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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Review: Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck


Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck
The Royal Wedding Series: Book Two
Zondervan / 2014
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:
Regina Beswick was born to be a princess.

But she’s content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother’s hand-painted book of fairytales.

Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation’s future—and his own.

Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever. Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she’s destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. Together—with a little divine intervention—Regina and Tanner discover the truth of her heritage and the healing power of true love.

My rating:
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My thoughts:

Princess Ever After, book two in The Royal Wedding Series, was what I expected - a nice contemporary read. Like the first book, I didn't love the story and some things in it I just didn't care for, but I still liked the book - even if it wasn't a favorite.

Sometimes the story was slow, and I could have easily set the book aside, other times it was quite interesting; so I have conflicted feelings about Princess Ever After. The characters were another aspect that gave me conflicting emotions - at times Regina and Tanner annoyed me very much, but then there were moments that I really liked them. :/

I was not a huge fan of the romance aspect in Princess Ever After. It seemed to move along too quickly and **possible spoiler**being in love was stated even before they were an actual couple.**end of possible spoiler** The other thing I didn't like was the scene where it's implied that someone who talked to Tanner was God Himself.

There were things I liked: the whole princess aspect and modern-day fairy tale - that was fun! I also enjoyed some parts of Regina's tomboy personality and how she stayed true to herself/style while transitioning to being the princess. Oh, and I loved the letters from Regina's Gram - they were so interesting to read!

So, as I stated above, while I didn't love Princess Ever After, I did still like the book. This was a tough review for me to write, mainly because my thoughts on it are all over the place and hard to articulate. I know several bloggers who really loved this book, so you might be someone who'll enjoy it more than I did and maybe the things that frustrated me won't bother you at all. I don't know if I'll read the next book in this series or not - I guess it'll depend on who it's about. ;)

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

3 comments:

  1. I liked the first book best (so far), Melanie though did enjoy this sequel. (Cannot remember the scene you reference as regards Tanner - that may have bothered me a bit, too...) Either way, it was still a lovely read and I'm eager for book three - which is about (don't quote me ;D) Nathaniel's brother.

    Sorry this one didn't work for you. :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed this book more than I did. I liked it, but didn't love it, you know? The scene was on page 331. It was when Tanner went to the church in search of Regina and talked to the Bishop (it was implied that He was God and I just didn't like that).

      Hmm. I didn't know book three was going to be about Nathaniel's brother. I'm still not sure I'll read it, but I might. Thanks for the info! :D

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  2. I agree with your comments about this book. Didn't love/didn't hate it, but would not re-read it or purposefully seek out the next book in the series. I, too, felt the "I love you(s)" were spoken too soon and didn't like Tanner's storyline of the indiscretion of his youth (won't mention what it was to avoid spoiling it). Felt that it was just thrown in the book to try and give him a dark past.

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Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ~ Philippians 4:8