Release Blitz: The Crown Prince’s Bride

Summary:

A Crown Prince gets a second chance at love with the woman who’s always been there – in the next book in the prince duology from Donna Alward!

The Crown Prince of Marazur is suffering from a broken heart. After losing his wife and future queen, he knows he’ll never find love again with a partner as wonderful as her. He’s thrown himself into his duties and is trying to be a better father to his two children, but he’s lonely. Even though falling in love seems impossible, so does spending the rest of his life alone.

Stephani has been Raoul’s assistant for years. Smart, loyal, and discreet, Stephani is fantastic at her job. Except for the fact that she’s been in love with her boss since her first week of employment, not that she would ever act on it. Besides, Raoul is first in line to the throne and she’s his assistant. If Raoul ever marries again, it’ll be with someone who can be a future queen. Not someone like Stephani.

When Raoul’s date for a state dinner is unable to attend, he invites Stephani. She’s well-versed on the issues and castle protocol, and Raoul’s always been comfortable with her. But when Stephani arrives, Raoul hardly recognizes her. Is this stunning woman the same one who’s run his office for years?

The Crown Prince’s Bride is the ultimate fairytale for readers looking for Cinderella to get her prince—and be able to keep him past midnight.

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My Review

Although I have not read the first book in the series (and I’ve heard it’s even better than this second one), I did enjoy Raoul and Stephani’s love story and quite a lot actually. As the blurb describes, this is close to Cinderella, which is one of my favorite fairytales.

She is smart, a great assistant, has charm and has that spark that helps her handle any though situation. The book opens with her at a party she organized in order to lift Raoul’s mood, after losing his wife in a car accident. Her attributes are well put in light, not only by her actions, but as well from the eyes of our future king. But Stephani knows very well her place and wants to escape this crush she has on him.

Raoul is not willing to give her up. Excuse me, I mean this from a professional point of view. I appreciated a lot how the author tried not to make him the sort of guy who, quite soon after becoming a widower, starts looking for a replacement. In fact, Raoul is comparing Stephani with his late wife, even involuntary. He has this struggle inside, which is very well described, through his actions and feelings.

The story has both Stephani’s point of view and Raoul’s. It helped a lot knowing what each of them was thinking or feeling in a particular moment. These perspectives are quite well balanced. We don’t see more from her and less of him or the other way around. The glamour of palace life is also detailed nicely. Even if we speak about a royal dinner or a super party, we have the etiquette that needs to be respected.

To keep it short, I liked this second book, might as well read the first one. This is my first read by Donna Alward and to me she is an amazing author. I’ll go ahead and check more of her books now. I hope you give the series a shot and that you will come back for comments. My rating is 4 stars Enjoy J

Author Bio

A busy wife and mother of three (two daughters plus the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist. Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta where her romance career began, writing about cowboys and the west. She is the author of Somebody Like You, Somebody’s Baby, and Someone to Love.