A Bride for the Playboy Prince by Various

To celebrate the royal wedding, we’ve specially selected three glamorous, passionate stories!

Designer Lisa Bailey knows she doesn’t belong in Prince Luciano’s world. Yet when one stolen encounter leaves her unexpectedly pregnant, Luc is determined to claim his queen!

Prince Draco Valenti wears his icy exterior like a suit of armour…. until he meets lawyer Anna Orsini. While they’re at odds in business, in the bedroom Draco’s desire for Anna melts his defences.

Matchmaker Jessica Carter arranges marriages that work. And that’s exactly why Prince Stavros Drakos has hired her. Yet no other woman ignites as intense a passion in him as Jessica does…

It’s time for these rebel princes to meet their match!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33259027-the-duchess-deal

Title: A Bride for the Playboy Prince
Author: Sharon Kendrick, Sandra Marton and Maisey Yates
Series: Girl Meets Duke
Pages: 600+
Genre(s): Contemporary, Mills & Boon
Hot Buttons: Divorce, Hysterectomy,

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I’m going to lay my cards on the table right off and say I’m not a huge fan of the Royal Family and even less of all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming nuptials.

You might think that this particular book, seeing as it’s a special Royal Wedding Edition, might be a strange choice for me, but I do really love a Mills and Boon romance and who can resist a commoner who snags a rich, titled and even royal, man? I might not like the reality but I love the dream!

This book contains three full-length stories by three different authors, each giving a slightly different take on the royal wedding theme.

All three books have previously been released but are packaged together in this special edition.

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Crowned for the Prince’s Heir - Sharon Kendrick

The secret she kept from the Prince…

Dress designer Lisa Bailey reluctantly broke off her relationship with Luc, knowing an affair with the Prince had no future. But one last stolen encounter left her quaking with passion, drenched in desire—and unexpectedly pregnant!

Months later, Prince Luciano Leonidas of Mardovia is on the brink of the perfect political marriage when a news article shows Lisa with an obvious bump! His baby. With Mardovian royal blood. Now he must claim his heir at any cost. She might be an unsuitable bride, but she will become his Queen!

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I really liked this story. It was fun, fresh and I got into it from the start. I loved the relationship between Lisa and Luc - even if Luc was a little bit overbearing at times!

A ‘surprise’ pregnancy is a well-used storyline but it’s one I can enjoy if the rest of the story is up to scratch - and this definitely is.

Luc might be overbearing and demanding, but Lisa not only holds her own but she only acquiesces to him only on her terms. She’s modern, strong and independent - a worthy heroine for a royal prince - especially one that needs to be brought low by love!

It’s fun, sweet and I enjoyed reading it.

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The Ice Prince - Sandra Marton

Prince Draco Valenti bears his title reluctantly, and wears his icy exterior like a suit of armour that no opponent can penetrate… Except Anna Orsini. She isn’t any ordinary adversary, she’s a high-flying, straight-talking lawyer in a no-nonsense suit and killer stilettos – conflicting signals that perplex, frustrate and attract Draco all at the same time…

Whilst they’re at odds in business, in the bedroom Draco’s desire for Anna has the power to melt his defences – the temptation to play with fire is overwhelming…

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After my enjoyment of the first story, this story was so old-fashioned it genuinely enraged me.

I assumed, from the language (faxes, laptops are the new executive toy, Hearts and Solitaire are the only games available…) that this was written in the 1990s. And the disgusting cliches also lend themselves to the age of the story. They meet. He’s disinterested. They argue. She bests him so he kisses her. to shut her up. Against her will. But don’t worry, says she, an unwanted kiss isn’t assault - as she practically swoons about how wonderful the kiss was. *Rolls eyes* To find out it was written in 2011 astounds me.

Oh, and the smatterings of Italian words…I get it, you want us to know he’s Italian so you put mucho Italian words into his perfecto speech. Multo annoying.

I actually hated this book. No - just no.

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At His Majesty’s Request - Maisey Yates

She might not be suitable for the throne…

Matchmaker extraordinaire Jessica Carter arranges marriages that work. And that is exactly what Prince Drakos is looking for. The last thing he needs is someone as unsuitable as her…but none of the beautiful socialites paraded before him excite Stavros as Jessica does. But she can share his bed!

Usually unchallenged, Stavros welcomes Jessica’s defiance – his fingers itch to lower her prickly façade and discover what lies beneath. Will Jessica agree to his final request? One month to exorcise their smouldering passion, before he marries someone fit to be his Queen…

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This book surprised me from the first page as it was sharp, snappy and the pages almost turned themselves. There’s no faffing about - we just get stuck right into the story.

The writing is fresh and I loved Jessica and Stavros and their interaction with each other. Jessica was a snarky, vintage loving matchmaker but she was as real as they come. Stavros was every inch the entitled, rich, Greek (sort of - he’s from the mythical kingdom of Kyonos) prince who didn’t believe in love. Yet!

What surprised me about this book was the emotional and the poignancy. With Jessica’s health history and experiences with her ex-husband, I really felt for her. And towards the end of the book, I had such feels for Stavros and Jess. I willed them to work it out and, I’ll admit it, I shed a little tear towards the end. I would have loved an epilogue but this book is actually part of a mini-trilogy so I’ll be looking for the next and previous in The Call of Duty series in the hopes of reading more of this couple.

A great book all-round.

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This is a good collection - a nice memento to celebrate the Royal Wedding or just a collection of Mills and Boon stories with a royal twist. Or maybe both.

I really, really didn’t like the middle story but the other two were excellent reads and I’d be happy to recommend them.

Even with the middle story, £5.99 (at the time of my review) for two excellent stories is great value and if you love Mills & Boon, you can’t go wrong with this collection.