When a Princess Proposes

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When a Princess Proposes is fun, frolicsome, and an easy-breezy read for those who like fantasy romances.

Once upon a time, there was a world called Arlen, and in Arlen there were five kingdoms.  Any child born during a spring or autumn lunar-solar eclipse event called The Embrace is automatically given magical powers, and they are known as The Embraced.  After a terrible battle with The Circle of Five, an era of peace has settled in.

Thus we open the tale of Princess Eviana, who is one of The Embraced.  She has a horrifying Embrace, one so terrible that her parents decline to have her train to use it, and have instead sequestered her and encouraged her to repress it. They plan on marrying her off, but none of the dozens of suitors who have showed up move her.

Quentin – whose Embrace is the ability to shapeshift into an eagle –  is a royal spy, and he’s loved Eviana from afar for ages but is lowborn and thus not among the many princes who might ultimately win her. That doesn’t stop him from being jealous of the suitors and ruining their chances any time he can.

Eviana and Quentin are quickly thrown together by a series of calamities. Eviana is nearly assassinated, and it becomes clear that someone’s trying to disrupt the peace by trying to hurt Embraced people.  Eviana finally gets to experience adventure and Quentin finally gets to be closer to Eviana, but will paradise be spoiled by a murderer?

This story is entertaining and easy to engage with, but hard to really understand without having read the other books in the Embraced /Embraced by Magic series.  I liked Eviana in spite of her almost unrealistic naiveté,  and Quentin is sarcastic and quick and filled with yearning for her.  The magic elements are fun if a tad confusing, and the worldbuilding is interesting and clear.

When a Princess Proposes will probably work best for fans of Sparks’ long series (this mini-series actually covers the lives of children in a previous outing).

Buy it at: Amazon or your local independent retailer

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Reviewed by Lisa Fernandes

Grade: B+

Book Type: Fantasy Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 22/04/22

Publication Date: 04/2022

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier

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