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Princess Charming
When the Crown Prince of Santadorra encounters Lucy Charming, who accidently knocks him unconscious, he finds himself drawn to the lively hoyden, who spurns his valiant assistance at every turn, and vows to win her heart by calling on the magical power of love. Original.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 5, 2013
This book is not charming. Not even close.
July 1, 2013
While this story kind of followed the Cinderella basic plot, I liked that the heroine, Lucy, was a doer rather than a wait-er...she didn't wait for a fairy godmother to help her out, she actively participated in the life and struggles around her. Though the "reformist" tone was a but overpowering in some areas, it did provide a good backdrop for a lot of the conflict between Lucy and Nick (the prince) and a lot of the coming together. I preferred Nick's demeanor over Lucy's though - Lucy seemed to think it was her way or the highway whereas Nick promised to and kept an open mind. The characters sprinkled in the periphery held true to type (step mother, peasants, etc.) except for the folks on Nick's side who were very down-to-earth for royals...
If you've ever seen the movie Ever After (with Drew Barrymore), you can see a lot of similarities...especially on the heroine's part...
If you've ever seen the movie Ever After (with Drew Barrymore), you can see a lot of similarities...especially on the heroine's part...
July 24, 2016
3.5 stars
This was an interesting story which, although it had flaws, was nonetheless engaging and unusual enough to hold my attention. I admit, from looking at the title and the cover, I had thought I was probably in for a light, easy read which would perhaps be some sort of spin on the Cinderella story, or on some other fairy tale.
The latter did indeed prove to be the case, as our heroine, Lady Lucy Charming, daughter of the late Duke of Nottingham, is treated as an unpaid servant by her nasty step-mother and step-sisters. The story begins as Lucy encounters a young man she believes to be her neighbor's gardener and accidentally knocks him down while she is trying to run away from a couple of thugs who are chasing her.
Although she says she doesn’t need any help, the gardener – who she has to admit is handsome enough to make her knees weak – insists on helping her to evade capture. It turns out that the men chasing her are employed by the government to track down enemies of the crown of which Lucy, a passionate advocate of social reform, is one.
Lucy’s late father had believed that a massive change in English society was the only way to prevent a revolution akin to the one that had taken place across the channel years earlier, and used his privileged position to work tirelessly to bring about that change. Following his supposed suicide, Lucy has continued to work with the reformers, even though she is well aware of the danger should she ever be caught helping members of the movement, or attending any of the many rallies and meetings that take place throughout the country.
We first encounter Nicholas St. Germain, Crown Prince of Santadorra (a fictional principality close to Spain and France) when he is just twelve years old and, with his mother and younger sister, fleeing the mob that has descended on the royal residence during a peasant uprising incited by revolutionaries from France. The king, his father, has sent them away into the mountains to escape, but before they can cross the border, the queen and Nick’s four-year-old sister are discovered and killed – and he is unable to help or save them.
As a result, the adult Nick carries a huge burden of guilt which manifests itself in a compulsion to help those in need, whether it be to rescue damsels in distress, or send the bulk of his quarterly allowance to a home for orphaned boys.
Both Lucy and Nick are labouring under misapprehensions as to the other’s true identity. Nick believes Lucy to be a scullery maid because of the way she dresses and she believes he’s a gardener. He discovers the truth before she does, however, and given the fact that his father is threatening to cut off his funds if he doesn’t find himself a wife soon, the fact that he’s very much smitten with Lucy - and because the daughter of a duke will be eminently acceptable as the wife of a Crown Prince - Nick determines to marry her.
She is, of course, the ideal candidate for the exercise of Nick’s protective instincts. She’s beautiful and in danger, so what’s a charming, handsome prince to do? Learning of her political activities, Nick determines that Lucy needs to be saved – not just from government thugs, but from herself , and, in order to get to spend more time with her, makes a wager. If she can convince him of the rightness of her cause, he will, upon accession to the throne of Santadorra, grant universal sufferage to all the men in the principality. If she is unable to convince him, she will have to marry him.
This was an interesting story which, although it had flaws, was nonetheless engaging and unusual enough to hold my attention. I admit, from looking at the title and the cover, I had thought I was probably in for a light, easy read which would perhaps be some sort of spin on the Cinderella story, or on some other fairy tale.
