The Princess

Montagues #5

by Elizabeth Elliott

From the beloved author of The Warlord and The Dark Knight, an emotional, deeply passionate medieval romance...

Married and widowed at a tender age, Princess Isabel Plantagenet understands her duty: to wed a new husband chosen by her father for the purpose of consolidating his power. Faulke Segrave, a rogue suspected of high treason whose past wives died under mysterious circumstances, is hardly suitor material, but his piercing blue eyes spark a fire in Isabel that makes her feel oddly safe and deeply curious. Quite a pair they will make, for she has dark secrets of her own that can never see the light of day.

Faulke does not relish this arrangement any more than his bride does, but he can't deny his attraction to this poised, beautiful woman whose level gaze and strong command make him ache to have her. Her seduction becomes his conquest, even as deception and murderous scheming draw closer, threatening Faulke's life, his heritage, and his cherished wife.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Medieval Romance, Medieval, Marriage Of Convenience

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 5, 2018

About the author

Elizabeth Elliott is the pseudonym for American romance novel author Linda Crippes, née Linda Kay Elliott in Fort Worth, Texas. All of her novels are published by Bantam Books, now owned by Random House. In addition to writing, she has held various management positions with Fortune 500 companies and worked as a management consultant for a variety of smaller businesses, specializing in information technology. She currently lives in Minnesota with her husband.

Reviews

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was only able to get half way through before I threw in the towel.

I found the characters to be unlikeable.
The dialogue was way to modern for the time era this is written in.
The story was very predictable.
I didn't see them "fall in love", just all of a sudden they both did a 180 in their feelings???
The family drama and trust issues was way over the top.

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reviews are honest & they contain spoilers. For more, visit:


After 6 long years, book 5 of Elizabeth Elliott’s the Montagues series, The Princess was finally published in June of this year. I was quite excited because every year I’d check at least once for any news without any luck whatsoever. Then again, the author stopped publishing for a long time before book 4, The Dark Knight (titled The Assassin before publication) was published in 2012. I like her writing a lot but big gaps between installments hinders the enjoyment sometimes. My discovery of her work was rather sudden; I had read the first 3 books already by then and enjoyed them enough to continue on with the series.

Before I get into my review, I want to mention a few things here about the series in case a new reader wants to know: The first 3 books, The Warlord (#1- 1995), Betrothed (#2 - 1996) and Scoundrel (#3 - 1996) were connected to each-other by characters. Set in the medieval era, more precisely around Edward I’s reign, the first 2 books are of the Montague brothers Kenric and Guy. Book 3 is regency set, of a descendant of one of the brothers. I count book 3 as a standalone release. Book 4 is also set around the time of 1 and 2, however, the storyline veered away from the original Montagues. In book 2 we were introduced to Dante Chiavari, who turned out to be the brother of the heroine of book 2, Claudia. He was a minor but a mysterious character and I was totally interested in knowing more about him. In that sense, The Dark Knight and The Princess are more connected than the previous 3 books. In fact, the Montagues were barely mentioned in the new release.

Dante is Italian and had a sad past when his parents were murdered by his greedy uncle. He came to England with his elder brother and only sister Claudia. Elder brother was another greedy bastard that died in book 1 or 2 in a battle with one of the Montague brothers. But Claudia and Guy fell in love and married. Dante, however, couldn’t fall in love with anyone. The darkness of how his parents were murdered, with the urge for brutal vengeance against the man who did so and took away the riches and lands that should’ve been his and Claudia’s, was eating at him for a long time. At a point while growing up, Dante came in contact with one of Kind Edward’s closest advisers, Mordecai. He’s also a mysterious individual with supernatural powers. He can see into the future and people believe in him. He’s also trained in many tactics to bring any enemy of the King down. Assassination was one of the most common deeds and Mordecai had trained people in the past just for that purpose. Dante became one of them. The King’s Assassin that everyone whispered about but no one would directly point a finger towards him cause they were scared. Yet, Dante had dark hair and intense green eyes; a handsome man by all means.

So far Dante has done what he deemed was his job successfully. Never disappointing. He was exceptionally skilled, quite ruthless and determined to do the deed as efficiently as was possible. But lately he’s been wanting to retire and travel to Italy to take care of his own business that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. It’s then he’s given one last assignment by the King to seek out a Marcher baron and his family due to some feud or the other. That’s how he came to know Avalene, the love of his life, the said Baron’s daughter. He went to investigate in disguise of a Knight, helped Avalene escape her own mean uncle and aunt, making her falling in love with him in the process. She had no Knight in Shining Armor because her father had pretty much abandoned her to her uncle’s mercy after her mother’s death, and rarely kept in contact after his second marriage. She wanted out but didn’t know how that was possible, especially since she was recently engaged to a Welshman, the son of an Earl, Faulke Segrave. Avalene had no love for this guy knowing he likes brewing trouble around Welsh, leading rebellions against the King of England. I don’t exactly remember how it happened but Avalene really didn’t want to marry Faulke.

Long story short, though Dante had kept his identity a secret for a while in the story, it’s eventually outed by Faulke in a quest to save his betrothed. Even after knowing the truth, Avalene couldn’t help falling more in love with Dante because he’d done everything to keep her safe when he was supposed to be killing her. He didn’t think he’d ever have any chance of having Avalene as his wife but in the end, Dante made it possible. Among whatever chaos was going on between England and Welsh, he wins Avalene with the King’s grudging blessing. Mostly because the King had another plan in mind for Faulke.

Faulke had been a thorn in Edward’s side for a while now. I didn’t like him when he was introduced in book 4. He seemed quite volatile in temperament, and after reading he had also been widowed 3 times with 3 daughters from each wives and that he’s been rumored to have murdered them for their riches...Well, it certainly didn’t endear him to me. Avalene was no one special in that sense but he wanted her. With her now engaged to Dante, Faulke had no reasons to not rebel once again. However, at the same time, King’s eldest daughter, Isabel had returned to England from Rheinbaden, a small country in Germany (I think so since her people all spoke German). She was married to the crown prince Hartman for many years until he died a year or so ago. Isabel had no children and had no other reason to remain there. But we get to know more behind her return to England in The Princess.

Isabel had been living in Rheinbaden since her engagement with Hartman at the age of 6. The King there decided it was better to groom her in their ways and Edward send Isabel right away. So, in that sense, England is a *new* country to her. I forgot how old she was when the story began but not more than 25. She was married to Hartman at 12, borne a child that died at birth. She didn’t conceive again. It seemed she’d lived her life and Hartman lived his own after that until his death by accident. He obviously had many mistresses and hardly any contact with his wife after Isabel was ‘declared’ barren.

Sadly, as we come to know from Isabel herself, that the marriage was not a bed of roses even at their early days. She was infatuated with Hartman’s blonde goodlooks but he never really took to her. Probably not at all. Sex became duty to them to conceive an heir, and when that failed, the marriage pretty much crumbled. Hartman had mistresses as long as Isabel could remember. She was young and naïve and tolerated them all through the marriage just because she thought she was barren and couldn’t give him what he wanted. It also seemed that sex wasn’t as enjoyable to her either. Isabel was quite happy to not have to tolerate Hartman’s “visits”. :/ He had bastards with his favorite mistress and that girl had taunted Isabel all her life with this fact. Hartman never said a word, instead beat Isabel up if she ever tried to say anything against that b!tch or asked him to break it off. So all in all, you can guess how horrible it was for her. The political scenario of Rheinbaden after Hartman’s death became very unsettled. Isabel didn’t mourn his passing all that much and was relived to be out of that miserable place. But she knew she’d know no happiness because there were very few people she could trust in Rheinbaden, even fewer now that she’s in England. She still wasn’t sure if she could count her father among them.

Seems like (from my review) that I didn’t like Isabel in book 4 since she came off very haughty and unreachable. Cold, if I’m more precise. But then, she was a Princess who was groomed to become a Queen someday. The Princess is more her story than Faulke’s, #1 reason is it’s told from the first person POV, whereas the others books in this series were in third person narrative. I don’t hate first person narrative precisely but I don’t enjoy it overmuch either. It rather diminishes the chance of knowing the other characters properly since it reads more like one specific character’s monologue if it’s not executed well. Did The Princess pass that test? I’ll talk about it later.

