The Pageant by Leigh Walker is YA, Paranormal, Romance and the first in The Vampire Royal series.
After the wars, the world as Gwyn knows it has completely flipped. Once rich and well-off, Gwyn and her family are now barely getting by and find themselves selling their more expensive items to afford the basics. A mysterious family is now ruling over the lands. Rumored to be vampires, Gwyn doesn’t know what to believe just that she must do whatever it takes to care for her family. When a pageant is announced and Gwyn is amongst the handpicked to be a contestant, she has no choice but to participate. The prize? A marriage to the handsome, mysterious prince of the royal family. Thrust into a competition she’s not even sure she even wants to win, Gwyn must learn how to survive this new world and how to survive her fellow competitors.
The Pageant was a quick, easy read that I finished in one sitting. Some characters I liked (hello, Dallas) and unfortunately some I did not like as much (Gwyn, honey, please, please, please stop with your impulsive nonsense). While I found the plot to be exciting, I feel like the author could have done a lot more with this. It felt a bit rushed in parts and I wish we could have gotten a bit more details. I rated this 3 stars because I didn’t love it nor hate it. I will be reading the next book in the series because with that ending, how could I not?
*I received this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Shelf-Rated 