In real life, she’s given up on the fairytale ending...
After having her heart broken twice, Alicia Dayne has sworn off men, decided to concentrate on her career, and is delighted to win a lucrative contract to make a commercial for Highborn Mattresses.
She could make the most awesome fairytale commercial ever—except for Jonas Highborn, who isn’t exactly thrilled with her Princess and the Pea ideas, and really doesn’t want a prince in tights representing his company.
Though he’s trying to keep his grieving mother happy by letting her have charge of the commercial shoot, and though Alicia’s trying to keep in mind that this annoying guy is her boss for the moment, they can’t seem to keep from clashing.
Throw in an overly-handsome prince, a matchmaking mama, and a stunning rose garden, and maybe, just maybe, Alicia can be convinced they have a chance at something real.
Because while she might not be a real princess, sometimes an ordinary girl’s got to take a chance, even when it seems too good to be true.
When did Happily Ever After become so complicated?
Diane Darcy loves to read and write lighthearted and funny books. She’s a member of the Heart of the West, and RWA. She was a finalist for Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart® Award. She’s written romantic comedies in several different genres; some historical, some contemporary, all lighthearted and fun. She makes her home in Utah with her family and dogs, and is hard at work on her next book.
This is a darling little novella!! I'm a sucker for a cute fairy tale-type book--I mean, don't most girls dream about being a princess? This was a fun, light story that had all the elements of a longer novel.
Willa, the mom, was a fun, feisty, sneaky character. She was a lot of fun, meddling around. I loved the chemistry that Jonas and Alicia had--bantering, laughing, and flirting. Jonas was a riot and oh so intimidating--one of Portland's most eligible bachelors; owner of a big, successful business; gorgeous.
I love that it was short, yet I didn't feel cheated. The story unfolded in a fun way, without loose ends. This seems to be a fun series for lovers of modern versions of fairy tales. It made me smile. :)
I really enjoyed reading this book. The romance between Alicia and Jonas, was adorable. It won me over with it's fluffy romance, and cut moments between Alicia and Jonas. I really liked Alicia, she was dealing with realistic problems, like being scared of rejection, and getting her heart broken. In the end she overcomes her fear, wich leaft me with a postive message. Overall I enjoyed this book, and could consider reading it again.
This was the cutest little story ever! I loved it! If you're in the mood for a good, clean romance I suggest you read this. I found myself smiling while reading this. I'm actually taking time to review this, so that shows I really enjoyed it.
This was a free Amazon download so I snagged a copy. I was in the mood for something light and quick to read so gave this one a try.
The Princess Problem is a completely predictable, sweet book that both my 13 year old daughter and I both enjoyed. If you are looking for something deep this isn't it. If you are looking for a simple, clean fairy-tale like romance this is for you.
It's a fun little book that I enjoyed and was able to pass on to my daughter to read.
This book was really cute. Although I thought it got off to a really rough (and a little unbelievable start with the two main characters "hating" each other) I got into it very quickly. Easy to read and very good dialogue and descriptions. This author really is a talented writer!
My one gripe is that it was too short!! I understand that it's a novella, but I really would have loved it if the reader had more time to become emotionally involved with the characters. In a book this length, there just isn't enough time to really get to know them and the story is over way too quickly.
What an adorable little novella! I loved it. It was amusing and very romantic. For a short read, it did not leave anything unfinished.
Jonas, Portland's most eligible bachelor was so playful and swoon-worthy. Alicia, the film-maker instructed to produce an advertisement for Jonas' mattress business, was funny and realistically guarded when it came to matters of the heart. I enjoyed their banter and chemistry.
A great read for romantics at heart, both young and old.
This was a sweet and funny romance. Although it's a short story and doesn't have much depth to it, it kept me smiling all the way through and the characters are engaging. It's perfect read for a lazy summer afternoon.
I highly enjoyed this book. It was a great short book that I read in a few hours. Despite it being slightly predictable, It is a great, heart warming quick read.
