Anabelle Gregorson is happy. More or less. She works for her best friend at a yarn shop in Akushla, is raising her little sister after the death of their parents, and just met the most handsome man she ever set eyes on. And he seems to like her too.
Prince Kensington of San Majoria never expected his time in Eyjania to result in love. But from the moment he met little Gracie, and her big sister, he was smitten, even if she doesn’t know who he is. He kind of likes having someone enjoy spending time with him and not his titles.
When Anabelle tells him she’s going to have to marry King Benjamin of Eyjania, Kensington can’t let it happen. They run off to elope, but the ceremony must occur before he has a chance to tell her the whole truth.
What will Anabelle think - and will their relationship survive the royal revelation? Even if it does, will angering the king and infuriating her powerful grandfather cause no end of trouble for the Inadvertent Princess?
When she's not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado is hanging out with her husband, four kids, and a dog who weighs less than most hard cover books. She prefers watching NCIS to just about anything, except maybe watching Castle. She believes peanut butter M&Ms are the perfect food and Dr. Pepper should come in an IV. When not watching her kids - and the dog - race around her big backyard in Southwest Missouri, she's teaching American Government at a local community college. She's a founding member and President of MozArks ACFW, category coordinator for First Impressions, blogger at InspyRomance, and represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency.
I have read all but one of Carol's book and have enjoyed each of them. This one was no exception but I felt all the secondary storylines detracted in this book. There are so many characters and crossovers from her other books I struggled to remember who was who and which storyline went with which book. Even though the description says they can be read in any order, I would not start with this book as I don't feel it's one of the better ones. That said I did enjoy it and will read her next one. Carol's characters are very likable and I connect with them and enjoy her storylines.
Suspense filled with many twists and turns abound as Anabelle and Kensington find love. I love the well crafted plot,the characters sprinkled with royals. This book is recommended for those who love Christian romances and are royal watchers.
When I pick up a Carol Moncado book I always know I won't want to put it down until I'm finished. This book didn't disappoint me. The author brings to life the “Royals” in such a way we can all relate. They have issues just like us and their lives are always full of interesting events. There were times I had tears in my eyes, times I laughed out loud, and times I wanted to scream at the characters. There was suspense, mystery, intrigue, humor, and sweet romance. All of this makes a fantastic storytelling and Carol Moncado is a master storyteller! I loved getting to know Kensington and Anabelle, as well as falling in love with Gracie. Their story brings to light a real issue happening these days, and the pains it can cause. They rise above it by leaning on each other and on God. There’s a great quote from the book during the time of deep pain for Anabelle. The queen said, “The Lord knows our hearts, even if we can’t quite formulate the words.” This is so true! Our deepest pains He knows and is right there holding us through it all.
I received this book from the author and all opinions are my own. I highly recommend picking it up and reading it. But be forewarned, you might find you'll sit down and not get up until you're finished.
Reading a new book by Carol Moncado is like getting together again with a bunch of old friends to find out what's new in their lives. If you haven't read “Dare You,” “Heart of a Prince,” and “A Kaerasti for Clari” yet, you may want to before reading “The Inadvertent Princess,” since you will meet characters from those books in this one.
“The Inadvertent Princess” does not disappoint. It has plot twists you don't see coming, another creative reason for why the just-met couple needs to get married before they barely know each other, despicable villains, loveable side characters, and good spiritual insights into the various issues the characters have to deal with.
In “Reclaiming Hearts,” Moncado had a character who was an introvert and had difficulty dealing with life as royalty. In this book, there's a character who is an extrovert, and has her own challenges in living life as a royal.
I'm always amazed at the different characters Moncado creates who come across as “real” people. She has great insights into relationships, different backgrounds, and how God can work out/heal/redeem situations.
Quite a number of Carol’s books involve rushed marriages and marriages of convenience/arrangement that eventually blossom into love, even in the face of trials and danger. I’m not usually a fan of insta-love, but her stories always show how it plays out over time. Plus, fake royalty fun. I mean, who doesn’t love modern monarchy plus a good fight against far reaching foes?!
Kensington is a wonderful character, honorable and hard working, and in tune with the wife he adores from first sight. He’s protective of his new family and manages to pay close attention to everything and everyone of importance to him.
