Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsGood have been amazing but left me wanting
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 14, 2020
Safety warning attached at end
This is my very first Julia London. This book is okay to read as a stand alone, but might be better in order. There was recap in it, so I'm not sure if that would be annoying for a person that read the first book, but it was brief. I'm thinking both hero and heroine from this book were in the first book so again I'm not sure how much you got to know them in that book.
Caroline's good friend Eliza (heroine from the first book) has married the crown prince of Alucia, Sebastian (hero from first book). She is so offended when the prince's brother, Leopold, doesn't notice or even remember her. Leopold is rather tired of being the useless second prince with no responsibilities. His father demands a marriage to secure relations with another country, but before he does, he wants one last trip to England.
Give this book a try if you like
-Royalty tropes. The hero is a prince for a fictional country.
-A bit of a different location. About 1/3 of this book takes place in Alucia, which was really fun. The rest is England.
-Where the heroine is the more aggressive one in the relationship
-A story with a bit of humor and a bit of mystery
-A very light sprinkling of enemies to lovers (doesn't really have that feel for most of the book, but there's a bit where there's banter and some dislike.)
I have never loved a heroine as much as I loved this one. Many reviewers disliked her, and honestly thinking about her personality traits – being a bit vain, over confident, a tad spoiled – I would have thought I would too. But I just loved her. She was just so HAPPY. I felt her smile light up the book. She was so spunky never gave up her beliefs and freely shared her feelings. I adored the first half of the book with her attending the wedding in Alucia. She had me grinning and laughing and I just wanted to see her, be her friend. Leo doesn't want much to do with her in the beginning and she at first seems just determined to prove him wrong.
As the book goes on though, I felt like the romance was so lacking. It was so slow in the beginning already, and then once they return to England, this mystery takes over the book. Leo is given sensitive information about plots against his country and he tries to make headway into solving the mystery and protecting those who are vulnerable. But I felt like a lot of it was him doing it himself. Maybe I would have liked this more if the two were doing it all together, but that doesn't happen until the end of the book. I felt like a lot of their time was spent apart from each other. I will say I just adored all the parts they were together. I enjoyed every scene of that. But it felt like it was only half the book. And they didn't have sex until after 90% and I just don't think I'm that patient hahaha.
This definitely has not turned me off Julia London. So many parts I just treasured and she made me laugh and smile quite a few times. The kisses were so sweet and full of feeling. I think she could be a hit for me in another book.
Thank you netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Safety warnings (slight possible spoilers)
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[ slavery, human trafficking, sexual assault (implied)
