The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess

The Royal House of Karedes #5

by Chantelle Shaw

Plain, plump Kitty Karedes is the forgotten princess--until she has to host the palace ball. Kitty plans everything perfectly, but doesn't have time to buy herself a showstopping dress!

At the ball, Greek tycoon Nikos Angelaki mistakes homely Kitty for a waitress. She flees, her confidence in tatters but her identity still a secret. When Nikos espies her again, she's swimming naked in the moonlight--her frumpy clothes were hiding luscious curves! But next morning Nik discovers he's seduced a princess...and made her pregnant with his baby!

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Royalty

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I grew up without a TV, let alone DVD’s, computer games etc that my kids spend so much time engrossed in, but I learned to read at an early age and from then on I was always entertained – so much so that my friends used to hide their books when I visited them because all I wanted to do was read!

When I was a teenager I discovered Mills & Boon romances in my local library, and so began a lifelong love affair. I still remember that feeling of anticipation when I settled down with a pile of books - all bearing the famous rose logo - knowing that I would be drawn into a world of love, passion and emotional intensity that I have never found in any other books. I enjoy reading a wide range of books, especially historical novels, and I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, mainly I think because her characters seem so real, but I love romances and unashamedly admit that I only want to read books with a guaranteed happy ending. Reading is my joy and pleasure and I don’t want to cry buckets at the end of a book or have my sleep disturbed by its gruesome content.

For me, the characters in Harlequin Mills & Boon romances are the key. I love reading and writing about strong, alpha heroes and feisty, independent heroines who find that they can’t fight the blazing attraction between them.

When I married my own tall, dark, but sadly not wealthy hero, we moved out of London to the Kent coast and started a family that grew and grew. I adore my six children, and when they were small I loved being a stay-at-home mum, but there can be days, as I’m sure many of you know, when you feel isolated and – dare I say it – bored of conversing with three-year-olds. Harlequin Mills & Boon romances were my life-line and my sanity and I read them whenever I had a spare five minutes (in the bath, pacing the floor at three am with colicky baby on one shoulder and a book in the other hand!)

My imagination soared and I decided to try and write a book myself. My first attempt was typed up on a manual type-writer with the full-stop key and the letter p missing. Luckily my hero and heroine were not called Paul and Poppy, but it still meant going over my manuscript with a pen to fill in the gaps!

That first book was duly rejected as were my next two. I suppose I was disheartened and by now I had four small children and very little spare time, so although I continued to read romances, I gave up writing. It wasn’t until my youngest son started school that I tried writing again. I was struggling to come to terms with the death of my darling mum Gabrielle and writing became my therapy. Mum had always nagged me to get on and write a book and had an unshakeable belief that I would one day be published – I’m so glad that she was proved right and my biggest regret is that she isn’t here to share my success with me.

I wrote two more books which were both rejected by HM&B, but I was given some advice on my writing from the editorial team that encouraged me to try again. Third time lucky certainly applied to me – the day I received ‘the call’ was exactly four years after Mum had died. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life - but instead of chatting to the editor about contracts I had to dash off and pick my sick daughter up from school. Reality is never far away in my house!

I have now had nine books published - At the Sheikh's Bidding was released in September 08. My next book, Argentinian Playboy, Unexpected Love-Child will be out in the UK in July 09, and The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess in the UK in August 09. I have just had my twelfth book accepted and am already busy on my thirteenth. Now that my children are growing up I am able to write every day between 9 am and 3 pm, but often I become so involved with my characters that I sneak off to write again in the evening!

I feel I must be one of the luckiest people in the world to be doing something that I love, but I work hard at my luck and I believe that w

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb on this one gives you the entire story. The H/h marry and the rest of the story is figuring out how to make their marriage work after a ONS.

This was a sweet story with a kind hero. Some quibbles:

The heroine's obsession with her weight got old really fast and kept getting older as her pregnancy changed her body. The poor hero had his work cut out for him.

I can't believe a princess with access to all kinds of stylists didn't know how to dress herself. The hero just had to go into a boutique and an hour later she was transformed.

I also wish some of the plot threads had been tied off - there's no epilogue, so we don't see the baby. I'm guessing because this story is part of a series. Same with the identity of the hero's father.

The exchange of gifts at the end was lovely, and shows what money and thoughtfulness can buy you.

All in all, a pleasant outing in HPlandia.

[Fanniny Moreno Zavaleta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'M FINISHED! :) OH AND WARNING, CONTAINS LOTS OF SPOILERS!!

First of all I forgot all I was going to write last night u.u so here it goes what I remember...

I'm really conflicted here. If you read the review you may notice many complaints or at least they look like complaints. Actually, my reviews tend to be longer when I'm huffing complaining, but I did like this book...

At first I thought I've already read the book because I vividly remembered the mistaken for a waitress thing, but I probably just read the preview (first two chapters) in another book or something because I didn't remember the rest.

Anyway there were too many plot moppets (like the queen) that I'm not sure worked that well.

I'm undecided about the h, I liked that she overcame her insecurities about socializing but her behavior some times didn't add up much. And I was constantly rolling my eyes at the H, it was his fault for falling for the evil woman first, ok no, but still.

I read a book where the princess practically lived in poverty (her castle was falling apart) so in her case I can understand the budget didn't allow for much. BUT our h problems weren't economic so for the love of HP, why couldn't she or any of the royal family or staff hire a stylist for the Frumpy Princess ? Or at least a maid or an anything to remind her she was a princess and couldn't go dressed like a waitress to the royal party...

