To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all—maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces, and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smiles and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together.
After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claims it’s for her own good but—faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks, and far too many of her own insecurities—Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does.
Only there’s more to Joha than she realizes, and more to herself too. When the time comes to make a stand, will she find the courage?
Since reading Heart of a Royal, book one in the Daughters of Peverell series, I have been eagerly anticipating book two, Heart of a Princess. Truthfully, I wasn’t a fan of Princess Alina in the first book and wasn’t certain how I felt about her becoming the heroine of this second book, but Heart of a Royal was so fantastic that I was confident Hannah Currie would find a way to make me fall in love with this prickly character. Then I began reading Heart of a Princess and … what a rollercoaster! To be completely honest there were moments I wanted to give up on Alina. Even more surprising, there were moments I wanted to give up on the hero as well. How could the two of them possibly fall in love when they were both showing such selfish and harsh behavior toward each other? But the thing is, that wasn’t the only part of themselves they let each other see. They also revealed glimpses of their vulnerable, loyal, and self-sacrificing parts of themselves. The beauty of this love story is that neither of these characters is anywhere close to perfect and their relationship is incredibly messy as a result. They both have serious issues that they need to work on with Christ’s help, but they love each other anyway, just as Christ loves them both–major flaws and all. True relationships take forgiveness–not just once, but over and over again–and a willingness to work hard to see beyond the surface of who someone is. No matter where we are in our relationship with Christ, we are all a work in progress and the only way for love (romantic, platonic, or familial) to survive that process is with God’s strength to forgive and love. Currie does an amazing job demonstrating this truth in Heart of a Princess.
I thoroughly enjoyed diving back into the world of Peverell and Hodenia. As with the first book, Currie did an excellent job of drawing me in with the details and making the world feel real. As I’ve already addressed, her characters are fascinatingly complex and highly engaging. (Confession: I could personally relate to some of the mistakes they made even while wanting to shake them for it.) I did find one or two places where a character’s decision didn’t make complete sense to me, but overall, the plot holds together well. Up until the end I honestly wasn’t sure which path the heroine would follow–which of her two worlds she would choose to live in–and I was delightfully surprised by several turns in the story. Ultimately, the conclusion was completely satisfying and I closed the book with a huge grin on my face.
If you don’t mind a strong dose of faith in your story and are looking for an emotional journey that leaves you grinning like a fool, Heart of a Princess is the book for you. If you’re wondering whether you need to read Heart of a Royal first…technically no. All the relevant details are summarized in Heart of a Princess, but honestly you’re doing yourself a disservice not reading Heart of a Royal. See my review for that novel here.
Purchase Heart of a Royal: AMAZON
Purchase Heart of a Princess: AMAZON
What are your thoughts on complicated characters? Are you a fan of royal romance? Have you read either Heart of a Royal or Heart of a Princess? If so, how do your thoughts compare with my review?
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Note: Although I did receive a free ARC of the digital version of this book, I was under no obligation to write a review. You may read my full disclosure of materials HERE.
