Prince Maxwell is indeed a reluctant prince; he's an
artist who'd rather paint than attend royal duties, but
when Meredith Thysmer's grandfather unexpectedly dies,
it's Max who travels to London to give her the bad news.
It was easier as they had briefly met at his older
brother's wedding, and besides the sad news, Max also has
to tell her that her father is now a duke! Meredith had
moved to England, with her six year-old son Marty, to
pursue her studies in the performing arts but mostly to
get away from her very difficult drunk of a father who
could never accept her son, the result of a teenage love
affair gone terribly wrong. Neither Max nor Meredith is
inclined to change their single status but they soon
discover that they have much in common, as Max proves to
be a real knight in shining armor.
RELUCTANTLY ROYAL is the third and last instalment in
this series, and plenty of details are provided by the
author so newcomers to the series will not feel left out.
I expected RELUCTANTLY ROYAL to be a zany, comical story;
it's not. It's a very human story about ordinary people,
despite the seemingly insurmountable royal hurdles. I
love the characters and how they interact with each
other; Max might be a bit of a loner but he's a good
person and it is lovely the way he behaves towards Marty,
even though he's not used to children. There was neither
instalust nor instalove; the relationship between Max and
Meredith progressed organically, naturally; they really
connected mostly because they are basically good people,
which is nice for a change.
Meredith's father is another matter; he's extremely
unpleasant, mostly because he is unfortunately all too
real; his presence is a strong plot point and I
appreciate how Ms. Chase dealt realistically with the
painful situation. RELUCTANTLY ROYAL is a very quick
read, thanks to the author's flowing writing style that
is perfectly suited to the story: nothing is rushed, and
even with the royalty angle, nothing is far-fetched. I'll
admit having a slight problem with the concept of
fictional countries although I totally understand the
reason behind that decision, but it still felt a bit odd
to me, mostly because the characters and the situations
feel so genuine. It's is a personal quirk of mine, and I
definitely do not hold it against Ms. Chase; quite the
opposite, because she makes it work so well.
RELUCTANTLY ROYAL features characters who deal with
unexpected situations rationally, avoid making rash
decisions; there are no misunderstandings, and no one
complicates things pointlessly, and it's because of all
those things that I find RELUCTANTLY ROYAL a most welcome
breath of fresh air.
Maxwell Jameson Trevor, prince of Lilaria, hates his royal
role. Despising the limelight, he takes solace in his art
studio and steers clear of any drama. But when one of the
newly discovered royals passes away, Maxwell's brother
Alex asks him to break the news to the old man's
granddaughter. Though he hates to be the bearer of doom
and gloom, he doesn't want the poor girl to find out from
the tabloids. For Maxwell knows all too well how
devastating that could be.
Coming from a broken home and modest background, newly
ordained Lady Meredith Thysmer has seized her chance to
make a better life for herself and her son. She's not
afraid to use her best assets to get what she wants. But
when the unpretentious yet devastatingly handsome Max
delivers his news, her plans for the future come crashing
to a halt. In the challenging days ahead, Max\'s
compassion, humor, and steadfast loyalty to Meredith and
her son win her over. She quickly finds herself doing
something she swore would never happen again: falling in
love. And yet Maxwell still refuses to completely drop his
guard. Somehow Meredith's got to find a way to seduce this
reluctant royal.
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