Review: Coronation Year

I don’t know if any of us could have predicted that the year Jennifer Robson published Coronation Year would be an actual coronation year. While her novel’s focus was on June 2, 1953, a day that was all about Queen Elizabeth II, this story is about far, far more than Her Majesty and the royal family. And the novel is amazing because of that. I was completely riveted and loved every moment I spent reading this book.

Here’s the book’s description:

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.
Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age.
Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.
James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.
When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

I’ve been reading (and loving) Robson’s books for a number of years now and have known about her for even longer (you know how it is…so many books, so little time). My favourite is her 2017 release, Goodnight from London, but every book I’ve read (and I’ve read all but one), is so, so very good. Coronation Year, though? This, I felt, is Robson at her best. She took a moment in time many of us know about - Queen Elizabeth’s coronation - and used it as a starting point to talk about the people who would have been impacted by it. The real people, the ones we can really identify with. (Since I don’t think I have any readers who are members of the British royal family?) Robson gave those characters a story that I adored and was so well put together.

I mention characters, plural. I was a wee bit worried when I realized the story was going to jump around between three different characters who were all connected by the Blue Lion hotel. That seemed like a lot of people to keep track of but I don’t know why I was concerned - Robson handled the multiple perspectives so very well and I never felt like I was missing out on someone’s story or was rushing through pages to get back to another character. Stella’s point of view might be the one that I would have liked to see more of but she was by no means neglected. I liked that her story pulled in characters that readers would remember from Goodnight from London, The Gown, and Our Darkest Night. (I don’t think I missed any other character Easter eggs…please do let me know if I did!) Each character had a unique point of view and they worked together seamlessly.

As the book’s description mentions, there was a bit of a mystery Edie needed to figure out - why was her hotel floundering and who would want to hurt her business - or her? I knew who the culprit was (and yes, found myself wanting to shake all the characters at numerous points saying, Why can’t you see that they’re the ones who are evil and ruining everything?!?) but the motive behind it and the climax was more than I could have imagined and was done really well. I was on the edge of my seat!

I love a Happily Ever After and really appreciate that Robson gives hints of romantic storylines in her books. But her stories are more about romantic entanglements and her knowledge of history, particularly British history, is where she excels. I never feel like she’s lecturing me and she provides just enough details that I can picture the scene perfectly and yet don’t feel like there’s been the dreaded info dump. It takes real skill to do that and I know that, when it comes to historical fiction, I am always in good hands with Robson.

I could go on and on about Coronation Year but all you really need to know about Jennifer Robson’s latest novel is that I loved it. Completely and whole-heartedly. If you’re a historical fiction fan, you must read this one.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Heir Affair

It's been over five years since I read Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's novel The Royal We. I've read hundreds of books since so it's no surprise that I had forgotten many of the plot points from the first book. I did, however, remember absolutely adoring it and know it was one of my favourite books from 2015. The Heir Affair is the long-awaited sequel and one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. I'm not sure it lived up to the hype I had given it but I still really enjoyed the time I spent reading it.

Here's the synopsis:

Making it up the aisle was the easy part: After marrying the heir to the throne, Rebecca “Bex” Porter must survive her own scandals as she adjusts to life in the glamorous British royal family, in this “highly anticipated” follow-up to The Royal We, the “fun and dishy” bestseller and NYT Summer Reading List pick inspired by Will and Kate’s romance (People).

After a scandalous secret turns their fairy-tale wedding into a nightmare, Rebecca “Bex” Porter and her husband Prince Nicholas are in self-imposed exile. The public is angry. The Queen is even angrier. And the press is salivating. Cutting themselves off from friends and family, and escaping the world’s judgmental eyes, feels like the best way to protect their fragile, all-consuming romance.

But when a crisis forces the new Duke and Duchess back to London, the Band-Aid they’d placed over their problems starts to peel at the edges. Now, as old family secrets and new ones threaten to derail her new royal life, Bex has to face the emotional wreckage she and Nick left behind: with the Queen, with the world, and with Nick’s brother Freddie, whose sins may not be so easily forgotten — nor forgiven.

I admit I was under the impression that this novel was Freddie's story. He's the "spare" (the Harry in the authors' royal family) and played a large role in Nick and Bex's lives in the first book. However. The sequel is not told from Freddie's point of view. We're still firmly in the life of Nick and Bex and she tells the story to the reader in first person POV. This wasn't a problem, of course, I like Bex. I just had to quickly adjust my thinking of how this novel was going to go.

