2022-12-06
An American woman becomes entangled in royal intrigue in Romig’s romantic thriller series starter.
This opening installment of the Royal Reflections series (which takes place after the 2022 prequel novella, Riled Reign) quickly introduces readers to the headstrong Lucille, the 33-year-old daughter of a member of the U.S. Congress and an heiress; she’s newly wed to Roman Godfrey, the crown prince of Molave, a fictional city-state off the Norwegian coast. Although Lucille’s and Godfrey’s fathers set up the match for political gain, she was swept away by Godfrey at first; now, five years after the wedding,Lucille is reluctantly settling into an unhappy marriage with her increasingly volatile husband. Oliver Honeswell, an American actor who’s just been fired from his superhero movie franchise, is hired to impersonate Roman at royal events to hide the prince’s failing mental and physical health from the public. As his duties become more frequent and personal—even extending to a child’s birthday party with royal family members—Oliver’s masquerade is almost revealed when Lucille discovers the truth. After some mutual hesitation, they decide to work together to try and help the people of Molave, who’ve been suffering mightily since the real Roman put hefty tariffs on all imports. As the country’s unrest escalates, so do Lucille’s and Oliver’s romantic feelings toward each other. Over the course of this novel, Romig’s quick pacing and naturalistic dialogue make for the kind of story that readers will want to finish in a single sitting. The main characters are sympathetic—especially Lucille, whose desire for more responsibility in her royal duties is clear—and the will-they, won’t-they tension between the two leads is consistently engaging. Overall, it’s a sharp and entertaining tale with fun twists and turns—and, fortunately, it all ends with plenty more of its story left to tell in a future installment.
A delightful relationship tale with a cliffhanger that’s sure to keep readers wanting more.
