Sunday, February 8, 2015

RELUCTANTLY ROYAL by Nichole Chase



The Royal Series Book Three
Avon Books
August 26th, 2014
978-0-06-231749-0
Contemporary Romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Publisher
3 hearts


Maxwell Jameson Trevor hates being a prince and his royal role. He doesn’t care for the limelight that comes with being the prince of Lilaria and only finds solace in his art studio. But when a newly discovered royal passes away, Maxwell’s brother asks him to go tell the old man’s granddaughter the news. With compassion and a strength Lady Meredith Thysmer needs in the days to come, Max finds he is drawn more and more to this charming woman.

Lady Meredith Thysmer is new to the royal life and she is determined to do what she can for herself and her son but when she gets bad news from Max, all her dreams come crashing down around her like a house of cards. In the days ahead, Meredith will lean on  Max as she fights for herself and her son and in the process finds out what just makes this reluctant royal so down right appealing to her. But what happens when love finds its way into the mix?

I got to admit, I really loved Max. He was an intriguing character that just appealed to me. His disdain for all the trappings of being a royal prince, his love for art and his compassion when he goes to tell Meredith of her grandfather’s death stole my heart. The author does a great job in capturing this reluctant royals vulnerability and heart within the pages of RELUCTANTLY ROYAL. Meredith was a sweet and enjoyable foil to Max. These two meet under sad news and from there find they bring something out in one another, something good that just happens when you meet that right person. I found two items that I just didn’t understand or care for. What I found a bit unsatisfactory was how rushed their romance felt within the pages. The story takes place within one week yet the author never gives them time to revel in falling in love, the pace was just rushed for that aspect of the storyline. I felt with Meredith grieving and amid this sad time, the main characters should have taken a slower approach instead of the ‘meet, fall in love, have sex and then get married’ bit. I would have related more if they slowed that part of the story down, let me see how Meredith grieved and finally find love with Max. The other issue I had was Meredith’s relationship with her father. The author kept my attention on this part of the story yet never completed that sub-plot at all. It felt uncompleted to me and I was a little disgruntled that there was no conclusion in that portion of the story at all.

RELUCTANTLY ROYAL is a fun story that even with the two items I mentioned above, it didn’t distract from my enjoyment of the book. The author does a good job in weaving a spell around you as you read the third book in the Royal Series and kept me glued to the pages till the very end. I plan to grab books one and two to read in order to see how those characters that we met in this book got their happy endings as well. If you enjoy a well written story with unique characters and an interesting setting in Lilaria, then I suggest trying the Royal Series. I look forward to seeing what else this author has in her backlist this winter.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement
 


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