"Common" by Laurie Lucking

About this book:

  “One person knows of the plot against the royal family and cares enough to try to stop it -- the servant girl they banished.
  Leah spends her days scrubbing floors, polishing silver, and meekly curtsying to nobility. Nothing distinguishes her from the other commoners serving at the palace, except her red hair.
  And her secret friendship with Rafe, the Crown Prince of Imperia.
  But Leah's safe, ordinary world begins to splinter. Unexpected feelings for Rafe surface just as his parents announce his betrothal to a foreign princess. Then she unearths a plot to overthrow the royal family. Her life shatters completely when the queen banishes her for treason.
  Harbored by a mysterious group of nuns, Leah must secure Rafe's safety before it's too late. But her quest reveals a villain far more sinister than an ambitious nobleman with his eye on the throne.
  Can a common maidservant summon the courage to fight for her dearest friend?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Tales of the Mystics” series.


Spiritual Content- Church going; Prayers & prayers/praises of thanks; Talks about & Mentions of a God figure named Luminate and trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital when referring to Luminate (God); Leah questions the Luminate when bad things happen; Mentions of prayers, praying, & praises; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Mass, churches/chapels, church going, priests, a convent, & nuns/sisters; Mentions of mystic nuns who get visions from the Luminate; Mentions of the mystic nuns performing miracles; A couple mentions of having faith; A couple mentions of religious vows; A couple mentions of rosary beads; A mention of sins;

             *Note: Leah dresses like a nun at one point (though she doesn’t feel comfortable wearing where she hasn’t taken the religious vows, but is told that the lines of right and wrong get blurry at times); Someone is held under a dark spell; Facing a dark sorcerer & his curses/spells (with dark and light sparks from the fighter’s hands, semi-detailed); Mentions of magic, a sorcerer, curse/demons, spells, & a law against magic; Mentions of darkness, dark magic, & dark forces; Mentions of luck & being lucky.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’, a ‘wretch’, two ‘idiot’s, and three forms of ‘blast’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Seeing a death (barely-above-not-detailed); Fighting a dark sorcerer (semi-detailed); Leah does lie quite a bit (but does wish she didn’t use so much deceit); Leah also steals letters for trying to prove her innocence; Mentions of a planned assassination & treason; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of starting a war; A few mentions of deaths from an illness; A few mentions of drinking & a tavern; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of traps; A couple mentions of a possible execution; A mention of threatening; A mention of jealousy.

Sexual Content- two fingers-to-lips touches, two hand kisses (barely-above-not-detailed), three cheek kisses, three almost kisses, a not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kissing scenes with kisses, and two detailed kiss; Wanting to be kissed & embraced; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth/Shivers, Nearness, & Blushes (up to semi-detailed); Remembering touches & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; Mentions of flirting & a boy who won’t leave Leah alone; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of seeing a couple kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a kiss; A few mentions of hand kisses; A mention of a young man who has a reputation of a rake; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A few mentions of a mother who died in childbirth.

-Leah Wellstone, age 15-16
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Leah
                                                        299 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{A full star can be added for those okay with many kisses and magical elements.}

I remember first hearing about this book when it was released back in February. To be honest, I thought it would be just a sweet royalty book with a bit of action in the plot against the royal family. I was surprised to see the more magic-y parts towards the end, reminding me more of a fantasy than anything else. I’m really quite sensitive to the whole demons/curses/spells scene, so it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea in those regards. Leah and Rafe were cute together, but I did find them a bit too kissy for my tastes. Leah did lie quite a bit throughout the book as well. Overall, it was an easy and fun read, albeit the handful of parts I wasn’t a fan of. Those who are okay with more magic and fantasy parts might enjoy more than I did.  

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.