Passenger Princess by Morgan Elizabeth || Book Review

I came across Passenger Princess on Kindle Unlimited while borrowing another book and decided to give it a chance. I did not expect it to be as good as it was. It wasn't great but it was interesting and entertaining. It was exactly the light-hearted read that I wanted.

about Passenger Princess

A sexy, Bodyguard, Grumpy/Sunshine, Celebrity romance from best-selling author, Morgan Elizabeth.

Who knew applying to be the next Miss Americana while you’re drunk on tequila would actually get anywhere? But that’s exactly what happened to Ava when she wanted an excuse to promote her best friends’ new businesses. She never even expected to get past the first round of auditions, much less win the beauty pageant, and now here she is, wearing a silk sash and a crown on her head, trying to picture what the next three months is going to look like. As the newly crowned Miss Americana, she’s off on a three-month press tour, visiting all 50 states as part of her contract.

For a girl who loves adventure, it’s a dream come true, except for two hiccups. The first one being the morality clause and long list of rules the organization is forcing her to live by while wearing the crown. And second, and probably the worst one, is the delicious sexy, yet grumpy driver-slash-bodyguard assigned to keep her in line.

Jaime normally spends his days as head of security for the world-famous rock band Atlas Oaks, but when they take a break from touring, he’s excited for a change of pace. Until he learns his new assignment is the gorgeous and ever-frustrating pageant princess who gets under his skin in more ways than one.

When he learns Ava has made it her mission to drive him crazy—by constantly looking for a new hit of endorphins by toeing the line as well as by flirting with him endlessly—he realizes what he thought would be a simple assignment is anything but. Now if only he can survive the next ninety days keeping his hands to himself and off the woman he can’t get out of his head. 

my review

Morgan Elizabeth has written one of my favourite romance books, Tis the Season for Revenge. I've also liked a couple of other books by her, so I expected to at least fairly like this one.

Although I've read books featuring pageant contestants and winners, they all took place during the competition and showed behind the scenes of the pageant. The most recent was probably Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Passenger Princess is a bit different because it takes place after the pageant. Other than that little difference, it seems like a regular bodyguard romance on the surface.

Life's too short to spent giant chunks of time with anyone who doesn't hold your interest.

The story begins with Ava celebrating her win and becoming Miss Americana. I will admit, it was a bit weird to start the book with the win. It's as if I was reading book 2 without reading book 1. Generally, the pageant is the main thing but not in this story. But I got into the story pretty soon.

Ava meets Jamie at a club when she tries to get through him to meet a friend. Jamie is the stoic bodyguard of a famous band. There isn't much to his personality on the first meet other than that. But it's immediately evident that Ava and Jamie are polar opposites and there is a spark between them.

Later, they find out that Jamie is assigned to be her bodyguard (and lowkey babysitter) for the duration of her tour as Miss Americana. Ava vows to make things easier by being friends with him but he doesn't find this job interesting and wants to just get through it.

Ava slowly wears him down and they eventually grow closer and fall in love.

Shoulders back, tits out, bitch. You were born for great things.

The above quote is Ava's motto. That's what she lives by and what she tells herself as a pep talk. I think the quote fairly denotes what she is like.

Ava is a bubbly, confident, stubborn, and talented woman. She doesn't have a proper plan for her life and goes with the flow. She can accomplish anything that she sets her mind to. She's also easy to love because of her bright personality.

Both of Ava's best friends are small business owners and she was looking for ways to promote their work when she came across the pageant and applied on a whim. She's totally different from regular contestants and was pretty much a dark horse. Since she knew how to work the internet and become popular and well-liked, she won the pageant and surprised everyone.

The regular public might love a down-to-earth contestant who is relatable but the people who admire or run the pageant have a certain idea of what Miss Americana should be like and Ava is not it. So, the story starts with us knowing that Ava won against the odds and finding out that the pageant's head is still working against her.

Throughout the book, we see Ava fighting against many obstacles in her way and coming out triumphant. I loved that she was a confident main character who believed in herself and inspired people around her to be confident as well.

And I remember what I’ve been saying for the past three months: inspiring the followers I accidentally accumulated and using it as a platform to encourage women and girls to bet on themselves, take a chance on themselves, and do one thing that scares them every day.

I do think that her life is a bit unrealistic. Some people live life like her and who are like her but they're usually people with trust funds to fall back on. Ava was not from a rich background so it didn't make sense to me that she was that confident and welcomed obstacles.

We don't see Ava's past either. We don't get to know her through her past or understand how she became the person she was in the story. We don't see her struggle much and it seems as if she doesn't think too much either. She just lived day by day and became successful out of spite.

The same problem exists with Jaime as well. We learn that he is a grumpy, stoic bodyguard with a soft heart. We find out that he will do anything to keep the people he likes safe and happy. And that's it. We barely learn about his past. We don't find out why he is the person he is. There's no character or development for him either.

In short, there isn't any character development in this story. If you want proper character development, this is not the story for you. It's meant to be a light-hearted story with confident and happy characters that inspire you to be confident and happy as well.

If Miss Americana stays single, it's as if any man in the country still has a chance with her.

The romance was fun. I wouldn't say that it was amazing, swoon-worthy, or one-of-a-kind. But it was fun to read and made me smile.

Right from the start, Ava and Jaime's personalities clash. Jaime is attracted to her but does not want to start anything and is grumpy and quiet all the time. Ava, on the other hand, vows to break his walls down and chatters constantly.

After a while, she realised that Jaime actually did like her and she started teasing him about it. It became a running joke between them for a while which was cute. She'd say that he likes her and he would smile a bit.

The main contention in the romance was that they couldn't freely date. There was a specific clause that said that Ava had to remain single for her tenure as Miss Americana. Although it was an outdated rule and barely followed, it was still there. And considering that the pageant head waited for any reason to dethrone her, her dating would be like her handing over a reason to do just that.

So, Ava and Jaime date in private. They don't hold hands or even talk much in public but they're all over each other in private. Sometimes, they weren't as careful so I knew that it wouldn't take long for the paparazzi to get pictures of them together. It was actually a rookie move to hold hands and even kiss in the car considering the power of cameras, but okay, I guess.

I liked that Ava and Jaime were so different but somehow compatible. Their personalities did not change after they started dating. They were still distinctly different but they just fit. His quiet actions balanced her outspokenness and her unabashed love balanced his reservedness.

I absolutely loved their road trips together. It was a feature of their relationship. Jaime drives them to their destinations throughout the tour. Ava is THE passenger princess because she brings her pink blanket, snacks, romance books, and annotation supplies for the drives. I loved even just imagining her in those drives. I wanted to be her 😂

At one point, Jaime set up her seat for her, got her a drink, and stocked up on romance books and annotation supplies. It was the cutest.

This story does not have a third-act breakup. I'm glad that the author left it out because adding one with these characters would have made it seem forced and out of place. It made more sense for them to fight against external forces together.

overall

If you want a light-hearted romance with low stakes and a fun main character, pick this up. However, if you're looking for something deep with good character or relationship growth, this won't tick the boxes.

I enjoyed Passenger Princess because it delivered what the cover and the synopsis promised. I would have liked a bit more character depth but it's alright. It was a fun read that made me happy.

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What's a book that you enjoyed that you wouldn't have liked if you were in a different mood while reading it? How do you pick books that match your current mood? Tell me in the comments!