Cute! Not stellar, but sweet. The MC's best friend kept giving her advice about ivercoming her insecurities in relationships and I needed the advice just as much as the MC
This is not strictly a fairytale retelling, but it is a contemporary story that contains elements of a fairy tale, specifically, the Princess and the Pea. After reading the excerpts of another one of her books and the titles of her others, it looks like that is what this author does: Take an old fairy tale and then write a contemporary story with those elements. It's a fun read. So, it's simple, like a fairy tale, but it is definitely not offensive. The content is clean, and the story is short. The ending is super short, but it is longer than the words "Happily Ever After," so I guess it is long for a fairy tale! :)
"Even though the mattress was one of the most comfortable she'd ever slept on, she'd spent way too much time fuming and arguing with Jonas in her head. Why was it she always thought of a good come-back when it was too late? She could see why he was worried about girls sneaking into his room in the middle of the night. His virtue wasn't the issue. They probably sneaked in to continue arguing with him so they could get the last word. Or, in this case, the last laugh."
"Willa watched him leave, then turned to Alicia, all smiles. 'I thought that went well, didn't you?'
Alicia shot Willa an incredulous look. 'You're kidding me? Right?'
'Not at all, my dear. When I was dating Jonas' father we hardly said two civil words to each other for weeks. All that passion has to express itself somehow, right?'"
"We've established how gorgeous he is, but we left out how beautiful you are. Are you really so far gone that you think he's faking an interest to get you to change your commercial? From what you've said, he comes from a solid family, from parents who loved each other and who loved him. He's probably a nice guy. Not everyone is out to make a fool of you. Can't you just take a chance?"
"'When I fall short of everyone's expectations, then will you stop bugging me about it?'
'You said the model didn't need talent for the role. That she just had to sit there and look pretty. How could you possibly fall short?'
Alicia looked at Jonas through narrowed eyes. 'I really want to hurt you right now.'"
"The reality may be that when a woman goes to bed at night, the guy next to her is an overweight, unshaven slob. But he's her slob, and she still wants some romance. She hopes that the guy she's with, even if they've been together for years, still wants to look into her eyes, and still worships the ground she walks on."
"He jumped out, rounded the car, and opened her door. He took her hand and helped her out of the car, one warm hand clasping hers, the other cupping her elbow, his actions making her feel treasured and leaving her breathless.
As he ushered her inside, his hand, big and warm, settled on her lower back and goosebumps ran up her neck, then down her arms."
"Sudden fear lanced through Alicia. Jonas was, well, he was Jonas. He was a little too everything. Too good-looking, too rich, too capable of breaking her heart. If she couldn't hold onto a regular guy, how did she expect to hold on to one of Portland's most eligible bachelors?"
"My mom pretty much thought I could do no wrong, so most of the discipline was left to my dad. He was a great guy. He taught me to work hard, play hard, and hold out for a woman I could love with my whole heart."
"Her gaze skittering from his, she offered her hand and his engulfed hers, his fingers lacing with her own, and she officially admitted to herself that she was a mess. She didn't know if it was the setting or what, but she found his words and actions incredibly romantic. She glanced up and couldn't help smiling at him. The way he looked into her eyes seemed incredibly intimate and she felt heat rising in her cheeks. She turned her head away and pretended to study some roses, all the while completely aware of his hand entangled with hers."
"How could Alicia explain that the problem was that she was an insecure coward? She feared Jonas would realize she was nothing special, after all, and break up with her eventually and that she'd be devastated."
"How could she possibly explain something like that? Especially to Willa? A woman with a happily ever after garden, and an optimistic outlook where love was concerned? Alicia didn't even understand it herself, so she couldn't expect anyone else to."
"I just feel like I'm the kind of girl who doesn't inspire staying power, you know?"
The Princess Problem : A short read. A very cute & light chick lit book. I must say I loved the cover page of the book. The story is a about a young woman called Alicia Dayne. Alicia is a smart and career oriented person. Wiila Highborn and his son Jonas Highborn runs a very successful mattress company. Alicia is contacted by Willa to do an ad for her company. That's the big break Alicia was looking for in her career!
Very soon,she meets the handsome and super successful owner Jonas Highborn. Even though their relation does not start at the best of terms, his matchmaking mother is convinced that they are meant to be. Soon sparks fly between Alicia and Jonas. Jonas soon realizes Alicia is The One even though Alicia has her doubts since she doesn't want another heartbreak in her life. I really liked the chemistry between the two characters.
