Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Princes of Avce #1

Forbidden Crown

Rate this book
Prince Antonio Aussa is almost out of time. If he doesn’t find a wife within the next two weeks, he’ll be forced to forsake his destiny and disappoint his parents.
Kristin Wells is desperate for money. If she doesn’t find a well-paying job soon, her dream of finishing grad school will die.
When Kristin walks into Antonio’s Miami office, he sees a way out of his royal dilemma, but first he needs to convince her to go along with his plan. Before either knows what’s happening, their whirlwind pretend romance turns into something more. But soon their seemingly perfect union stirs up more trouble than they could have ever imagined, jeopardizing their agreement.
Everything is on the line for them, can the couple from opposite worlds find a way to make their arrangement work or will a chance for true love lead them to a much deeper connection?

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2017

975 people are currently reading
651 people want to read

About the author

Victoria Pinder

207 books543 followers
Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, after passing many tests proving how easy Math came to her. Then hating her life at the age of twenty four, she decided to go to law school. Four years later, after passing the bar and practicing very little, she realized that she hates the practice of law. She refused to one day turn 50 and realize she had nothing but her career and hours at a desk. After realizing she needed change, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is rewarding, but writing is a passion.
During all this time, she always wrote stories to entertain herself or calm down. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, and Victoria spent too many years living other people’s dreams, but when she sat down to see what skill she had that matched what she enjoyed doing, writing became so obvious. The middle school year book when someone wrote in it that one day she’d be a writer made sense when she turned thirty.
Besides her full time job of teaching, in 2013 and 2014, she sold on her own sold books to three different publishers. The Zoastra Affair, Chaperoning Paris, Borrowing the Doctor, and Electing Love will be published from Soul mate Publishing. Mything the Throne will be published with Double Dragon Ebooks. Favorite Coffee, Favorite Crush will be published with Jupiter Press.
Now she is represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency and she hopes to continue selling her novels that she writes. Moving up to the next level from hard work and determination is rewarding, and partnerships bring new opportunities.
Also she’s the Vice President of Progams for the Florida Romance Writers. She’s gone to multiple conferences and intends to continue. She learns and meets so many people at conferences. Her website is here, www.victoriapinder.com, and she’ll continue to grow my web presence. She is working hard on other projects and found the time to plan her wedding this year.
Before writing, her father had taken her to many star trek conventions and on her own she grew up as the only girl in the 90s at the comic book store. Science Fiction was her first love, but contemporary romance was her second. She’s sticking with contemporaries for the near future.
Member of Florida Romance Writers, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA, Celtic Hearts and Savvy Authors.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
264 (32%)
4 stars
211 (26%)
3 stars
183 (22%)
2 stars
91 (11%)
1 star
53 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
Profile Image for Jen_C.
1,112 reviews56 followers
August 6, 2018
2.75

Not my cuppa. Errors, strange words and phrases, a bit repetitive (Can we puh-lease shut up about clothes?, and vague enough to leave you with unanswered questions.
A bit unbelievable too
Profile Image for Willow Salix.
Author 5 books13 followers
October 10, 2019
I won't be so cruel as to give this one star because it does (vaguely) have a story to it.

But here's the thing, the story was rushed, crammed in with a crowbar and so obviously predictable that I was bored the entire time.

It read like a child had written it when they first get told to write an adventure story for English class... "and the the bad guy did this and then he did that and then they had guns... Boom"

The characters were 2 dimensional at best but most leaned towards cardboard cut outs. The heroine was supposed to be strong and firey but was as weak as a newborn lamb. She was pathetic and annoying and just blughhh. She was also dumb as a post and loves to state the obvious.

The dialogue was stilted and read like a bad attempt at B movie acting, you know when someone tries to act but reads the words with all the passion of a nun with flu? Yep, that's was how it sounded.

The word choices with some of the narrative was questionable and the observations were verging on stupid.

