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By Royal Command #6

Royally Bedded, Regally Wedded

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From single mom to princess bride-- Lizzy Mitchell has something that Prince Rico Ceraldi wants: she's the adoptive mother of the young heir to the throne of San Lucenzo, Rico's Mediterranean principality!

Lizzy will do anything for her little boy! When Rico demands a marriage of convenience, she says yes. It's a union in name only, as Rico considers her far too ordinary. But a royal wedding means a royal makeover--and then Rico decides to bed his princess bride!

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

19 people are currently reading
250 people want to read

About the author

Julia James

724 books163 followers
Julia lives in England with her family. Mills and Boon novels were Julia's first "grown up" books she read as a teenager ("Alongside Georgette Heyer and Daphne du Maurier."), and she's been reading them ever since.

Julia adores the English countryside ("And the Celtic countryside!"), in all its seasons, and is fascinated by all things historical, from castles to cottages. She also has a special love for the Mediterranean ("The most perfect landscape after England!") — she considers both are ideal settings for romance stories! In between writing she enjoys walking, gardening, needlework and baking "extremely gooey chocolate cakes" — and trying to stay fit!

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5 stars
57 (22%)
4 stars
69 (27%)
3 stars
80 (31%)
2 stars
36 (14%)
1 star
12 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for StMargarets.
3,229 reviews634 followers
June 22, 2018
Heroine is the legal guardian of her dead sister's son. She had no idea of the child's father's identity because her sister died before divulging that bit of info. Now, four years on, she is shocked to discover the her sister married a prince (who died in the same car accident) and his family wants the child back. Hero is the child's "playboy" uncle.

There wasn't much "playboy" about this hero. He was an honorable person with a conscience - unlike his father the king and his older brother. He immediately falls for his nephew and - after the heroine has a make over - he falls for her.

The heroine is convinced she's "grotesque" and that the beautiful hero should never be coupled with her for her nephew's sake.

Both the H/h's families were total nightmares and for once, the H/h carve out a future for themselves without including them. The most offensive part of the story is the heroine's (and hero's initial) views of her appearance. Sorry- no one is "grotesque" especially if you can be transformed by eyebrow plucking, deep conditioner and clothes that fit correctly.

Hero was truly a nice guy. Heroine was a bit bland. No OWs or OMs or cruel dialogue.
Profile Image for Vintage.
2,718 reviews725 followers
July 6, 2018
Very sweet romance between the ugly duckling h and the very nice and honorable princely H. The frumpy heroine is now mother to her gorgeous sister's son. For once, the gorgeous sister was actually a nice girl: took up for her sister with their fathead parents and wasn't a gold-digging hussy. It's really too bad she's dead. The plot moppet's dad was the much beloved, youngest son of the Muckety Muck Kingdom is also dead.

Now that the royals have found about the PM, the spare to the heir has been sent in to retrieve the PM as no no-name frumpy British chick can raise the royal spawn.

Malarkey happens including a makeover (thank God), a MOC and some fun double-dealing by bad Royals wherein the H lays out the heir.

The H is, at heart, a nice guy and very honorable without losing his panty-melting alpha status. The h is a strong mother to the PM and wants to do what is right.

The only flaw in the ointment is the po-mouth, beat to death, frizzy haired frumpiness of the h and her defeatist mentality. She actually refers to herself as "grotesque". I mean, come on. Have you ever heard of L'Oreal, Neutrogena, even Cover Girl? JJ BEATS it to death and honestly loses a potential 4 start because of it. I like a timid or shy heroine as much as the next, but there is a limit on women just giving up.
Profile Image for ♥Aicha~high~on~books♥.
95 reviews
March 31, 2013
NOT a good book.. AT ALL!!
All through the first half the "hero" keeps chanting "how can any woman be so ugly"... and this for the "heroine"
and suddenly, one magical hair-spa cum facial cum manicure session which is added to a designer wardrobe and Viola! you have the woman of his dreams
He can't believe his luck (He was mighty p****d that he had to marry such a mirror- crack).Now he can't get his wedding night soon enough! Bl***y a**ho** !
There is no compulsion to make the female lead a Julia Roberts but if she is an Ugly Betty then let her be !!
To say that his love blossomed with her looks is just plain fickle and nasty ...
Who would want such a man!?!
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,162 reviews558 followers
October 21, 2015
Sweet love story with lovable characters. My only problem was that the angst was low since the hero was such a kind and noble man. I like my heroes cruel lol
Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,112 reviews629 followers
September 12, 2019
"Royally Bedded, Regally Wedded" is the story of Lizzy and Rico.

Basically, four years ago Lizzy's supermodel sister was in an accident, went comatose and gave birth to a baby, which Lizzy adopts when her sister dies. Lizzy's parents are aholes who ignore the "plain" child, because they have a pretty one. She then happily becomes a single mom to her nephew, showering all her love and affection on him.

Things taken a turn when in present, a man named Rico approaches her informing that her sister was pregnant with a Prince's baby, and her son is the heir to the throne of San Lucenzo. He tries to bribe her, but she turns into a lioness shielding her cub. He then proposes to marry her, but she's like hell nah..well mostly because she thinks she's ugly..and he kind of agrees.

But her passionate defense rallies him in her favor, and he decides to let her son be with her. When he realizes his own fam's nefarious motives, he marries her IRL, she suddenly has a Cinderella makeover, some major drama takes place and it all ends in a super sweet HEA.

The book was OKAY. The hero and heroine were softies, and kid was adorable. It's a 3 star read because the heroine was an amazing mother, the hero was a genuinely nice human being and the epilogue was all kinds of amazing.

Safe
3/5
Profile Image for Kiki.
1,217 reviews679 followers
Read
October 9, 2019
I can't be bothered re-writin everything, so I am copy-pasting my comment on StM's review.

I personally think this one of the most realistic and convincing transition between love, lust and attraction in HPland I’ve come across. The H not finding the h aesthetically attractive may make him shallow but doesn’t make him a bad person. He was still very much attracted to what she had to offer and her appearance no longer was the issue. He liked her company and reacted almost violently when she called herself grotesque. Yes, he still didn’t find her attractive (no offense, but wtf is frizzy hair? I understand unruly, but frizzy? Have she never tried conditioning? That basic general hygiene), still doesn’t make him a bad guy. You’re not required to find every person you like sexually attractive. But he did like her, he was possessive of her and he decked his brother senseless for her simply because of a verbal promise made such was his loyalty. Action always speaks louder than words, so I was quite happy to ignore the silly words of her not being good enough!!!! I think even if the h didn’t get a makeover, they’d have progressed exactly they have, just like a couple, probably he would wait a while to form a stronger bond with her before taking her to bed. Which would have been better. Because I wanted to deck the h a solid on the last chapter with her “you can’t, I won’t let you” playing on loop like a broken record. My heart broke for the H. Good thing he didn’t have an ego to have bruised, any lesser man would have been hurt after the first 17 times!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jacqueline J.
3,565 reviews371 followers
December 9, 2013
Not bad but it had the distasteful trope of the girl being so ugly that the hero could barely stand to look at her. After a makeover though she was worthy of love. It was a bit different in that
Profile Image for AvidReader.
1,478 reviews331 followers
October 8, 2019
A strong emotional story!
I loved their love story. Hero, heroine was utterly lovable.
Recommended.
Profile Image for Caro.
513 reviews47 followers
December 18, 2018
Lizzy me dio mucha penita, en realidad salvo la familia del protagonista, todos son gente muy buena, incluido el héroe. Las escenas donde ambos interactúan no me gustó tanto como la historia en sí, no hubo tanta química.
Profile Image for Becky .
195 reviews173 followers
September 14, 2014
Surprised by how much I liked it....I recently started and stopped two other Julia James "makeover" books with terrible descriptions of the unattractiveness of heroine. (The Italian's Rags To Riches Wife Heroine is expressly viewed in H's POV as ugly with a square face and unsightly eyebrows. Also, in, The Italian's Token Wife heroine described by H's POV as the most physically repellent woman he's ever seen. I couldn't get past those descriptions to read the books. But forced myself with Royally Bedded, Regally Wedded even after hero uses the word "repellent" to describe heroine, which is hard to get past. But the hero has surprising depth and honor, you could hear his thoughts and is motivations, there were actually some thrilling parts to the story, so I'm glad I stuck with it. Makeover part was the usual silliness, originally I took off a star for that, but I was left with such a feeling of H/h depth of character and love that I've given back the star!
Profile Image for MaryD.
1,737 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2018
Beautiful, wonderful book!

