Title: Once upon a time there was a real summer
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recommended Age: +13
English level: B1-B2

Lacey tells us the story of a girl whose dream was always to work as princesses in a theme park and she loves being able to make children happy. On the other hand we have Henry the prince of Bella Moritz, a widowed father with a beautiful daughter who only seeks the best for her and who lives in the most human way possible.
One day Henry goes on vacation with his daughter to the park where Lacey works and their paths cross.

It is a super light, beautiful story and I loved everything about the theme of the park and it reminded me a lot of the Disney parks and that magic that they make you feel.
Lacey our protagonist I really liked because she followed her dreams no matter what others digest. And something I learned from her is that sometimes fairy tales come true you just have to have faith and never give up. ❤
I liked Lacey and Henry's relationship but I would have liked the author to go into more depth.
I found it a bit Insta-love but I don't mind as the author knew how to handle it.
I did not give him my 5 el for the end and I was expecting more and well I am disappointed but in general I enjoy it too.
Its a beautiful history of love,family and dreams🥺

3.5/5 Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy Hallmark Christmas movies- I watch the schedule, have a checklist, the whole thing. However, I think that the Hallmark premise works far better for me for Christmas than it does for the rest of the year. This was a cute and fun story, but I did find it overly sweet at some points.
I loved the second half of the book, set in Bella-Mortiz- I would have loved to "arrive" there earlier. And this book absolutely delivers on the fairy-tale ending- not only for Lacey and Henry, but also Rose. In a stressful and crazy world (*especially* in 2021), sometimes it is nice to know there is a happily ever after guaranteed!

This was such a fun book and I read it all in one sitting. As a Disney fan and a Royal fan this book was the perfect combination.

I loved that Lacey was fleshed out as a woman who realized that her relationship wasn't right for her and made her own choices. She was willing to defend a job that others viewed as silly because of her deep personal history and meanings attached to her line of work.

While the story takes place over a short period of time (only a few weeks) it is believable that these two people would open up, be changed for the better, and fall in love.

As her fictional persona Princess Sweet Pea kept losing her shoe and running out of the ball at midnight, I fully expected Lacey to run out on her true life Prince Charming at the ball and leave just her shoe behind. I was pleasantly surprised when this did not happen and while there were complications in the relationship, the unexpected kept me reading right through the end of the book.

I absolutely loved this book and would love to see a sequel in the future.

“Fairy tales and castles aren’t real, remember?”

“Once Upon a Royal Summer” by Teri Wilson is the warmest, feel-good book I’ve read this summer. Honestly, with it being from Hallmark Publishing I should have not expected anything less than the perfect happily ever after it delivered.

The amusement park Princess Sweet Pea actress, Lacey, has just broken up with her boyfriend when she meets a grumpy dad while in character at the park castle. The father of a seven year old girl, Rose, turns out to be Crown Prince Henry from a French Riviera principality. During the visit to the theme park, Lacey is the VIP’s tour guide and the instant chemistry she has with Prince Henry is palpable. Through the connections each of them have with Rose, their attraction only grows until the story book princess is swept into a real life fairy tale ending.

This was fast paced and so adorable I wanted to finish it in one sitting, alas life got in the way. Overlook the short time span the main characters know each other and you will love this novel, too.

Favorite quotes:

“He didn’t want to be the sort of prince who was left standing with an empty glass shoe in his hands. Not this time.”

“You can take the girl out of the fairy tale, but you can’t take the fairy tale out of the girl.”

“Lacey had years of experience with fairy godmothers, but it had been a long, long time since she’d been wrapped up in the warm embrace of motherly love.”

What I think you should know:
Once Upon A Royal Summer is a clean contemporary romance by Teri Wilson.

What you might need to know:
Henry lost his wife, Rose’s Mother.
Lacey lost her mother when she was a child.

What I think about this book:
This is such a super cute book, perfect for a light hearted Summer read. Lacey is a theme park princess, but to her it is much more than a job, it is a way to bring brightness into the lives of others. I adored her, she showed that who you are and how you treat others is so much more important than what others think of you. Her Princess Rules were perfect. Henry was so much fun to watch him grow closer to his spunky, but vulnerable Princess Rose and you have a wonderful dynamic. If you are looking for a feel good read, look no farther!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.