Back to my review. After her arrival in England, Isabel learned that her father had planned another marriage for her which would take place ASAP. Like she couldn’t even breathe in England’s air and she was again being made the pawn for another political game. Isabel knew it and hated the fact that this is what she really is to the males of this demented gameplay. But the King must be obeyed and Isabel would meet the man she’s to marry ASAP. Someone she’d never set her eyes upon before today. She was nervous, unhappy but she has to maintain that cold and calm visage of The Princess so her betrothed knows who she is.

And what a introduction it was between our two main characters; Isabel all aloof and regal, ready to conquer her would be fiancé and Faulke all dirty and smelly, angry and vicious, not appreciating the fact that he’d lost another betrothed and being forced to marry someone else! Their first impression was...eh, neither was very impressed. Isabel couldn’t even see Faulke clearly due to the amount of dirt that was on him. And Faulke was simply taken aback. I really liked their conversation where Isabel is so unimpressed with Faulke she couldn’t imagine what the hell those court ladies saw in him, because she’d already heard about his womanizing reputation. She was rather, plainly speaking, oh seesh, not another one FFS! This time I have to be more careful and not let myself be humiliated once again. Also, she was worried that her barren state would eventually wreak their marriage if Faulke’s womanizing ways didn’t. It was like her worst nightmare playing at her again but there was no escape for her.

I hardly knew Faulke’s exact thoughts since it was all Isabel’s POV, which was a big bummer TBH. And not until the next day when Isabel saw him in all his finery, clean and clothed befitted his station, is when she understood why Faulke was so desired by those women. He was tall and extremely handsome; had dark hair that he kept long, neatly trimmed beard, and with intense blue eyes. I thought they had superb chemistry because, by then, it was quite certain that he was totally interested in Isabel, though she didn’t know if she could trust him. Isabel’s self-confidence has taken such a bad beating in Rheinbaden that she was sure it was more to do with the fact that she’s bringing in a lot of riches in the marriage, also that the marriage will elevate his status. She was more worried that she’s going to make a fool of herself again the way she had with Hartman and pay the price once again. That’s why she was taken aback when they have the opportunity to talk alone. Faulke turns out to be a genuine guy, quite genuinely interested in her. I was too since I didn’t know what to expect of him. His worry over losing Isabel like his previous wives seemed pretty solid. So he remained very protective of her throughout the story until it was all resolved. Probably even after that but we don’t really get much of an epilogue to prove that point.

Until their marriage everything was going well. I was gearing up for a good banter mingling with explosive chemistry. Unfortunately, the moment they married and their first night together, Isabel became Faulke’s ‘kitten’, in more ways than one and I was like someone kill me now, pls. *eyeroll* They were into each-other, just.like.that. Even though they still had reasons to distrust one another, they were already halfway in love. I mean, huh? Wtf just happened?? I hate to say but it killed the fun I was previously having. I wanted to see their relationship gradually build, growing stronger, especially when there was chemistry but they both regarded each-other strangers they were being forced to marry. It felt like both fell in lust, rather than love and all done.

Another thing that bugged me exceptionally was how modern Isabel’s POV read. Especially when, at one point, she uses the word “sexy” to describe Faulke’s attractiveness. All that was needed was to add “washboard abs” to complete this mess. -_- I don’t think people in the 1200s used that word. Hell, not even in the Regency era! Then WHY? That put me off so bad, even worse than how the first person POV went throughout the story. Needless to say I wasn’t impressed with any of it.

I don’t wanna go into the more intriguing parts of the story that kind of saved it for me; the betrayal and the murder plot and other things that were going on in such a volatile time. Those bits were gooood TBH! Though I later came to appreciate the fact that Faulke loved Isabel as I totally thought she deserved someone to love her deeply, I still wished their relationship was gradually build solving trust issues carefully rather the way it was. I couldn’t see why they’d fall in love that easily with all that was going on in and around their marriage.

And so, in the end, whereas I hoped for a ‘bang’ after such a long wait, I found a rather tame and predictable story that didn’t live up to my expectations. As I mentioned earlier, there was barely an epilogue so the ending seemed very rushed. I still think it could’ve been way better because the storyline was going the right way...until it wasn’t. :( 3.5 stars. No idea if the series has come to an end because I found no hint of another installment anywhere but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

[E. Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book on my to-be-read stack all summer, and even took it on a trip to Scotland to read on the plane, though never got around to it until now. I threw it in my bag on the way out the door to the cabin with my family, and once I tucked into it, I lamented having to put it aside to do other things. This book was superbly crafted. I enjoyed everything, from the intrigues, to the burgeoning love between Princess Isabel Plantagenet and Faulke Segrave. I'm a sucker for books that espouse a higher-ranking woman falling in love with a lower-ranking man based on his character and merits, and a hero who values and appreciates the heroine's intellect--all of which this book had!