Anabelle is a woman whose strength is challenged constantly, and yet she continually rises above circumstances and seeks out what is best for herself and her family.
The characters in this one were really well balanced. I’m dying for Benjamin’s story, and of course now curious for Esther’s. This universe is a fun one to explore, so give it a whirl. Her website even has detailed timelines for keeping it all straight. If you’re on the fence, just hop in. It’s fun.
The Inadvertent Princess: Contemporary Christian Romance (Crowns & Courtships Book 2) is written by Carol Moncado. As always, Moncado takes us on a trip to her imaginary countries with lots of royalty and love. In the Inadvertent Princess, I think my favorite character was Kensington. He was an ever-caring princess with all the checks on the pro side and truly, I don't think there was anything on the con side to not like about him. He was super adorable with sweet Gwacie, too. I love how Moncado can take us on a trip to these lands that she makes up and yet make them so believable. Super amazing that she can create royalty and mix it with just enough of the real "stuff" to make you want to go on vacation to all these places. I always recommend these reads as you'll never go away without feeling a little dreamy with the HEA to boot! I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and comments are my own.
There were so many weird, random connections in this book that made no sense. Like, how is this random girl supposed to be marrying a king? And the random grandmother popping up out of nowhere? I felt like the entire book I kept saying, “wait, what?”
And with this series I feel like the links to her other series are just getting ridiculous. I know she’s trying to interweave them, but there’s a point when it just seems forced. It is like name dropping characters all over the place when they don’t really need to be mentioned at all.
All of that really distracted from an ok story. I feel like it started out cute but got strange pretty fast. Like he randomly kisses her after knowing her for like an hour? Then lots of the middle post-kidnapping kind of dragged on repetitively. Not her best by any means. Maybe the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I had to attempt contortions to get this book read. I had started it, when my kindle died! Since I don't own it in print, I plugged my kindle in, and was so into the story, that I did not want to put it down. Literally. So, hanging off the edge of the bed to avoid unplugging the kindle, I read. When I lost blood flow in my extremities, I risked my eyesight by reading on my iPad. The pain was worth it! =) This was a fun book in this series of royal relationships. I love how it is light, but still has deeper elements. This one was just a happy story that I throughly enjoyed, with learning about other royal family members that I have grown to care about as well. Hopefully you do not suffer pain as you read this one, but if you do, just know it is worth it!
Carol Moncado is a dab hand at creating fictional lands and monarchies and for this royalty fan, these books sure are a hit! I enjoy them tremendously. Moncado is at it again in book 3 of her Crowns & Courtships series and once again her readers are transported to these delightful kingdoms and the men and women who sit on their thrones and populate their land. Recommended.
*My thanks to the author for a preview copy of this book. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.
Ms. Moncado has done it again in her latest royalty novel. I've been hooked on them since the start and love catching up with old friends. I pre-ordered this book as soon as it was available and breezed through it as soon as it hit my kindle app. Please read this, although I do recommend getting the back story from her other books, it's not completely necessary.
I don't often think about royalty or follow their movements. But I do enjoy books about royalty, especially ones like Carol Moncado writes. The combination of romance, suspense, and princely matters is too fun to pass up.
As with several of the other books this author has written, The Inadvertent Princess is the story of a marriage of convenience, though in this case, Anabelle and Kensington have at least started the process of falling in love before they get married. But once they elope, things start getting a little crazy.
As I was reading about the characters traveling between the islands, I caught myself thinking about doing a Google search to find out about the most common ways the people travel between the islands and how much it would probably cost (could the poorer people afford to go back and forth). All of a sudden, I realized that these islands only exist in Ms. Moncado's imagination and her books! I love that I was able to get so caught up in the descriptions that the places became real to me.
The characters were interesting and "real". Anabelle got bored, depressed, angry and scared. She did not deal with situations perfectly, though she did realize it was important to turn to God in prayer for help. Kensington was already losing some of his hair. What is funny is that I don't recall details of his physical description other than this. Possibly because my handsome husband has some of those same genes, apparently.
There were some plot elements in the book that didn't seem to get resolved. I don't want to give any spoilers so I won't mention which ones. It is possible that they will be worked out in the next book, or the one following. As all of this author's books are intertwined, this is very possible. Overall, the story was complete and did not end on a cliff-hanger related to the main characters.
As I was reading, I kept coming across things that had me thinking "I'm so glad I'm not royalty". So I listed them here:
Why I'm Glad I'm not Royalty
I can dance with my husband throughout the entire ball, and no one will be affronted and sever relations with my country if I do I get to pick my own house - seriously, I wonder how often a complete demolition for a remodel of a suite of rooms in a palace takes place. Are the members of the royal family just stuck with the rooms the way they are? No paparazzi chase me! I get to pick out my own clothes, and no one but me cares if my style is not ideal I have no need for a personal security team to follow me everywhere I go I don't have to wear disguises when I travel in public I only have three names and no titles to remember (nor the intense responsibility that goes with them!) No politics unless I choose them The field of acceptable jobs for me to do is vast
What do you think? Are there any reasons you can think of that you are glad you aren't royalty? I'd love to have you respond in the comments with your thoughts.This review was originally posted on Among the Reads
It is hard to top the other series of princess tales by Carol Moncado. This is an excellent story with great characters and development, but I just loved the other series more. I like this one, a lot. And I preordered the next book, and will likely buy the next after that. This book is worth the price and time, but I try to reserve 5s for my favorites.
I love the drama that weaves its way in the story. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. In this case it worked. Both characters were in the right place at the right time. They are both likable and real. ❤️❤️
Looking forward to reading the other books that follows.
I listened to this through Audible and enjoyed once again the narrators amazing talent in bringing to life the characters in The Inadvertent Princess. This contemporary novel has all the elements that make it a solid 4 stars—drama, mystery, romance, and faith. I definitely recommend it to fans of 'royalty' stories.
Loved Kenny, Annabelle & Gracie's story. This fun and intriguing story of love, politics and precocious little girls will leave you wanting more. Can't wait till the next in.
Really enjoy the whole crowns series. I like how they seem "real" and how they deal with hardships in a godly way. Can't explain it better. Enjoy every one have read. Look forward to the rest😀
This book was well worth the wait. It starts out fast and doesn't slow down. Lots of romance and intrigue that will keep you up late at night. Can't wait for the next adventure.
Carol Moncado is a talented writer, weaving a European setting, inspiring characters, page turning plot with conflict, contemporary themes (royalty, titles, adoption, kidnapping, and security), and a believable resolution into an inspiring romance.
Everyone loves a good prince and princess story, right? And few do it better than Carol Moncado! Love the storyline and how she weaves in real royals with her fictional ones! Fun read!
So many books today seem to be on repeat, you've read one you've read them all. Carol's books are differnt, she takes the time to plot out her stories and make them all individually unique. Can't wait to read the next one in the series :)
Kensington meets a sweet little girl named Gracie and introduces himself as Kenny. Intrigued by this little girls auntie, Anabelle, he asks her out. Circumstances demand some quick action on their part and the story takes off from there. Another story you won’t want to put down.
This was a sweet story with some intrigue thrown in there! I always love reading about these countries and characters Carol has created and woven together so wonderfully. Can't wait for the next in the series!
This book is exciting. I love the way she develops so many countries and characters in this book. The relationship between Annabelle and Kensington is exciting. I also like how this story builds storylines for other books in the series
Love the new characters and the complicated twist in all their lives. There love, danger and intrigue mixed in with the the expectations of the royal life. I am glad there are stories to come. I am enjoying this journey.
This story includes kidnapping, an element, an adoption, etc. It held my interest & is as good or better than her Montevaro stories. A great, interesting story displaying how trust & faith get people through life's tough stuff.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one was disappointing. It’s a pretty long book and seemed to drag on and on. The author failed to give the main characters any personality or their love story any depth.
Very cute! I thought it had a good amount of suspense and definitely kept my interest. I thought the end was just a little bit flat in terms of how the author wrapped it up with the ‘bad-guys’ but otherwise I definitely enjoyed this read!
Loved this book. Anabelle had been through so much but she still came on top everytime. Kensington was so sweet, he loved her so much. They worked so well as a couple, I loved them. I wouldn't mind reading a series about the children ;)