Lizzy, aka Frizzy Lizzy, has adopted her dead sister's son. Rico, aka The Spare, has never felt needed by anyone in his royal family. When Rico discovers that the child, Benedict, is his dead brother's son, he is determined to do anything necessary to bring the boy back with him and see that he is raised as a member of royalty- even to propose marriage to plain, plump, unappetizing Lizzy.



In so many other HP, there was so much tension/ angst between the H & the h, but there was such gentleness in this one. I loved it!

BTW- I *hated* the title!
Profile Image for Margo.
2,115 reviews130 followers
December 15, 2020
This book has lots of drama, but it wasn't romantic. The h was, in the words of Vida in Mildred Pierce, a common frump with the self esteem to prove it.
Profile Image for Yayita.
132 reviews10 followers
August 27, 2017
Sin querer borré el review y todo lo demás de este libro :(

What a twist, God.
Sí fue un matrimonio de conveniencia pero no por las razones que parecían en el resumen.
¡Todo sea por el bien de Ben y Lizzie!
No el típico M&B y me encantó.
Profile Image for Asterope.
796 reviews10 followers
May 21, 2017
I really liked this one.

I liked that the hero didn't try to rip the child from the mother as is common in carrying-for-an-orphaned-niece/nephew (and secret baby) trope. Usually, the hero finds out about his late brother's kid and comes in acting overly hostile and tries to separate what is a mother/child bond. And acts all surprised when an aunt who's been raising a child as hers for x number of years, feels like she's his mother. How stupid are these heroes? Then the heroine is either forced to go to a new country and be her kid's nanny, just to stay in his/her life. And/Or the hero forces a marriage and then the rest of the book is filled with love/hate conflict/drama.

I liked how this book went, much more. I liked how the hero was determined to keep mother/son together and saw the bond and love they had. That separating them, as his family wanted, would be cruel. For once, a hero that had some brains! For once, the conflict was from the outside, with the hero's family, not the hero acting like an ass.

I also liked that the hero seemed a bit more in-tune to the heroine's feelings and took them into account. He didn't steam-roll over her and act overly alpha. In many instances, he placed her above his wants and desires, which I thought was a bit unusual for a Presents hero. He recognized, for example, that she was not ready for intimacy, so held off and waited.

All in all, it was one of the better Presents I've read.
Profile Image for NancyK.
115 reviews9 followers
February 15, 2015
The list of Romance Books Everyone Should Read got me started. This is number 6 on my personal list. Why? A secret baby, a prince and a plain jane, an arranged marriage, THEN a makeover into a princess. My favorite Harlequin Presents. Fun, fun fun.
Profile Image for LoveRomance.
848 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2012
This HP hit me just right today. Read it in one day, loved the Cinderella spin and what an honorable man the hero turned out to be.
Profile Image for Crystal.
1,490 reviews31 followers
June 26, 2014
Lizzy Mitchell goes from single mom to princess bride, all because she has something that Prince Rico Ceraldi wants. Her nephew which is now her adopted son. He is the young heir to the throne of San Lucenzo.

I saw how this story was going. He must have in some dark place in his mind wanted Lizzy. Why would he want to run away until the royal family had reached a decision. He never said that he wanted the throne so why give him a choice of his bride or the throne?

It was a little puzzling. I don't think she had any body issues anymore because when she went to the spa she saw a whole now person that she could be if she took the time to do it everyday. It was great the Rico wanted her. That should make her feel even better about her self.

I guess I just don't know why people complain about these books. No one told them to buy them, if you don't like harlequin romance then don't read them. I love them because I am taken to a different place every time I read one. It gives me a HEA.
Profile Image for TINNGG.
1,238 reviews20 followers
September 17, 2017
The biggest issue I had with this one was probably the kid. I know that small children tend to think of themselves as the center of the universe but good Lord. I can only guess that the h doted on him to the point that he never knew the least disappointment, in spite of the abject poverty they lived in (which was another thing - what did she DO for a living? There was no mention of a J.O.B. at any point). This of course lead to him being a sullen brat near the end of the book when they were shipped unceremoniously back to their shack in Cornwall. And her pleading with him to cooperate or have fun or something.

