I love Karina Halle and all of her contemporary stories. But here’s the thing. I could not find myself loving The Swedish Prince. It was good, don’t get me wrong. I rated it 3 stars on Goodreads because I simply expected more from Halle. Maybe some people might find that unfair but sometimes even your favourite authors won't hit the highest note for you. All that aside, if you’re a romance lover and/or a royal lover, this is definitely a book you’ll like.
Here's the synopsis:
I never believed in fairy-tales.
Never held out for Prince Charming.
Growing up poor in small-town California as the oldest of six siblings, I knew I would never ride off into the sunset with anyone. That was even more apparent when a senseless tragedy took the lives of my parents, forcing me to become the sole guardian of our dysfunctional household at the mere age of twenty-three.
Then a fateful encounter literally brought Prince Charming to my dusty doorstep.
At first I thought Viktor was just your average businessman passing through, albeit obscenely handsome, six-foot-five, blue-eyed, and mysteriously rich.
But soon I discovered the truth behind Viktor’s façade.
Beneath his quiet, enigmatic gaze and cocky charm, is a man who is running away from who he really is. A role he’d rather not fulfill.
He is Viktor of House Nordin, His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Sweden.
Yet uncovering Viktor’s secret was only the first step.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with him.
I didn’t expect to have my whole life turned upside down.
When you’re from two different worlds, can your hearts meet somewhere in the middle?
Or do happily-ever-afters only exist in fairy-tales?
The Swedish Prince is a standalone romance inspired by Roman Holiday.
There were times when I think I found this book too angsty. You see how the synopsis is all chopped up in quick
sentences that are sort of meant to hit you right in the feels? I love a good
angsty story as much as the next girl but this one sometimes delved too much
into the characters’ feelings and it was choppy sometimes just like the
synopsis. It's a really hard thing to explain but something didn't flow for me in this regard.
I also think the light-hearted nature of the royal-meets-commoner story didn’t quite jive with some of the really serious tones of the rest of the story. I don’t know why it didn’t work for me because Halle usually does that balance so very well.
I also think the light-hearted nature of the royal-meets-commoner story didn’t quite jive with some of the really serious tones of the rest of the story. I don’t know why it didn’t work for me because Halle usually does that balance so very well.
Like I said, this was still a good book. The story was engaging and I kept turning the pages. I liked Viktor and Maggie – but didn’t love them. Maybe I didn’t really connect with them. They were lovely but I really didn't have much of a connection which is something I expect with Halle's books.
I’ll also admit I may not have been in the best place when starting this book. The ARC came in late and really close to the pub date, I wasn't really sure how it was going to relate to Roman Holiday, and I was leaving one job and starting a new one. Hello, lots going on. I really don’t think that had much of an impact on my feeling on the actual story and I've been doing the reviewing thing for a long time so I'm usually pretty good at realizing what could affect my reading. There is a teeny chance it affected me more than I thought so I decided it was worth a mention.
It totally sucks when a book doesn't meet your high expectations but that happens. I still think The Swedish Prince was a good story. It just wasn't a great one. It won't deter me from picking up Karina Halle's next contemporary read though and it shouldn't deter you from buying The Swedish Prince if you're at all interested.
*An eARC was provided by Social Butterfly PR in exchange for a review for the blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*