The love story, if you could call it that, was so insta love it was ridiculous. There was no emotion between any of the characters let alone the two MC's.

The author had some OK ideas but the execution of them was seriously lacking.

The most important parts of a romance, like the kisses and their first time sex was glossed over and badly at that, only to have the author attempt more details later on and for it to have all the passion and believability of a porno shot in a cold warehouse. No one knew where to look and it was cold and impersonal.

Would I read another of these books? No way.

Did I manage to finish this one? Barely and only because I forced myself and skimmed the end two chapters because it was that or fall in to a boredom coma.
Profile Image for mira.
926 reviews1,378 followers
January 2, 2022
1⭐️

not gonna lie the first chapter fooled me. i thought i was going to like it. then i started chapter 2 and everything fell apart.
Profile Image for Eleonor.
210 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2019
This book reads like badly written teenage girl fantasy. The plot is sloppy and the execution is even sloppier. The characters are funny in a bad way. Events, that were supposed to be dramatic, made me laugh with embarrassment for the author. "USA Today bestselling author" ?!? What a joke
Profile Image for Rosemary.
3,878 reviews71 followers
October 26, 2019
Forbidden Crown: Volume 1 (Princes of Avce) - a review by Rosemary Kenny

A wonderful romantic tale - with a modern twist - Victoria Pinder's skill as a storyteller comes to the fore once more in Forbidden Crown, #1 in the Princes of Avce story, which is like a turn and turn about Cinderella, with a little bit of rags-to-riches, sprinkled with an HEA at the end, as all good fairytales should.
The Middle Eastern fictional kingdom of Avce has an ailing King, a devoted wife and mother as his Queen and Crown Prince Antonio Aussa,(the latter being the family surname) who lives and works in Miami, Florida. Due to the above situation Antonio must marry immediately (within 14 days), as required by Avcean law, before being eligible to mount the throne...but where could he find such a suitable bride? Thankfully internet dating and an able PA saves the day and he meets Alice Collins who needs money and a job to keep her off the breadline. He proposes a solution to both their needs, but what happens when he takes his 'fiancee'to Avce to meet his parents and show his future queen to his people? Read Forbidden Crown by Victoria Pinder to find out the exciting truth!
Profile Image for LaGina.
2,051 reviews41 followers
April 22, 2018
Forbidden Crown (The Avce Royals #1), the start of a new series from author Victoria Pinder. A romantic suspense heavy on suspense & intrigue. A good well-written read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Marissa Chavez.
1,376 reviews4 followers
October 12, 2020
Kristin and Antonio were amazing! I loved the connection they had from the beginning! 💖
2,159 reviews14 followers
August 21, 2017
Kristin Wells is being interviewed by playboy prince Antonio Aussa for a secretary job when he asks her "How much for you to be my wife?" When Kristen finds out the handsome prince isn't joking, she tells him she needs ... 24 hours to decide ... and a kiss to see if they have any chemistry. Antonio obliges and sends Kristen to Heaven. Although Antonio insists the marriage will not be a love match, the money is tempting. Prince Antonio Aussa, the world’s most eligible bachelor, has 2 weeks to marry in order for him to inherit the crown. With a sick father on death's door, Antonio doesn't have time to wait for the beautiful Kristin to decide and persuades her to accompany him back to his country for a tour. If Kristin marries Antonio, he'll have everything he ever wanted plus more, and nothing's going to stop him from getting her to say yes. As Kristin and Antonio get to know each other, they start having feelings for each other. But Kristin's arrival brings the monarchy's enemies out of the woodwork and they put their plot for a coup in action ... with Kristin a target. Will Antonio be able to find the traitors and save Kristin?

