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Shy Queen in the Royal Spotlight is book three (of eight) in the Harlequin Presents Once Upon a Temptation Series. The series seeks to retell and modernize fairy tales – in this case The Ugly Duckling. While it was a fast read with likeable characters, it sadly did not bring anything new to the story of ‘Prince meets girl and transforms her into a Princess’. I felt like I had read the story several times before.
Prince Alex of Triscari is in a bit of a pickle. An archaic law in his kingdom states that he must marry before being crowned King. His father died ten months earlier and Alex still has no desire to surrender his bachelor, party-boy lifestyle, but time is running out for him. On a quick trip to visit his sister – who is studying in the States – Alex meets her assistant, Hester Moss. Although melting inside as a result of Alex’s stellar good looks, Hester remains cool, composed, and somewhat aloof – traits that intrigue Alex. After talking for a few minutes, Alex is convinced he’s found his bride of convenience. He proposes a deal to Hester – they marry for one year (in a loveless, sexless marriage), he gives her a large amount of money, and after the year, they divorce and go their separate ways.
A truly terrible temptation swirled within her and with it came a terribly seductive image. She shook her head to clear it. She couldn’t get mesmerised into madness just because he was unbearably handsome and had humor to boot. “It’s impossible.”
“I think you could do it.” His eyes gleamed and she grew wary of what he was plotting. “If you don’t need the money…” he trailed off, his voice lifting with imperceptible disbelief “…then give it to someone who does.”
Hester froze.
His gaze narrowed instantly. “What’s your favorite charity?” He sounded smoothly practical, but she sensed he was circling like a shark, in ever-decreasing circles, having sensed weakness he was about to make his killer move.
Hester is convinced Alex is pulling her leg and resists. But the temptation of having all that money to help others in need is too much for her. She agrees to marry Alex and off they go to the Island of Triscari for a quick, royal wedding. Spoiler alert – it pretty much proceeds exactly like you expect from here.
Both Alex and Hester are likeable characters. They have been misunderstood and ill-treated by family members and, at least initially, don’t feel like love is on the cards for them. Alex comes off as cocky, but we quickly realize his heart is in the right place. Hester is harder to warm to but the story explains why later on, and she becomes more relatable as the tale progresses. It’s a sweet if somewhat predictable romance. My biggest issue with the book is that I am not a fan of the ‘Ugly Duckling’ scenario; while Alex enjoys Hester’s company from the beginning, it isn’t until she receives her makeover on the airplane ride to Triscari that he starts to want her. I would have loved for Alex to come to see the beauty in Hester before lusting after her physical beauty.
Bottom line – if you’re looking for a quick, sweet romance that won’t overtax your imagination then this might fit the bill. If you feel you’ve had enough ‘makeover Princess’ stories in your life, then please pass on this one.
Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
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Grade: C+
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 06/06/20
Publication Date: 05/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Related Reviews
Continuing with comments about romance book titles, it can’t be easy to come up with so many of them when you consider Harlequin has published thousands of books. Once you get past the obvious ones like Ruined by the Rake or Contracted as a Countess, you still have to come up with thousands of unused titles that grab a potential reader’s attention. I honestly think there’s a reason why the author is seldom given the privilege of coming up with her own titles, just like journalists don’t write the headlines. An author might be too subtle or clever in her choices whereas a sales department knows to hit the customer over the head with Shy Queen in the Royal Spotlight.
Incidentally, I just ran across a self-published erotica short titled “The Preacher’s Wife Lesbian Surprise.” Gee, I wonder what that story is going to be about… In light of this, I humbly propose we have a the ASK topic about best, worst, weirdest, and just plain hit-you-over-the-head titles commenters have ever seen in romance/erotica. Then we could come up with a few of our own for laughs. Any takers? :)
I’ve always loved one-word romance titles. I still remember the early Amanda Quick novels because their titles (Mystique, Rendezvous, Mischief and so on) came off as so elegant and incisive compared to some of the long, rambling titles.
The funniest romance title I ever read, though, is Dara Joy’s “Death by Ploot Ploot”. As one reviewer said, “Ploot Ploot has no plot plot.”
“Ploot Ploot has no plot plot” LOL! I’m going to guess that “Death by Ploot Ploot” is a play on the “Futurama” episode where three of the male characters are sentenced to “Death by snu snu.”
Love the idea of one-word titles, as I have said before, but I wonder how their sales compare to long, rambling titles. One of the difficult perennial problems of being a writer is to reconcile between good art and good business practices.
Going back to titles that made me laugh, I saw on the Amazon Top 100 erotica list a while back an anthology or bundle entitled “Panty Droppin’ Erotica.” The title made me laugh so hard but gave me no reason to open the free preview.
Ugh… that should say “reconcile good art” not “reconcile between.” The comment section wouldn’t let me edit the extraneous word.
I’m holding out for boinked by the baron, TBH
I’m holding out for boinked by the baron, TBH
Don’t give me any ideas. ;)
This title just seems silly to me. Harlequin titles often veer toward the jejune–it’s as if they believe readers need no nuance. I guess it is WYSIWYG.
WYSIWYG is exactly it. And sometimes they are ridiculous, but in the long run, I think I prefer that to all the stupid cutesy song/movie titles.
My guess is the HP editorial board comes up with a theme for a series (in this case, fairy tale adaptations) along with titles and basic outlines and then provides them to their writers and says, “Go write an HP based on this theme with enough supporting detail to justify the title.” I think it’s interesting that, despite having a rather rigid template to work with, each writer brings her own style to HP, from Lynne Graham to Melanie Milburne to Maisey Yates to Dani Collins, etc. Crews is still my favorite—her brand of angsty heartbreak hits all my catnip buttons.
:-)
i need breaks from Caitlin Crews – the Angst sometimes just gets too much for me. But in the right dose: oh yes!
my catnip: Dani Collins
I laughed at this one because it is so ridiculous. That said, you can’t pretend you don’t know EXACTLY what this story is about. I sort of love it.
I haven’t read this book, but Caitlin Crews’s CLAIMED IN THE ITALIAN’S CASTLE is part of the same Once Upon A Temptation series—it’s a retelling of the Bluebeard legend and I thought it was excellent, full of gothic trappings and even a Mrs. Danvers-esque housekeeper. I liked it so much, I mentioned it in The Ask about fairy tale adaptations. Of course, I like the operatic angstyness of the Harlequin Presents template. Others may find their mileage varies.
I used to read a fair few HPs but haven’t read one for a while. I might give that one a look – the Bluebeard story is a tricky one to make work and I like the sound of the Mrs. Danvers-esque housekeeper!