The Princess and the Pea

by Victoria Alexander

A true American princess, Cecily White stands to inherit her father's business empire. With the 20th century right around the corner, she has no intention of marrying some foreign nobleman seeking her money. Then on a trip to England, Cece falls under the spell of a dashing peer who has more to recommend him that the length of his title and the size of his countinghouse.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale Retellings

400 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.

Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.

During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.

Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.

Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!

Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.

They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.

Reviews

[Addie]

DNF 25%

I usually really like VA's books, but this one? Oooof.

The characters....seemed to act out of character. And how is that even possible when I have only read 1/4th of the book and I don't even know them. Or maybe, rather, the characters acted out of their time and setting? It was just odd.

Totally into each other and no chemistry. Speech and behavior that seemed like they had been transported from the present to the past. All rules of society thrown out the window.

[Valen]

DNF 20%

I'm sorry, I tried. This was just plain bad.

It seemed like the author couldn't chose who to set as the main character and eventually lost the plot for literally all of them. (Yes, I skimmed several scenes, sue me)
THERE'S A FUCKING LOVE TRIANGLE INVOLVING THEIR PARENTS FOR DUCKS SAKE.
None of the characters were interesting enough to keep reading and honestly the two that should had had the spotlight, simply didn't.

Yeah, this author is not for me but I'll probably keep trying with these "old lady at the beach" kinda books.

.... And the smut wasn't even good

[Tiffany McCrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t care if it is a romance novel, saying I love you on page 85 is too soon. It made the whole book feel pointless and frustrating to find out why there would be 300 more pages of stupid obstacles. I also generally struggle with most historical romances that completely ignore all rules of the time period. The dialogue, the names, the behaviors were all too modern. So really the only thing that was theoretically of the period was the clothes.

[Drew Doll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, I really, really wanted to like this book a whole lot more that I did.



The blurb looked interesting, I found the premise amusing, even the characters initially were engaging. So why didn't I like this book more? Why?




1. Way, way, way to much telling, not nearly enough showing.
2. Character development is limited. Characters act without us having an understanding of why they are acting that way. One egregious example is that we are told Em (the heroine's sister) runs off to Paris and throws off the bounds of propriety for 10 years. Nothing, Nothing, NOTHING in the entire book gives us any reason why she would do this. In fact, she is, from the first, shown as the straight-laced counterpoint to the heroine.
3. Sub-plots come riding in without any warning, or are so poorly drawn they do not make any kind of sense. The whole issue with the older brother James. If there was supposed to be a mystery that plays into the main plot you need more than one sentence during a conversation earlier in the book to make it work.
4. Characters acting completely differently that they have acted the entire book. The entire book Jared has single-mindedly loved Cece and pursued her devotedly, then a minor nefarious character accuses her of bribing him to allow Jared to win a race and he Jared walks away from her saying "love has nothing to do with it"? OH COME ON!!!





Ok, so I do understand why I didn't like this book more.

Would I read it again? Nope.

[Carole Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up forever ago, and it has just been collecting dust on my bookshelf. Yayy for reading challenges to get me to pick up these dusty books!!

Here we follow Cecily and Jared. Cecily is a true American princess who stands to inherit her father's business empire. She is everything society wants: beautiful, rich, and polite. However, she is independent and has no desire but to marry for love. Especially those poor English peers that only have a title and debt in their pockets. However, there is something about Jared, the Earl of Graystone, that she can't resist. 

This story started off swell. I really enjoyed it. Cece was a gem, and I liked Jared. They were perfect for each other, but they literally "fell in love" like immediately. Luckily, there were a lot of issues, and Cece isn't an empty-headed fool. He needs to earn her and really show he loves her. GOOD. He's a fortune-hunter...no better than the girls of the ton. 

I think my biggest issue was how modern everyone felt. I get being "ahead of the times" and oddities, but sometimes it was a bit much. 

And the MIL? Omg. SURE she loves her son and wants the best, BUUUUT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE IN THE POORHOUSE. Let him marry whomever he wants. Gah. I wanted to kick her. 

Plus the side romances drove me insane. I love when side characters find love too, don't get me wrong, but it was too much. It really bled into the story sometimes. 

Even with the issues, I did enjoy the journey of these two. 

I'll stamp this with 2 stars. 

[Jesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished the book in less than a day considering I started late last night. I enjoyed it.
The characters are well written. I understand their motivations even if they are so new to me and no one felt like a heinous villain in the story but rather a person who has a logical reason for the way they were acting. Sinclair could be a villain but he played such a minor role that I failed to see him that way. Lady Olivia could be one but she was protecting her son's best interest which is understandable. Sir Robin was a man blinded by the memory of his first love. There was a sense of unfinished in his story and he felt the need to pursue it. You can't blame him for that.

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute! The plot was a bit all over the place, going from hate to love to hate to maybe love to maybe hate too quickly to actually buy their feelings towards each other. It also has some dated casual fat phobia and sexual harassment/attempted assault. Also one of the characters says “whatever” a lot, which felt quite anachronistic.

[Kathy Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, light read.

[Darbella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars Cece and Jared.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes a story based on the Princess & the Pea wonderful is also what makes it awful. When a passionate and intelligent h is tested by her potential mother-in-law, it provides the readers many reasons to fall in love with her. Devising tests that display qualities and habits of the wife of an Earl is a lovely way to utilize the premise of this beloved fairy tale to prove the h's sincere feelings for the H.

The only problem is that it makes the H look like a sap next to his lady love. With the additional embarrassment of making him marry for money, Jared didn't appear to be a very convincing lover. Although he succeeds in making Cece fall in love with him because of his dream as a car manufacturer, he didn't really exert much effort to woo her. In fact, he proved, more than once, how much he didn't deserve her.

So despite the fact that Cece is a fantastic heroine, this story suffers from pairing her with Jared, a decidedly weak hero. Their love story was cute with all the side characters and the info on automobiles, but it could've used more humor and heat. And a whole lot of alpha male behavior. In reality as well as in fiction, I truly believe that a romance is infinitely better when the man loves so much more than the woman.

[Elle Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am NOT normally someone who reads romance novels but for some reason this one spoke to me... Either because I'm a light sleeper or because I enjoy retellings of fairy tales/older stories. This one actually had a plot and had some funny moments and one liners, and there was more tension than actual sex in it. The few parts of it that were sexual in nature were tastefully written and didn't take up that much space, thankfully. A well paced vacation read.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure what was missing about this book. It was well written...I like plucky American heiresses in London...I’m fascinated by how England viewed progress at the turn of the Century...but for some reason something is missing.

Maybe lack of chemistry between the characters?

[Sean Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long winded dull romance novel has very little going for it.
Easy reading in one sense but not enthralling, made it to the end, but really possible should have tossed it into the fiery pits of hades.
Victoria Alexander #1

[Diane Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to catch up on books I somehow missed by Victoria Alexander. I really liked this book, the characters and the plot. Had me laughing quite a bit. Looking forward to reading many more by this talented storyteller.

[Valona (acourtofbooksandtea) Shala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started really slow for me but became quite fun
A low 4 star from me

[Joann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to get into

[Trish Welsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book if you’re interested in the invention of automobiles. 🚗

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger warning: fire, motor vehicle accident

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

.....eh.

[Hajar Qurashi]

DNF

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun premise, but the automobile parts were slow.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute take on the fairy tale but I didn't warm to the main character, Cece, until the latter half of the book. Alexander's humor is certainly present in the writing.

[Lover of Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

After one of Cecily's friends gets hurts from the Early of Graystone, Cecily comes up with a plan to go to England and hurt him just as much. Cece's plan is to convince her parents to take them over to England, telling them that she would like to marry a English Lord, and going to England would do that. Her parents had always wanted her to marry one, so her plan worked she had convinced her parents to take both her and her sister Emily over to England. When they get there they visit a friend of their mother's. Where they meet her son Quentin and his friend Jared, who happens to be the Earl of Graystone (but Cece has no idea whom he really is) where they show her their automobile that they had recently made. At the time of when this book takes place, is when inventors start to make automobiles. Cecily is fascinated, since she has never seen one before. Cecily is also entranced by Jared, however despite their physical attraction to one another there is a undeniable contention that sparks between the two. Cecily heads to Paris, to see the race of automobiles, unsuspecting to Cecily Jared is one of those that are participating in the race. When they meet once more, thus strikes a romantic interlude where a love spikes up when they least expect it. Jared knowing of his responsibilities knows he has to marry into money into saving his family's heritage.Thinking that Cecily is just a daughter of a poor butcher he ends their liason, even though he desperately wants to stay with her. He knows that there are lots of innocent people that he is responsible for and they come first before any of his personal needs. Cecily is heartbroken over Jared's decision, she is withdrawn and not herself. Cecily had fallen in love with Jared and now must find someone to marry even though at that moment its the last thing on Earth she would want to do. But when they are put face to face as Cecily being a rich heiress and Jared being a English Lord, things definitely spice up. Where Jared will go about proving to Cecily that he wants to marry her not just for her money but for love.

Its been some time since I have read anything from Victoria Alexander, but I have loved her books. This one was a little bit different than most of her other books. Its part of a multi author series: A Faerie Tale. As you can certainly tell from the cover. As in the original Faerie Tale, the princess was put through a test. So with this one, Cece is put through tests by Jared's mother, who is very over protective of him. She desires him to find someone that will be a good wife and will love him and be loyal. So as I was reading through this, some of these tests, I was just laughing through some of them, and cheering for Cece as well, since she always passed each test with flying colors. This is definitely one of my favorites of Victoria Alexander's, it definitely had a certain theme to it, that drew me in. Since I am a huge fan of Faerie Tales, this one was well received for me.

[Gina Hott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hott Synopsis:

It’s definitely a folly – though whose we can’t be certain.
Lady Olivia knows that her son Jared must marry an heiress and an American one seems to be the only option but that doesn’t mean she has to settle. Lady Olivia will make sure that the next Duchess will be a true lady worthy of her title even if she has to resort to her favorite Fairy Tale for ideas.

CeCe can’t believe it when her friend returns from England only to lament about the most gorgeous Duke whose mother shewed her away. Seriously? Who do those Englishers think they are anyway? After a bit of manipulation CeCe manages to embark on a journey to show the English that Americans are every bit as worthy as they until she meets a commoner with the most striking blue eyes she’s ever seen.

Jared can’t believe his luck. He’s finally met the girl of his and they’re in love… except, she’s not an heiress and he can’t forgo hundreds of years of history for one life of bliss.

Except, neither Jared nor CeCe are who the other thought and now… they’ll marry – if they don’t kill each other or Lady Olivia first!

Hott Review of The Princess and the Pea:

I don’t know when I’ve laughed so very hard. I LOVED this book. It was absolutely perfect. Witty, fun, and interesting.

I think my favorite part was the innuendo & sarcasm but then, Victoria Alexander is known for that.

More…
Author: Victoria Alexander
Source: Amazon (Not even on sale!)
Grade: A+
Steam: Adult
Setting: England with jaunts to Chicago & Paris

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

After learning that her friend's heart was broken by Jared, the Earl of Graystone, Cece, an heiress who despises the idea of marrying for money, decides she's going to London and she's going to make the Earl suffer. So she does. When they first meet, they have no idea of who the other is - she doesn't know he's the Earl, he doesn't know she's an heiress. And they meet over automobiles. And they fall in love pretty much instantly (by page 75 they're already declaring their love). But the connection to the fairytale for which the book is named comes about because Jared's mother has a habit of "testing" his would-be brides for suitability...which is why so many have gone home crying.

The concept was a good one, but I think it failed in execution. I didn't like Cece. She was kind of a manipulator (not malicious) and a game player and she kept changing her damn mind. She'd be angry about something one minute and then fine the next. One minute she's never going to marry him and the next she's scheming to get him to marry her on her terms. On top of that, the "love' that the H/h feel for one another feels shallow, like there's no depth or passion. Half the time I thought they could be brother and sister for all the feelings they have for each other. And did there really have to be 4 subplots? It got to be a bit much. There were positives to the story. The mother was probably my favorite character and ironically the character with the most depth IMHO. Her tests and what she was trying to do were the best and most unique part.

[Melodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the previous Victoria Alexander novel I read, the book started out very promising but went downhill from there. I don't don't why I decide to read this since the ratings are pretty low besides the fact that the premise sounds so promising. Like that other novel, this book had the potential of being a great read--she has such nice ideas for the books--but I was very disappointed.

There were quite a few things I didn't like about the novel. The biggest problem I had was the love triangle between mother, father, and old-flame; the subplot was completely irrelevant plus it just feels out of place like the author just stuck that in there to make the book more exciting. Also, the potential love story between Quintin and Emily got no desirable ending but Robin and Olivia did (?? that just doesn't make sense at all!) Another thing I didn't like was that the two characters were in love for the majority of the novel. I mean, just marry the guy and be done with it! Instead, she came up with all these reasons. I was just so frustrated.

Okay, okay, this is not a very nice review but I was just so disappointed since I always start reading a novel thinking I will enjoy it. This novel had its moments but they were short. Right now, I just dread reading another book by this author but alas, I have another one sitting on my bookshelf. My only excuse was that the back cover sounded so interesting and that I didn't realize it at the time who that author was.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cecily White’s father made a fortune in America and she had been raised as a privileged young lady with numerous marriage prospects. However, Cecily was determined that the man she marry wanted to be with her because he loved her and not just to obtain her fortune.

By contrast, the Earl of Graystone was heir to an old and respected title, but their family fortunes had suffered of late. His family urged him to marry an heiress, a young lady of suitable family and wealth, who could bring real life back into the line. Jared cannot imagine anything so cold blooded.

Yet, when Cece meets Jared, she finds him to be charming and fun. The motor car he and his partner have designed shows real promise, too. All he needs is a little investment capital to get the production line in gear. Nevertheless, what girl doesn’t yearn to be swept off her feet? Surely, financing a factory for producing motor cars isn’t very romantic.

Determined that Jared shouldn’t get off so easily, Cece leads him a merry chase through her family’s triumphs and foibles. Over the weeks, however, they fall more and more in love until there is no one else but Jared who seems destined to wed the cherished American princess.

Delightful for its vintage style, décor and grace, intermingled with a charming romance from the previous generation. A lovely read for a beguiling afternoon.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting to see how authors use classic fairy tales as the inspiration for a book, and with a title like this it was pretty clear that that was the case here but I could not imagine how this story could be stretched to fill 354 pages. In this case the classic fairy tale is what inspires the hero's mother to test any of her son's potential brides, though not by seeing how well she sleeps with a pea under the tower of mattresses that is her bed for the night.

Set in 1895, this is the story of an American heiress and an English Earl whose family is in a tight spot financially. They fall in love and decide to marry fairly early in the book and the largest part of the story is about the "tests" the dowager countess comes up with --without her son's knowledge or consent -- and a few extra that circumstances provide.

One of the interesting subplots in the book was the reunion of the heroine's happily married mother and the man she almost eloped with many years ago.

Normally, I would have given this book three stars, but the author happened to include a few things that, while not significant parts of the story, spoke to me at this point in my life and earned the extra stars. A year or two earlier of later and I probably would have stayed with the three stars.

[Tracy Emro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I thought Cece and Jared were both extremely likable and the chemistry between them was undeniable.

I also liked that they fell in love pretty early in the book and instead of that being the end of their story, it was just the beginning. They had some issues to work out to get their HEA. And what a delightful trip it was.

There are also a lot of equally entertaining secondary characters. Jared's mother was great. Her tests for Cece were priceless.

The banter between Jared and Cece was amusing and very well written. I could totally see these two together. And while I am not a fan of misunderstanding plots - this one was well done and was not dragged on to the point that the reader is irritated. Issues were resolved quickly.

While this book was not as steamy as I usually like, the sexual content and tension where just right for this story.

If I had any complaint, it would be that the epilogue was a bit strange. The whole thing with her sister was out of the blue and seemed out of context. Not bad, just weird.

I would highly recommend this book and pretty much anything Ms Alexander writes. She is a gifted author and never fails to combine the perfect amount of drama, sex and humor into her work.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cece White was on a mission of revenge for her friend Marybeth Anderson.
Both young women were heiress's and the titled men in England were marrying American heiress's these days to restore their lost wealth. The Earl of Graystone had broken her friends heart, and his mother had rejected the poor the girl as well. Arrogant English men.

Cece decided she would go to England capture the Earl's heart and dump him, showing that American's were superior.

Meeting Jared Grayson sidetracked Cece's plan in England. She fell quickly for the man who was a penniless tinkerer with automobiles.

Jared had to cut lose of Cece because she told him he was an honorable man, which was true and meant he had to marry an heiress. Not some butchers daughter.

By the time they find out the truth about eachother Cece decides she will marry the man but not make it an easy courtship... so the games began. Not to forget that Lady Olivia Grayson was busy with her tests to make sure Cece would make her son the perfect wife.