Romancing the Weekends: The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne

When Amy meets Leo, completely by accident, the most amazing thing happens – Amy actually says more than 10 words to him without getting tongue tied!  He tells her he’s a fund manager, which is true.  What he doesn’t tell her is that he’s also a prince: his grandfather is king of the tiny island nation of Nirona and Leo is fifth in line to inherit the throne.As they get to know each other and romance blooms, Amy struggles with all the things that come from dating one of HotYoung&Royal’s most eligible bachelors – media scrutiny, palace expectations, and trying to maintain her business and her sense of self while falling in love with a prince.

______________

Last year, I read and loved Ms. Browne’s Swept Off Her Feet (it made my 2011 favorite reads list), so when I received The Runaway Princess I knew I was in for a treat.  I was not wrong – I loved The Runaway Princess!  I was pulled into the story from page 1 and didn’t want to put the book down; from the vivid descriptions of the plants and planting process to the setting and attention to detail, it was easy to lose myself in The Runaway Princess.

Amy is adorably awkward in any type of social situation and I absolutely loved her for it.  I could totally sympathise with her character: non-confrontational and unfailingly polite, she’s fiercely protective of the people she loves and will do anything or sacrifice anything to make their lives easier.  Her romance with Leo is sweet and all her second-guessing and worrying made her totally relatable.  Amy’s family is hiding a past that they’re trying to put behind them, but with every photo of Amy in some tabloid magazine, they know someone is doing to dig up their ugly family secret.  As for Leo, it’s obvious that although he’s been raised in a manner befitting a prince, he’s a little geeky and a lot sweet.  Don’t get me wrong, he had his ‘guy’ moments (insert eye-roll here), but they were few and far between.

The supporting cast had big personalities and were not just a foil for the main characters, they were as entertaining as Amy and Leo.  I love Jo – she’s the kind of BFF every girl hopes for (and tries to be): funny, supportive, and willing to try anything once.  Leo’s brother Rolf is obnoxious and funny, you don’t want to miss “The Rolf Express”.  The ‘family quirks’ add to the richness of the story and make you feel like you’ve known them all for years.

Although I usually like a bit of sexin’ in my stories, The Runaway Princess was completely chaste in that respect but I didn’t miss it at all.  My only complaints are that the ending felt kind of rushed, and we never found out if a certain royal was responsible for certain mishaps  that kept happening to Amy.

 

Recommendations

If you couldn’t get enough of the frenzy that surrounded Will and Kate’s wedding, or have dreamed of finding a prince of your own, you’ll love The Runaway Princess.

Other Novels you might like, similar to ‘The Runaway Princess’:

Swept Off Her Feet by Hester Browne

Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell