Reviewed by Jen

Review: In full disclosure, I was part of Jennifer Faye’s review crew when I was originally given this title for review. I read the book almost immediately and then life happened and 6 months later, I’m re-reading the book to write this much overdue review.

The Millionaire’s Royal Rescue is set in a small fictional Mediterranean nation. Annabelle is the king’s niece and has been under strict guard most of her life. When we first meet her, she’s attempting to assert her independence. She’s taken on a revitalization project in a older section in town and she’s also attempting to learn more about her mother’s murder. As part of that revitalization project, Annabelle is expecting to meet with an executive from an internet cafe company. But imagine her surprise when she’s face to face with the CEO, Grayson, and he just caught the thief that snatched her purse. Then there’s Grayson… He decides to go on this business trip to get away and doesn’t expect to be back in the limelight or attracted to Annabelle. So how is this all going to play out?

I liked both Annabelle and Grayson. They both had issues that they needed to overcome before they could really act on the attraction between them. And throw in the murder mystery and the fact that they are potential business partners, and there are a lot of forces working against them. We know there is going to be a happily ever after — it is a romance after all — but the journey to that point kept me interested and turning the pages.

I originally gave this book a 4 star review and even upon re-reading, that rating stands. This is an enjoyable read for those that like their romances in exotic locales and a little light mystery thrown in.

Unfortunately, I could not connect with the characters and found myself skimming through the story. I usually love a quick, simple romance, yet this one just failed to keep my attention. I don't think the writing was bad, this is just a typical case of "it's not you, it's me". I dnf'd about 40% through.

Lady Annabelle has been tailed by her security guard since her mothers death. Her father is convinced it isn't just a simple mugging and now her father wants guards. Annabelle just wants freedom from being under the watchful eyes of everyone and wants to prove herself. In comes Grayson who can help her, things get a bit complicated when Annabelle finds some messages from her mother and shes getting threats. Now shes and Grayson are on a mission to solve the mystery that is her mothers notes and what really happened.

I really liked this book I just thought that it was a romance book but there was a bit of mystery to it as well. I enjoyed the characters and learning a bit about them. I thought the backstories where interesting as well, I loved that bit of mystery aspect and seeing Annabelle and Grayson work together. I loved that when Annabelle was starting to focus a bit to much on negative things Grayson helped balance things out to keep her grounded and to live a bit. If you are looking for a clean romance then this book is for you. Overall I thought it was sweet and interesting and I love a bit of mystery.

This is what I would call a typical 'sweet and fluffy' Harlequin romance. I struggled to get into it a little bit. At times, the descriptions were amazing; beautifully detailed, lavish descriptions of scenery; and at others things were just skimmed over. The example I'm going to give is when Grayson and Annabelle had to 'mix chemicals' to try and regenerate some faded ink for an old document. Some more detail here would have been really interesting; maybe a little scene where they both joked about being bad at chemistry at school (cue personal chemistry).

Perhaps the oddest omission was the book's one and only love scene. At least, I THINK it was a love scene. We seemed to skip straight from Grayson deciding to give in to Annabelle's attempt to seduce him, to the following morning and them both being angry with each other.

It's perfectly OK to write explicit, or gently skimmed-over, or even fade to black love scenes. Leaving your reader uncertain whether it actually happened, and if so, what happened in the aftermath (was it bad? did she ask him to leave? did he storm out in a rage?) is just strange. I had to flip back and forth a couple of times in the e-book to be sure I hadn't skipped a page accidentally.

The plot was intriguing, the characters well-drawn, but I have to admit that I ended the book with a slight sense of frustration because it seemed like there were things missing. I don't know if the author needed to get in under a certain word count and made the decision to cut certain scenes, but I felt like this book would have been greatly improved by fleshing-out a lot of things that were just skimmed over.

Enjoyable, but should probably have been about 20k words longer.

A royal rescue sets the stage for two unlikely hearts find each other! A fun read with a little bit of intrigue mixed into the romance.

Millionaire Grayson Landers thought escaping the United States for awhile would end his need to hide from a pack of reporters, but the next thing you know, he’s in the middle of another media blitz because he just rescued the king’s niece from a thief!

Lady Annabelle Di Salvo is very thankful to the handsome stranger, and when she realizes he’s the man she’s supposed to be meeting with for some possible development in the country, she’s happy to get to see him again! As they enjoy each other’s company, Annabelle comes across some clues that might lead to information in her mother’s murder. She can’t turn her back on trying to figure out if there’s something to it, and Grayson agrees to help her.

He is reeling from some past trauma himself, and her infinity to not care about the consequences and place herself in danger again and again doesn’t sit well with him. Will they be able to overcome their differences when sparks fly and see where this attraction might lead?

This was a quick read with likable characters, but story-wise, not very original. There are a lot of same-theme stories these days that is difficult to differentiate. For that reason alone, I guess I was expecting something more creative & original in keeping to this type of story line. Still enjoyed it however.....

Definitely a buy book........ Another royal modern romance however, with a few surprises! This was not just a romance, it had crime as well as mystery. A modern day life romance with twists and business as well as other surprises. I was impressed by the authors way of writing. The book has good characters and plots and pulls you in before you know it. I kept reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. It was hard for me at times to relate as this type of romance is not usual to my reading genre. However, that did not stop the enjoyment of it. I give 4 stars due to my own opinion of strength of character for the heroine as well as the hero. I was only disappointed in one thing...... That it did not wrap up to my way of liking for the heroes life as it did for the heroines. It felt like a few strings were left. That is why I took off one star. Maybe not fair... but that is why. Otherwise this was a very good read! Totally enjoyable.
I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom