Author: Rachel Hauck
Publisher: Zondervan (May 7, 2013)
Source: Received from publisher via LitFuse Publicity Group
Buy book: here
About the Book:
The Royal Wedding Series Book One
Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess—just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn’t going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.
The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon’s Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family’s tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna’s aid under the fabled Lover’s Oak, he is blindsided by love.
Their lives are worlds apart. He’s a royal prince. She’s a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel’s coronation.
It’s the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God’s will or their own?
Review:
I loved this book. I really loved this book. It was exactly what I wanted in a love a story and I haven't read something like this in a long, long time. I loved The Wedding Dress last year and was so excited to be able to read Once Upon a Prince.
Inspired by the real-life love story of Prince William and Kate, this story follows the same formula of commoner-falls in love with-famous person. I will be the first to admit that I love all things about Kate Middleton and Prince William. Who doesn't grow up wanting to marry a prince? Even though I think we are brainwashed by Disney at a very young age, but I think at our core, we are searching for our prince and it really isn't until we find Jesus that we find our true Savior. In Once Upon a Prince, we get an inside look at the budding love between prince and commoner and the challenges that come along with it (and any other "normal" relationship). Even though this kind of love story could have been overly predictable, glamorized, and sensationalized, I love its simplicity because it is a good, wholesome love story. It was incredibly refreshing to my soul to read a pure love story.
What makes this book great is that everything is believable. The main character, Susanna Truitt, is definitely a real, authentic, and flawed girl-next-door who meets Prince Nathaniel of Brighton who is bearing the impeding weight of taking on his father's kingdom. You understand them and feel for them. Most importantly, you root for them on their journeys to follow God's Will and not their own. It feels like a story that could really happen even though falling in love with a prince only seems to happen in fairy tales, but with God, ANYTHING is possible and Hauck does an exceptional job of weaving God in and out of her book. I love that the characters have unanswered prayers until the timing is right. It's what we struggle with on our walk with God each and every day, not just in our love lives.
I especially enjoyed the use of Susanna's friend, Aurora, as a "fairy godmother" kind of character. She comes in and out of the story at critical moments with prophetic warnings and messages. Aurora and the cast of various secondary characters make this story even more enjoyable and well-rounded.
I cannot wait for the next book!
Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
About the author:Rachel Hauck is the bestselling author of ACFW Book of the Year winner Sweet Caroline, RITA Finalist Love Starts With Elle, bestselling and RITA Finalist The Wedding Dress, and of the critically acclaimed fiction collaboration with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, The Songbird Novels. Hauck’s latest release, Once Upon A Prince, is already receiving rave reviews, including a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly.
Hauck earned a degree in Journalism from Ohio State University and is a huge Buckeyes fan. She worked in the corporate software world until 2004 when she began to write fulltime. Although she admits to being Yankee-born, Hauck has lived in the south most of her life and works her southern experience into her stories. She now lives in sunny, though sometimes hurricane-plagued, central Florida with her husband and writes from her own two-story tower.
She is the past president of American Christian Fiction Writers and now serves on the Executive Board. Hauck is also one of five author contributors to Southern Belle View Daily.
Visit her website at www.rachelhauck.com to sign up for her newsletter, read her blog and follow her on Facebook (Rachel Hayes Hauck) and Twitter (@RachelHauck).
Check out more posts on the blog tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/rhauck
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