Yes, some parts are a little too much to be realistic, for instance the whole falling in love happens with in a span of a week maybe. Yet, the book was an enjoyable read.It's a chick lit and too good to be true stuff does happen. So let's all be happy, eh? The conversations and arguments were very realistic and kinda cute. The insecurities which Alicia feels are pretty convincing. In more than one scene, I caught myself smiling to the events unfolding. That, according to me makes this book a fairly good read! The book ended way too quickly in my opinion. In a nutshell, a fun, one sitting read!
Short story of a girl-meets-boy instantly fall for each other. The End. The only conflict was that she wasn't willing to give the guy a chance, which lasted a few minutes.
I got bored and it didn't engage my interest. I think it would have worked better if she didn't swoon and fall for him so soon. If there was more of a gradual approach. It's a romance book - so would have been nice to see some development on that aspect.
Heroine: dark-haired, green-eyed beauty. Rather angst-y, creative type.
Hero: tall, dark and handsome wealthy dude - stereotype romance fodder. He apparently falls for the heroine because she isn't nice to him thus proving a challenge. Every other women he meets of course is mad about him and is always trying to charm him blah blah blah, Pretty much a cliché - what happens when the heroine as his girlfriend is nice to him and he meets someone else who challenges him?
Plot: hero's mother is keen to set the hero and heroine up. Heroine is reluctant because she's worried he'd hurt her. But then hero (who initially wasn't keen) convinces her. Meanwhile there's a few sub-plots such as the heroine's commission, and problems relating to her friends. The End.
The Princess Problem is a short story, only 121 pages long. I didn't realise this before I started reading, so all of a sudden it ended. And I felt a little lost. I don't usually choose to read short stories, I find, especially if they're romance, that they feel rushed and incomplete. The Princess Problem definitely didn't feel incomplete, in fact I felt that it ended really nicely.
However, in my opinion it was too short. There could be so much more to this story! And I actually want Diane Darcy to rewrite it into a full length novel. I loved the characters, Alicia and Willa being my two favourites. I would say Jonas but I honestly don't feel that he had enough time to develop.
I want to see more of Jonas, to really watch Jonas and Alicia's relationship develop. It felt like they were being romantic in the rose garden one minute, and then married the next. Far too quick moving, and yes I know that's how shorter stories work, but I want more! (With all this demanding more I feel like Oliver, here's to hoping I don't get turned down too!)
I've given The Princess Problem 3 Stars, not because I didn't enjoy it, I really did, but because I felt it was too fast paced and quick moving, and Diane Darcy could definitely get a couple hundred more pages out of Jonas and Alicia.
I read this book on a relaxed saturday afternoon. I didn't know what I wanted to read, just found Vrolijk Hart, which I finished in about an hour, and I was craving for more shorter reads and came across this fun little novella. And this was just the kind of story I needed at that moment. A fairy tale, well a modern fairy tale. Thinking about it, it kind of reminds me of A Cinderella story, you know the one with Hillary Duff and Chad Michael Murray, well minus the high school drama.
This is definitely not a high school story, although there are no sex scenes in this book. Yes I am just calling it as it is, it is true though, this is a clean romance story. The main character Alicia just landed her first big project, designing a promotion champagne for Highborn Mattresses. Which is cool, I like the fact that she's a hard working starter, which I can relate to easily because I am just started my first job. Even though Mrs. Highborn was just looking for a date for her son, the business was still a major player in this story. It was not just a background detail, which made the story realistic.
THE PRINCESS PROBLEM, by Diane Darcy, is a feel-good, sweet (wholesome) contemporary romance with a fun twist on Princess and the Pea. I loved watching Jonas (heir-apparent to the family's mattress company dynasty) and Alicia (who only wanted to do her job by promoting the mattress company and develop a fantastic ad campaign) fall for each other. Their sweet romance develops at a believable and interesting pace, aided a bit by Jonas's matchmaking momma. I enjoyed the premise, the circumstances, the twist that neither Jonas nor Alicia were looking for love....nor did they want it when it fell in their laps!
Diane Darcy consistently writes sparkling dialogue, believable characters who are 3-D, well-motivated, sympathetic, and people I'd like to be friends with.
