I picked up A Royal Christmas Princess a couple of years ago and just got around to reading it, due to the fact that my to-read pile never stops growing. But hey, I was in the mood for Christmas romance and this looked fun, so I figured why not?
It mostly lived up to what I was hoping for.
It’s the story of Holly, who unexpectedly sees her baby photo on the news when the small principality of Coronia is searching for its lost princess, and Felix, a distant relative of the current reigning prince who will become heir to the throne if the lost princess isn’t found.
Of course, Holly is found, and Felix whisks her away to tour her (possible) new home. There’s some intrigue, including a scheming chancellor, a news reporter who would desperately love to marry Felix and become royalty, and a council who are used to catering to the rich rather than the people. Everyone wants something.
And both Holly and Felix (wisely if you ask me) realize that ruling the country, while important, may be difficult for them personally.
I liked Felix, don’t get me wrong. Strong but sweet, lovable, attractive as anything – he’s my favorite type of romance hero.
But Holly was the real star. As a very down-to-earth young woman who was dealing with realistic problems, she got the “commoners” in a way that many others, including Felix, missed. She made friends easily, understood where people were coming from, worked to help others…all good things for a princess. I liked her reaction to finding out she was royal, from dealing with her heretofore unknown adoption to realizing she might not want the attention that goes along with being a princess. Because she was right: there are downsides. Her connection with everyone from her maid to her father felt real.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book, and the plot.
But I had two major issues.
First, the book felt a bit rushed. It easily could’ve had another 50 pages, particularly at the end. Holly’s friends from early on – and her wish to stay in her house in Baltimore – effectively disappeared without notice. I wanted more there. We got why Felix changed his mind, and bits of Holly, but not enough.
Second, this book needed an editor. I noticed common grammar/spelling mistakes, from “rung her hands” to capitalization where it shouldn’t have been. Also, it does not take 14 hours to fly from Baltimore to the France/Italy border. It takes about 8, and a stopover isn’t necessary. There needed to be a fact-checker/consistency editor.
So because of the issues, even though I liked the book, I’m ultimately giving it
Four Stars
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