Royally Deceived

By: JD Carothers

Narrated by: John Hartley, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Prince Xander has one job to do: become king. Unfortunately, that means the confirmed bachelor must find a bride.

Engaging the help of an elite matchmaking service guarantees finding a suitable wife. What he didn’t expect was to be friend-zoned by one of the ladies...especially when she’s the first woman to spark his soul.

When Ariana loses her job in a NYC PR firm, she heads to London following her dream of becoming a romance writer. A friend’s matchmaking service is the perfect starting spot for research into royal love lives. Swearing off men was supposed to be easy, until Prince Xander asks for help.

Monarchy, matchmaking, and murder entangle Xander and Ariana in a dangerous plot. Will it turn their friendship into forever love, or will fate keep them apart?

This is book two in the series, but it can be listened to as a stand-alone. HEA guaranteed.

©2023 Dreamlific Publishing (P)2023 Dreamlific Publishing

Enjoyed this royal romance with a touch of suspense!

Royally Deceived by J.D. Carothers was a royal romantic suspenseful ride full of swoony twists and gripping turns that kept me guessing till the very end. This is book two of Carothers' Murder and Romance Are on the Menu series, and it is taken the top spot for me in the series so far. Royally Deceived can be enjoyed as a complete stand-alone.

Stephanie Nemeth-Parker and John Hartley narrate the audiobook, and this was the first time I'd heard these two paired together. Stephanie brought grace and poise to her performance of Ariana highlighting her passionate, dedicated, and determined persona. Plus, all of her accents were on point! (Yes, lady!) John's portrayal of Prince Xander was regal and dignified emphasizing his loyal loving and charismatic persona to the crown and Ariana perfectly. The slow-burning chemistry between Ariana and Xander was magnetic and undeniable in audio!

Overall, I enjoyed this book! If you are a fan of a royal romance with a hunky heroic prince, a fierce brave novelist, monarchy, matchmaking, suspense, murder, slow burn steamy times, mistaken identity, deception, plot twists, and a HEA that is crown worthy, then you will love Ariana and Xander's story. I look forward to more from J.D. Carothers.

Matchmaking, Mystery and Murder ❤️

This was a fun story with a bit of suspense and mystery, and feels like The Bachelor mixed with a mistaken identity trope. Maybe throw in a little we're-just-friends-vibe as well ☺️

This was my first experience with JD but after this I clearly need to go find book 1. I enjoyed the surprises in this book & went in without reading the blurb so I really didn't see anything coming, which for me worked out great. I knew I would still get my HEA but I really like getting to play the who-done-it game and finding out who would come out on top at the end. Ariana was fun and up for almost anything in the name of research 😉 while Xander was struggling with life changing decisions about a future he might not be ready for. The friendship that developed between these 2 was quick but sweet.

I really enjoyed the narration here. John's smokey sultry Xander worked very well with Stephanie's smooth and engaging Ariana (This was my first by Stephanie and I can't believe I haven't listened to her before-time for a deep dive 🤗) They gave lovely performances and I found their styles and pacing worked great for me.

Royalty need to be together

First story I listen from JD Carothers
Second in the series, but it stands alone very well. There is lots of surprises in this story, a murder , the main hero ( a prince ) Xander who likes to go by Alex and the heroine Ariana Arianna her real name has known Xander only as Alex and Xander knows Arianna by her other name
Xander is caught in a bind ,he is the heir to the throne of a European island nation and his father wants to retire, so Xander needs to marry in three weeks. That’s where the matchmaking comes in . Xander has to pick from the ten ladies 4 to take them home to the kingdom to see how they react. Arianna is picked but she has something else happening, she doesn’t want to marry. Grab it and see do they find out they know each other , what is happening, why was someone murdered. , why does Xander father want him to marry Lady Harper. You really need to listen

The performance of John Hartley, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker was fantastic. Love how they brought the characters to life. Their voices are strong and clear

Love and intrigue!

Prince Xander is a modern prince: he's very interested in environmental issues and, under an alias, supports several causes that helped save the planet. When his father decides to "retire" (something his country's laws allow), he can only do so if the heir to the throne is married. All this has to be done before the King's 65th birthday that's fast approaching. Now, the modern price sees himself in a very non-modern situation - finding a suitable bride through an elite matchmaking business. 
Ariana has just lost her job at a NYC PR company and has decided to use the small inheritance her nana left her to head to London and write her first book, a romance novel about royals. When a friend offers her the opportunity to research in loco about royals by attending her matchmaking party, Ariana decides to attend. What she wasn't expecting was that she'd be in the running to become the prince's bride. But nefarious things are happening around the prince, including a murder...
I had great fun listening to this one but I must confess that the pacing of the first third of the book threw me off a little, but when things finally started happening it was a thrilling ride all the way to their HEA. 
I'm notorious for guessing plots in mystery books and I wasn't too far off what was happening and why, but it's very well written and pretty entertaining. I'm now very curious about the prince's brother and his story too! This is book two in the series and it can definitely be read as a standalone, but now I really want to know what happened in book 1!
Narration: If you get all tingly with a British accent, you're in a for a treat! John Hartley is very regal and posh and swoony in this one. Stephanie Nemeth-Parker is amazing as Ariana and she also goes through several accents flawlessly. Great listen! 

Find a wife and solve a murder

Second in the Series, but it stands alone very well. As this was my first entry in the series I had zero issues following along. I could tell there was a story previously told that I want to know more about, but it had no impact on my ability to sink into this story.

This one is unique cocktail mix of a book. We have a little match making/dating competition going on (very much giving untelevised The Batchelor vibes complete with group and one-on-one dates). We have a little mystery and suspense going on (accidents actually aren't, injuries, plots and even a murder to solve). Did I mention that our Hero is the heir to the throne of a European island nation? well yeah, there's that complication to everything too.

Xander really just wants to live his life on his own terms but being heir has a ton of complications, especially when the rules of the monarchy for his country are really detailed and he has 3 weeks to find a wife or his father can't retire as King. Using an elite match making service, he's introduced to several candidates and he narrows down the field and asks 4 of them to accompany him home to better explore their potential future marriage-of-convivence/royal duty marriage.

Ariana lost her job and is taking time to work on her passion project, a romance novel. She asks a friend of the family to help her understand the ins and outs of the professional match making world and for research purposes, she's added to the mix of candidates for Prince Xander. She's upfront and honest that she's not looking for love after her last relationship tanked.

I really loved how their friendship built out of these dating contest outings even when Ariana isn't in the official running for the ring. She's also the only one concerned about all the things going wrong and people in danger. They bonded and found passion without really trying, but everyone comes with baggage and that doesn't exclude royals.

The audiobook was performed by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker & John Hartley. Stephanie was perfection as Ariana. The emotional range from the character as she flows through the story is delightful. She was wounded and guarded, joyous, flirty and friendly, cautious yet protective and when the time came for it, she was angry and upset. I likes the tones and inflections used to bring the world to life, it make it very easy to be on her side. John Hartley is delicious as the reluctant prince Xander. His voice was soothing and regal as a baseline and then everywhere he went off that baseline just dragged me along with him. Disappointment, unease, a little plotting to try and get his way in a most difficult situation. They way he delivered performances for some of Xander's "Candidates" was utterly fantastic. I had a physical reaction to some of these women and what they were looking for out of the process. John did an amazing job with his performance in this whole book.

I was quite invested in the story very early and got attached to the characters, wanting to see how they dealt with everything and once the murder mystery aspect hit, I was all in! I had to figure it out and I am pleased to say, I did not predict the outcome. I love when that happens.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook. These are my honest opinions.

Fun, smart and sexy adventure

Despite knowing going in that this was romantic suspense, I got so caught up in the romance that the murder caught me off guard! From there, the action picked up with enough clues dropped to keep me guessing and coming up with multiple theories.

