Hysterically funny read! If you're looking for The Thornbirds or The Tudors - don't stop here. This is a book for those of us who worship at the altar of snarky dialogue. And for those who love a heroine so far south of Cinderella that she wouldn't have gone to the ball unless she was really bored or wanted to check out the appetizers. And a hero who's perfectly OK with marrying whoever Dad picked out and doing his best to produce an heir - when he's not busy with his studies on penguins, of course. Is he surprised when she says no...“Why won’t you marry me?” he blurted, then smacked himself on the forehead.“Whoa! Easy on the self-flagellation, there, dude.”“I’m supposed to woo you,” he explained.“Well, don’t waste the woo on me. Not that it’s not a really nice offer. Because it is!”“So. Why won’t you?”“Because, frankly, being queen sounds like a gigantic pain in the ass.”“I offer you a country and you tell me it’s a pain in the ass?”The basic setup is Alaska was never bought by the US so it seceded and set up its own monarchy. Now several generations later the royal family continues to be made up of intelligent but eccentric characters: such as the King who sneaks off to go fishing in disguise and Crown Prince David who knows that that he'll be king one day but is far more interested in using his Marine Biology degree studying penguins. Enter Christina, newly fired from a cruise ship where she was a cook for objecting to the head chef's advances. She is a no-nonsense American with down-to-earth values - who the King meets and decides she'll be just PERFECT for David. As the first step he talks her into visiting them at the Sitka Palace...Cut to parts 2 & 3 - preparations and the royal weddingChristina's comment: Getting married’s probably not so bad. It’s all the screwing around beforehand that gives you a migraine.On the way to the wedding, Christina proceeds to run roughshod over dress designers, protocol officers, catering staff, wedding planners, and various wedding traditions to finally achieve a royal wedding without frou-frou, a wedding dress she could breathe in, shoes she could walk in, and a Crisco-free wedding cake.And lastly, part 4 - if this was Cinderella it would be fade to black behind the 'And they lived happily ever after...' voiceover. But it isn't and things happen and the action gets intense...Again, this is a funny book. In fact, it's a very funny book. Fun characters, intriguing setting and a plot that moves right along. Enjoy!Alaskan Royal Family1. The Royal Treatment2. The Royal Pain3. The Royal Mess
~3.5/5[Also available on my blog.]This book was not amazing, but I still really enjoyed it.This was the first in the series, and the last one that I read. It focused on Prince David and Christina, who incidentally get pushed together, and end up falling for each other anyway.After seeing them in the other books, I knew I liked them, and was just interested in seeing how they met and how it all started. It kind of started with their father, and I enjoyed their story. They moved a bit slowly with falling for each other, which I liked since it usually happens much faster, and there was still that expected Davidson humor, which worked really well here.One thing that seemed a bit odd to me, was that this book seemed to have more effort put into it than the others in the series, and you could very easily tell that this was originally going to be a stand-alone. There were some little tidbits put in that told of what happened to them later, including the excerpts written from Edmunds (I believe? Or was it supposed to be someone in his family, a son or grandson?) book. There wasn’t anything like that in the other books, which doesn’t make them tie in together all that well, but that’s all right. Also, there was a tiny action, suspense plot in the book, near the end, when there wasn’t really any of that in the other books.I found the book rather interesting, and very entertaining. Also, as I said in the previous review, I like Edmund. He’s so very entertaining. I think I liked him best in the third book, but he’s fun in all of them. I would just like to see more of him.I also got to know Nicholas better, and a tiny bit more of Alex the boy. I like all of the characters, really, and would like to get to know them all better. I want to know what happens with them.This was a good book. I liked it about as much as I like Davidson’s other books, and look forward to reading her others.
What do You think about The Royal Treatment (2004)?
Hmmm... instead of being purchased by the United States, Alaska declared independence from Russia... and they are their own sovereign state, with thier own royalty, and way of doing things.Christina - vagabound ccok on cruise ships... father didn't stick around for her, mother died when she was 16... and she gets off the ship in Alaska when the head cook makes a pass at her and she kicks him in the nuts and gets fired.And King Alexander II of Russia likes to try to pass for a commoner and go fis
—Kathy
The Royal Treatment is the first book In MaryJanice Davidson's Royal Series. I thought the book had it's moments but didn't find it laugh out loud funny. It was cute, and an easy read that was entertaining but it isn't a book I'll remember for long.This book centers around Christina who was a chef on a cruise liner that was stopped in Alaska. When her boss groped her, she kneed him in the groin and quit. She takes her last $50 and goes fishing (not sure why) and meets the King of Alaska who is posing as the captain. He finds out she is out of money, no job or place to stay and invites her to stay at the palace since he thinks she would be a perfect match for his son Prince David. The King lets David know that he wants him to marry Christina and so David basically agrees since he looks at marriage as his duty. He meets Christina and is charmed by her and by the fact that she turns him down when he asks her to marry him. Christina is charmed by the royal family and she likes David so she gives in and the two are engaged. The couple then start to plan their wedding, go to premarital counseling, and sneak around to have sex (since they are constantly interrupted when they are in her room. But life is never that simple and David and Christina are faced with a big challenge as soon as they are married.The book did have its moments. The royal family is truly charming and I thought the premise was interesting and cute. Christina however, was a little to rude to be funny for me. I think she was supposed to be charmingly blunt but it just didn't work for me. Everyone (the royal family, the press, her ex boyfriend, the staff) all fell in love with Christina immediately and whenever she was rude it was just "oh that's Christina". I would have liked to see her in a few tender moments as well, so we could see what everyone else saw in her. Christina and David bonded but it was done "behind the scenes". The author told us that David and Christina had heart to heart discussions about David's worries and fears but we didn't get to read about them. I would have liked to read these and see Christina supporting and encouraging instead of always snarky and sarcastic. It would be nice to see both sides. Overall, I liked it. It was a quick, easy and entertaining read but not laugh out loud or even one I'll remember next month.
—Danielle Taylor
MaryJanice Davidson has become one of my all-time favorite authors. I first found her by reading Undead and Unwed, the first book in her Undead series. Wanting more, I found The Royal Treatment. I must be honest and say I didn't like it as much as do her Undead books, but it is a sincerely hysterical book!The Royal Treatment is set in an alternate reality, the world is almost the same as this one, but Alaska is it's own country and has its own rulers. And boy are they a bunch of nuts! The characters are not as fully fleshed out as I prefer them to be, but I loved all of them. They each have their own quirky personality and odd habits. I want to take them all home with me!The only negatives I found were the profanity used and the fairly explicit love scenes. As I don't really mind the language, and I blip over the love scenes if they're too much for my delicate constitution.Books don't make me literally laugh out loud very often, but this one did. Actually, all of MaryJanice Davidson's books do. Every time!
—Maria
