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.