3.5⭐️ Let me start off by saying, this book was very sweet. It took me a minute to get into it, and it was a bit too long, but I enjoyed it overall. Pepper Basham has such a fun way of writing her stories and characters. The inner thoughts that her characters have when they are fighting their attraction for each other is so funny, and she writes it so well that it’s not cheesy and annoying.

Luke and Ellie try to steer clear of having a Hallmark romance while having a Hallmark romance. Which is why I felt like it was never cheesy and actually a lot of fun. They acknowledged the fact that a lot of the things happening were very cliché of a Hallmark romance. But like I said, the author writes in a way where it never seemed cliché or cheesy.

I think where this story fell flat was that is was so long. I felt like this book could have been 100 pages shorter and we wouldn’t have missed out on anything. So I found myself skimming at times and wanting the story to wrap up. But all in all, it was an enjoyable read with a quirky cast of characters that wiggle their way into your heart and make you smile.

Read if you enjoy:
- Forced proximity
- Hidden Identity
- Forbidden romance

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so adorable. Like there was just such a sweetness to it that just left me constantly swooning. I honestly haven’t read many royal romances but I adored this one. Luke Edgewood is *chef’s kiss*. He was honestly just such a top notch stand up guy. He was kind, thoughtful, wise and encouraging. I loved how he made Ellie better and pushed her to believe and see the best in herself. And Ellie was fantastic. She was tough and strong and had been through so much and her story of redemption was beautiful. These two were just such a wonderful example of partners who make each other better and are willing to make sacrifices for each other.

This book is filled with so many nuggets of wisdom and I feel like everyone was so thoughtful and logical and it was just really refreshing. There wasn’t any unnecessary drama and everything about the story felt normal and flowed well. And I loved the ending!

Luke is the third sibling to spend time in the country of Skymar, though this can easily stand alone. Told through the dual perspective of Luke and Ellie, including texts, the running joke of being like a Hallmark movie was fun at first but did get stale. I appreciated how Luke lived his faith, had a close relationship with his sisters and cousin, and was a man of integrity. The message of accepting forgiveness, forgiving yourself and knowing your true worth in God’s eyes was well done. References to and quotes from Star Wars, Princess Bride and other movies were fun additions. Overall this was an enjoyable sweet romance. Recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of Blue Ridge Mountain-born Luke, meeting a real princess, Ellie. Only he doesn't know that. Full of tropes and predictable rom-com themes..on purpose...it was fun to see the guy who hates those things really embrace them in the end. This is the perfect complement to the first two in Basham's series. I enjoyed the clean story but with characters who make real mistakes and aren't perfect Christian stereotypes. The modern flow of the language...in this story, through a lot of texts...was part of what made this story. I look forward to exploring more of Basham's work!
Thanks to #NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC.

I enjoyed reading Loyally Luke, the third book in Pepper Basham’s Skymar series set on a fictional European island in the North Sea. I’ve been looking forward to reading Luke’s romance story and it was worth the wait.

Luke is a down-to-earth American guy who’s a carpenter by trade and likes the simple things in life. He has a dry sense of humor and tolerates the ridiculous nonsense that’s regularly spouted by his younger sister, Penelope. She’d love to see Luke star in a real life Hallmark-style royalty romance with all the tropes. Luke can’t stand sappy romance movies and he has zero interest in moving in high and mighty royal circles.

Ellie is a princess who has been offline for a few years to recover from a bad reputation she gained in the gossip columns. Ellie wants to please her parents, the King and Queen of Skymar, and return to her life as a working royal. Ellie is quietly working on a charity project in a remote part of Skymar and renovating an orphanage where she’s a patron.

Luke is only in Skymar for a few months and he ends up working on the orphanage project with Ellie. Like Ellie, he’s loyal to his family. His home is with his family in a small Blue Ridge Mountains town.

Luke and Ellie’s meet cute is hilarious. Luke has no idea that Ellie is a celebrity and real life princess. A delightful romance develops as Luke and Ellie become more than friends and are challenged to consider if they could have a future together.

This is Luke’s story and it’s fun to read a romance that’s more slanted toward the male viewpoint. The group chats in the epistolary style are amusing and there are fewer epistolary story elements than in the other Skymar books. I read this series out of order – Positively Penelope (book 2) then Authentically Izzy (book 1) before reading Luke’s story (book 3). The stories are standalone romances but I’d recommend reading the books in order, if possible, to gain a fuller appreciation of the banter and humor in the family group chat conversations.

I recommend Loyally Luke to contemporary romance readers who like different worlds and undercover princess royalty romances with epistolary style content and a relevant faith element in the story.

Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and Net Galley for the advanced reader copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When Luke Edgewood travels to the small European country of Skymar, his first encounter with a local is with a Grace Kelly look-alike, and it is not pleasant. When they pick up each other’s coffee, he finds her arrogant and rude. However, his youngest sister believes the encounter to be a meet cute example. When Luke discovers that the woman, he met was a real princess, he is even more astounded when he and Ellie are forced to work together to restore a castle-like orphanage in a secluded mountain town.
Luke was a delightful character with plenty of sarcasm and wit. His relationship with his sister made for some great conversations which were quite entertaining, especially his understanding of Hallmark movies. I also enjoyed seeing how he and Ellie’s chemistry develops as his down-to-earth personality grounds her. A sweet read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was by far the best in the series! The balance between correspondence and "in person" interactions was absolutely perfect. While this story did feel a little long at times but it was still really well done!

The story of Luke and Ellie was all the best parts of a romantic Hallmark Channel Movie! I enjoyed the Penelope and Izzy were still very much present in this book as much as the others. I really hope this is not the last time we will be in Skymar!

This is a satisfying end to the series, left me with a smile on my face.
I think you need to read Authentically, Izzy and Positively, Penelope before reading this book, because they give you the background on why they are all in Skymar and the family dynamics of these various characters.

This one has Luke arriving in Skymar and having a "meet cute" (not so much according to Luke) with Eliana, who just happens to be royal in disguise. When they find themselves together again, you know sparks are going to fly.

The first two novels in this series are mostly epistolary, but this one is a really nice mix of both. I did like that, especially since I had the audiobook version. This made the book flow better for me than with the epistolary format (which I love, don't get me wrong)

I adored that Luke got his happily ever after, and as with all of Basham's books, there's a pervasive feeling of hope throughout. As the characters grow and change, the reader learns right alongside them. I was happy to see that, although this series is ending, Luke will make an appearance in an upcoming book.

If you're looking for a series that makes you smile and sigh contentedly at the end, this is definitely one to pick up.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞?! 𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡-𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧; 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.

𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒫𝑒𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓇 𝐵𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓂, 𝒯𝒽𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝒩𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝐹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Loyally Luke is a fantastic ending to the Skymar trilogy! In the first two books, we've gotten to know Luke on the surface. He's the steady, calm brother of Penelope and Izzy, and he is most certainly not interested in falling in love, especially with someone that could have walked off of a Hallmark movie set. But that is just what he does. It was so fun to read his thoughts and interactions with his sisters and cousin in the epistolary parts of the novel. It was equally fun to jump into the mind of Ellie. She tries so hard to show her maturity and that she is ready and responsible enough to become a working royal in Skymar. But she didn't count on Luke, and the situations they find themselves in. I appreciated how well they "clicked", and especially their own personal journeys of growth and maturity. I also laughed out loud quite a bit! This book was so fun to read, and I couldn't put it down. I also appreciated the more serious spiritual moments, and felt they were realistic to the characters. This book had more of a half and half ratio of epistolary to "regular" novel writing style, like Penelope's book, and I enjoyed that. If you're looking for a funny, heartwarming romance in a charming setting, this is a book you need to read! Though I would recommend reading books one and two first.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy. I was not required to write a positive review; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is a heartwarming romance that masterfully combines humor, depth, and a touch of whimsy. Basham has a unique way of writing characters that feel like old friends, and Luke, the protagonist, is no exception. His journey, filled with personal growth and romantic gestures, resonated with me on many levels.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction "I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." I read/listened to this book and I absolutely feel in love with Luke and Ellie. I didn't even know that this was book series but it doesn't matter because it is Luke's story. But lets be real most of all I loved the text messages. I loved the references to faith it was not in your face for those that don't need it but it was perfect for those of those that do. I cant wait to go back and read the prev two stories of Skymar now.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Luke’s story in this series. He was a man’s man complete with flannel work shirts and strong black coffee. One of his sisters described him as a Tootsie Roll Pop with a hard shell but a soft, sweet center. Luke was very close to his sisters and like-a-sister cousin but he considered it cringeworthy the number of texts and conversations he has had to endure with them that included girlie talk of rom-com movies, dashing heroes, and royal romances. When Luke was called to oversee a construction project in the small European country of Skymar he was thrilled to have an opportunity to use his specialized carpentry skills in the restoration work until he realized that he would have to work alongside the royal princess of Skymar who was the patron of the orphanage. Thankfully Luke was not tempted by how good she looked in her jeans and sweater as she swung her hammer. Nope. Not even a little bit. No matter how excited his sisters were that Luke might actually get to live out his own real Hallmark-like romance, Luke was determined to hold onto his man card and resist with all his might. The author has created such interesting and complex characters who are so unique and yet familiar. I love the way she wove their stories together and used humor and love for family as part of the mix. As a bonus, Basham is a master at writing swoony kisses and this book was so romantic. I loved it! Highly recommend! I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

I have been so looking forward to Luke’s story. From the very first time he was introduced, I knew his book would be a favorite. Luke is the quintessential man’s man…he loves Rambo, Star Wars, working with his hands, a romantic cynic, and an adamant Hallmark movie hater. He is a flannel wearing, straight talking, nonsense kinda guy. But he’s not all business and grump; he loves his family, his work, his home, and the mountains. He is quick to lend a hand and come to the rescue. And his generous, willing heart lands him smack dab in the midst of his worst nightmare. Where love and chance are abundant, the impossible becomes possible, and romantic entanglement is nigh on inevitable.

From a disastrous meet-cute to forced proximity, hidden identity to opposite attract, to bells chiming and fairly-odd godparents, Pepper lays it on thick. Poor Luke doesn’t stand a chance.

This story was a charming as they come. With light faith themes, lovable characters, more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at, Pepper always delivers fun and swoon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Bravo, author Pepper Basham, on sharing the love story of Luke who is the practical, solid rock of his family. A man who secretly would love to find the right woman, but outwardly is a bit crusty and is adamantly opposed to the mushy Hallmark romance movies. I have enjoyed getting to know him through the other two books in the series and was so happy to read his love story.

There are just so many wonderful things to love about this book. The humor throughout was perfect. This includes the airport (not) meet cute, an incident with a royal guard, and the texting between Luke and his sisters. Ms. Basham portrayed Luke just as I thought he would be, a feat not easily achieved when he was written as a secondary character for the other two books.

Even though it seems Luke and Ellie’s romantic relationship won’t work out, Luke doesn’t let that deter him from being so thoughtful and helping her complete items on her list of simple things to do. I enjoyed how others were part of the equation of helping them with their HEA.

Things to love:
flannel
Skymar
royals
second chances
multiple romance tropes
friends and family
Skymar school and its students

I loved this third book the Skymar series and heartily recommend reading it. In order to enjoy this book fully, you should begin with Authentically, Izzy. I hope you will enjoy this book and the rest of the series as much as I do.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