It was written in 1st person POV. I generally don't like 1st person POV. I've only made it past the first few pages of most that I've picked up before I set them aside. While I don't think this book has changed my perspective on POV preference, I do think I thoroughly enjoy Elliott's writing style and clever use of language. I found myself chuckling aloud at a few humorous parts, and cheering for the heroine's vindications. I also loved the hero, a gallant and honorable man who has been the victim of slander and suspicion due to machinations of others. He proves to be the stalwart support Princess Isabel needs to face her past and future, and overcome years of isolation and mistreatment in her first husband's court. The only part of this book that saddened me was to never be immersed in Faulke's POV. I'm in a woman's POV everyday of my life, and it's a treat to escape into the hero's head, too, to know what he's thinking, and feel his attraction, anger, fears, etc, because to me it removes them from their pedestal of "Hero" and humanizes them, thus allowing me to cheer their transformations as much as the heroine's. That minor detail aside, Faulke's growing love was understood through the uncertainties the heroine felt and her growing trust. I enjoyed seeing this hardened woman's hope blossom and her defenses crumble.

This book was well-researched, originally written, and the creative license mixed with the historical details made for a highly enjoyable read. It became clear from the start that I was reading part of a series, but it stood alone very well. I'll be collecting Elliott's other titles en masse to see what I've been missing. I am an Elizabeth Elliott fan!

[Rachel Shaffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best I have ever read but certainly not the worst. I enjoyed the time period and the historical characters. I really enjoyed the relationship between Isabel and Faulke and wish more would have been about them and less about the poisonings. It also ended very suddenly and I would have liked to learn more about what happened to our characters after; the very short epilogue did them no justice.

[Tracy Emro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -rounded up

Let me start by saying, this book is written in the first person - I am not a fan of first person narrative.

Princess Isabel Plantagenet is the widow of the Crown Prince Hartman of Rheinbaden and daughter of King Edward I of England. Sent to Rheinbaden at the age of 6, Isabel is back in England for the first time in years and is faced with a very dirty, very angry Faulke Segrave. Faulke had arranged a betrothal to Avalene, but has learned that the King betrothed her to his assassin and is demanding Faulke marry Isabel or be tried for treason.


Isabel endured much in her first marriage and has no desire to be subjected to that kind of pain again, which she is sure will happen when Faulke learns the truth about her. Faulke has a reputation of womanizing and three wives who died under questionable circumstances, but looking at him, Isabel cannot fathom the first and completely believes him capable of murder! But she has no choice, she is but a pawn for her father and will do her duty.

Isabel is saddened when the captain of her English guard is found dead, poisoned and further investigation reveals his daughter and her family are also dead. Her father sends her a new captain and has Dante figure out who murdered him. When Faulke returns, Isabel is stunned at the change - he is gorgeous and he knows his effect on women- but she is determined to resist the pull, her father has promised that if marriage to him is unbearable, he will support her decision to live apart from him. Faulke is completely different today, today he is handsome, charming and more than willing to marry her. When he learns of the murder, he insists on moving in with Isabel and helping with the investigation. Her father agrees and when Faulke wants to push up their wedding, much to her dismay.


They marry and Faulke learns one of her secrets. He is patient and kind to her and helps her move past her fear. They grow closer and she begins to have hope for a happy marriage, but when a contingent from Rheinbaden is set to arrive and demand her presence, she feels bound to tell Faulke the truth and reveals her darkest secret. He is furious and she is heartbroken.

When he calms, he admits he knew or suspected her secret all along (?!?) and is angry that she deceived him, but he still cares for her and defends her honor. It seems like they will get their HEA, but Faulke's enemies are not done with him yet and they will learn that his enemy is closely tied to her - but will the figure out why she has become the target of his enemies wrath or will Isabel pay the ultimate price?

