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Prince of Scandal (Harlequin Presents)

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Prince of Scandal (Harlequin Presents)

PRINCE OF SCANDAL is another royal story by Annie West

Prince Raul is not happy to learn that in order to inherit the crown on his father's death, he had to marry a Princess from another Principality in his kingdom. Their contract of marriage was drawn up when they were teens. It was out and out an arranged marriage.

But Raul had worked for his kingdom and his people for so long now and he knew that he was the best person to become the king. So he set out to look for the exiled Princess and found her in the outback of Australia, mucking out stalls and tending to cows! Luisa was running a farm.

After some hesitatation, Luisa agreed to come with Raul to his kingdom. But she does not agree to marry him. Raul took her to Paris and saw to some changes in Luisa's wardrobe and hairstyle for a makeover from a farmer into a Princess. But he, himself is staggered by the change.

While Luisa stayed at Raul's palace, after some major consideration and to help him inherit, she decided to marry Raul. The chemistry between Raul and Luisa sizzled. And the passion and sensuality in their love-making was breathtakingly astounding.

Though Luisa fell for Raul, she knew she was not his first choice of a wife, as in Luisa's words, "Do you know how it feels knowing I wasn't your first choice of wife, not even second? That you married me because of who my grandfather was?"

Raul is anguished at Luisa's rejection of him. He didn't believe in love. Yet terror engulfed him at the thought of life without her. Never holding her and telling her he couldn't live without her.

Then Raul found Luisa being sick and the sensitivity he showed brought me to tears. There were some light moments in the story when the mayor offerred the princess a stool to milk the cow and she did it, as well as sharing some tips with him. I was also happy to catch up with Alaric and Tamsin (Protected by the Prince) as Raul was Alaric's cousin.

The depth of characterisation and intense emotional conflict made this story believable. A fairytale love story. A Cinderella who blossoms under her Prince's attention.

I finished the story in one sitting as I wanted to know what would happen next and I had the happy mushy feeling in my heart by the time I ended it. I gladly give it 5 stars.

Thank you Annie West for another winner in PRINCE OF SCANDAL!

This was truly a well written and developed book. I encourage others to purchase it; you will not regret it. In a time where romance happens over a one week period this author took the time to truly develop her characters and draw the reader in to the story. I pray more books are written along this line.

Raul, Prince of Maritz, will do whatever he must in order to gain his inheritance and the title of King. He's spent his entire life being groomed for the position and takes the well-being of Maritz's people very seriously - especially with the unrest that's become so very obvious in recent years. Unfortunately his future, and that of Maritz, depends on an archaic law which dictates that he must marry the recently discovered princess of Ardissia.

Luisa Hardwicke isn't interested in Ardissia or Maritz and she certainly has no desire to play some pampered princess for a kingdom she despises. She has her own reasons for choosing to live a meager existence working to save a dairy co-op. She's definitely not princess material with her mud-splattered attire, clumpy boots and lack of proper behavior. Luisa has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to speak it - and nothing Raul says is going to change her mind about accompanying him to Maritz.

Raul's stunned by Luisa's refusal of her inheritance and doesn't even tell her about her expected roll in his life before she summarily throws him out of her home. Of course she thanks him for bringing her the news in person but suggests he find someone else to inherit. What she doesn't expect is for Raul to use the farming co-op's financial troubles to gain her cooperation. He purchases all the co-op's debts and if Luisa doesn't agree to return to Maritz and accept her place as a princess as well as his bride then he will foreclose on the properties and livelihoods of her friends and family. Luisa is blackmailed into doing Raul's bidding but she makes sure he knows it's entirely against her will. Raul's money and position might be able to give her all the possessions and luxuries she could ever possibly need but it won't give her the kind of love her parents shared - the kind Luisa's always dreamed of having for herself. What she doesn't realize is that Raul is already enamored of her because of her pride and outspoken nature - and those feelings will only continue to grow as he comes to know her better and she transforms into the very epitome of a princess - and his future wife.

PRINCE OF SCANDAL might very well be my favorite Annie West story to date. While I loved the characters and Luisa's proud demeanor struck a chord with me, I have to confess it's the simple fact that she's out there in the mud, muck and other unmentionables associated with working with cows when Raul finds her. Since I live and work on a dairy farm I could easily envision the scene and applaud Luisa's ethics. At the same time I could fully appreciate Raul's position - even if he was manipulative in his tactics.

PRINCE OF SCANDAL is a mixture of old-world charm and expectations along with modern ideas with delightful results. One of my favorite scenes involves Luisa's encounter with a puppy and a young boy in the streets - it's a pivotal moment in the story that shows the true character and vulnerability of Raul and Luisa - and really made me fall in love with Raul who's staid demeanor is somewhat offsetting.