The dual narration is fantastic. John Hartley reminded me of Jeremy Irons, which is never a bad thing, and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker did a great job with the voices of all the women.

Although this is book 2 in the series, I listened to it first and had no trouble following along. However, I do plan to go back and listen to the first book in the series to spend more time with this family.

Great second book.

This is the second book in the series and I really enjoyed it. This book has really made great improvements in the storytelling, character building, and the spice level that took this from a Hallmarkesque story to a book that really satisfied my need for a fully actualized relationship. I am a sucker for a royal hero and this book hit the spot.

John Hartley and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker were brilliant and brought these characters and this story to life just as I needed and wanted.

Prince Xander is so swoony!

When Prince Xander is told his father, the king wants to retire soon, he’s been in denial for quite a while. As is law in his kingdom, in order to become king, he must be married. So Xander thinks of an efficient route of enlisting a matchmaker service to help him find his bride.

Having been newly fired from her PR job, Ariana has traveled to London to move forward with her dream of becoming a romance author. Turns out a friend of Ariana’s family runs the matchmaking service that Xander enlists to help him. A cocktail party is planned with the potential matches, including Ariana to meet Xander. Although she has no plans to be in the running for the future king’s marriage plans, there’s an almost immediate chemistry between them when they meet. Although she has told Xander she doesn’t want to include herself in the group, he still invites her to join the others in spending a couple weeks on his island. Xander would like Ariana’s help in determining who would be an appropriate choice to be the future queen.

Twist to the prince’s bride-finding mission, someone is out to hurt him and/or his prospective brides. And since the authorities aren’t moving as fast in solving the case as Xander would like them to, he and Ariana begin some sleuthing of their own. Guised as one of the candidate dates, he and Ariana work to find out who the villain is. As they spend more time together, they find they have quite a lot in common, and of course feelings develop. I enjoyed the matchmaking dates, along with the mystery of solving the bad behavior, and Xander and Ariana learning how their past relationships have clouded their view of the possibility of meeting the right person.

This is my first book by JD Carothers, and what a wonderful aural treat it was. John Hartley has quickly become a top favorite narrator of mine, and fairly new-to-me narrator Stephanie Nemeth-Parker did a wonderful job alongside John.

Excellent story & performances!

I was very impressed by book 2 in relation to book 1. I enjoyed this book so much more. I loved the storyline, and how Xander and Ariana meet and grown their friendship into more. The flow of this book was great and kept the story moving as well as it kept me on the edge of my seat! Xander made me mad with how angry he was with her when he literally did the same thing! My only real complaint with this one was the exhausting food explanations. I'm all for explaining why a food sparks special memories and all that but explaining every single ingredient and how it's prepared is not necessary. Unless the characters are actually cooking, this lengthy description is boring.
Stephanie Nemeth-Parker and John Hartley were really fantastic in this audiobook. Both just took these characters and made them their own. Great casting choices.

Loved Ariana & Xander’s story

I enjoyed this story so much. The writing was wonderful and add in the fantastic narration from John Hartley and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker pushed it over the top. I am definitely going to have to add more of them to my listening list.

Xander must find a wife but he has no desire to ever get married. He was burned by a girlfriend years ago and he just can't risk his heart anymore. So he turns to the services of a matchmaker. She finds him several suitable candidates and then he must narrow this group down so that he can spend time with them and figure out who is best suited for the future role of Queen.

Ariana just lost her job and decided to use some of her savings and inheritance to travel to London and finally write that book she has been putting off. She has sworn off men because of her last few relationships have truly hurt her. Thanks to her friend, she is included in the group of women that Prince Xander must choose between.

Ariana and Xander become fast friends and when murder and mystery surround the matchmaking for the Prince, they must work together to try and figure out who is out to harm everyone involved.

This story really kept me guessing for most of the book. By the time the reveal happens, I had narrowed it down to two suspects. I loved that I was wrong for most of the story. It almost felt like a game of Clue (which I loved playing when I was younger). This was such a fun story and I really can't wait for the next one.