I received this book for free from Pocket in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Prince Who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins Also in this series: The Prince and I, The Princess Wore Plaid, Mad for the Plaid
Series: The Oxenburg Princes #1
Published by Pocket Books on September 23rd 2014
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era, Royalty
Pages: 355
Format: eARC
Source: Pocket
ISBN: 1451685246
A handsome, rakish prince who doesn't believe in true love meets a stubborn lass who will settle for nothing less...
In a lighthearted retelling of a classic fairy tale, bestselling author Karen Hawkins gives Cinderella a Scottish twist!
Prince Alexsey Romanovin enjoys his carefree life, flirting—and more—with every lovely lady who crosses his path. But when the interfering Grand Duchess Natasha decides it's time for her grandson to wed, Alexsey finds himself in Scotland, determined to foil her plans. Brainy, bookish, and bespectacled, Bronwyn Murdoch seems the perfect answer—she isn't at all to the duchess' taste.
Living at the beck and call of her ambitious stepmother and social butterfly stepsisters, Bronwyn has little time for a handsome flirt—no matter how intoxicating his kisses are. After all, no spoiled, arrogant prince would be seriously interested in a firm-minded female like herself. So . . . wouldn't it be fun to turn his "game" upside down and prove that an ordinary woman can bring a prince to his knees?
Prince Aleksey Romonovin is content with his carefree and worry free life. Aleksey is determined to have a strong involvement in the Romany and their way of life, to be a good leader for them, but he must convince his grandmother of it first. When he comes to Scotland, he meets a woman that makes his heart pound and he finds her way more intriguing than she should be…but her sense of freedom, love of books and dogs, and her intelligence draws him in like a bee to honey. Bronwyn, is considered on the shelf, having being only twenty four years old. She has dedicated her life to helping her younger sisters and her step mother in doing what is best for them. Her father is a scientists, and gone quite a bit, and she is the glue that holds the family together. She is perfectly suited to her life of reading, helping her family and enjoying the moment. When she meets a stranger in the wood, and they share a kiss that curls her toes and makes her want to give into temptation…she knows that she is in big trouble…because he is the first man in her life to give her thrills and excitement in her average life. Even though she knows that there could never be a happy ending for them…she and Aleksey have a spark and connection she never imagined…and she isn’t willing to let it go without a fight.
The Prince Who Loved Me is the first book in this latest series, but is somewhat connection to the Duchess Diaries series, when we see Wulf’s story, who is one of Aleksey’s brothers. Now ever since I read Wulf’s story I was fascinated with his character, and wanted to see more of the family, so imagine my surprise when I heard this series was coming out and I was beyond thrilled. There are four brothers, and Aleksey is one of the younger brothers, and loves the Rom, and he has his grandmothers blood in him, wanting to be their leader and guide them. He also loves his pleasure and his women, and his flirtations. But he also craves a afternoon in the woods with his books. Now who doesn’t love a intelligent and charming prince who knows how to curl your toes with one look? When Aleksey and Bronwyn first meet, they have no idea of the others identity. To Aleksey, Bronwen is dressed as a servant, so he pursues her a interested in a pretty woman that fascinated him. Bronwen thinks of him as a woodsman, not realizing that he truly is a prince. When they learn of each other’s identity, it doesn’t stop the attraction. Everyone surrounding them are trying to stop them being together, but love always finds a way.
The connection these two have is quite unique and I couldn’t help but cheer for them from the beginning. They both have the same passions and not just for the physical touch, you see how they connect on a intellectual level as well. They were such a fun pair, and such a charming love story this one turned out. From the start, it had me laughing, and there is such wit displayed on each page, to keep you quite entertained. Even though on the outside, it seemed to be a predictable story…it was so far off that mark…it continually tended to surprise me with little twists and turns that I didn’t expect. I love a solid fairy tale romance…and this story probably tops them. It is based on the Cinderella story, but has many difference. The step mother and step sisters, are far from cruel and evil. In fact Bronwen has a loving family, even if her step mother is a bit zealous in her pursuit of good matches for her daughters. At first she seems to overlook Bronwen, but in the end I loved her. Her character really overturned any assumptions about her that I had. Now the grandmother of Alskey, she was a hoot and barrel of laughs. She will do anything to find a good match for her grandson, even to deceive him, but she definitely is full of depths, and I love her concoctions and ways of diverting the prince from his goal. She was quite a character, and added depth yet humor to the story, and I can’t wait to see more from her in future books-I hope she is just as a spice in future books as she was in this one.
Overall The Prince Who Loved Me is a sensational romance that just gives you everything you are looking for in a love story. Packed with vibrant characters, sensual chemistry, witty humor, and a sensational plot that is bound to keep you captivated from the beginning to end. Charming, emotionally provoking, and will be compelling enough to give the reader a desire to devour it with each page!! A REFRESHING FAIRY TALE ROMANCE TO MAKE YOU HUNGRY FOR MORE!!
“Ask,” she whispered, grasping his wrist and trailing her lips over his fingers “One word, Alexsey,”
A flicker of naked desire flashed across his face, and he winced as if in pain. “Nyet, You must be the one.”
Bronwen though she’d burst into a fireball if he did not touch her soon. Her entire body craved his touch with a longing that left her squirming with need.
What could one kiss hurt? her passionate side asked.
But the future–her Scottish side urgently whispered.
Forget the future. I want this right now.
“To hell with asking” She pulled his head down and kissed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I was going to ask you to marry me tonight, but not because I had to. I was going to ask you to marry me because I can’t imagine not having you in my life. My future without you is a desert, a lone tree in a windy plain, a rock perched on a mountain with nothing but echoes to keep in company,”
About Karen Hawkins
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Karen Hawkins is known for her wonderfully humorous and emotion-tugging historical and contemporary romances. The author of over 30 novels, Karen writes for a living between shopping for shoes, playing around on Facebook and Pinterest, looking for fun items for Hawkins Manor, and napping, although usually not at the same time. Sometimes, for fun, she takes Instagram pictures of her two rescue dogs, Sadie and Teke, and posts them online.
Yeah, she's a wild one.
Karen lives in balmy Orlando, Florida, with her husband, aka Hot Cop, and her two dogs. Her children are both out of college and have become productive, non-violent members of society. Karen writes six to eight hours a day when not obsessively reading research books on Regency-era Scotland, snacking on chocolate, or looking out the windows of her house and thinking about gardening. Her hobbies include sculpting, oil painting, playing badminton, and -- ok, ok, she doesn't have any hobbies, but if she did, she's sure they'd be something refined and fascinating.
0 Comments