The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory

Princess Theodora Isabella Victoria of Drieden of the Royal House Laurent is so over this princess thing.

After her fiancé jilted her on their wedding day, she’s finally back home after spending four months in exile—aka it’s back to press conferences, public appearances, and putting on a show for the Driedish nation as the perfect princess they expect her to be. But Thea’s sick of duty. After all, that’s what got her into this mess in the first place.

So when she sneaks out of the palace and meets a sexy Scot named Nick in a local bar, she relishes the chance to be a normal woman for a change. But just as she thinks she’s found her Prince Charming for the night, he reveals his intentions are less than honorable: he’s the brother of her former fiancé, a British spy, and he’s not above blackmail. As Thea reluctantly joins forces with Nick to find out what happened the day her fiancé disappeared, together they discover a secret that could destroy a centuries-old monarchy and change life as they know it.

 

Publisher: Gallery | Genre: Suspense/Romance/Humor | Source:Publisher | Rating: 4 Cups

Challenges Read For: Literary Pickers  - Curtains/Drapes

 

I had a lot of fun with this one. Imagine The Princess Diaries meeting MI-5 (Spooks) and that’s what you get with The Royal Runaway.

 

After a runaway groom and four months in exile, Princess Thea is back in Drieden but still feeling trapped by her royal life. Determined to escape for just an hour or so, she slips out to a local bar where she encounters Nick, a sexy Scot with a hint of danger who she seems to have a connection with. Pretty soon she learns that Nick’s not who he says he is and he’s now blackmailing her into helping him find his brother who just so happens to be Thea’s runaway groom. Now Thea wants answers although not only will they lead her and Nick into danger, they also threaten to destroy her family and the monarchy.

 

 

Thea was an interesting character. She’s royalty, second in-line to the throne (or first if they bypass her father as they want to do), so she’s feeling the pressure especially since her wedding went up in flames. And now that she’s learned that there was more to the disappearance of her groom, she’s not going to stop until she figures out what’s been going on around her. To further complicate matters, this new man in her life, Nick, is not only her former fiancé’s brother he’s also a British spy digging into her family’s possibly shady past.

 

The romance while it was good could have been better if Nick’s perspective had been included. Given that he had so many secrets and could have just been using Thea to uncover the info he needed, I felt like I needed to see where he was coming from just to be able to believe him a bit more. I needed to know what was going on in his head. I really wish authors would start including both perspectives because only including one makes the plot off kilter.  

 

I was caught up in the suspense from the beginning and I enjoyed watching this one unravel. It’s not one of those edge-of-your-seat plots but it was enough to keep me turning the page.

 

While the Kingdom of Drieden is a fictional country, Emory does an amazing job of filling in the countries backstory, it’s history, the feel of the land and created a believable world.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a little suspense, a little romance, a little fluff, and a whole lot of fun. I really liked how this one came to life.