And go it does. It clocks in at over 460 pages, just about 10 pages longer than the first book, which I recall being ginormous. It meant I spent a good chunk of a summer Friday afternoon reading the book and still wasn't close to being finished (it's a good time when you get sprung from work early, especially right now). Normally I'm all for a book being long because it means I have more time to spend with the story and the characters. But...I would like it if there weren't tangents that took away from the main story or if the extra pages had been spent tying up some loose ends I think should have been tied. (There's a potential for a third book but given the second one took five years to get to us, I don't know if we'll get a third any time soon.) While I like the large cast of supporting characters and quite enjoyed the spoof on the Great British Bake Off  (or Great British Baking Show as it's known to those in North America), I kind of think that whole part of the book took away from the rest of the story. I think it was to give a fan favourite secondary character their own time to shine but it didn't fully work for me.

The other thing that didn't quite work for me was the big revelation at the end of the novel. Obviously I am not going to tell you what that is because spoilers but it felt extremely far-fetched. Granted, it played with the idea that we really don't know what goes on in the private lives of the British Royal Family. Things are hushed up and we, the peasants general public, will never, ever hear about them. But the way the story line unfolded? I was just kind of like...wtf is even happening and how can they be agreeing to this and be ok with that? If you've read it, you know what I've talking about and I am here for a deep dive conversation if anyone else needs/wants to talk it out.

Other than those things I wasn't super fussy about, the rest of the book was as entertaining, dramatic (in both the best and most bonkers ways - the latter being a positive because I enjoy bonkers when it's done well), heart-wrenching, funny, and clever. 

There were times I was (literally) laughing out loud and times I felt as tied up in knots and anxious as the characters felt. Cocks and Morgan know how to write to get the emotions their characters are feeling off the page and directly into the readers' hearts. 

I absolutely loved that Bex turns Queen Eleanor into a Cubs fan the year they won the World Series. First, it's a hilarious coincidence, and one they reference, that of course the team breaks the curse the year a monarch decides to cheer for them. Second, I just love when baseball is featured in novels especially when it's a female character who's the fan. Third, it's just a whole lovely and hilarious section of the plot that works to elevate and strengthen a few relationships and I adored it.

I also have to point out how amusing it was to have Bex and Nick visit Canada as well as having Eleanor reading a copy of The Globe and Mail, one of our national newspapers. Oh, and the reference to our Prime Minister's hair. It's especially full of life right now given the pandemic! We don't often get to have Canada in such mainstream books so it's always nice to see a slice of my country in my reading material.

If you want a book with all of the feelings in a giant package, The Heir Affair is for you. Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan give readers a new royal story that has every emotion imaginable and a cast of characters who are full of flaws but have, for the most part, good hearts. I'm glad the authors were finally able to give us this sequel and I hope we get another novel sooner rather than later.

*An egalley was provided by the Canadian distributor, Hachette Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Crown Dissected

It seems like everyone and their grandmother has watched the Netflix hit The Crown. And if they hadn't before COVID-19 shut down the world, they've probably watched it now. I've been interested since the beginning and not long after finishing season three, I picked up Hugo Vickers' book The Crown Dissected. I was really interested to see what the showrunners got right and what they embellished on...or got just plain wrong.

Here's the book's description:

Hugo Vickers is an acknowledged authority on the British Royal Family. He has commented on royal matters on television and radio since 1973 and worked as historical adviser on a number of films. He is the author of books on the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Andrew of Greece (Prince Philip's mother) and Queen Mary all of whom are featured in the popular Netflix show, The Crown.

Since November 2016, Peter Morgan has presented millions of viewers with the first 3 seasons of The Crown, positioned as an accurate, dramatized portrayal of the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Now, in The Crown Dissected, Vickers separates fact from fiction in all 3 seasons of the series. Episode-by-episode analysis dissects the plots, characterization and historical detail in each storyline. Vickers tells us what really happened and what certainly did not happen.

It's a must-read for fans of the show, and proves that more than a little artistic license has gone into the making of The Crown.

I know some history of the royal family and England in general but not a ton. So, I wasn't always sure when the show started to veer away from the truth. Every once and awhile I'd look up what actually happened after finishing an episode but never found anything super wrong. And, I mean, I knew I was watching a fictionalized story. I expected it to be faithful to history but I knew the conversations between Elizabeth and Philip, for example, were always going to be made up. 

I can definitely understand that it would seem to Vickers, whose job it is to know the history of the royal family, the show took far too many risks and made errors that he could not overlook. I get it. When it comes to historical fiction in books or on screen, I want it to be truthful, not embellished like, say, Braveheart (it's top of mind for me...I was in Scotland in March and learned a lot about the true story of William Wallace). But Vickers sort of seemed to take it like a personal attack when the writers got things "wrong" and he constantly mentioned how the writers' storytelling when it came to the history of the royals was weak compared to telling stories of the politics of the time. It seemed a bit petty, to be honest.

This is also a very small book. Each episode is broken down in just a few pages. I'm not saying I need a massive amount of information but there were times when I wanted Vickers to go into more detail. I think too, I found the writing to be quite choppy which didn't help with the short chapters.

There are a lot of interesting tidbits to be learned in Vickers' book, however. I never really thought about the importance of certain seals or crests, nor would I have noticed if a sash was too red or wide or if someone was missing a medal. In Season 1, Episode 7, the Queen requests a tutor so she can become more educated. Turns out that's completely false. I remember wondering in Season 3 who an older gentleman was that seemed to dine with the immediate family quite often. Turns out that was the Duke of Gloucester who had been dead for some time and would not have been experiencing much of what his character did in that season. 

While I'm glad I gave The Crown Dissected a shot, I'm not sure I'd exactly recommend Hugo Vickers' book to others. I think he certainly has a case in presenting the truth and historical fact compared to a fictionalized version of events on the TV screen, but I wasn't a fan of how he went about it in his writing.

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Firefly Books, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Gown

I knew about Jennifer Robson's books well before I ever picked one up to read. I had purchased them for other people but, for some bizarre reason, never got around to reading them myself. That changed last year when I heard her speak at a local library event and I bought, and had signed, Goodnight from London. I read it immediately and fell in love. I paid close attention from then on because she had mentioned that night about her next book, which was going to be about women who worked on Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress. Perfect timing since I, and everyone else, was binge-watching The Crown and waiting for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. This novel though? The Gown is about so much more than a wedding dress worn by a future monarch. And it's incredible - one of my top reads from 2018.

Here's the (really long) synopsis:

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.
“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”—Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.

Historical fiction can be tricky...I find authors might try to teach me too much and the novel will read like a textbook or they'll toss facts around willy nilly in a way that makes it seem like they haven't done their research or they had a story idea and just decided to plunk it down in the past. Robson though? She is one of my favourite historical fiction writers. She knows what she's talking about (having a doctorate in British economic and social history from the University of Oxford and a father who's a historian) and is a damn good storyteller. She's able to weave together (ha! No pun intended) a story and I really feel like I'm right there with Ann and Miriam. She knows all the little details that would place the story in 1947 but it doesn't feel like she's lecturing at me. The story and setting sucks me in and I love it.

I hadn't realized, when I first started hearing about the novel, that there would be a contemporary component to this story. I liked reading about all three women and looked forward to their stories intertwining, because I knew they had to, one way or another. I don't think the contemporary story was quite as strong as I expected but I still looked forward to each of Heather's chapters.

The three characters Robson created - Ann, Miriam, and Heather - are amazing women and I adored them. They all face hardships (though Heather's are very much "first world problems"but problems nonetheless - and ones I could completely identify with) and are strong enough to work through them. They can see a solution and will do whatever it takes to get through the tough times. The revelation about Ann just about broke my heart but I was also in awe of how she managed to make the most of the situation. I just wish connections had been kept, though I could understand why she wouldn't want to (vague enough for you?). The friendship between Ann and Miriam is something to be envied and I loved reading it.

The actual plot - Miriam and Ann are embroidering the dress Elizabeth will wear when she marries Philip and, in present-ish day, Heather searching for answers about her grandmother and herself - is also so interesting. You may think that things would get complicated, given the many threads (again...no pun intended) Robson has to bring together but she's a talented writer and everything flows smoothly.