This book was even more fun than books 1 & 2. Luke is a flannel wearing construction worker who has no use for love stories in any way, shape, or form. Ellie is a Skymarian princess whose past has been splashed all over the tabloids and has spent the last 3 years trying to repair her reputation in order to become a working princess. Their first meeting is disastrous. They unknowingly end up on the same renovation project. Of course, with commentaries through texts from Penelope & Izzy, their story seems to run in the lines of a Hallmark story (or at lest according to Penelope). Will they truly fall in love or will Luke run away screaming? Will Ellie's royalty get in the way. Will Luke & Ellie become the people God ment them to be?
I received an ARC copy from Netgally & the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this story. I have enjoyed the other books in this series because I think the characters are fun and imperfect but I love seeing them find their true loves. I loved how Luke fell for a princess and the impossibility of their situation. I liked how their romance developed and how the author was able to come up with a believable solution for them being together. I loved how the story is a mix of text messages and narration. I think that makes the story unique and a fun one to read. I would definitely recommend this book and this whole series.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

A sweet, opposites attract, dual POV Royal romance between Ellie, a Skymar Duchess and Luke, the American carpenter who travels to her country to help renovate an orphanage. As the two work closer together they try to come to terms with the short-term nature of their friendship but feelings get real quickly (as they always do) and there's a perfect Notting Hill esque grand gesture ending.

While I found this one a touch long, I did enjoy all the text message exchanges between Luke's sisters who feature in the previous two books of the series - their cameos were a lot of fun. Recommended if you enjoy a light-hearted, kissing only romance that is sure to put a smile on your face. It was also really good on audio with a full cast of narrators.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! I look forward to more in this series if Luke's third sister hopefully gets her own story next!

Loyally, Luke is the third book in the Skymar series. While I think you might have some better understanding of the family dynamics in Luke's family if you've read the previous books, I do think this could be enjoyed as a standalone as well.

I must admit, I didn't expect to love this book nearly as much as I did. While I enjoyed the previous two books in the series enough to keep reading them, they weren't my favorite books by Pepper Basham. Part of that, I think, was the epistolary style that those were written in. I enjoyed them by the end, but it always took me a little longer to get into. While this book does have a lot of fantastic sibling text threads and emails too, it's overall written in a more traditional style. That definitely may have played a part in my enjoyment, but honestly, a lot of that was just Luke himself. This was such a great character. I'd enjoyed him in the previous books, but his own love story was absolute perfection. Growing up the only boy, he knows more than he'd like about Hallmark movies and romcoms... but her certainly never planned to be living one in real life! And yet, that's exactly what happens when he finds himself falling for a real-life princess. I loved the pop culture references and his need to balance out his sisters influence with action flicks... but he's ultimately the biggest sweetheart and it was hard not to be charmed by this fantastic story. There were so many moments that had me laughing out loud and I couldn't get enough.

If you're looking for a great Christian romance that will have you laughing out loud and swooning at the same time, this is absolutely one not to be missed.

As for the audiobook version, it was fantastically done too. The narrators did an amazing job of bringing this story to life!

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC!

I've yet to read the preceding two books of this series, but after reading Loyally Luke, will certainly go back and do that. Luke represents all that is good about the grumpy trope, as a man who is competent, loves his sisters dearly (evidenced through many, many text exchanges in the book), and also loves children. Ellie is also a lovable royal, which I'll be honest, I sometimes find hard in these royalty novels. She's trying her best to make up for a past of sullied reputation - and I have to say, I don't if it's the gender roles, but it really is frustrating that many of the male royals in books are players/rakes who are changed by falling in love vs. a female royal who is really not so deserving of their blackened reputation. Patriarchy and media really does bleed in everywhere. The shining heart of the story, however, is certainly Luke and his interactions with his sisters, and the way in which he falls in love with this orphanage and its history.

Are the texts completely unrealistic texts? Yes. And also, that's probably for the best, since it makes for a much easier and less cringy read, though I'm not going to lie, that "this is definitely not a real text" popped up in my brain many times. Ultimately, this book really hit the "sweet" rom-com spot for me, with Luke truly representing much of what is lovable about reading male characters in romance. I'm excited to start reading all the previous books of this series, as Pepper Basham really does write an altogether easy-to-read romance!