There was a time when Lynne Graham was my favorite HP writer. But over the years, her books are hit or miss for me. This one was a hit.

The heroine, Willow is strong and determined and even though a one night stand with her crush led to her getting pregnant, she was determined to make her own way.

Jai is gorgeous and Indian royalty. He felt guilty that he had taken this virgin to his bed but could not find her. When he finally did, he discovered he had fathered a child. He will do all he can to ensure that the child, who is his heir, will have a stable family.

There is some push and pull, but not too much angst. Both were celibate while apart. I like that.

Prince Jai knows a relationship with Willow, the captivating virgin he found passionate oblivion with, is impossible. Yet haunted by their powerful bond, Jai can’t resist seeking her out—only to discover his hidden heir! His honor demands one solution…Overnight, Willow goes from penniless single mother to maharaja’s convenient bride! Catapulted into the opulence of Jai’s palace, she can’t deny him the chance to know his son. But Jai doesn’t do love. As their desire rekindles, Willow must fight to keep her new secret hidden—her true feelings for Jai!
This was a great story by a great author. I’ve read a number of her books and they don’t disappoint. I really liked both main characters as well as the plot. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I discovered Lynne Graham last year and she has quickly become a 1-click author for me. In the Indian’s Prince’s Hidden Son, we get the story of virgin Willow and the very captivating Prince Jai. Willow is all innocence and naïve, but she is drawn to Jai in so many ways. But she was raised sheltered. Jai is a prince who is determined to avoid love at all costs, but when one night of unforgettable passion leads to an heir he knew nothing about, things are about to change.

Jai wanted to give his son a stable home and family. Willow knows her own will be better with his father in it, but she also wants love in her life. Can Jai give her all she needs? Indian’s Prince’s Hidden Son was emotional, angst-filled and captivating read.

Happy reading!

Heat Factor: A bonfire in her pelvis
Character Chemistry: RED FLAGS
Plot: He comfort seduces her immediately after her father’s funeral. She gets pregnant, but doesn’t tell him. He finds out anyway and coerces her into marrying him.
Overall: I have so many concerns.

My concerns about this book run the gamut. I am concerned about the love story. I am concerned about the characters. I am concerned about the writing. I discuss a sample of these concerns in this review, focusing on the ones that seriously impeded my enjoyment or that have real-world implications. (Yes, smut matters and is political.)

Exoticism
Let’s start with the most obvious problem here: we have an exotic hero to “claims” a white woman. I will admit that I was seriously side-eyeing the premise of this book, but figured I’d take a chance - maybe it would surprise me?

It did not. Or if it did, it surprised me that Harlequin published this nonsense in 2020.

Jai, our Indian Prince, has an inherently passionate nature (!!!) which he keeps tightly under control. He also has ice blue wolf eyes. Graham mentions that his eyes are light blue no less than 33 times; this book is 240 pages long, so that’s once every 7 pages. So just in case you forgot, he’s Indian, but also **not like other Indians**. And of course, since he’s an Indian prince, no one - including family members - has ever said no to him. Until the heroine, of course.

And then, when Jai and Willow head off to India to live in his palace, things are exotic, but not too exotic. We live in sumptuous rooms, but there’s air conditioning. There are tons of Indian servants, but don’t worry, they speak beautiful English. We eat beautiful meals in a beautiful dining room, but luckily dinner was English chicken with no spices. We see tigers from the porch, because of course we do.

The Heroine
Willow, our heroine, is very self-abnegating. I would describe her as: a total martyr. With a side-helping of low self-esteem. Who, of course, thinks she’s not beautiful, what with her long blonde hair and flawless skin and emerald eyes and petite frame.

Furthermore, she explicitly states (more than once) that her night of sex with Jai (reminder: immediately following her father’s funeral) woke her up from living her life in a dream. Not because she ended up pregnant, but the physical action of having sex with him.

“It was everything she had dreamt she might find in a man’s arm and it felt right as well as good, gloriously right as if she had been waiting her whole life for that moment and was being richly rewarded for her patience.”

She puts all her hopes and dreams on this guy who she barely knows, because they connect in this cosmic sense (or something), and now her life will be better.

Of course, they don’t immediately stay together. And when she finds out she’s pregnant, not only is she single, she’s 21, homeless, and unemployed. But she decides to keep the baby so that she’ll have something to love because she’s all alone in the world. I’m sorry (not actually sorry), but that is a fucked up reason to have a child. I am not the audience for the whole “we had a kid so we must get married” trope, but this kind of thinking happens all the time and the fantasy that the baby daddy will come back and rescue you from poverty (because he’s a tech billionaire slash prince) and also fall in love with you validates extremely selfish behavior.

The Relationship
With a martyr heroine and an extremely domineering hero, you might imagine that they have an unhealthy relationship. Red flag after red flag after red flag. I mean, just look at the plot.

And once she agrees to marry him - because entering into a loveless marriage with someone you don’t know is DEFINITELY the best thing for your child - Jai whisks Willow off to India, where she has no social system or support of any kind. And of course he doesn’t trust her, and of course she blames herself when he gets unreasonably angry about nonsense and tells her she did something unforgivable (spoiler: she didn’t).

The Writing
Maaaaaaaybe I could forgive terrible characters in an unhealthy relationship perpetuating dangerous fantasies if the writing were good, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was distractingly bad. Particularly the sex writing. The thing about the bonfire in her pelvis? That’s a quote.

She also has “pouting breasts.”

And this happens: “pushing her back and plunging into her so hard and deep that her neck extended, and her head fell back.” (Note: he is plunging into her vagina, this is not some extra scary version of deep throating.)

And also this: “the delve of his tongue into the moist aperture of her mouth,” which is perhaps the most disgusting phrase I have ever read in a romance novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report. (3/6/2020)

Indian Prince's Hidden Son by Lynne Graham is the story of Willow and Jai.
Willow and Jai slept together but that was it was to be. Jai is a Prince who should not have a relationship with just a regular person. But to also make him doubt things are that his mother's abandonment and what his former fiancee did to him years ago. But he isn't totally able to forget her and ends up finding out that he know has an heir. Willow is in love with Jai but she knows she has to keep that to herself even when she is thrown into his world. But each get to the point that their feelings are all that matters.
Enjoyed their story!

Ok I know I haven't reviewed many of Harlequin novels on my blog in the past few years but you will find more of them on my blog in the near future because I have started reading them again.

Anyway, I did like this book. I mean what's not to like? A light fluffy and easy read and a romance book about royalty.. Yes Please!!

I am giving this 3 out of 5 because I did find this book a little rushed but it was entertaining. Just not one I would be reading again.

***First of all, big thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for trusting me enough to give me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.***

This book is one of the reasons Lynne Graham has the first place in my Fetish Authors list. This lady never disappoints with her books. This is her 119th book and it captivates readers like the first one! The secret of her success is, in my humble opinion, the fact that she remains true to her ideas and she never changes her writing style for the sake of modernism. She makes credible and coherent situations and they look fresh with each book. Also, Ms. Graham takes care of the little details in a way no other author I’ve ever read (and I’ve read books from a lot of authors) does.

Jai is a pure alpha male. His personality is defined by his mother’s “abandonment” and what his former fiancée did ten years ago to him. He hardened his heart and that makes him ruthless and lack of emotions on the outside, but deep inside he has a wounded soul that wants unconditional love. A brilliant mind and filthy rich, he’s the goal for gold-diggers. When Willow appeared in his life, his life went upside down.

Willow, on the other hand, is sweet and pure in all senses of the word. At the same time, she is insecure at moments and always felt unworthy because she didn’t filled her father’s academic expectations. But that doesn’t stopped her when it comes to feelings and what she wants.

Together, Jai and Willow are pure chemistry. Their passionate scenes are steamy and full of emotion. They are made for each other; the fact that Jai was celibate during their time apart and Willow’s efforts to solve Jai’s issues with his mother demonstrates how intense and profound is their love. And the sex was great!

Transition scenes were perfect and the atmosphere of the story was fantastic as well. The writing style that I mentioned before shines with its own light and brings an intensity that makes the story better. Something I need to say is that the scenarios were so exotic and so well described that you can feel them like you were there.A fantastic story which proves why Ms. Graham is, for many people (myself included), the GOAT; the best Harlequin Presents author ever.

I loved this book. This is Willow and Jai’s story. Willow’s father was Jai’s teacher in boarding school. Jai attends Willow’s father funeral. He has sex with Willow. He says hurtful words to her after he finds out she was a virgin. She has his son without telling him. He finds out and makes her marry him. There are many twists and turns in their relationship. I read the book in a day.

This review is only for the INDIAN PRINCE'S HIDDEN SON. Raj, an Indian Maharaja, has a brief fling with Willow, the daughter of his former boarding school professor. He knows he took advantage of her when she was in an emotional state. Over a year later after he has been trying to track Willow down. Raj finds out he has a son.

Willow is young, naive, and doing her best to make a life for her son alone. She is quite shocked to find that Raj wants to marry her; he whisks them away to a fairy tale life consisting of opulent palaces and admiring followers. They have much to overcome including Raj's determination to keep his emotions at bay. Both Raj and Willow have a whole lot of baggage stemming from less than stellar parents.

Willow at times is frustratingly clueless, but then given her age, that is understandable. Raj's arrogance and entitled sense of self set up quite the challenge for their marriage to become one in truth rather than for show. Fans of the genre and author will most likely enjoy this story.