The latter did indeed prove to be the case, as our heroine, Lady Lucy Charming, daughter of the late Duke of Nottingham, is treated as an unpaid servant by her nasty step-mother and step-sisters. The story begins as Lucy encounters a young man she believes to be her neighbor's gardener and accidentally knocks him down while she is trying to run away from a couple of thugs who are chasing her.
Although she says she doesn’t need any help, the gardener – who she has to admit is handsome enough to make her knees weak – insists on helping her to evade capture. It turns out that the men chasing her are employed by the government to track down enemies of the crown of which Lucy, a passionate advocate of social reform, is one.
Lucy’s late father had believed that a massive change in English society was the only way to prevent a revolution akin to the one that had taken place across the channel years earlier, and used his privileged position to work tirelessly to bring about that change. Following his supposed suicide, Lucy has continued to work with the reformers, even though she is well aware of the danger should she ever be caught helping members of the movement, or attending any of the many rallies and meetings that take place throughout the country.
We first encounter Nicholas St. Germain, Crown Prince of Santadorra (a fictional principality close to Spain and France) when he is just twelve years old and, with his mother and younger sister, fleeing the mob that has descended on the royal residence during a peasant uprising incited by revolutionaries from France. The king, his father, has sent them away into the mountains to escape, but before they can cross the border, the queen and Nick’s four-year-old sister are discovered and killed – and he is unable to help or save them.
As a result, the adult Nick carries a huge burden of guilt which manifests itself in a compulsion to help those in need, whether it be to rescue damsels in distress, or send the bulk of his quarterly allowance to a home for orphaned boys.
Both Lucy and Nick are labouring under misapprehensions as to the other’s true identity. Nick believes Lucy to be a scullery maid because of the way she dresses and she believes he’s a gardener. He discovers the truth before she does, however, and given the fact that his father is threatening to cut off his funds if he doesn’t find himself a wife soon, the fact that he’s very much smitten with Lucy - and because the daughter of a duke will be eminently acceptable as the wife of a Crown Prince - Nick determines to marry her.
She is, of course, the ideal candidate for the exercise of Nick’s protective instincts. She’s beautiful and in danger, so what’s a charming, handsome prince to do? Learning of her political activities, Nick determines that Lucy needs to be saved – not just from government thugs, but from herself , and, in order to get to spend more time with her, makes a wager. If she can convince him of the rightness of her cause, he will, upon accession to the throne of Santadorra, grant universal sufferage to all the men in the principality. If she is unable to convince him, she will have to marry him.
Lucy may well be similarly smitten, but discovering that her handsome gardener is in fact, a handsome prince produces a reaction opposite to the one that might have been expected. She’d have happily entertained the suit of the gardener, but she doesn’t want the life of privilege she would be accorded as a princess, and she doesn’t want to move out of the social orbit of her many like-minded friends and fellow reformers.
When the pair is caught in a heavy clinch by no less a person than Prinny himself, it seems that Nick is going to get his way after all. But Lucy is not so easily cornered and, much to Nick’s dismay, manages to wriggle out of a betrothal with him.
It’s at this point that the story started to become less convincing.
Lucy is in love with Nick, but refuses to consider a future with him because of her devotion to her cause. She isn’t willing to compromise one iota, and although Nick recognises that her views have merit, because of his own fears and insecurities, he is unwilling to admit it. His driving concern is to keep her safe, and in order to do that, he is willing to take some drastic and unpalatable actions. Given his history, these actions are completely understandable, but they are at best misguided and at worst, unforgivable.
I enjoy a good adversarial romance, and one of the most unusual things about this book is the fact that the conflict between the hero and heroine doesn’t come from their own insecurities or from some sort of Big Misunderstanding. The thing that drives them apart is Lucy’s political affiliation, which isn’t something I’ve come across in a romance novel before and while I found it to be refreshingly uncommon, it’s also problematic. Lucy is very deeply committed to her cause – it’s her whole life – and as a result, I found it really difficult to imagine her and Nick being able to live happily ever after. Even though Lucy fully understood the fears which prompted Nick’s actions, and, by the end of the book, had accepted that her life would have to change, the fervour with which she had espoused her beliefs was such that I felt she’d always be harbouring a small degree of resentment towards Nick for the way things turned out.
To sum up – I thought Princess Charming was a brave attempt to do something a little bit different … which didn’t quite work. The writing is fairly solid, Nick and Lucy are reasonably well-rounded and their actions fit their respective characters as established by the author. But by making Lucy such a passionate devotee of her cause, Ms Pattillo set the whole thing slightly off balance because it became impossible to imagine her putting her love for Nick above her love for social reform. Despite my reservations, I did enjoy the book, but the second half had a bittersweet feel about it which might not be for everyone.
June 7, 2016
I received this free in exchange for an honest review.
I did not expect much from this novel, and my expectations were met. Perhaps, the largest issue for me is that the description on the back cover of the describes the heroine as a "strong female lead," which automatically makes an assumption that women cannot be strong inherently. The book did not help this notion, as Lucy Charming struggled, in vain, to fight her desire to wed and bed a prince at the cost of independence and reformation. Arguably, she managed to ultimately change the political mind of Nick, but she gained no power of governance from it. She was not the one to grand universal suffrage, as only a man, the king, could do that. It also took a man, a prince, to save her repeatedly. By the conclusion of the novel, her choice is either to accept marriage or death. Ironically, towards the beginning of the novel, those choices were metaphorically equivocal.
The motives of love here were also confusing. At one point Nick describes Lucy as a way to rebel against his father, except this notion was mentioned only once and readers were never given any indication of this motivation.
There is also the stereotype and traditional expectation of men being experienced with sexuality and intimacy, while women are innocent and sheltered from such knowledge. Therefore, it is the men who much "teach" women of physical relationships and intimacy.
Overall, the novel was contrived. It is easy to read but has problems with the motivations between characters, as well as the supposed "strong female lead" it strives to illustrate.
I did not expect much from this novel, and my expectations were met. Perhaps, the largest issue for me is that the description on the back cover of the describes the heroine as a "strong female lead," which automatically makes an assumption that women cannot be strong inherently. The book did not help this notion, as Lucy Charming struggled, in vain, to fight her desire to wed and bed a prince at the cost of independence and reformation. Arguably, she managed to ultimately change the political mind of Nick, but she gained no power of governance from it. She was not the one to grand universal suffrage, as only a man, the king, could do that. It also took a man, a prince, to save her repeatedly. By the conclusion of the novel, her choice is either to accept marriage or death. Ironically, towards the beginning of the novel, those choices were metaphorically equivocal.
The motives of love here were also confusing. At one point Nick describes Lucy as a way to rebel against his father, except this notion was mentioned only once and readers were never given any indication of this motivation.
There is also the stereotype and traditional expectation of men being experienced with sexuality and intimacy, while women are innocent and sheltered from such knowledge. Therefore, it is the men who much "teach" women of physical relationships and intimacy.
Overall, the novel was contrived. It is easy to read but has problems with the motivations between characters, as well as the supposed "strong female lead" it strives to illustrate.
August 24, 2013
Summarizing the plot makes this book sound like a frothy romp that is an entertaining revision of a fairy tale, and it does begin that way. The combination of the familiar and the strikingly different has a strong appeal; the humor is rich and seems an appropriate prelude to love overcoming obstacles. But the tone changes when Nick and Lucy’s identities are revealed. There’s nothing light or amusing about troops set on demonstrators or the grittiness of prison. What I thought was a witty spoof with two lovers headed for an HEA after the requisite sparring becomes social commentary and psychologically disturbing obsession. Color me confused and frustrated.
I have read and enjoyed other books by Beth Pattillo, and I know she is a writer who can both entertain and provoke thoughtful examination of complex issues. Unfortunately, the mix in Princess Charming did not work for me.
See full review at Just Janga:
http://justjanga.blogspot.com/2013/07...
I have read and enjoyed other books by Beth Pattillo, and I know she is a writer who can both entertain and provoke thoughtful examination of complex issues. Unfortunately, the mix in Princess Charming did not work for me.
