Greetings and salutations!!
*moment of silence for Eugene Meltsner*
*. . .*
*wipes tear from eye*
*sighs*
*continues with planned topic instead of this rabbit trail*
Long story short, I bought a lot of books in July. Seven, to be precise. I had planned to use these specific two, but I haven’t read either of them in their entirety since buying them. So. I decided, “Hey, y’know what, this is my clubhouse and I make the rules. If I want to call these other two books my Books of the Month, then by golly I will!!”
So instead of using Sky of Seven Colors and Calor (they match; I never intended that. Funny how life works sometimes 😉), I’ve decided Heart of a Princess and Heart of the Crown are my Books of the Month for July and August!!
These are books two and three in Hannah Currie’s Daughters of Peverell trilogy. My library system only has a copy of the first book, Heart of a Royal, which irked me to no end. What about the other characters?? Why don’t they have the other books?? I will never understand the intricacies and mysteries of libraries and why they do things the way they do. Which is saying something. Cuz I work at one. Case in point: In my library, half of the Wingfeather Saga is shelved in the Young Adult section. And the other half is in the Middle Grade section. *tears hair out in frustration*
ANYWAY. I finally bought all three using my birthday money, in order to unravel the mysteries of Alina and Wenderley. Amazon previews only go so far, you feel?
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?
The last place Lady Wenderley Davis ever expected to find herself after swearing off princes forever was living in a palace with two of them. Even if it is only temporary. And she did agree to it. Kind of. Against her better judgement.
But then, she’s never been one to hide her heart, nor hold back help from anyone who needs it. And if ever there’s a family who need help, it’s this one.
As two weeks stretch to more, Wenderley throws all she has into showing the princes and their family how to smile again, and she’s loving every moment of it. Which is a problem. Because she’s very quickly becoming attached, and—as the man she’d rather forget keeps reminding her—the one thing she can’t do is stay.
First of all. What’s not to love about a good princess novel?? We’ve all dressed up and pretended to be princesses; we can’t deny that we love watching Tangled and Cinderella. There’s just something about the princess trope that draws us in.
As for Heart of a Royal, I was intrigued as to how Hannah Currie would transition Alina from a semi-spoiled side character into a sympathetic main character. I guess I never really liked her in Heart of a Royal…but as it turns out she suffers from anxiety and a sort of imposter syndrome, which really explains some of her previous actions and motivations. I couldn’t even begin to tell you whether or not either was depicted in a way reflective of real life, read it for yourself and find out ig. *shrugs* Either way it really made her character interesting and sympathetic.
I’m not really sure how much I can say without spoilers. This is hard ðŸ˜
Typically not a fan of facial hair in any way shape or form, but Joha pulled it off. Congrats, Joha!!
Then Heart of the Crown, which follows Lady Wenderley. Very different dynamic here, as Wenderley is totally done with falling in love with princes. She’s had her heart broken by one once before; she’s not keen on doing it again. But hey, Prince Marcos has also had his heart broken…multiple times…maybe they’ll be good for each other…lol these are happily every after books, you know how it’ll end by reading the back cover. How much spoiling could I possibly do??
Anyway. This book also has cute little Prince Ryan. He’s…five-ish?? Maybe?? He’s too cute for words.
Not a big fan of the fact that Wenderley falls in love before Marcos is a Christian. I feel her, that’s hard NOT to do if you’re praying for him every day and nannying his cute lil kid and keep running into him on moonlit balconies, but…*shrugs* It all worked out in the end (spoilers!!) but still.
So yeah!! I really enjoyed these two. Either four point five stars or five stars. I’m rather indecisive 😂
Do you know Eugene Meltsner?? Have you read either of these?? Thoughts on princess novels?? Opinions on the names Alina, Joha, or Wenderley?? Advice on rambling about books without spoiling the entire plot??
Always,
Ava 👑
Discover more from Always Ava
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
5 Responses
You have my interest. Maybe I will have to try this series. Also, I agree. Falling in love with someone who doesn’t share your faith is a dangerous place to be. Books can wrap that up with a tidy bow, but real life doesn’t always go that way.
Maybe you should!! And you’re right, things always work out in books, but they’re hopelessly complicated in reality.
Oh my goodness, first off, yes, let us sob together over the loss of Will Ryan and Eugene Meltsner. AIO shall not be the same without him. *sniff*
And then… I LOVE this series so much, and I’m so glad to see it getting some love! You really can’t go wrong with a good princess book. Wenderley is my absolute favorite, and Ben is the best, and ack I just love these books. XD
*sobs* Every time I listen to an older episode that has Eugene in it, I can’t help but feel sad in my soul. I listened to the very first episode with Eugene the other day and it was almost legitimately painful. And every time Katrina or Buck in Baltimore mentions that Eugene is “gone on a business trip”… I just can’t. He’s not truly dead as a character, but he’s dead to us now ðŸ˜
Yes!! I love it too!! It combines more contemporary vibes with the princess trope and I’m here for it. I too, love Ben 🥰 He’s just the best. Ever. Everyone else can go home. Even Joha and Marcos. Maybe not Ryan though. But can I mention the covers??? THEY’RE GORGEOUS. I want Mackenna’s 😉
IKR! The covers are irresistible! Book 1 is definitely my favorite dress, too!