Late last year I judged a book by its cover. That book was The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck, and turned out to be a great introduction for me to Hauck’s writing. When I heard about her new series, The Royal Wedding, I was really excited. I LOVE everything to do with Kings & Queens, Princes & Princesses. There is just something so regal and romantic about it all. When I saw the first book Once Upon A Prince released on Netgalley, I knew I needed to request it and continue my obsession with all things royal.
Susanna Truitt never expected too much out of life. She has led a simple life, devoted to her boyfriend Adam, whom she has loved for as long as she can remember. Adam leaves to become a Marine and when he returns she expects a proposal, but instead she gets rejected. Reeling from this loss, Susanna decides to go back to her roots on St. Simon’s island to rediscover herself. A vacationer on the island is Prince Nathaniel of the European nation of Brighton. Due to political pressure Nathaniel’s family has already chosen a wife for him, yet he is unsure of this turn of events. Nathaniel sees Susanna for the first time as he comes to her aid under the Lover’s Oak on the island. He is smitten by her, but bound by his duty to marry someone else. Will he be able to follow what he believes is his heart’s true desire? Will Susanna be able to find herself and love on St. Simon’s?
When I started reading Once Upon A Prince I was definitely intrigued. My heart broke for Susanna as her boyfriend of 10+ years broke up with her (especially because she spent a good portion of that time waiting for him to return from deployment overseas.) I could understand the quest she set out on, to re-evaluate her life, rediscover her faith, and to reaffirm who she was as a person. The more of the book I read, however, the farther down the rabbit hole I felt I was falling. A lot of things just didn’t make sense to me.
First and foremost was the entire entail storyline. I was SO confused. Who would lose what, who should marry who, for what reason…the entire thing had me spinning in circles. Secondly, all the time that the Prince is with Susanna and she doesn’t realize who he is was a bit hard to believe. Did no one wonder why he had a security detail with him? Even if you didn’t think he was a Prince, wouldn’t you think he was a VIP of some sort? Maybe in the business or political world? It was hard for me to believe that someone would meet him with his entourage and be okay with making him clean toilets.
Almost all of the secondary characters weren’t likable. Prince Stephen, Queen Campbell, Jon, Susanna’s co-worker Gage…..there was just something about all of them that rubbed me the wrong way. Especially Prince Stephen, Queen Campbell, and Jon. The three of them are some of the closest people who Prince Nathaniel has in his life, yet none of them respect his feelings or wishes. Prince Stephen and Queen Campbell even go so far as to set up an elaborate plan using Susanna in a very ill way. They almost played out as the villains of the story, when clearly they aren’t meant to be.
My biggest problem however, was with the romance. For the majority of the book Susanna and Nathaniel are apart. If they were communicating during their periods of separation that would be one thing, but it was complete radio silence. I’m not really sure how you can fall head over heels in love with someone without being with them and/or even kissing them! I find it hard to believe that in year 2013 there are people who accept marriage proposals without ever having once kissed their proposed intended. Maybe it’s just that I’m a forward thinking woman, but how can you tell if you even have chemistry with that person? Sure, chemistry on an emotional level is important, but a physical connection is just as important.
Sadly this book did not live up to my expectations. Although there were times which I enjoyed small aspects of the story, the reasons I listed above were too great to ignore. However, if the summary speaks to you and you want to give it a try, be my guest! Let me know what you think in the comments below.
2 out of 5 Stars
Once Upon A Prince by Rachel Hauck
Zondervan (2013)
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 9780310315476
Special thanks to Zondervan for my review copy via Netgalley!
Reflections of a Book Addict 
I was curious about this one… mostly because the cover is pretty, although don’t tell me I’m the only one who thinks inappropriate thoughts when looking at it… ( is it just me?)
HAHA definitely not just you.
EVERY time I see it, that’s all I can think… I should work for publishers as a cover design test monkey… if the cover makes me think of any bodily functions, it shouldn’t go to press.
The point where I knew I wouldnt be reading the book? “European nation of Brighton”. Might have worked if Brighton wasnt a small rather faded English city on the south coast near London, that had it’s hey day in the 1860s but still (apparently) has a thriving gay scene. I wouldnt be able to get past images of this seaside town to take the book seriously!
Entailing is relatively easy (sez she!) but wondering why entailing would even come up in relation to a Royal Family – or did I get that bit wrong? It would be irrelevant to the determination the line of succession and really of interest to those minor royals/titled gentry who many be jockeying for position. ….
It had something to do with a country (other than Brighton) gaining independence? I was really lost with that storyline…..
Oooh, this sounded really interesting at the beginning, but now having read your entire review, I can see it may just be another unrealistic,terribly old fashioned ‘fairytale’ romance with too many holes for the average 21st century woman. I’m a romantic but for me too, the story has to make sense and be realistic. I agree that I don’t think people can fall in love without ever seeing each other and whenever I see that in movies/ books, it just baffles me.
Thank you for the review and I may just check out other books by this author
I have no problem with books that choose to use old fashioned romance that has couples not engaging in sexual activities before marriage. Like – ok, maybe it’s not a super popular choice anymore, but people still do this. But to have a couple get engaged having never even shared a kiss? That pushes it to an extreme that I just can’t fathom in today’s world.
Yh I’m definitely a fan of abstinence in romance. Sometimes, a physical relationship can just cloud actual emotions and some writers jump straight to the sex and don’t allow the relationship to develop. But a relationship grows when two people get to know each other and spend time together and that’s whats fun. Finding out exactly what the characters have fallen in love with. If you fall in love with someone you’ve hardly seen. what exactly are you in love with? That’s my only real problem with ‘old-fashioned’ romances
Definitely agree. If you’re going to write a romance without a sexual relationship, you’re going to have to have your characters be together in other ways!
yh I’m struggling with that at the moment, but yes, you do have to whet the reader’s appetite with other encounters if you’re avoiding a full on description
If you could recommend ONE novel, what would it be? I will read it; I’m looking for something new to read. I like all genres! Especially romance & mystery!
Let’s see — your favorite genres are romance & mystery? I’d recommend Marie Force’s FATAL series. They are crime/mystery contemporary romance novels. The first book in the series (there are six published currently) is Fatal Affair.
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I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since I’ve seen it on Zondervan’s website and all the reviews I’ve read were mainly all positive. So thanks for your review!! I definately agree- there has to be at least some form of chemistry between the characters. I think I might still want to read it, but maybe some time down the track and not immediately like I’ve been wanting to.
I’d definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts once you’ve finished it!