While PRINCE OF SCANDAL can easily stand alone, those of you who enjoy interconnecting storylines might also want to pick up a copy of PASSION, PURITY AND THE PRINCE (U.K), aka PROTECTED BY THE PRINCE (U.S.). Alaric and Tamsin do make an appearance in this story.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

For Raul, the fate of his nation was at risk. He had devoted his life to his kingdom and he was soon to be crowned King. However, now there was a problem with the laws of inheritance and they could not be overturned. To become the King of Maritz he would have to marry a twenty-four year old woman, named Luisa Katarin Alexandra Hardwicke, the heir of Ardissia. The Prince of Ardissia had died and she was the next in line, heir to Ardissia's throne..

Luisa had heard all of this royal babble at the age of sixteen when her grandfather had promised to groom her for royalty. The very same grandfather who had thrown out her mother because of the man she married. Now standing before her was this handsome prince who had an agenda. He wanted her to return home with him because he could not be crowned King due to old laws in place. Luisa along with her aunt and uncle ran a co-op farm and was in serious debt. They had been her loving family and now Raul had paid off their debt forcing her to return with him to Martiz. Blackmail? You bet and then he dropped the bomb, he was taking her home to be his bride and that was the only way he would inherit the crown. Two marriage proposals in her life, both from men who wanted something from her. She felt cheap and dirty. Thinking back to their couple of meetings, their chemistry, and his promise to make their marriage a pleasurable one, had me smiling. Luisa wasn't a push over, so I began to think Raul had a tigress to tame not a kitten.

Raul immediately took over by taking her to Paris, ordered a complete makeover, new fashions and she balked the entire time. Damn the man for trying to take over her life. She missed the farm, her family, and friends and wondered what she had gotten herself into with all of this royal mess. Because he now had the upper hand, he owned the farm. However, he did promise her after their wedding the debut would be cancelled. She fought their attraction and then blurted out the most unaccepted thing, "you can't give me anything I truly desire. I want to marry a man who makes my blood race and my heart sing". Well they both got that and more when he kissed her; it was off the charts! For Raul the kiss with Luisa was full of fire, determination and he desired her. The force of his desire an attraction for her disturbed him. I realized were the tables being turned on him by this lovely young woman? She was so different from the women he had known and she was down to earth.

Their wedding day came and for Luisa she hurt due to the circumstances of their wedding agreement which would enable her husband to become King. On top of that, his stepmother showed up on the castle doorstep and started to create speculation amongst the wedding guests by getting in her new husband's personal space. It caused Luisa to wonder about Ana and her relationship with Raul. However, nothing got pass Luisa and like the tigress she was she approached her husband, asking all sorts of questions, definitely giving off her vibes of desire, making him want her even more. Let the wedding night begin! It was emotional, stormy, and filled with sexual tension. Definitely a marriage without love. Luisa realized she would never have a relationship like her parents. She so wanted love and children. Could this man, her Prince Charming ever love her? It was obvious that they had enjoyed their wedding night and that she was a virgin. How long would this marriage last without love even though they both desired each other? Luisa was scared because he scrambled her thoughts, he raised passions she'd never known, and everything felt so much more intense because of him.

I wondered if Raul had a heart at all because duty for him and his country came first. However, he did feel a little guilty because Luisa had given up a lot, had left her family, the farm to come to Martiz, giving him the opportunity to become King and it had cost her. He realized they had shared something very special on their wedding night and it somewhat surprised him. As for Luisa, she knew very little about her husband, his relationship with his father, what sort of a childhood did he experience and did he have friends? There was one thing for sure, he had been groomed to be a leader of his country. He worked so hard to distance himself and then everything came tumbling out, his past relationship with Ana, the woman who had married his father and it scared Luisa. As if, this royal couple couldn't face any more roadblocks. Luisa loved Raul and realized he was just too closed off to ever share himself with her or to love her.

Dramatic is the only way to describe the ending chapters and what they had to experience before they could find their happiness. Would Raul realize how much Luisa had given up for him, her family, and the farm everything back in Sydney? Then there was the marriage of convenience, which turned into hot nights of sensual passion, leaving them both breathless and Luisa frustrated. All of the duties she was expected to perform, learning the language, trying not to make a fool of herself in public. The strain of possibly expecting their first child and not knowing what kind of a father Raul would be; would he be like his father? In the end, the love of a good woman won out! Raul for most of his adult life had lived to shut out his emotions. He realized he had done that with his wife and that she had given up so much for him. However, Luisa had made him feel so much and yes, it was love, When the light bulb came on and he realized how much he loved her it gave this royal couple their happy ending.

I thought the book was okay. Although I read it in one setting, I felt like it was a drag. There wasn't really anything too exciting or intense that makes me eager to turn the pages but because I've started reading it, I had finish it.