Tempting the Prince by Christi Barth – a Review

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Description:
What happens when you mix an average American woman with a decidedly not average future King?

I can tell you from experience—a whole lot of complications.

You see, four months ago, my all-American sister, Kelsey, found out that she’s not actually my sister—she’s a princess of a country we’d never heard of. She begged me to come along when she was whisked off to her new palace, so here I am. An outsider who doesn’t fit in anywhere.

Now that she’s settled, I should go back to my exciting new career in New York. I absolutely should not stay in a country where I got shot (long story), where I suck so badly at the national sport that I accidentally murdered the symbol of the monarchy in front of half the country, and—oh yeah—where I can’t stop ogling Kelsey’s actual brother.

The Crown Prince.
The man who has to marry a very important princess. (not me)
The man who must create the next heir to the throne. (without me)
The man I absolutely can never be with. (remember that long story?)
The man who just gave me the best sex of my life…

Did I mention that it’s complicated?

Each book in the Sexy Misadventures of Royals series is STANDALONE:
* The Princess Problem
* Ruling the Princess
* Tempting the Prince

Review:

Tempting the Prince begins with Mallory getting lost in the palace.  Again.  Not very long ago, she and her sister, Kelsey, were average Americans from Michigan, living in New York.  That all changed when they found out that Kelsey was not her blood sister and had been adopted.  Add to that fact that Kelsey was also a long lost princess who had been stolen from her birth family and the word “average” went out the window.

Having found out that Kelsey was actually from the European country of Moncriano and a member of the Royal House of Villani, their lives changed in an instant.  Kelsey had had a hard time adapting to life as a royal, in that she was not a fan of all of the protocol and rule following.  Mallory helped Kelsey and tried to keep her on the straight and narrow and promised that she would stay for a few months to help her sister transition into life as a royal.

Things didn’t start out well.  There had been an assassination attempt in which Mallory got caught in the crossfire.  After months of recovery, and news from her doctors that she kept to herself, Mallory threw herself into helping Kelsey.

Needing to get away from the palace for a little while, Mallory ends up at bar of her bodyguard’s choosing.  While sitting at the bar, Mallory is very surprised to hear the very familiar voice of Prince Christian, next in line to be King and brother to Kelsey.  Also a man she can’t quite stop staring at, even though she knows he’s is way out of her league for numerous reasons.  Christian explains to her that this very bar is one where he can go and be himself.  Only then does she notice that a big percentage of the clientele are members of the royal guard.  Enjoying themselves, they eventually end up challenging each other to a game of darts.  It doesn’t take Christian long to realize how competitive Mallory is and decides to use that to his advantage.  However, while shooting darts, Mallory accidentally impales the ‘King to be” with a dart.  Mortified, they head to the back to get Christian cleaned and bandaged, only to find themselves in close quarters.  They also find themselves giving into their growing attraction to each other……..once.  Yep, best laid plans and such……..

Tempting the Prince is a wonderfully written story that pulled me in at the very beginning, even though I hadn’t read the previous books.  I loved the premise and the characters.  Mallory is so loyal to her sister and is torn between protecting herself and protecting her sister.  Christian knows what he wants.  He’s just not quite sure how to get there.  His father, the reigning king, is having issues with the past coming back to haunt him and has left Christian to step into the role.  He also wants Mallory but can’t seem to figure out how to make that work, until he finally sums up the courage to confront his father.  Christian finds it a bit ironic that the one person he knows who needs some help handling the past has the most impressive view of the future and also has the wise words on how to achieve such.  The chemistry between Mallory and Christian also pulls you in.  I loved their interactions, their wit and love for each other.  The secondary characters were well written as well, and I can’t wait to go back and read their stories.   If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll definitely not go wrong with this one.  Well done, Christi Barth!  Very, very well done!!

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Publisher