The Gown is a historical novel that perfectly brings together a specific moment in time with characters who stand out as much as - if not more than - the dress they're embroidering for a future Queen. Jennifer Robson has written one of my favourite books of 2018 and one I've been recommending to everyone and their sisters (I'm also not the only one as it's been on the bestseller lists for multiple publications over the last few weeks!). Even if you think one part of this novel isn't for you, read it anyway because you're going to fall in love.

*I received an ARC of this novel at an event I paid to attend last fall, which was hosted by HarperCollins Canada. There was no expectation for a review but I loved the book so much I needed to tell you all about it.*

Review: A Nordic King

I feel like royal stories are becoming a dime or dozen these days (thanks, Harry and Meghan) but when they're as well told and as engrossing as Karina Halle's are, I don't mind one bit. A Nordic King is Halle's latest book in a sort-of-but-not-really-at-all series she's been writing about Scandinavian princes and kings. The new book (just published today) is all about King Aksel, who we met briefly in her two previous books, The Swedish Prince (review here) and The Wild Heir (review here). The books have been getting better and better (to me, personally) and this last one totally swept me off my feet.

Here's the synopsis:

When I first applied for the job I thought it would be like all the others: working as a nanny for an aristocratic family.
Then I got the job and found out how wrong I was.
Now I’m the new nanny for two adorable little girls who happen to be princesses.
Their father is the widowed King of Denmark.
And my new home? The royal palace in Copenhagen.
Adjusting to my new life isn't easy but the hardest part hasn’t been the girls who still grieve over the loss of their mother.
It’s their father.
Cold, mysterious and moody, with an icy stare that seems to penetrate your soul, King Aksel may have hired me to take care of his daughters but he wants as little to do with me as possible.
Yet the longer I share these palace walls with this man, the more that I’m drawn to him. His chiseled face and sexual swagger are only part of the package. It’s in the long, intense glances at the dinner table, the way we’ll brush up against each other in the halls, the rare glimpses of the man deep inside, like the sun passing through clouds.
But no matter how I feel about him, we can never be together.
You think it's bad enough being in love with your boss?
Try falling in love with a king.

I hadn't realized I have a problem with romances involving a couple with one person in a position of power over the other. That is, until I read a really, really good one. Obviously King Aksel has all of the power in this novel. Not just over Aurora but over the whole of Denmark. But he doesn't use that power for evil (sorry, lapsing into fairy tale speak here). Sure, he and Aurora joke about it in the bedroom but they're doing so in a safe space. Plus, Halle makes it extremely clear that Aurora wouldn't put up with any of that nonsense - and Aksel knows that. A strong heroine makes all the difference (plus having a man who's, you know, not an asshole. Though she does call him King Asshole on occasion!).

On a personal note, I loved that Aurora was Australian. I've been to that marvelous country twice (her hometown, Windorah, is just a mere 14 hour drive from where I stayed) and I love when contemporary stories feature Aussie characters.

As I mentioned, this is the third book in Halle's royal sort-of series. You can read any of these books in any order. Trust me! Aksel only flits through the first two and readers of those books likely got the same first impression Aurora did - that Aksel was unhappy, cold, stand-offish, grieving. But unlike Viktor and Magnus, the princes featured in the other books, Aurora actually tries to figure out what makes Aksel tick and she truly wants to help the family, Aksel and his two adorable daughters, heal after their loss. (To be fair to the princes, they had their own issues to deal with that didn't involve figuring out what was happening with the king in a neighbouring country.) Even though this isn't a series, you'll probably still want to read the other two for a great dose of royals and romance.

Halle's books are always super emotional and will always deliver a few gut punches and heartbreaks. But there's always a Happily Ever After waiting at the end and it's never cheesy. Her books are real (even with the whole "falling in love with a royal" thing) and that means there are highs (lots of laughs and sexy times) and lows (lies and sorrow). She strikes such a good balance and I know when I dive into her books I'll be feeling all the feels. I can't think of another author who does that so well.

I experienced a major book hangover when I finished Karina Halle's A Nordic King. The story - and  characters - burrowed right into my heart and soul and I fell in love with it. I can't wait for everyone else to read it too. It's one to pick up (immediately!) if you love love and really well told stories.

Download A Nordic King today! 

