Filthy Royals

by Kahley Burwell

In the United Realms, five young queens, born to rule but raised in chaos, are more than just heirs. They’re warriors, schemers, and monsters wrapped in silk and crowned in gold. Magic is forbidden to mix, love is a dangerous luxury, and betrayal is woven into the very fabric of their world.

When their reckless reputations catch up to them, they’re banished to New Charms University, a cutthroat academy where only the strongest survive. Stripped of their crowns, Bella, Diana, Naomi, Reina, and Selene must prove they deserve their thrones. But enduring the academy’s punishments is only the beginning.

Dark forces lurk in the shadows, and the halls of New Charms are steeped in secrets, lies, and blood. When students start turning up dead, the queens realize their exile isn’t just a punishment—it’s a trap. Someone wants them powerless. Someone wants them dead.

To reclaim their crowns, they’ll have to master forbidden magic, forge dangerous alliances, and uncover the truth behind the murders. Because in this game of power, you either rule…or you bleed like the roses at your feet.

725 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2025

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow along with 5 Royal girls from 5 royal kingdoms as they get up to all kinds of mischief. At first I thought it would be hard with so many POV but the book is structured almost like a play so when you switch to a different POV you switch “Scenes” and even “flashbacks” are labeled with “Acts” labeled as well. It does help some with the flow of the story and the writing style reflects that. I definitely liked some of the girls more than others. As expected in an academic setting you definitely have some drama at the school with some people I would love to stab. I really appreciated the diversity of the cast of the book. The spice was delicious, and varied with some being just spice and some being love. Ends on a cliffhanger !!!

[BloggingBooks& Banter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written specifically for lovers of the art & theatre.

This book was such an exciting read. I love how unique Kahley’s writing style is. It was very reminiscent of my theatre Days.

As this is an academia type romantasy, the characters are delving through the new territory: New Charms University. In this story, you experience every emotion possible which inevitably leaves you turning the page to see where we could possibly be going next.

There are so many relationship dynamics throughout the novel and all of them are INCREDIBLY complex.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the author and Crowns & Chaos PR for this ARC!

In all honesty, I would probably rate this a 4.5 rather than a 4.

[Stefanie Verhelst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five queens and five storylines, masterfully woven together!

This book is interesting and you literally have 5 main characters, with all unique characters, experiencing different emotions and reacting to events in their own ways. But the author keeps the story easy to follow, everything is nicely aligned, as in a theater play.

The story has spicy moments, as a red thread through the book. Just the right amount to make it a very enjoyable read.

Beautiful and bright, light and charged!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[amber nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

filthy royals //

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!! ✨️⚔️👑
I had so much fun in this world OMG!! 😍

In Filthy Royals, we follow our five young queens as they are forced to go to New Charms University where they must prove themselves worthy of the very thrones they were born to sit on.

What follows is chaos and mayhem that keeps you turning the pages to find out whats going to happen next 🤯

I loved the academic setting!! I never really used to be a huge fan of that but this year has really turned me around too it and this book was such a fun take on it!! The university is badass and cutthroat and you have to watch your back ALL. THE. TIME. its definitely not a school for the weak!
Dont even get me started on the forbidden romance 🥴🥴🥴 so so good holy shit 😩

ALSO, probably my fav aspect of the book! All the paranormal components!! Vampires, werewolves, shifters, fae!!! You get a little bit of everything in this story!

All in all, it was a fun and fast paced page turning read!

If you like:
✨️ forbidden magic
🧛🏻‍♂️ paranormal characters
📚 dark academia
⚔️ morally grey characters
💕 forbidden romance
😜 love triangles

Then you should definitely read!
OUT NOW!!

Thank you for the arc!

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have some mixed emotions about this book.

I absolutely loved how it was laid out! This book is a play of sorts. It’s like a combination of a play and a novel, where scenes jump just like a play and the story is divided into acts. I’ve personally never read a book with this format before, so I thought it was really cool.

But, I also felt like the play format almost did a disservice to this book. Because of the scene formatting, the story jumps a bit and leaves you wanting more sometimes. Like a play, everything moves rather quickly, and there’s jumping back and forth with characters and locations, and in a book this long, this really slows the story down. I almost wish we could’ve had some scenes cut out and extended others.

There’s lots and lots and lots of romance in this book. There’s several different couples that we get an insight into in this book, and they all have their share of romantic scenes. And spice. The mix of relationships was also very refreshing, as they’re not all what you typically see or even what you would expect. I’m not going to get into that because of spoiler reasons, but know there are some surprises along the way. The romances also are not all between opposite sex couples, which I don’t often come across in fantasy romance books.

It wasn’t until I got to the very end that I realized this was not a standalone and is actually a series. I think the next book will be more intriguing to me than this one was because the world will be mostly established and dynamics will be further set. Because of this, I probably will continue the series.

Thank you very much to Kahley Burwell for an ARC of this book.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filthy Royals follows the lives of the five future queens of the United Realms. A witch, werewolf, vampire, siren, and pixie with a friendship so strong and fierce to keep the kingdom united. Except on the night of their coronation, they demonstrate defiance, something unfit for the kingdom. They are sent to New Charms University are punishment, and to truly learn what it takes to control their power and to rule their kingdom. Turns out there is someone or something that wants to hurt them, wants them dead. And when unexplained attacks occur they have to band together with their new friends to keep each other safe before it’s too late…

I really did enjoy Filthy Royals, but there are A LOT of characters and I had to take actual notes to remember who everyone was and their connections to each other. I really liked that there were so many different fantasy creatures in this book as well as discussion on them interacting with each other. My absolute favorite character was Selene, the vampire. Any part with her kept me so intrigued. This is most definitely a fantasy, but also a bit of a horror and I am so here for that. I can’t wait to see what else happens in the future series.

I’d rate this 4/5 for spice. Kahley does publish a clean/spicy version of all of her books. A true queen!

I was given a digital arc thanks to Kahley Burwell and Crowns and Chaos PR. These opinions are my own.

[Alexis F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a first of its kind read for me. It was depicted in a unique format of writing, that I’ve yet to encounter & it was definitely interesting. Throughout the story - it’s depicted as almost a play of sorts. Where certain scenarios are depicted as “Acts” and you’re switching from one scene to the next, or flashing back.

While it was different and interesting and definitely allowed for the story to flow in a smoother manner I think at some points it did take away from some of the bits where I might’ve liked to read a bit more. But all in all it was still fantastic.

You get the academic setting with some personas you’ll favor more than others, the usual drama the setting took course. But I really liked the diversity of characters you got to enjoy throughout the book, each one giving you their own story along the way.

[Chinwe Aghadinuno · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating would be 3.8⭐️.

It was a good read. Over 500 pages long. The writing style, impeccable. It was written in acts, scenes and episodes like poetry or a play, instead of chapters.

I just found it a little bit tricky to relate with the story. At 20% in, I was still wondering where the story is headed, especially when there are five different kingdoms (vampires, werewolves, sirens, witches and fairies), with five queens, their different lives and circumstances

It was described as New Adult Fantasy or what I would like to call YA fantasy, but then again not everything is fantasy.

I give it to the author writing style👏. Its truly not something you see everyday.

[Rouchelle Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of this book was so interesting to me! All of these different characters were not what I expected but I found myself enjoying this change of pace and having essentially 5 main characters who were all royals. I also liked how this book had representation from all sorts of different magical beings; from pixies to werewolves to sirens and everything in between. Filthy Royals was a new concept for a book that was so fun to read! I think that my favorite character would have to be Bella Rose. She can be intense but also a Boss! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Romantasy, murder mysteries and forbidden romances.

[Lindz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story centered around 5 powerful FMCs...sign me up!! I found myself completely enthralled with this story. The twists & turns, intrigue, drama, power struggles, and the spice 🌶️🌶️🫦. The dedication alone had me hooked from the start, plus bonus points for a suggested playlist in the beginning of the book. It really helps set the vibe while reading 🎶🎵.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Indie · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it !! a great start for this new saga... five young queens... sent to New Charms university... where only the strongest survive... there's Bella, Diana, Naomi, Reina and Selene... their crowns were stripped from them...now, they must earn their thrones or die !!! this is about survival and can they do it ? interesting format... so good !!!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maddllyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an exciting read! I also loved the unique format of the book. (Filthy Royals is set in acts). In Filthy Royals we follow five young queens as they are banished to New Charms University. New Charms is cut throat and full of drama! Making this book so easy to get hooked on. Overall, I really enjoyed this read. And loved the bond the girls shared.

[Ashley Cutshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a different style book for me. it is written more as a play.

it was an interesting read, lots of spice but I just had trouble keeping up with everything going on. there is a lot for information and a lot of characters all happening at once.

[Frankie Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked the moment I started reading! Granted some parts felt rushed but all in all it was a dang good book can't wait to see what's next!

[Doris Scales · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is a very addictive book. I really enjoyed reading it and I’m most definitely adding it to my favorites list.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.