Just Ella by Annette Larsen

Ariella was only looking for a distraction, something to break up the monotony of palace life. What she found was a young man willing to overlook her title and show her a new and vibrant way of life. But when her growing feelings for Gavin spiral out of control and clash with the expectations of her station, she will discover that the consequences of her curiosity are far more severe than she'd imagined.

I watched in helpless horror as two guards hauled Gavin to his feet and dragged him from the room. My voice was frozen, unable to protest as another guard took hold of my arm, leading me upstairs. From the confines of my room, I stared into the darkness beyond my window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Gavin. He was gone, and I wondered if he would have been better off if he had never met me.

I am squeezing in a review for this book because I just loved it.  It was a book I picked up because I heard some awesome things about it from people I trust with book recommendations.  I got a little ahead in my review reading and jumped right into this book because I was so excited.  I picked it up for free because of my Amazon Prime membership which was SO happy!  Although, this is a book I'd actually like to have on my shelves forever.

Clean romance is one of my very favorite genres.  This book is so well written it felt just perfect.  Honest.  I loved it from beginning to end.   Ariella is intelligent and sweet.  She longs for adventure and distraction from her royal obligations.  Ella longs for friends and those personal connections that a royal life separates her from.  When she meets Gavin in the gardens, she is filled with excitement.  Their friendship grows and Ella finds herself longing for more of the life she simply cannot have.

One of my favorite things about Ella is her determination to protect Gavin.  She is willing to sacrifice her happiness for his well being and safety and even his happiness.  The next thing I love about Ella is her determination to be friendly with the servants and staff of the castle and also to become part of her community.  She pushes against the binding constraints to form relationships with people, to let them know she cares.  It really endeared Ella to me.

This is a book I can 100% recommend to anyone.  It is clean and sweet and just an all around fantastic, romantic read.  My daughter is going to LOVE this book.  LOVE.

You can pick this title up on Amazon for free if you have Amazon Prime.  Otherwise it is 4.99 for the kindle version which is well worth the money, I think.  I will be putting Just Ella on the list of print books I want to buy.