The Reluctant Princess (Her Royal Duty Book 1) Kindle Edition

This book SUCKS!! There is absolutely no chemistry between the main characters. Yes is a clean boom but it still needs chemistry and romance, even if the marriage is arranged. The only thing I liked was her being a strong independent woman who refused to conform into something people wanted. Nico couldn't handle being with a strong woman. They also repeated the same thing like 50 million times. We get it you were married as children and she's not who you thought she would be and you want her to change. Then at like 80% the author realised she has to end the book she makes him okay with her being different?? Who goes from you need to change to my idea of a princess to your perfect in half a second? I want my money back.

This one reminds me some of Rachel Hauck's Princess Ever After, in which the heroine is a small-town American girl who operates a classic auto restoration shop. In Melissa McClone's The Reluctant Princess, Isabel "Izzy" Poussard is a similar grease monkey. You could've bowled Izzy over with a feather when she learns she's the long-missing princess of Vernonia, one of them quaint Balkan kingdoms.All her life, the orphaned Izzy had known hardship and poverty. In Charlotte, North Carolina, she toils away as a car mechanic at Rowdy's One Stop Garage, even as she woolgathers about someday being on a professional pit crew, maybe in NASCAR, maybe Formula 1...Some plot spoilers.Last thing she expects is for a handsome prince to darken her threshold. Not that Niko had a choice -oh, sorry, that's Nikola "Niko" Tomislav Kresimir, the Crown Prince of Vernonia. Niko's family had ruled for eight centuries, but it's not been a peaceful reign. It's only been five years since a bloody civil war rocked Vernonia, and since the ratification of the peace treaty. Today, Niko and his father, King Dmitar, are hell bent on keeping the peace and on modernizing their troubled kingdom.In pursuit of such goals, Niko has entered into an arranged marriage with the beautiful Princess Julianna of Aliestle. As such, Vernonia benefits from the princess' considerable dowry, as well as from trade support from Aliestle.But there's a snag. Tradition dictates that Niko must present his bride with a family heirloom on their wedding day. And Niko's bride box vanished over twenty years ago... only to resurface now in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the unwitting custody of a grease monkey.So, every now and again, I get in a mood for royal-themed literature. It's a dreaded affliction that compels me to read swoony stuff from folks like Rachel Hauck, Aven Ellis, Melanie Summers, Lindsay Emory, and, now, Melissa McClone. I won't say that The Reluctant Princess breaks new ground in this genre. It's just more of the same. But, as in Hallmark movies, it's not about originality as much as it is about the journey and the execution of the story, elements that are competently handled here. I'm all the way on board with Izzy as the protogonist. She is, predictably, highly independent and incredibly opinionated.It doesn't take long before she's making waves over at Vernonia, courtesy of not only her unconventional perspective but, also, of the startling reveal of her lineage. See, all of Vernonia had thought the royal Sachestian bloodline had been extinguished in the civil war, but, nope, here's Izzy, last of her name, breaker of Old World customs, Queen of the Andals, Mother of- sorry, got carried away.Let's just say Izzy's unexpected emergence has stirred up the old ghosts of the civil war. Suddenly, the separatists and the loyalists aren't anymore in complete accord. And Izzy and Niko, prisoners of circumstance, find that their individual desires don't matter a lick when compared to their obligations to a recovering nation abruptly on the brink of yet another bloody conflict.Honestly, whenever I read these royal-themed stories, I don't focus on the romance as much as on the other stuff - because, to me, the romantic bits tend to be the least interesting element. I was crossing my fingers that Izzy's background as a grease monkey would factor into the plot. Color me gratified when the third act does incorporate Izzy's mechanical know-how as a calamity strikes her new home.As for Niko, he was presented as the responsible, well-meaning heir. I didn't think he had much of a personality. And as the story progressed - and as the plot demanded some type of dramatic conflict to divide Izzy and Niko - Niko morphed into a jerk. For someone who espouses modernization for his country, turns out, he harbors old-fashioned ideas about what a princess should be. I did like the twist in the scene in which Izzy, while in the middle of a royal parade, jumps down to fix a car that had broken down. Anyway, the late estrangement that develops between Izzy and Niko comes off contrived and feels jarring.So, Izzy rocks. But Princess Julianna, Niko's original fiancée, is also likable. I love that she befriends Izzy. The author drops hints that Julianna has got her own story stewing in the background. As a matter of fact, you can read more about Julianna's plight in The Not-So-Perfect Princess, the second book in McClone's Her Royal Duty series. Anyway, I'm just waiting for Hallmark to get the rights for The Reluctant Princess. The movie'll probably be out next year. There, I just spoke it into existence.

I am super confused. I have a book in my library, same character, almost same plot, my McClone, but it’s not quite the same. The first was published as a Harlequin Romance novel, and it’s shorter than this book. However, it’s literally the same book, just missing two important elements. . . I’m super confused, was this republished? Why would an author completely redo a novel? I actually liked the first version. . .

I was completely enchanted by "The Reluctant Princess", a beautifully written contemporary romance that kept me entertained and intrigued from the beginning and I wanted it to continue when I got to the end. I really liked independent and stubborn Isabel "Izzy" Poussard who wants to work on a racing team's pit crew and loved her dynamic with the other characters especially Crown Prince Nikola Tomislav Kresimir of Veronia. This is a great beginning to the Her Royal Duty series by gifted author Melissa McClone and a must-read for fans of sweet and tender romances.I received an advance reader copy of this book and am leaving my voluntary and honest review. I also purchased a copy for my keeper library.

I adored this little book and the connection between the main characters gave me a warm fuzzy feeling that lasted after I closed the final page.I found the writing to be well done for the most part: I didn't find myself skimming or cringing at anything. Although at the beginning I was a little confused by the situation in the monarchy. Of course it's not very long, and the character of the prince isn't extremely developed so it is somewhat fluffy. Still, it hit a deep spot with me because of the theme of being your authentic self.If you enjoy princess tales, you'll probably like this book. It's not too long of a read, so it's perfect if you need a little afternoon pick me up. You will notice some familiar themes and tropes from such stories as The Princess Diaries movies, as well as a Christmas Prince on Netflix.But the main character will be a little different as she's a mechanic without a desire to be primped and made into a princess, and not willing to budge on expressing her personality.SPOILERIn some ways the predicament that makes her into a princess is a bit gross and disturbing in that it seemed like she had no choice but to marry someone she doesn't know well--but it captivated me into continuing to read the book anyway. It also ended in an empowering way.

This reader enjoyed this story of commoner and royalty that helped to point out the royalty were actually humans that acted as they felt custom required but were just as much people as the commoners thay ruled. This novel was lays out a good story and characters are well developed as is the emotions of each character. This reader enjoyed this novel very much.

An odd twist on The Princess Diaries has Isabel a mechanic in Charlotte,NC. Except one day she finds out that she’s a princess and a married one at that.Izzy is an unexpected complication for Crown Prince Niko. After a civil war cost him his brother, his only focus is to his kingdom and keeping the peace.Izzy must learn to find balance between her new duties and who she is inside while her husband learns that not everything is completely cut and dry.