Fallen Heir by Erin Watt

These Royals will ruin you.

Easton Royal has it all: looks, money, intelligence. His goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. He never thinks about the consequences because he doesn’t have to.

Until Hartley Wright appears, shaking up his easy life. She’s the one girl who’s said no, despite being attracted to him. Easton can’t figure her out and that makes her all the more irresistible.

Hartley doesn’t want him. She says he needs to grow up.

She might be right.

Rivals. Rules. Regrets. For the first time in Easton’s life, wearing a Royal crown isn’t enough. He’s about to learn that the higher you start, the harder you fall.

Book 4
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Jordan – ☆☆☆
Fallen Heir picks up with Ella and Easton finishing their senior year at Astor Park Prep, but entirely in Easton's point of view. I think this story flows best if you've read The Royals books #1-3, but it's not necessary if you want to skip straight to Fallen Heir. I was so excited to finally read Easton's story, but I'm left feeling slightly disappointed. Book #4 seemed to move so slowly and didn't quite live up to my high hopes for it. The story just kind of seemed to drag on and then abruptly end. Also, I wish it would've been in more than just Easton's point of view because I felt like it started to get a bit repetitive. Erin Watt's Fallen Heir just didn't draw me in and keep me interested the same way the previous books in The Royals series did.

Easton Royal has never worried about the consequences of his decisions until he meets Hartley Wright. She's the only girl to ever turn him down even though he knows she's attracted to him. However, Easton's determined to win her over.

This is the first time I haven't been completely wowed by Erin Watt and I for sure thought that I would adore reading Easton's story, but it just didn't do it for me. Nevertheless, I am excited to read what happens next for the Royal family!

3.5 stars for Fallen Heir by Erin Watt.


Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 Cliffhanger Stars

In the past 24-hours, I've binge-read all four of The Royals titles. No doubt, I can attest to the continuity of how well the authors transitioned from Ella and Reed's narration to Easton's. I wanted to be inside the boy's head, and I'm not sure I got what I bargained for, to be quite honest.

No matter who is the narrator, Fallen Heir has the same frustratingly infectious quality that has the reader white-knuckling their Kindles, while furiously tapping the pages to see what happens next. This frustration always has my heart racing as I read, and I love a book that can do that to me.

Fallen Heir was a roller coaster of emotional extortion, running the gamut from heartbreak, to frustration and anger, to surprised laughter at Easton's banter and charm.

So why am I not 5-starring the book like I did Paper Princess?

Easton is all over the place, which I understand due to his ADHD, upbringing, and his tragic past. Easton is hurting, having lost his mother to suicide, feeling he is partially to blame, being the middle child who feels adrift from the rest of the family, and finding out his hero is actually a villain. Easton was difficult to read on many levels. I do applaud the authors on the authenticity of how Easton's mind functioned in chaos.

What I struggled with is the wash-repeat feel of the storyline... What was new and original in Paper Princess, and its two sequels, seems worn and tired in this new story arc.

*Rich, misunderstood bad boy as our hero.
*Poor, abandoned, intelligent, hard-working heroine.
*Love-Hate vibe (which I loved, but it felt forced in Fallen Heir vs fluid and natural in Paper Princess)
*Heroine's father is the adult villain of the story.
*The doe-eyed, doormat, spineless, begging ex who’s refusing to let go, thinking the guy is theirs even if they aren't together anymore (for longer than a year even, in both cases) and blames the guy because they broke up. Yet never seem to be bothered as their friends go after the guy. Honey, he doesn't want you – get over it. You cannot dictate whether or not someone likes you, and it's not a mark against your self-esteem if they don't. They're not a possession you can control – if they allow that, what's to like or want if they're that blank and weak?
*Gaggle of mean girls, one in which blackmails/extorts/annoys/bullies/overpowers everyone – adults and students alike, and everyone looks on and their only reactions are to wring their hands and blink.
*A brother/father/friend's girlfriend is actually 'evil' and using this loved one, but no one steps in and stops it. Just lets it unfold and exacerbate... "Not my business"... but it's gonna be.
*Our hero, allowing said mean girl to run herd on him for all of the story, making him look weak as he self-blames instead of just nipping it in the bud as it happens.
*Only the 'poor' girls are good, and the rich girls all want more money and status. All the men are pushovers who just let it happen, then fret as their world burns at their feet
*The real 'doer' never takes responsibility in the aftermath, while the hero ends up self-blaming as everyone else blames him too. (Everyone, even Ella, angry at Easton for shouting how the relationship was fake – it was. Easton was being honest for once, after he said NO multiple times. I don't believe in cause and effect. She does what she does, and only she does it. It's not Easton's fault if she doesn't like the humiliation of everyone finding out she was a liar – her premeditated actions in the aftermath are her fault, not Easton's. Just saying. I can't stand that mindset, and Ella bashing Easton over it, it made it feel as if Ella had a character trait lobotomy now that she's no longer narrating the story. "But did you apologize?" Excuse me, that girl is trying to mess with you and everyone you care about, Ella – have you lost your ever-loving mind, girlfriend? Where did logical, problem-fixer Ella go? She turned judgmental, instead of actually helping with the problem, and wrung her hands as their world burned at their feet.)
*Illogical actions/reactions.
*The mother of all cliffhangers times 2.

While I did enjoy the story, tried to empathize and sympathize with Easton as he torched his own life, the wash-repeat of similar storylines dropped the entertainment value for me. While the subtle nuances were different, the plot points were essentially the same.

The book was hyper-focused on Easton, with only cameos here and there, missing that 'gang' feel of family like the previous books, where they tackled the issues together and had each other's backs. After all Easton had done for Reed and Ella, Ella wasn't empathetic, nor helpful, but judgmental and completely not like Ella at all. Gee, how about a rehab, because we all know telling an addict no or guilt-tripping him isn't going to 'fix' the issue.

Fallen Heir just didn't work for me. Separately, I 'got' Easton, and I felt for Hartley, but together they didn't fit. It felt forced. There is zero romance or relationship building. When they do come together, it felt out of nowhere and out of context of the situations they were in and their surroundings.

Honestly, I think the book suffered due to the fact that it was a singular point of view from Easton's narration. The reader needed to 'hear' Hartley to connect with her, because she was so cold, reserved, closed-mouthed, refusing to give the simplest of answers or open up to Easton, we readers didn't get to 'know' Hartley at all. No connection. I'm not knocking her character traits (I'm a similar type of person) being so reserved, without her point-of-view, the reader had nothing to go on with Hartley – she was a stranger to us, less developed of all the characters, because at least they spoke freely to Easton so we (the reader) could get to know them too. Hartley was an enigma to readers, so why are we rooting for an Easton and Hartley pairing when we have nothing invested by Easton's bizarre obsession? The only time the reader connected with Hartley was through hearsay and eavesdropping on Easton's part.

After stating all that above, I do need to say I'd kill for the next in The Royals series. I wish I had it right now, because it ended in the mother of all cliffhangers (times 2), as the authors yet again emotionally extort the reader. I'm good with that – I thrive on the adrenaline rush as my heart races for what was revealed/happened in the ending. I just hope the storyline deviates from this point forward.

Young Adult age-range: 14+ due to mature content, bullying, alcohol abuse, violence, and adult language.

Erin Watt is the brainchild of two bestselling authors linked together through their love of great books and an addiction to writing. They share one creative imagination. Their greatest love (after their families and pets, of course)? Coming up with fun–and sometimes crazy–ideas. Their greatest fear? Breaking up.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Fallen Heir (The Royals #4) by Erin Watt to read and review.