365 books in 365 days Challenge ... Book #318

Princess from the Past - Caitlin Crews
Harlequin Presents
Harlequin, 2012
ISBN: 9780373130504

N.B. The above details refer to the North American release of this book.









My rating

From the back cover:

"Behind the imposing walls of the castle, free-spirited Bethany Vassal discovered that her whirlwind marriage to Prince Leo Di Marco was nothing like the fairy tale she'd imagined. Before long, the forgotten princess ran away, hoping the man she fell in love with would one day see sense and come and find her…. 
Marrying Bethany is the only reckless thing Leo has ever done, and now he is paying the price. The time has come for him to produce a royal heir—and Bethany must return to the very castle from which she fled!"


This is another Presents I bought recently.

The hero Leo and the heroine Bethany have been separated for three years when Bethany asks for a divorce. Leo had not been expecting the blow, and despite the separation he begins to realise that he doesn't want their marriage to end. He knows he made mistakes in their marriage after their whirlwind relationship, and didn't allow Bethany enough time to adjust to life as the wife of a prince, and now it is time to make it up to her. Bethany is disheartened when Leo tells her that their divorce has to be arranged in Italy, she knows that when it comes to Leo she is often blind sided by desire, she has spent the last three years rebuilding her confidence and is ready to move on with her life. When they are back in Italy, Leo immediately starts trying to win Bethany back, and she notices the changes Leo has made, as well as the effort he is making with her. The desire that drew them together in the first place is still alive and well between them, but Bethany is unsure about giving all of herself to their marriage again, fearing that she will only be left lonely and heartbroken again.

Royalty based romances are not really my cup of tea, and I only chose this as I really like Caitlin Crews's books. I did enjoy this book, but it didn't totally 'do it' for me. I really liked the plot, and the fact that the hero really wanted to make up for his past mistakes. The hero is a good character - he is a little bit too arrogant, but his love for the heroine is very believable. His attempts to win back the heroine is written beautifully, the story has plenty of passion and angst, as well as a bit of sparkle.

Well written and enjoyable, just not my personal favourite style of romances.

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