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Meet Karina
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

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*An eARC was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Wild Heir

About two months ago I read Karina Halle's The Swedish Prince (you can read my review here in case you missed it). It was a lovely addition to royal fiction and I enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the book she was planning next, The Wild Heir, which was going to feature Magnus, the Prince of Norway (not the real prince...all her royals are fictional). Don't tell Prince Viktor but...I loved Magnus and his story so much more. It was really enjoyable - and timely since Royal Wedding coverage was everywhere as I was reading it.

Here's the synopsis:

At first glance I probably seem like any good-looking guy in their late twenties. I have an obscene amount of confidence, a tattooed body sculpted by the Nordic gods, and I love the ladies as much as they love me.

If I’m not BASE jumping or car racing, I’m chasing other devious thrills with the woman of the week. And that’s fine if you’re the average single guy.

But I'm not the average single guy.

I’m Crown Prince Magnus of Norway and my latest scandal just landed my entire royal family in hot water.

Now the only way the monarchy can save face is for me to smarten up – publicly. If I don’t, I’ll no longer be heir apparent to the throne. So it’s either I abdicate my future role as King or… I get married.

To a blue-blooded stranger.

Enter Princess Isabella of the tiny country of Liechtenstein.

Quiet, intelligent, and uniquely beautiful, Ella doesn’t like this arrangement any more than I do and she’s not afraid to show it. She says I’m a womanizer, that I don’t take anything seriously, that my ego should be taken down a few pegs, and I think she aims to make me miserable for the rest of my life.

But even as our arranged marriage becomes a war of wit and words, I’m determined to break through Ella’s prim and proper façade to find the wild, sexual and risk-taking woman underneath. I want to uncover the Queen inside her.

The only question is – will she let me?

Like many of Halle's books (actually, I think it might be all of them but can't say for certain), the story is told from two perspectives. In the case of The Wild Heir, readers hear from both Magnus and Ella. I like having both main characters represented because the story always feels so much more in depth and richer for it. I also like that it doesn't always alternate evenly. A chapter may end with Ella but instead of automatically switching back to Magnus, Halle might stay with Ella because her thoughts and part of that story isn't finished yet. Halle knows how to tell her characters' stories so well which is one of the reasons I love her books.

Halle is always very clear that her books are standalones even if they play off each other. I'm a pretty big series purist so I always recommend reading all the previous books before because then you won't be spoiled or missing out on any particular storylines. But this one? Totally can stand on its own. Viktor shows up for one fun weekend plot point but Maggie is really only mentioned in passing. So, if you want a royal marriage, pick this one up, dive in, and don't worry about feeling left out. 

I had an idea of Magnus in my head after reading The Swedish Prince and it was not unlike what Ella thought of Magnus before she got to know him. It was a lesson to both of us (and I'm sure many other readers as well) that you should never assume you know what someone is really like, especially when they're in the public eye. I know Ella was happy with the man she got to know over the course of the novel and I was too. Magnus also really grew as a man which was really great to see and I liked that Halle didn't make it too obvious. She never veered away from his true character. I would really like to read another book about Ella and Magnus in part because I'd like to see how Ella grew and evolved after their marriage. And I just really want to read more about them!

The slow burn of their relationship was perfection. The whole arranged marriage thing could have been done so badly but Halle did it well. I loved reading as Ella and Magnus slowly (oh so slowly) got to know each other. Ella seemed like a skittish colt but she was a strong woman who wasn't about to get pushed around by some brutish prince. 

The Wild Heir was a delight to read - it was funny, deep, and sexy - three things I always look for in my romances. I'm fairly certain you're going to fall in love with Magnus and Ella once you read their story. So what are you waiting for? Get your own copy and discover Norwegian royalty for yourself!

*An eARC of this novel was provided by Social Butterfly PR in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

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Meet Karina

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

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New Release: The Swedish Prince

The day is finally here! The Swedish Prince, an all-new emotional standalone by Karina Halle is now published! It's been a hell of a time getting it here with ARCs coming in late, as well as promo pieces, and some asshat who decided it'd be cool to upload part of the copy they were beta-reading to iBooks. Not to mention trying to get this post formatted and the book read while starting a new job this week! Phew! I always love having a new Karina Halle book to read but you'll have to check back next week to see what I thought of The Swedish Prince. For now, here's all the info you need to know about this brand new book.

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.

Here's where you can find The Swedish Prince (and, psst, it's free with Kindle Unlimited.)

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon Universal

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About Karina Halle

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books. Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.