The book is well written, but since it is first person, I never learned anything from Faulke's POV, he was such an interesting character that I felt deprived not getting to know and understand him better. The mystery was decent, the love scenes were mild and the secondary characters were abundant and likable, the story and characters were an interesting mix of fact and fiction with a healthy dose of creative license. This book is part of a series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand alone title with no problem.


*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

[Cee · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was absolutely fabulous. It flew by! I expected it to drag a bit or actually feel it's length (500+ pages), but I was very much enthralled.

Romance is the primary focus of the book, but there is also so much else going on that I wanted to know what would happen. Although, I did forget about the mystery revolving the murders about halfway through the book, but thankfully just as I recalled it as a potential loose thread, the author brought it back up and solved it nicely.

Isabel is an interesting main character. She is a princess who has been damaged in the past and had to learn how to be strong in order to protect herself. She leads her people well and is loyal to them, and truly isn't a bad person. Faulke... seems like the usual romantic hero, but he had a few differences which I enjoyed. He really is a sweet person and a bit more open about his feelings. He is just the right amount of sweetness, kindness, and protective for Isabel. While there is some insta-attraction, I did like to see that their love does and there are reasons behind why they like each other.
The side characters are also enjoyable, but not as memorable.

Learning about the characters and reading them open up to each other while dealing with unpleasantness in their lives, is really what this book is about. She's an abandoned princess and he is cursed. Murders surround them as well as enemies both hidden and in plain sight. I honestly didn't think I'd enjoy this as much as I did and I do plan on going back and reading more of this series.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess by Elizabeth Elliot was an interesting read. I enjoy reading about historical figures and find the whole medieval time fascinating. I have never though read much about Edward I or Longshanks (due to his height).Elizabeth Elliot introduces us to Edward I through her main character of Isabel, his daughter. Isabel was born and raised to be married to a king. She was betrothed and moved to live with her husband’s family and married by the time she was 13. Her husband died (you will be pleased by that later) and she was sent back to England to live. However, Isobel knew that her greatest asset was to marry again and help her father’s political future. She is married to Faulke Segrave, a man who came from the wilds of Wales and was just as unhappy as she was about the marriage. However, as in all good historical romance, things change and secrets are revealed and just when you are ready to sigh with pleasure, one more secret comes out.

I enjoyed reading the historical romance - not just for the romance and the medieval period - but also for the characters and their slow unpeeling of their layers. There were twists that were quite interesting and shocking in a couple of cases. I always am surprised by all the court intrigue and the constant gossip and innuendos. Isobel and Faulke were strong characters, that made the story interesting. The Princess by Elizabeth Elliot was a fascinating read.

[Debbie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Widowed Princess Isabel Plantagenet understands her duty: to wed a new husband chosen by her father, a rogue suspected of high treason, Faulke Segrave. Faulke has already lost 3 wives and now he’s being forced into marring the Princess. She’s used to marry to Faulke who’s just as unhappy as she was about the marriage as she is. Isabel and Faulke learn each other’s secrets as their relationships progresses, he’s kind and caring when Elizabeth needs him to be and strongly comes to her defense when she’s in danger. I love the story of these two wounded souls coming together to build a life, at first bases on lies and deception and later when the truths come out they continue to support each other when their lives are in danger. Faulke is the ultimate mate and protector something Elizabeth has never really had before, she’s always been just a political pawn in her father’s world. This is my honest opinions after I voluntarily read a copy of this book that was provided to me with no requirements for a review.

[Lori Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Princess by Elizabeth Elliott. There was so much going on in this book. It has court intrigue, poisoning, torture, heated romance, loyalty, HEA and so much more. I loved it.

I received an advance readers copy and voluntarily reviewed the book.

[RoloPoloBookBlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Princess by Elizabeth Elliott
Book #5: Montagues Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: As a means of full disclosure, I had no idea this book is the fifth in an ongoing series. I tend to have an aversion to reading a series out of order, but don’t really feel like I was missing anything of great significance by reading this book as a standalone. It took me far longer than usual to finish this book, because I never found anything in it to just set me on edge and make me want to keep going until the very end. I can’t say I found anything wrong with the book, the writing is fine, the characters, are fine, the plot is fine, but fine isn’t exactly a rousing recommendation. For myself, I wanted more from this book in terms of its depth, depth of character, depth of plot, even depth of general description.
While I generally enjoy this particular genre, and I found this book to be OK, I don’t think this book is going to appeal to the hardcore lovers of the genre.

[Fly Girl Wickedcoolflight blogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to check out the whole review, see it here: https://wickedcoolflight.net/2018/06/...

I really enjoyed this one. This took me about 5 or so hours to read all together, but the story moves along quickly and is enjoyable to read. It looks like it’s been several years since Elizabeth Elliott last published, so if you’ve read any of her other works, I’m sure you are excited as well. I have to tell you, I loved her voice as an author. It was very emotional. I could feel my self in the clothing with the high collars trying to be as stoic as possible and how breeding and parentage decreed your place in the social stratosphere.

Isabel and Faulkes’ story is passion and court intrigue filled. She stays away from the full court I’m guessing so she has less details to get right, but the ones she does share with are full of detail and thought that put you in the time and place and convey the mood and privileges of the players. She also shows us all the maneuvering her Father, the King, did to ensure his line survived and survived well. The alliances and dalliances make it for a very colorful read. Be prepared to want to keep turning the page.

Another aspect she handled very well was women’s rights, or lack there of. Although women had no rights in the time frame Elizabeth writes about, she actually gives Isabel a back bone and a gives us a glimpse into how a woman may have been able to weasel some power of her own. I loved that she wasn’t a submissive woman. I also like the idea that her new husband allowed her to help him where she could. She still maintained the distinct men and women’s roles in the story, but she gently makes us feel like it could have been different than we have previously been led to believe.

I’m giving this a 5 of 5 stars because as per my usual requirements, it has a HEA, there is no cliffhanger, and this one will stay with me long after I’ve written this. It looks like this may be the first in a series she is calling the Plantagenets, so we’ll see more of Elizabeth Elliott I hope.

[Amanda Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess by Elizabeth Elliott was a lovely read. I'm very happy to see Elizabeth Elliott's publishing again. The medieval time period is my favorite and I'm always looking for more reads.
Isabel Plantagenet is a widowed English princess that has finally come home after wedding a foreign crown prince. Isabel is young, childless and is being coerced by her father into marriage with a Welsh noble. She is resigned to the marriage and ready to do her duty even if she isn't happy about it.
This story, oddly to me, is written in Isabel's first person point of view. The reader never really gets into Faulke's inner most musings or his thoughts. We assume that Faulke isn't happy about the marriage either and doesn't trust Isabel, but there is no inside look into his motivations. We know he was married three times and his wives may or may not have perished under unusual circumstances. He may be a murderer or just a man who is unlucky in love.
Isabel believes that Faulke isn't happy with the match. She is also hiding a secret from Faulke, maybe not as bad as what Faulke thinks it might be, but she worries just the same.
Isabel's worries about her marriage, Faulke, her family and his are relatable. Isabel was sent to live with her first husband's family at six years old, England is foreign to her, she is an outsider in her own country among her own people. She is marrying a stranger, one that she believes will despise her in the end and their union could possibly be fatal.
The chemistry between Isabel and Faulke leaps off the pages and in Isabel's eyes Faulke becomes a man suited to her. There are some nice, passionate love scenes that further the bond between Isabel and Faulke. Great read if you like being transported back to the middle ages. Would recommend to historical romance lovers.

[Keri Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Princess Isabel Plantagenet is the daughter of King Edward I. She was sent away at an early age and was married to Crown Prince Hartman of Rheinbaden. Now she is a young widow brought back to England to marry the infamous Faulke Segrave. Segrave’s wives have a tendency to end up dead and Isabel doesn’t intend on being dead wife #4. Isabel and Faulke are newlywed and fighting for their lives against an unknown enemy. Will they be able to overcome their secrets and deceptions to find true love and both be alive at the end?

So, this wasn’t the BEST historical romance I’ve ever read, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. I like the comfortable trope of historical romance. You have the female being told who to marry and given no choices over anything. However, the female has an inner strength that allows her to rise above and survive in the face of insurmountable obstacles. I love the dark, handsome, broody gentleman who succumbs to his attraction. So this book definitely fit in all those stereotypes. I enjoyed the actual story line to this book. The mystery about Isabel’s previous marriage as well as figuring out who is threatening the life of her and her household is quite well done. What I didn’t really enjoy were the adult situations in the book. It was like someone tried to throw a bit of Fifty Shades domination in just for sensation.

Overall, I will state that I enjoyed this story enough to look into more books in this Montague series. I actually didn’t know it was part of a series until I had finished it. I do thank Netgalley and Bantam/Random House for providing a copy of this work in exchange for an honest review. I give this three out of five stars.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found The Princess to be a very interesting Medieval love story. Elizabeth Elliott does a great job of developing her characters. Our heroin is “Her Royal Highness, Isabel of Ascalon, Dowager Crown Princess of Rheinbaden, Princess of England, Countess of Maldon, Baroness Helmsford, Baroness Sildon, Daughter of King Edward of England and widow of Crown Prince Hartman of Rheinbaden.” Yes, this truly is her title, which she uses to intimate. Better known as Princess. The hero is Faulke Segrave a rouge who's prior three wives died under suspicious circumstances. The first meeting between these two was one of the funniest parts of the book. Princess is dressed to impress in her court clothing. She is wearing “her finest jewels, a pink gown and surcoat fashioned from the richest fabrics then liberally embellished with designs made of seed pearls. After all, she had greeted kings in those garments.” Faulke arrives with his cousin Richard Segrave, looking as if they had just been dragged from a ditch. Their garments were covered in mud, smelling like a bog. Elizabeth Elliott takes us back to a charmed romance. I would not classify this novel as a sweet love story. But a deep emotional and scorching hot romance. If you like your stories steamy and sexy, this is the book for you. I received a copy of this book from Bantam Publishers through NetGalleys. The Opinion expressed in this review is completely my own.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess is a historical romance with a little mystery thrown in. I love a good historical romance, and this one was. But I was expecting it to be more historical than it was, as in along the line of Alison Weir fiction. Though my misconception wasn't the fault of the author or the book, it did put a damper on things for me. I was very worried as I got further into the book that there were two almost secondary plot points that were going to be overlooked and we'd get no closure on, but they were resolved, nice and tidy, right at the end. I loved the characters, thought they were all well thought out. The romance story was great too, I really enjoy the arranged marriage trope. Over all, a good read, I'd give it 3.5 stars and will round that up to 4 because it deserves more than 3.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

[Candy Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very suspenseful tale of a very young princess being sent to marry a much older and mature prince. Her prince ignored her and spent very little time with her. Isabel of Ascalon was a princess of England and had lots of titles. Her husband had died and she was sent home and took her people with her. Faulke Segrave, Lord of Derllys heir to Baron of Carreg, had to marry the princess because he was dangerous and could cause trouble between Wales and England. King Edward handled the marriage negotiation.
This is so well written and the suspense is so high, you are kept on the edge until the answers. The characters are well developed, the descriptions are lush and vivid. The plot is a fantastic collection of bits and pieces that are brought together, to make this a mesmerizing book. The author did such a good job writing this, it was so worth time to read. I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed this book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put the book down and was sad when I finished it and couldn't continue following the lives of the characters I had come to know while reading the book. The characters were well developed and I grew to know and have feelings for them, some good and others not so good. The mystery/suspense kept me guessing as the story unfolded and I was still surprised at the final revelation. I enjoy reading stories set in other times and this story was true to its period in history with interesting details, some of which I actually looked up to learn more about them. If you're not interested in the historical aspects you would find the book just as engaging in its love stories and intrigue, the acurate historical details are an added bonus.

[Linda Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read. A really good book by the author, I could not put it down.

A great story, full of twists and turns. This was a real page Turner. Aside from a great read, there were no mistakes on the historical side. I am a history buff and I hate it when people who write about another time period don't take the time to make sure the facts are correct for the time period they are writing about.

[Kristi Pritchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waited a long time

Waited a long time for this story. It didn't disappoint but would have liked to see things from faulkes point of view. I would have liked to see the epilogue expanded some. Seemed like it was thrown in as an afterthought. And loved the dark knight story so mentioning something about their life in Italy in the epilogue would have been great. Maybe a novella about them? Overall enjoyed the book.