See full review at Just Janga:
http://justjanga.blogspot.com/2013/07...
August 27, 2013
Why? Why did I read this? I don't read straight romance. And yet I have a thing for reimagined fairy tales, and Cinderella in particular.
But oh, this just didn't do it for me. Didn't have any respect for either of the leads, thought they were both idiots and unsympathetic. She called her herself independent while secretly reveling in being tossed around like a sex toy, while he grumbled all "poor me" with not near enough introspection to make an end-of-book epiphany feel earned. And meanwhile, she goes and forgives him for something that should have been unforgivable to the "independent" woman (who wasn't reveling in being tossed about like a sex toy) she claims to be in the space of about two sentences.
So yeah.
Not my best Kindle Daily Deal purchase ever.
But oh, this just didn't do it for me. Didn't have any respect for either of the leads, thought they were both idiots and unsympathetic. She called her herself independent while secretly reveling in being tossed around like a sex toy, while he grumbled all "poor me" with not near enough introspection to make an end-of-book epiphany feel earned. And meanwhile, she goes and forgives him for something that should have been unforgivable to the "independent" woman (who wasn't reveling in being tossed about like a sex toy) she claims to be in the space of about two sentences.
So yeah.
Not my best Kindle Daily Deal purchase ever.
January 12, 2012
This one has alot of action. To be a hero or not be a hero? What happens if the person you want to rescue doesn't want rescued? I love the would be undergardener and the maid who are not really the gardener and maid after all. Handcuffs from beginning to end. After awhile however you wonder if the main characters will ever work things out. I'd love to know what happened to Lord Crispin Wellstone after this. Does he actually get married instead of being just a matchmaker? His character seems to make you feel all fuzzy and warm.
May 17, 2012
I gave this book 3 stars but it would have gotten 4 if it hadn't spent quite so much time dealing with the reform issue! Books like this are for my entertainment and not my enlightenment. Not always happy to be preached at. I like the hero and heroine and their interactions but this ridiculous pride that stops them from telling their own feelings is always such a silly immature plot device in my opinion. I loved the author's short story in Jane Austen Made me Do it but I am so-so on whether I like her or not after reading this. Must try another one...
January 29, 2012
I think I liked Prince Nick more than Lucy. Nick seemed to be a modern (well historically modern that is) prince, he was effected by his mother and sisters death, that shaped into the man he was and the almost perfect hero for Lady Lucy. Though he still has his faults, I found Lucy's faults to be more annoying and wanted to tell her to give him a chance. Thankfully it all ends in a happy Royal future.
September 1, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. Beth Pattillo's writing is wonderful and the setting of this book was perfect for her style. A romance with historical background. I am not usually a romance reader, but Beth Pattillo has quickly become one of my favorite authors so I had to give it a chance. I am glad I did!
August 23, 2013
A completely absurd chain of events, even for the genre. I mean, the lecherous priest who wants to be spanked is named Mr. Whippet, ffs! Fun and fluffy. Author does not know where the hymen is located.
September 12, 2013
I have loved Beth Patillo's "Austen" books and while I enjoyed Princess Charming, I was disappointed that it was somewhat explicit, unlike the previous books. Be prepared to turn a couple pages if you are offended by sex. :)
December 8, 2015
I got through 3 chapters of this one, it is just okay. I may have seen it through to the end if I hadn't just read 2 excellent Regency romances by Julianne Donaldson and a great fairy tale re-imagining by Diane Zahler. Maybe I will come back to it another day?
April 22, 2011
regency romance, very different than what I was expecting... actually had a political issue in it that was more prominent than the love story. I did enjoy it though.
August 25, 2012
I liked this book although at times it felt like it just went on and on. It was good tho and i like how it ended.
October 12, 2013
I really liked it. It was fun and sometime humorous. Though I know it was a lot about the politics in the book I really do not think it belongs in fairy tales. Still a goo story though.
October 10, 2013
2.5 stars
October 17, 2014
ok read
October 19, 2015
Too long.
March 2, 2016
C. historical fiction, Victorian England, romance
January 27, 2017
Boring...I could finish but I have other books to read. I will give myself that allowance because I read for entertainment not accomplishment.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews