Category: book review

In The Crown Prince’s Bride, a Crown Prince gets a second chance at love with the woman who’s always been there – in the next book in the prince duology from Donna Alward!

About The Crown Prince’s Bride

The Crown Prince of Marazur is suffering from a broken heart. After losing his wife and future queen, he knows he’ll never find love again with a partner as wonderful as her. He’s thrown himself into his duties and is trying to be a better father to his two children, but he’s lonely. Even though falling in love seems impossible, so does spending the rest of his life alone.

Stephani has been Raoul’s assistant for years. Smart, loyal, and discreet, Stephani is fantastic at her job. Except for the fact that she’s been in love with her boss since her first week of employment, not that she would ever act on it. Besides, Raoul is first in line to the throne and she’s his assistant. If Raoul ever marries again, it’ll be with someone who can be a future queen. Not someone like Stephani.

When Raoul’s date for a state dinner is unable to attend, he invites Stephani. She’s well-versed on the issues and castle protocol, and Raoul’s always been comfortable with her. But when Stephani arrives, Raoul hardly recognizes her. Is this stunning woman the same one who’s run his office for years?

The Crown Prince’s Bride is the ultimate fairytale for readers looking for Cinderella to get her prince—and be able to keep him past midnight.

My Thoughts

The Crown Prince’s Bride is a sweet, romantic novel of hope, trust and faith.

Stephani has always been a loyal employee and assistant to her boss, the Crown Prince Raoul. She was even more loyal to her cousin, his wife but inside she held a huge secret. She secretly loved Raoul! She loved his passion, his kindness, his respect and compassion. She never acted on these feelings not even after her cousin passed away and left Raoul heartbroken. Inside she knows they would be perfect for each other but she is conflicted about these feelings. Were they wrong? Would they hurt others?

Raoul is very much suffering from the loss of his wife. She was the love of his life and the Mother of his children. He misses her touch, voice and the quiet moments she shared. Since her death he has never looked at another woman and has never glanced at Stephani in any kind of romantic manner. When he begins to feel this attraction to her, it scares him naturally. He is worried about dishonouring his deceased wife, what others would think and even what Stephani would think.

Together they must decide on whether they want to pursue a chance of happiness again or to put aside their feelings for others. It is difficult to build up trust and faith in a person and while they always had this there before because of their work relationship, trying to take this to a new intimate level may prove to have difficulties.

This is a sweet, fun and romantic novel that was a pleasure to read.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Kobo, e-Books and B&N Nook.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

A busy wife and mother of three (two daughters plus the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist. Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta where her romance career began, writing about cowboys and the west. She is the author of Somebody Like You, Somebody’s Baby, and Someone to Love.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

In Cowboy Stole My Heart, it takes true grit to build a billion-dollar dynasty like the Ford family ranch. But when it comes to finding love, all it takes is one handsome cowboy to steal a woman’s heart.

About Cowboy Stole My Heart

As one of the heirs to the River Ranch fortune, Mia Ford is practically Texas royalty. But that doesn’t mean she’s some pampered princess. She can saddle up and ride a horse as well as any man, even a hard-working cowboy like Sam Mendes. For years, she’s harbored a crush on the strong, silent horseman. But how can she make a move when she’s his boss?

Sam Mendes is through with love—or so he thought. Still recovering from a breakup, he’s doing everything in his power to resist Mia Ford. It’s bad enough she’s the kind of beauty who drives men wild with desire. It’s even worse she’s got him so worked up, aching to kiss her lips, when he’s supposed to be working her ranch. Is this lovestruck cowboy willing to risk losing his job—and breaking his heart—to win the girl of his dreams?

My Thoughts

Cowboy Stole My Heart is a sweet and fun book with sassy characters. I fell in love with Mia – on the outside she seems to be the pampered princess that has had everything handed to her on a silver spoon. The truth is she works hard for everything she has achieved and everything she owns. She doesn’t want handouts from her Father and goes out of her way to ensure she wont have to. She is self-sufficient, confident and independent. Until she needs the help of Sam in order to save the life of a horse that she would go to the end of the world for.

Sam is a tough on the outside kind of guy, who fair enough had been through a pretty brutal break up. He is also gifted with horses. His job was to work on the ranch, trying to tame Mia’s horse that she had purchased. You can feel his love and respect for horses pour off the page not to mention the desire that Mia awakes in him again.

This novel is full of vulnerability both in Mia and Sam. They need to trust and rely on each other, something that does not come easy to either of them! They are both holding back and harbouring pain in their heart that they will need to deal with in order to move forward in life. Sometimes the best things in life happen when we take a chance! It is taking this chance that may seem scary and both characters have to decide whether it is worth it to take this chance.

This novel was fun, sweet and full of ups and downs. A great romantic winter time read!

You can purchase copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

As a child, Soraya Lane dreamed of becoming an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya describes being an author as “the best career in the world”, and she hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.

Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author of The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away, and I Knew You Were Trouble.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Shadows in My Heart is a story that will be too familiar to some and unfamiliar to others, but will pull at the heartstrings of everyone.

About The Shadows in My Heart

Big families cultivate chaos. Mary Havens knows this all too well. One of twelve children, she grew up on a picturesque Wisconsin dairy farm. Holidays, graduations, marriages, and newborns filled the farmhouse with the light of laughter and hugs. But for Mary, the unspoken eclipsed that light. Unresolved grief, abuse, religious dogma, and secrets left her in the shadows, lost and alone. Her profound story is one of determination, survival, and the ability to rise above the fray. It is a story that will be too familiar to some and unfamiliar to others, but will pull at the heartstrings of everyone.

My Thoughts

We have been blessed to live in a time where we are encouraged to talk about our emotions, where we are encouraged to talk about something that doesn’t feel right and where victims are believed and told to come forward. The focus is on healing, holding those responsible but also rehabilitating them. Gone are the days when things like sexual abuse and mental health were swept under the covers.

My Grandfather was a very quite man but I loved him for his quirks. He wouldn’t replace something because it was old and even if you bought him something new he would prefer and still wear his old clothes. He was a man of few words but it was in his actions that you knew he was proud of you and that he loved you (from hiding coins around his home to sitting at the head of the table on our weekly Sunday lunches). He grew up in the same time this book was based on and I wonder if he saw the same actions in houses of his friends and how this influenced him.

The Shadows in My Heart made my cry, laugh and understand. Society has come a long way in being open and discussing domestic and sexual abuse but we still can do more. The understanding of how many young girls and boys went through abuse and then suffered mental health consequences from this is shocking. This was the world that they lived in but no one wanted to talk about it. It drives home how important it is to talk about, to let both girls and boys that this is not the norm, this is not love and that they will always have someone to talk about it to.

This was an incredible and yet heartbreaking novel that all adults and even young adults should read. While the topic is sensitive, I feel it is so important for our young adults to read about and understand everything they can about abuse and mental health. Mary is an inspiration and a very typical individual in this type of situation. She endured years of abuse for her children but found the strength to fight back. Her opening up about the situation is what helped the healing process. This book serves as an inspiration for so many struggling with the same hurt in their own home who may not know where to look for help. This is a definite must read novel that you will not want to put down.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Mary A. Havens has appeared on numerous talk shows, discussing surviving domestic violence and sexual abuse, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Minneapolis’ Twin Cities Live and The Mary Hanson Show. She was a Twitter contributor for Dr. Phil and The Doctors show. Mary volunteers with organizations for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. She enjoys traveling and divides her time between the Midwest, Southwest, and Alaska.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.