Victoria Pinder delivers a fun, suspenseful and steamy story that you won't be able to put down

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book
Profile Image for Jane.
564 reviews9 followers
March 26, 2019
It started out well and had some good elements in it but it also had some minor plot holes. First off, if a computer program found the girl he was gonna marry, how was she convinced to apply for a job as his secretary as a cover to interview her for his bride? What if she hadn’t? Would he have resorted to hitting her over the head and dragging her off cause she was so perfect? Second: does anyone in their right mind think communism is in practice actually good for anyone? Just take a look at a history book. It was kind of hard to take it seriously as a point of conflict. There was some lipstick doesn’t cover crazy people drama and a really bad case of insta love. Like I’ve known you a week and I love you. Oh and the prince’s next youngest brother is 9 months younger than him 🤔 So against probable medical advice the king and queen started making more babies the same day they popped out their first kid and just happened to get lucky??? Minor detail but still. Most really close in age siblings are 14 months apart for a reason. It was a fun read but every so often I was kinda scrunching up my face going “yeah, no”. All in all there was great potential, but the execution fell short for me.
Profile Image for Luna Lovesbooks.
166 reviews
March 13, 2019
2.5 stars

This is a short novel that is mostly well-written. For me, it was boring. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters. There are some mentions of foreplay, but fade-out love scenes. At one point, what could have been a sweet or steamy moment of kissing is summed up in the phrase, “After several minutes of intense kissing...”. That’s it. There is no further description of those minutes or the feelings, sensations, etc. I guess this is what’s called telling and not showing.

My problems with this book are mostly due to my personal tastes in romance novels. The focus was more on the plot and less on the characters. In this case, the premise for the story isn’t very original, so I was hoping for great characters. I also prefer more heat in my romance, although I could get past that if the story were engaging.

If you’re looking for a semi-clean romance, this might be for you. I probably won’t read more by this author since I prefer a different style of romance.
Profile Image for Debbie Feigel.
40 reviews
September 4, 2017
This is a great HEA romance between and American girl named Kristin and a European prince named Antonio. Antonio was under pressure to marry within a short time to become King if his sickly father died. Since no resource was out of bounds Antonio had an IT team find suitable mates. Kristin thinks she is applying for the position of secretary to the prince and he proposes a well laid out nuptial contract for Kristin. She knows he is under a deadline to marry but not that she was a computer match.
Kristin is adventerous and curious and goes with him to Avce. Here is where the twists and turns and fun begins. It is a delight to see Kristin blossom into a determined young woman and to see Antonio fall in love. The family tendrils add to the story. The author is excellent in developing the characters.
The romance is passionate. The sex is hot and not too graphic. I would have liked a little more steamy sex. This is worth reading and of course I need to keep reading the series!
Profile Image for Courtney.
4,298 reviews
September 16, 2019
Excellent

Love, love, love!! ❤
Wow, and I do mean wow! This novel was excellent and thorough without becoming explicit! I love romantic novels and this one had a wonderful storyline to keep me entertained! Fabulous!
2,148 reviews30 followers
June 24, 2019
2+ and rounded up. Enough on the positive side of "it's OK" to consider it as 3 stars.

Neither Antonio nor Kristin were particularly remarkable, in my mind at least. Neither dislikable, but not really memorable either. Of course, with a fairly short story and as much action as the author squeezed in, the characters fell to the wayside a bit. I'd have loved to see how Kristin grew. Coming from a cold household, why did she decide to risk so much chaos for love? As it was, it looks like a few passionate kisses and one good roll in the sack and she's willing to face armed rebels for him. And when did the klutzy nervous interviewee in the first chapter turn into someone working the cameras so well two days later? Really weird character moment.

Kristin also lost some points with me when she stormed off (and into yet another encounter with the bad guys) after finding out about the computer program. Very immature reaction. I mean, it's OK that he proposes based on seeing her resume, but it's a horrible thing and confirms her lack of faith in love because he found her based on a computer program? Just a really over-the-top reaction for a guy she's known about 48 hours and had already signed a contract accepting a marriage not based on love.