When a "princess" meets a prince
Teri Wilson, Publishers Weekly best-selling author and creator of Hallmark Channel Original Movies Presents "Once Upon A Royal Summer", published by Hallmark Publishing. Lacey Pope is working most often as a Princess Sweet Pea at the theme park where she is employed, a job that comes with its specific joys and challenges. During work she gets to know a real princess, Rose, and her widowed father, Henry. Prince Henry is faced with his own problems and has decided to escape them for a while, leaving his home country of Bella-Moritz and "fleeing" to America, to spent value time with Rose, to just be a father to his daughter. Rose falls in love with Princess Sweat Pea which ultimately turns into a special assignment for Lacey who is being assigned as the special guide for Princess Rose and Prince Henry during their stay at the theme-park. Soon she realizes that she can be more than just a guide for them. Will she be able to help Rose with her needs? And what about Lacey's growing attraction with Henry considering the fact that they not only come from two different countries but also from a totally different background?
This is the fourth book by Teri Wilson which I read and I recommend it highly to all those readers who are looking for an enjoyable, funny, and relaxing read with some unexpected twists and turns and nice characters. It is a sweet and wholesome book for the vacation or when one has a need to relax. This book contains the original Hallmark recipe for "Cucumber Dill Tea Sandwiches".
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#OnceUponARoyalSummer #NetGalley

Theme park princess 👸 + Actual prince charming 🤴 = Real life fairy tale
👑❤𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪❤👑
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 stars

Once Upon A Royal Summer
by Teri Wilson

Released 6/15/2021
Published by: Hallmark Publishing

Genre: contemporary romance/rom-com

I received this #freebook #eARC through @hallmarkpublishing via @netgalley for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 stars

This book is spot on for Hallmark! If you enjoy all the feels, light easy romance with minor complications, and happily ever afters, you need to read this book! I absolutely adored it!

For those of you who have in person book groups, this one would be perfect! There is even a recipe at the end for Cucumber Dill Tea Sandwiches... perfect for a royal tea party book discussion!
🍵☕🥪🍰

#BookQuote -
"Oh, princess," he said. "Dont you know by now? It's all been real to me." 😭😍

#bookrec - 👍👍 Yes! Read this book!

A fun, engaging book that won’t want to put down
A light fun book that also has enough depth and feeling that it pulls you in and keeps you there with its twists and turns you don’t see coming. Lacey is Princess Sweet Pea at an amusement park, doing tea parties, waltzing lessons, and meet and greets. She loves having the ability to bring joy to the park visitors especially children who may be struggling. Henry is a widower left with a small daughter Rose and a number of pressing problems. To escape he takes Rose and flies to America to relax and play at an amusement park before matters of state descend on their heads. Because he is Prince Henry and she is Princess Rose and this trip is a chance to just be a father and daughter, at least for a little while. When Rose falls in love with Princess Sweet Pea and Henry asks for Princess Sweet Pea to be their special guide for the trip, everything starts to change. How can a make-believe princess help a small princess with her needs? And how can a make-believe princess and a real prince help each other through the problems ahead? I received a free copy and this is my honest review.

Talk about a whirlwind romance!

I’m an avid watcher of Hallmark movies. And I’ve often said my love of romance novels falls under the same umbrella, so imagine my shock to discover Hallmark publishes books too!

If you love that predictable, obscenely quick, just met to true love type story, this one is for you. Lacey and Henry are royals in their own right, and their story somehow fits together. Top that off with Henry being a single dad, swoon worthy obviously.

Thanks Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing for the opportunity to review!

Lacey, a theme park princess meets HRH Henry, a prince who wants a normal life for his 7 year old daughter. while he's visiting the Disney Land-esque theme park in Florida with his daughter for her birthday.

Cute, clean, instalove story. It is definitely Hallmarkian in nature, and hits the spot when you're in the mood for some royal meets normal, sparks fly, and love ignites goodness.

I enjoyed this one.

I received an eARC from Hallmark Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my review. All opinions shared are mine and are influenced by nothing other than my own reading experience.

Really easy cute rom/com type book. Everything you would expect from a Hallmark movie, but in book format! Great for passing the time but not having to focus on a super deep and complicated storyline. Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I adored this book so much. 🥰

Hopefully Hallmark would make this book into a movie because I would definitely love to watch it.

All the characters in this book was so good. Everyone has unique characteristics. The cover was so beautiful. I was so happy this book was a clean romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Hallmark for letting me read this wonderful book!

This is a sweet fairy tale. Lacey plays the part of Princess Sweet Pea at an amusement park. Prince Henry is the crown prince of Bella-Moritz. He lost his wife and wants to take his daughter on a vacation, away from all the pressures of the royal family. Rose is only 7 years old, so where do they go? Lacey's amusement park! At first Lacey thinks Henry is just a normal Dad. Then she learns the truth. But while Henry and Rose are on vacation, Lacey has been assigned to be their special guide around the park. During this time, Lacey bonds with Rose and becomes fond of Henry. The feelings are returned and Henry invites Lacey to Bella-Moritz.

This is a sweet, clean romance. It is pure fairy tale and a great escape. The writing style is easy to read and the story kept me turning pages. This book is great for relaxation and an escape from reality.

A theme park princess, Lacey, loves her job, but her potential fiance does not think it's an acceptable career. After their breakup, Lacey swears off dating until she meets a real life prince on vacaction with his daughter. Love finds Lacey and she gets to be a real life princess.

"Once Upon a Royal Summer" was cheesy and adorable and I loved every minute of it.
Our main character Lacey is a princess at a fairy tale theme park. One day at work she meets an actual prince, and his daughter, a princess. Sparks of course fly between the two.

This was a cute, feel good romance with a happy ending. I hope she does a book on Ava and Ian's romance as well, because I would love to revisit these characters again!

Lacey Pope is a theme park princess. Every day she transforms into Princess Sweet Pea at a fairytale theme park in Florida. Henry is the crown prince of Bella-Moritz. He's a single father who desperately wants his daughter, Rose, to grow up like a regular child. When Henry takes Rose to Florida for her birthday the pair meet Lacey and find much more than they ever imagined.

This book was so cute. I'm a sucker for a Hallmark love story and a theme park so this was everything I wanted and more. All of the characters were very well developed and though the romance was a little fast paced I thought the story was pretty realistic (well, as realistic as something like this can be). I enjoyed watching Lacey and Henry fall in love and find happiness. I also liked reading about the fictional theme park. I hope one day this book is made into an actual Hallmark movie.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to Hallmark Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Lacey Pope was thrilled to be working her dream job as a theme park princess because it gave her the opportunity to help children going through tough times, just as a theme park princess had helped her when she was younger. Her normal duties included hosting tea parties and taking pictures with park visitors, but when a VIP guest, Crown Prince Henry of Bella-Moritz, came to visit the park in celebration of his daughter Rose's birthday, Lacey was assigned to act as their tour guide instead. She was embarrassed to learn that she had met Prince Henry and Princess Rose the day before while in character hosting Princess Sweet Pea's Royal Tea Party, when she had unknowingly shared her silly, made-up "princess rules" with real royals. Despite their somewhat awkward first meeting, single father Henry couldn't help but be drawn to Lacey; he found her kindness and compassion refreshing, and also appreciated that she treated him and his daughter like normal people. At the end of their visit, Henry impulsively invited Lacey to visit them the following week, during Bella-Moritz's most important national holiday, the Flower Festival. With the encouragement of her best friend, Lacey accepted the invitation, and her relationships with Henry and Rose continued to grow. Would they be able to overcome all of the obstacles standing in the way of a real happily ever after?

I really enjoyed the fairy tale feel to this story as Henry and Lacey, who were attracted to each other almost instantly, came to realize that, despite their very different backgrounds, they were more alike than they realized. I also appreciated that Henry tried to be such a hands-on father, despite his busy schedule and the fact that it went against tradition. The one (small) thing I didn't enjoy about the story was its rather abrupt ending; an epilogue might have helped with that.

Overall, "Once Upon a Royal Summer" was a perfect summer beach read, and I recommend it for fans of royal romance and sweet/clean contemporary romance. I would pick up another book by this author in the future.

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The tagline on the cover of Teri Wilson’s new contemporary romance, Once Upon a Royal Summer, describes it as “A theme park princess. A real-life prince.” As a Disney fanatic and a romantic at heart, I couldn’t resist the story’s premise and its promise of a modern-day fairy tale. And boy does it deliver!

Wilson grabbed my attention and my heartstrings from the opening pages when we meet Lacey, who works at Once Upon a Time theme park in Florida as Princess Sweetpea. We learn that Lacey’s mom passed away when Lacey was seven and that one of the few joys she had during her mom’s many hospital stays were princesses who would come around and visit the children to keep their spirits up. Lacey remembers how special they made her feel and now she wants to pay that forward by doing her best to make special moments for as many children as she can. I had tremendous sympathy for her for losing her mom so young and I just loved how big-hearted she is.

Our real-life Prince Charming, Prince Henry of Bella-Moritz, is also a lovable character. Henry has brought his young daughter, Princess Rose, to Florida to celebrate her birthday and to let her have a few days where she can just be a normal little girl, without all the pressures of being a Royal, which have already started to bear down on her. When Lacey first meets Henry and Rose, she has no idea who they are. All she sees is a girl who loves princesses and a single dad doing his best to give his daughter the time of her life. Henry’s devotion to his daughter just melted my heart and I just knew from the moment we met him that he would be perfect for Lacey. I was so happy to see sparks between them as soon as they met.

After their initial meeting, Lacey is informed who Henry and Rose are and is charged with giving these VIP guests a magical vacation. I adored watching Lacey spend time with Rose. She brings out the best in her and also makes her happy in a way Henry hasn’t seen since Rose’s mom died. And she does the same with Henry. Henry and Lacey share so many sweet, romantic and flirty moments. At first neither of them can tell if it’s just the magic of the theme park or if there’s really something between them, but the answer soon becomes clear and I was loving every minute of it because I’m just such a sucker for the royal falling for a commoner trope!

There’s so much to love about this story beyond just Lacey, Rose, and Henry. I also really enjoyed the magical, romantic setting, which is split between the theme park and Henry’s charming kingdom of Bella-Moritz. It’s a picture-perfect backdrop for romance. I also loved the fabulous secondary characters, including Ava, Lacey’s best friend who works as Little Red Riding Hood at the theme park, and Ian, Prince Henry’s bodyguard, who is like an uncle to Princess Rose and who according to Ava, looks like a long-lost Hemsworth brother. The Queen is also a pretty great character as she struggles between what is “right and proper” for royals, but is also a caring mother and grandmother who just wants her son and granddaughter to be happy and loved.

If you’re into modern-day fairytales that will warm your heart and leave a smile on your face, I highly recommend Once Upon a Royal Summer. I devoured the story in less than a day so it’s a perfect choice to throw in your bag for a weekend at the beach or to read poolside.

4.5 STARS

This was such a sweet read! Hallmark publishing never disappoints me with a wholesome, feel-good romance. As soon as I see that mark I request. Teri Wilson brings you into a world where you believe that an amusement park princess could find everlasting love with a real prince. I always love when royalty falls for a commoner! I would recommend this lighthearted read.

I initially picked this book up because it has the word “summer” in the title so it fit for a reading challenge I’m participating in, but I’m so happy I did! I’ve always been completely enamoured with all things Princess, fairy-tale and happily ever after and this book did not disappoint.

Lacey plays a fairy-tale princess in a theme park that is Disney inspired and there wasn’t a moment of this story that didn’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy just like all my trips to Disney do (side note I got engaged in Belles castle in Disney world so it holds an extra special sentiments for me). I loved both Prince Charming and Henry and of course Rose!

There wasn’t anything about the story that surprised me per say but you don’t watch a “hallmark” movie to be super surprised, so I didn’t expect to read a “hallmark” published book and be super surprised - but I loved every moment and would highly recommend the book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author and hallmark for the wonderful opportunity to read and love Once Upon a Royal Summer!