[Alene · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, a very enjoyable read, funny and witty at times. Good plot and character development. An easy read also. Only complaint would be the use of modern words and phrases by characters who supposedly existed in the 13th century. Words like "puke" and phrases like "it must have set a record" would not have been used in the 13th century. Despite this, I enjoyed the plot and the book was well written. I plan to read other books by this author.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Elizabeth Elliott's The Princess kept my heart racing. I throughly enjoyed it. Romance, deception, poison, intrigue, happiness, heartache and sorrow. At points I found myself yelling at my book. The character development was well thought out and the different back stories melded well. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Elliott however it will not be my last.

[Shira Marom · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
Sorry to be rude, but this was really shitty. Alternating between medieval castle terms such as sollar and rushes tossed about and utterly modern slang. Very unintelligent and dumbly repetative "stream of consciouseness" by the h blocking the pov of the H. Going on forever with no plot and no consistensy. Boring and bad.

[Nabilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this right after 'The dark knight'. I thought this one is a bit boring. Same characters as 'The dark knight', except with different names. This is only the second book of hers I've read and I think she's the kind of author that recycles her characters. So, just okay, hence the three stars.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book, its been a long time coming but worth the wait.
I hope Elizabeth Elliot continues to write regencies, I love reading her stories.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[sandy forguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would highly recommend a lot of intrigue and surprises very surprising author story between Isabella and caulkers 👍👍

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got huge Lola/Narcisse (Reign) vibes from this which made me like it more than I would have otherwise

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

It’s in first person and I loathe first person books. WHY? The others in the series were fantastic. Why fuck up the last one by going first person? Smh.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book quite a bit. I love the historical detail and each chapter had a title.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somehow have re-read this book! I hardly ever do that! I found this review of mine to prove I had read it and my comments then stand true the second time. I was once again bothered by the date of 1293 and it read like a much later date, mayb 1700's. I also didn't care for the first person, Isabel POV. I liked Faulke better this time around, other than the wedding night sex that did become odd with the domineering tone, her wanted her submissive. Didn't fit their previous relationship. I did understand more Isabel's sexual reluctance even though mentally he turned the to jelly by just looking at him. We only saw the fighter/ruthless warlord personality towards the end. This time around I did like how Faulke was so patient, kind and forgiving? Still desired her despite all the deception. Once again I was dissatisfied by the end. (why did I save this book? I still struggled to finish it) I wish that she would have been found pregnant in a later chapter, not had a bunch of kids according to the epilogue, or even better,she never was able to concieve. I don't care for neatly wrapped up stories that tell you years in the future everybody is married and living happily ever after. I think I enjoyed it more this time. Saw the characters in a different light. Liked the way Faulke helped Isabel to recover emotionally from her disasterous abusive first marriage.
First review***

So, it sounded really promising, arranged marriage, widowed bride, he has several marriages where the women died mysteriously. Reluctant groom, piercing blue eyes, secrets and lies. Most of this story is made up of secrets and lies. But I almost didn't finish this book. A couple of things bothered me. First page, author sets the time as London 1293. It really reads like a 1700-1800's book. Maybe I was distracted by the 1st person (Isabel/The Princess) point of view! Sometimes it works, this story didn't for me. I wanted to read what Faulke was thinking about! There was much discussion about mumps and how it had affected Isabel's first husband and child. I don't think they would have called it "Mumps" in the 12th century. I feel like Elliott used descriptions in Isabels thoughts that the reading audience could understand, but she left out great alternative descriptions that would have worked better for the time period. It was just kinda bland. There was build up to sexual activity in Isabels thoughts, that once again felt too modern, not 12th century. Isabel was obviously sexually awakened by Faulke, as she was previously 12yrs old when married and gave birth at 13 and might have been raped. There was some really great sexual tension build up between them and then the actual first time between them just was not erotic or romantic. While there previous sexual encounters were. He become domineering and she passive and stressed with PTSD like reactions. The marriage consummation scenes just didn't fit with their previous interactions. I had a hard time finishing. I skipped some dialogue towards the end and there were so many parts that needed to be tied up. Elliot made a valiant effort at the end to bring every thing together, but it felt like it was too forced. I didn't think the torture chapter was needed. Plus, Isabel was present and clear thinking and acting the Princess when she had just left her own almost death bed. Just odd, either make Isabel a strong female or a whiny ,insecure female. Too inconsistent. Oh and the lies and family treachery throughout and revealed at the end was almost too much. Can't trust anybody! Still did not feel like 1293.