One little thing that bugged me. Kristin described Sophia as "a foot shorter" than herself. How tall are these women?? And if that was exaggerated in Kristin's head, it was hard to catch. Further evidence we need a sarcasm font as a standard typeface!

My biggest complaint was the pacing. In less than a week, the leads meet, fly from Miami to Europe, and face insurgents taking over the palace, two more encounters with said bad guys, a hostage threat, a suicide bomber, and a man with a semi-automatic weapon. Oh, yeah, and planned and carried out a royal wedding. It just felt so over the top. One thing right after another after another. Frenetic pacing and forced action over character development. Kinda a stereotypical action-romcom movie, but in a book. If that's what you're looking for, though, this is a perfect one. A fluffy few hours of escapism - just know that's what you're getting when you head in.

Alternating 3rd person POV. No cheating, no over the top angst, and HEA.

Oh, and I read the Kindle version. The main story ended at 70% and then the rest of the book was filled with preview chapters for the next few books in the series. A heads up if that sort of thing irritates you.
Profile Image for Deb Hanson.
1,366 reviews15 followers
September 13, 2019
⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Forbidden Crown
Princes Of Avce #1
Victoria Pinder
⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Hhhmmm, I’m a little mixed bad of goodies with this one. I loved the idea of this story, really enjoyed the first ¾, then I’m nit sure what happened… it certainly wasn’t a bad story, but didn’t reel me in as I’d hoped it would.

Prince Antonio Aussa, needs a wife in the next 2 weeks if he is able to take the crown as King Of Avce. He sorts out American, Kristin Wells, she is everything he can’t find in his country, but choosing convenience instead of love, he sets a contract in motion to wed Kristin. He just needs to convince her…

Kristin is deep in debt, and interviewing for the secretary of Prince Antonio would make a perfect change to her life. But when he offers a life, a marriage and children all without love, she’s concerned. Everything is on a timeframe so taking her home to Avce, to meet his parents and see the country Antonio comes from helps, but she needs that chemistry. It only takes a kiss, and the contract is less a concern than what her heart feels.

So while she deals with Royal life, a new country, the contract, and the squeezing of her heart for what she feels for Antonio, she doesn’t see the dislike for her and what is happening in his home country. With a coup to overturn the royal family, Kristin finds herself in the middle of royal warfare. Leaving her shaken and worried it also brings out a fighting spirit and love towards her new family.
Profile Image for Sonja.
669 reviews27 followers
March 4, 2020
Ugh... I'm sorry, I rarely give low reviews, but I just COULD NOT finish this without skimming over most of it... for such a short book, it felt like it took forever to finish - and it did - I started this nearly three weeks ago! I wanted to like it, I really did! What self-respecting lover of HEAs doesn't want read about a love-jaded heroine finding her prince and in such a creatively unique way as being paired by a computer program??
Alas.... alas....
I liked Kristin (the heroine - and the only reason I remember her name is because it's my sister's name) and I wanted to like Antonio too. But following their initial meeting (which I'll admit, was interesting) the whole story just spiraled into random snoozeville. Kristin kept going back and forth on her I don't believe in love/I'm in love with Antonio so many times it just got exhausting. And how many hijackings and hostile takeovers do they need before these two marry - and marry within a week of meeting. My BS-o-meter just kept dinging and by the time the villain was exposed, I just couldn't anymore. I skimmed over the last of the book just so I could see the HEA, but even that wasn't worth the effort.

All I can say is, KU, please take this back!
Profile Image for Emma.
2,864 reviews39 followers
February 12, 2018
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. Prince Antonio Aussa of the House of Lukčeva and Kristin Wells, A very sweet romance. Prince Antonio needed a wife desperately. He had his IT group go through millions of candidates and narrowed it down to one. He went to the United States to find Kristen through an ad in the paper for a secretary. They met during the interview and Prince Antonio felt she was the right person for the job. He then offered Kristen a job just not the secretary position but the position as his wife, princess and future queen of Avce. The story continues about how they get to know each other in the Kingdom of Avce. Where Kristin agreed to visit then decide whether she would marry him or not. There is confusion, danger and passion. A quick read, enjoyable and exciting. Smooth paced. Recommend.
94 reviews
December 5, 2019
Absolutely loved this book! Kudos to Ms. Pinder on this offering.

Miya gets passed over again for a better position and is fired on top of it. But, her very expensive love match application, hits. It matches her with an European royal, and additionally he’s hunting for a secretary. So she exits stage right to check it all out.

Federico is between a rock and a hard place. He only has a few days to marry or lose everything. He is determined to keep his daughter in the only home she’s ever known, but he refuses to try to love again. He also gets a hit from the matchmaking service, but he can’t find his credit card to get the results. Enter Mira applying for the secretary position, and Rico is so determined to keep his daughter happy, he offers a contractual marriage. Secrets are being kept, and feelings are off the table. So.....
29 reviews
December 17, 2023
Don’t waste your time!

The blurb sounded good so I gave this book and author a try. Prince Antonio’s proposal was different from the usual, so I thought the book would be interesting with a different twist. The first half was ok, but then it seemed like a different author took over. There were so many contradictions. First, Kristin didn’t believe in love, then she didn’t want to marry without it. Antonio’s family was restored to the throne two years ago then later it was ten years ago. Kristin was wearing sandals then after the apparently magic sex, they had turned into sneakers. And we had to assume they had sex because we didn’t read anything about what happened between the transformation of the shoes. Then the plot got sillier. The book wasn’t worth the cost (free) and certainly not worth your time.
Profile Image for D Call.
666 reviews29 followers
June 13, 2019
Condensed plot

Antonio interviews Kristin for a secretary job, then offers marriage as the job instead. The whole meet-to-marriage story takes place in under a week. I've read stories where that's happened, and they were believable. This wasn't. Perhaps it was the multiple attempted coups (which were kinda lame) and threats of bodily harm taking up more of the characters' time than getting to know each other. Perhaps the book was too short for the story it was telling. I've read other books by this author that I enjoyed far more.

Stand alone HEA, with hints of further books to come.

Contains sex scenes, few swear words, and violence (attempted kidnapping, fist fight, bomb, guns).
490 reviews1 follower
August 31, 2021
Prince Antonio is in a bind, he has to marry within two weeks, or he will lose the crown! His IT department looked for a potential wife and found one in Kristin. When they meet, Antonio offers her the “job”. Unfortunately, Kristin is not so easily persuaded and wants to visit his home country before making such a huge decision. There, several attacks occur to convince Kristin to leave…
Well, one rarely reads about a fairy tale with as much action, which kept the story going at a fast pace. Personally, I sometimes would have preferred another choice of words, but overall, mostly weak punctuation interrupted the easy flow of reading. Enjoy discovering the dangers lurking behind the attractive title of “princess”.
Profile Image for Ann-Maree.
1,105 reviews9 followers
August 20, 2017
What can I say I am a sucker for a princess love story and this one had it all. Intrigue, political turmoil, attempted kidnapping, attraction, a meddling mother and a marriage contract. This is the first book of this new series of the AVCE Royals that must marriage by the age of 30 to keep their royal family place in their country. The author had my interest from the beginning with her very interesting characters and its drama pack plot. I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily written an honest review. I am looking forward to the next installment of the Avce Royal brothers stories.

My full Review can be found at www.readingfortheloveobooks.com
Profile Image for Margaret.
2,652 reviews11 followers
January 4, 2018
4.5 stars Excellent contemporary royal romance. Antonio is a prince of a very small country. Recently, it was found in the laws that he had to marry with the next 4 weeks or he wouldn't be the one to take over when his father, the king, passes. Presently, it's become urgent because the King has been critically ill. Antonio used a unique way to find a bride but it had nothing to do with love. He even had a contract stating what the marriage would be based on. Unfortunately, there is a small faction of the country that don't believe he should marry an American. I received a complementary copy of this book and chose to write a review. I look forward to reading future books by Ms. Pinder.
Profile Image for Abigail Q.
24 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2019
I rarely write reviews, but when I do, it's because the story was not good.

It had so much potential to be great. Certain scenes dragged on for too long while other scenes were cut short for no reason.

This was the most cringe worthy part of the book, and that's saying a lot.
"Please put your cock inside me."
He laughed huskily, triumphantly, and the sound made her heart beat faster. A moment later, he entered her nether lips and it felt like he could reach her womb itself. Somehow her body stretched to accommodate all of him.


It was hard to read and and I had to skim through a lot of it, just to get it over and done with.
Profile Image for Terri Zumbrook.
2,800 reviews20 followers
October 19, 2020
Finding a princess

Antonio needed a bride before his 40th birthday in 2 weeks. Kristen thought she was applying for a Secretary job, but at the interview, Antonio made her a proposal for a contract marriage because he didn’t believe in love.

The Story was romantic. Antonio was a strong protector. Kristen showed she would be a perfect partner for him. They had danger to face in an unsettled kingdom, and Antonio had another woman that though t she would be his bride.

The story was fast paced, full of adventure, sweetly passionate and they lived HEA with more to come to Antonio’s brothers.
Profile Image for Gina.
2,390 reviews31 followers
August 12, 2017
A great new series. A handsome prince from a small European country needs a wife and turns to a computer to find her. She is found in America, a no nonsense, hard working woman. He has a plan and a contract in place. She is not sure about the rules. But after spending time together the rules may need to be changed. All of this amidst turmoil in his country along with people trying to stop their wedding makes for an adventurous read. I received a complimentary copy and I am giving a voluntary review.
Profile Image for Denise.
1 review
February 8, 2019
Fast paced! Like, super fast paced that the whole story happened in less than a week. Some attempted kidnappings, a coup, a bomb detonating, an engagement, a wedding... it all happened in like, three days. Like... what? Scenes were confusing; sometimes the characters couldn’t decide which emotion to feel. Angry a second then lovey-dovey the next.

Couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know how would the story turn out. The wordings were also confusing. I don’t know what to think of this book tbh 😂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sheila Lee.
1,009 reviews15 followers
February 5, 2018
I will not restate the plot nor reveal any spoilers in this review.
Victoria Pinder does it again!
Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down until I finished it. This book has politics, court intrigue and romance with a HEA ending. The characters are well-defined and well-written. I will admit that I love fairy tales with happy endings and Forbidden Crown is a wonderful story and meets the criteria as such. If you love a Cinderella story, this book is for you.
1,019 reviews4 followers
June 7, 2018
Forbidden Crown ( Princes of Avce Book 1)

Awesomeness,Passionate,Sexual, Drama all of these things described this story. Can't believe they found each other the way they did, but it was true! Excellent story about growing up and challenging with a life of a prince and dreams of finding a perfect match. The author wrote an excellent twisted relations between all the character's in this story. Enjoy!! Can't wait to read the next book in this series!!!
Profile Image for Heather.
749 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2019
I was hoping I was going to enjoy this book, but unfortunately I did not. So many errors and the plot was just so unbelievable. I expect some liberties in a romantic story, but I just could not get into this one. The characters flipped their feelings about love so quickly. The suspense and storyline of the monarchy was just too much of the focus. So much time was spent on that and so little on the actual building of a romance and relationships. ⭐️⭐️
141 reviews10 followers
June 22, 2019
Wasn’t my cup of tea

This story seemed more like a rough draft that needed to be edited more. The time frame was so short, in less than a day they were already questioning if they loved each other and the conflict happened so fast and didn’t really go into why or how long it had been happening.

I did more info was given on the traitors and why they did it and how long they were planning everything.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.