives the court members of Versailles, smuggles drugs, and lies to her best friend, as well as her family.

As fiance to a king who she repulses Danica is his number one target. He knows he can’t have her till she turns 18 and they are wed but forces physical contact on her anyway. He kisses her lips and neck in the book several times. These scenes are not explicit and mostly happen in front of others as to convince them they are a happy couple. Towards the end of the book he shows physical abuse twice in the form of grabbing her neck and choking her..

There was however, a redeeming moment. Danica realized she was doing all these things for revenge against her mother and the king. She was pushing away one of the only people who still cared about her (Molli) and needed to stop. Upon discovering a truth that is a major spoiler, Danica stops doing things only for herself. She tries to make some wrongs right again and even apologizes to some of the people she hurt. Glitter had me addicted from page 1 (See what I did there)

Language: Mild

Alcohol/drugs: Glitter is a very powerful drug. In small doses it gives the person a feeling of elated happiness and in high doses it can kill you.

Violence: 6

Sexual Content: Aside from what is explained above there is one make-out scene and kisses here and there.

Spiritual Content: Morals and the feeling of guilt is something that is discussed a great deal. The book takes on an outlook at life that has hope but at a cost.

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Next Post: Special Christmas post!

*Photo from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24033058-glitter?from_search=true