Beyond that, there is the inequality - this isn't the first of these HPs I've run into where the author felt the need to drill into our heads that the h was impoverished. The method of administering this though is downright insulting - frequently referring to the h's clothing as cheap, as if there's something wrong with wearing non-designer duds. And the looks dept. - as if no-one is capable of actually looking at the face in question and seeing the bone structure, including the h who apparently doesn't know what conditioner is for, and has never made even an attempt to look attractive.

The H, refreshingly, isn't a jackass. He's overbearing, but then, he is a prince and used to getting his way. He gets tricked into bringing her to his home country where she is promptly separated from the child. He loses it and decks his brother, grabs her and the kid, finds a priest, and marries her to keep them safe.

One makeover later and he sees her as she really is (well, minus the overly dried out frizzy hair that deep conditioning and probably a brazillian blow out rendered manageable). She doesn't recognize herself in a mirror (back to that never actually looking at oneself thing I guess). Of course, dear old dad places H under house arrest trying to force him to declare the marriage null. He apparently refused and told them where to stick his title.

Tracks down h and sullen brat on a beach in England whereupon the kid magically stops sulking and starts trying to make a castle and demand attention while he and the h are attempting to discuss things. Augh. They work it out but boy I hope the kid figures out how to share attention as the h is pg in the epilogue.
17 reviews
May 25, 2020
Four star because I like the Hero.
Yes...yes...it kind of the ugly duckling troupe but I like the way how it was written.
Indeed, the romance was ignited after a makeover but girls, let us be fair here. There's a reason why beauty treatment was hella expensive you know. Because it can make you beautiful. And like Rico said, Lizzy was a diamond in a rough (it kind of stupid to have an ugly siblings when the other siblings was a model though?). And we cannot blame him to be attracted to her after she became beautiful, he was surrounded by polished beauties all his life. Not only that, in the end, Lizzy's beauties (because of the beauty treatment) diminished but Rico still love her all the same.
And despite his initial opinions of Lizzy, his attitude towards her was far from rude (intentionally). And he kind of redeemed himself by letting go of his right as a prince for his newfound family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Alexia Diacono.
Author 7 books4 followers
November 23, 2018
I really liked this book. Rico was such a kind and loyal man. He was determined to keep his promise. However I would have chosen a different title to such a great book. For instance "A pact with the prince " or"Protecting our nephew Ben" There was much more than being "royally bedded " in this book.
Profile Image for Nikki.
2,205 reviews9 followers
January 20, 2018
Short, sweet and sensible(something not alot of books about Princes are). How the couple came together over their love of Ben first was really important. Both sides of the family were horrid. But I like that it didn't end the 'normal' royal way. Very realistic to me.
4 reviews
June 19, 2018
Buena

Muy entretenida y amena. Me gustó el final ya que no me lo esperaba así, es una típica historia de amor con final feliz pero el hecho de que la protagonista no era perfecta me encantó.
Profile Image for Susan in Perthshire.
2,213 reviews119 followers
December 14, 2024
The hero was fabulous. The premise was enticing and I was ready to enjoy this book.

But, if the author had piled any more angst and pain and horror onto the heroine, she really would’ve collapsed and dissolved into a puddle.

As it was the backstory that the author had created was so horrendous, so over the top that I couldn’t believe it
Cruel and vicious parents who were so obsessed with one daughter and uncaring about the other that they committed suicide because the favourite daughter would be in a coma until she died?

Seriously, , this was one painful and unrealistic situation that the author had devised. I mean no wonder the heroine was a pain in the backside - with her constant “I am grotesque” and ‘I don’t deserve to be happy’ etc etc.

I love the hero. His family will almost as bad as her in fact probably worse. I love the way he dealt with them and for once the hero decided to give up the whole thing and just be an ordinary guy with his wife and family. Three cheers for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for RomLibrary.
5,789 reviews
June 1, 2021
From single mom to princess bride-- Lizzy Mitchell has something that Prince Rico Ceraldi wants: she's the adoptive mother of the young heir to the throne of San Lucenzo, Rico's Mediterranean principality!

Lizzy will do anything for her little boy! When Rico demands a marriage of convenience, she says yes. It's a union in name only, as Rico considers her far too ordinary. But a royal wedding means a royal makeover--and then Rico decides to bed his princess bride!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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