The BEAUTIFUL COVER has EVERYTHING to do with the story! The book is free of grammatical errors and typos, cleanly formatted, and professional in every way.
Kudos to the author! This book has it all: humor, romance, tender and sweet emotions of falling in love, genre-appropriate conflict, and a heartwarming happily-ever-after. Highly recommended to fans of wholesome contemporary romance.
The Princess Problem is a story minus the extended internal dialougue, lengthy backstories, detailed scenic descriptions and other extras in a book. Thankfully, the brevity did not really affect the gist of the story. The result is a sweet, fun, and fast paced tale of a boy meets girl who then live, hopefully, happily ever after.
Alicia and Jonas is the result of a matchmaking attempt of a mom who wants to see her son settled with a suitable wife and mother for her grandchildren. Alicia is handling the ala-Princess and the Pea production of a mattress commercial for Mrs. Highborn. She is a dear to work with except for her frank suggestions that she and his son Jonas should date. With misgivings, Alicia gives in but suddenly feels afraid to feel that Jonas can easily sweep her off her feet. She fears to be hurt once again, so the best thing is to avoid the "dangerously addictive" Mr. Highborn. But Alicia just has to be brave, because Jonas is as persistent as his mom, and will not let her go easily off the hook.
This is a fiction story about Alicia who has given up on the stereotypical "Disney Princess" fairytale ending. Instead, she is focused on advancing her career. Alicia gets the job to create "Princess and the Pea" themed commercial for Highborn Mattresses, only to find Willa has ulterior motives in doing so. I found the characters to be very well developed. Alicia is very quick on her feet with her no-nonsense responses to Jonas (Willa's son) who is quite rude at times. Willa is a strong woman who knows her son and is looking for someone who can be on the same level as him.
The progression of the book was steady and wrapped up really well. It was a very quick read, only 80% is of the book (the rest is a preview). There are some typos throughout the book, but it did not distract me (usually it does). I thought this was a PG book - no sex scenes, heavy attraction - nothing you wouldn't see in a PG movie nowadays. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes "love at first" stories.
The Princess Problem A Fairy Tale Romance By Diane Darcy.
I have often heard of readers saying that they choose books if only for the cover. The Princess Problem immediately attracted my attention (I'm a sucker for flowers) and much to my delight a sweet little romance novel, the first I have read from this author.
The Princess Problem is a story of a young woman who is entirely focused on her career and is about to get a major contract with a well known business. Throw in a Matchmaking Mother, a handsome and intriguing businessman and a story line that should bring out a few smiles and giggles. Its a well thought out little story with a good concept, the characters are perfect yet they are flawed as well as insecure which makes them endearing. The book ended to quick for my liking would have liked to have read more on the other characters (so not to give the story away) but a good story nonetheless...
This was a fun and quirky fairytale remake. Alicia is hired by Willa to film a commercial for a family mattress company. Little does she know that Willa is all set to play matchmaker. Jonas is Willa's son and the manager of the mattress company. Will Alicia and Jonas be able to work together? Will Willa's matchmaking end up working out?
I enjoyed the story because of it's quirkiness. The plot was well thought out. The pace and flow were decent. The writing style was fun and different. I felt like I could have belonged in the book myself. The characters were fun and thought out but I wasn't thrilled with them. I think I wanted to learn more about the characters than I did.
All in all it was a good book and I look forward to reading more of these fairytale related books soon. I learned a few things about roses through this book as well. It was an excellent book!
This was one of the cutest reads I've read in a long time. I know lots of books and stories don't want to be described as 'cute', but there's no other way for me to put it. The book had me smiling while I read it, for pity's sake. Alicia and Jonas were such a great couple.
Jonas' mother, Willa, decides she wants to do a commercial for her mattress company, but only agrees to Alicia's Princess and the Pea idea because she's wanting to play match-maker for her son, Jonas.
Alicia is a sweet person, until she starts hanging around Jonas, and then the fur begins to fly as something sparks between the two of them. Jonas enjoys it and knows it right away for what it is, due to the loving relationship his parents had.
Short read, but great story. No boring bits, no overly 'gushy' romance and certainly not too graphic. My kind of romance story, fun to read and a plot to boot!