BOOK REVIEW- ROYAL DATE (The Royals of Monterra Book 1) by Sariah Wilson

This Cinderella didn’t plan on a prince . . .

Kat MacTaggart is a girl who has a plan for everything—including her holiday ski trip to Monterra with her best friend. Everything is going according to plan until she finds herself careening out of control down a mountainside and being rescued by a guy who looks like Superman’s hotter Italian cousin. 

HRH Prince Nico is intrigued by the woman he saved on the slopes and her refusal to date him. He offers Kat a deal—let him show her his country and he’ll pay her to write articles that will help Monterra’s tourism industry. Kat agrees, but given her past and lingering distrust of men, she has one condition—absolutely no kissing.

Thanks to the claims of a jealous British noblewoman and the schemes of a meddling paparazzo, Kat’s rule doesn’t seem to be a problem at first. But the more Kat gets to know Nico and the people around him, the harder it is to remember her keep-your-distance plan. Should she stick to it or risk everything for a chance at happily ever after?  AMAZON

What a dramatic start!  The story starts out in an interesting meeting between Kat and Nico and then travels right into something dramatic pretty quickly.  
I enjoyed this book and liked that Kat was one sassy, but also in her own way a tenderhearted woman.  Her smart comebacks  were part of her defense system.  She had a really tough childhood which explained why so few people got really close to her.   She was incredible loyal to anyone she cared about.  And the main person got got that loyalty was her friend, Lemon. Can you believe that name?  Lemon was someone who was so on Kat's side but she was also an interesting character because as much as she loved Kat she also knew when to push her too.  
I felt like the author did a really good job of building a Cinderella like fantasy world for the reader.  But it was also without making it really cheesy either.  It was really easy to feel welcomed into Prince Nico's family as the story advanced.  His sisters, especially Serafina added to the story.  Serafina was charming and also mischievous at times. 

Nico was someone who was what you would expect of an honorable royal but he was also really thoughtful towards others.  I enjoyed his interactions with Kat.  He was often amused by Kat and often understood things about her before she even did. 
I also really enjoyed some of the way the author described different things that a person was feeling or saying.  Mainly coming from Kat and it often made me smile.  I'll just give an example or two.  Kat said, "My best friend made me get up at an hour that I wasn't aware existed in the am." And a favorite of mine was thought by Kat after  they were interrupted during  some intense kissing from Nico.  Nico's voice sounded even and normal.  "I was panting like a dog who'd just chased down the mailman."  Loved that one.  There were a few more but it wasn't overdone to my way of thinking. 

Of course the story wasn't all sweetness and light; there were challenges but there was a good H.E.A. 

By the way I really liked the dreamy cover.