Which reminds me... The HP Heroes never cease to amaze me with their fashion knowledge. They always seem to know the color and silhouette that would benefit his h the most, some times they guess the h's size better than the owner of the body, oh and even the H knows the names of the most popular fashion designers or boutiques all around the world.

Anyways, when the H wants to play Barbie dressing I prefer a Hero that dresses his h conservatively. In this case he wanted her charms displayed for everyone to see and that came to bite him in the ass later buahahaha. And BTW, what happened to the cute professor? I really wanted to see a Kitty in academic action :/

And my million doubts about the Shannon business... Maybe it was me that read that part in a hurry because I was going out but let me get things straight (or not):
* H had an affair with actress Shannon some months ago (that's when the paparazzi took the pictures)
* We don't know when (or if) they finished the affair.
* H and h had their ONS
* Some weeks later H and h meet again, the pregnancy is acknowledged and they get engaged.
* H goes to America to see Shannon and tell her face to face they are over (but the tabloids use the pictures of asterisk number 1 to hint the continuation of the affair).

That means he was seeing Shannon when the ONS happened, right? He mentioned that his relationship with Shannon was casual and because of their schedules they didn't meet frequently (in chapter one he said he'd been celibate for too long). Still it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that he ended up things with the actress after the engagement and not before/after the ONS.

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a wonderful story about finding love in the least expected place. The characters were wonderful. Though Kitty has some major self-esteem issues, with the help of Nikos she works through them. Because of Kitty, Nikos learns to love again. This is one of those books where the author let's you see step by step, how they build a relationship, a love and a strong partnership. Most importantly, I really liked how the author used Nikos' difficult upbringing as a mechanism to develop his character versus using it as crutch to make him into a monster.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I really loved from this author. The heroine was an amazing woman shy and slightly insecure about her body originally but as a princess she was wonderful. She was caring, compassionate and her love changed the hero irrevocably. Nikos seemed cold and unemotional but his sad lonely past broke my heart. In reality he is a very vulnerable man who was deeply betrayed by his first wife and is devastated by the loss of his unborn child. He thinks he will never find the courage to love again let alone trust a woman but Kitty is so patient with him she really shot her love through his defenses. Fantastic emotional read!

[Romance_reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it. This one started out slow and predictable but picked up towards the middle. The story revolves around a frumpy princess and a hard hearted Greek billionaire and as far as contemporary romances go - was a decent enough read. The ending though, was a bit rushed.

Sweet romance but low on angst. I'm giving this three stars.

[All About Romance · Rating 2 out of 5]

the writing was good,but I found the hero to be too cold!!the heroine was very warm and loving and I really liked her,I believe she deserved a better hero!yes the hero was brutally hurt by the past but I think he kept punishing the heroine for it by constantly pushing her away and being unnecessarily rude to her.I also felt his declaration of love for her was too abrupt.the constant references to his past lovers and first wife left a bad taste in my mouth.I really wanted to like this one but was disappointed.I just couldn't believe the hero's love for the heroine!

[amanda s. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's ridiculous.

Why? Because the ending is just unbelievable. Katarina or Kitty forgive him that easy after every thing Nikos said. Just like that. I don't like it, I don't enjoyed it.

The story went promising at first but after a while I can't feel Nikos' affection. It's like he didn't even like her.

This book could be better.

[Diya✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sweet story.

[Lynsey A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable story from a first time author read for me. Nikos was a good hero, not cruel. Kitty, the heroine had quite a few self-esteem issues but other than that this is a good read.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good novel. I couldn't believe how low Kitty's self esteem was all because of that asshole that took advantage of her.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remembered reading this book years back and liking it a lot. Liked both Kitty and Nikos - Nikos, a little more, in spite of his arrogance. A childhood full of hardship and marriage with a cruel woman had toughened him and made his heart cold. His emotional scars ran too deep and it wasn't easy for him to lower his guard and trust anyone. Still, he did his best to make his marriage a companionable one.

I liked how he took time off after the wedding ceremony to show her around the city since she was new to it, listening and admiring her knowledge of his city, encouraging her in her work, helping her transform from drab to glam even if by force --like the time he ripped off the black dress she was wearing because he wanted her to wear the red dress. At least, it gave a boost to her confidence.

It was funny how regretted his decision when he had to fend off other guys who were eyeing his wife in her new glamorous state.

‘He wanted to dive into the front of your dress, agape ,’ Nikos drawled sardonically, his eyes glinting as he stared at Kitty’s angry face. ‘I’ve noticed the way he’s been looking at you all night.’
‘Nonsense…’ She paused, blushing when she recalled how Darius had called her gorgeous. ‘Anyway, it was you who insisted I should wear this dress.’
‘A decision I am now regretting,’ Nikos murmured as he led her onto the dance floor and drew her into his arms. ‘You are attracting too much male attention, and I have discovered that I am very possessive. In future you can wear something beige and baggy to hide your delectable body from everyone but me.’
He was teasing her, surely, Kitty thought, her eyes widening when she realised that the expression in his dark gaze was deadly serious. ‘Are you…jealous, Nikos?’ She blushed scarlet as the words left her lips, certain that he would deny it. Instead his eyes narrowed and he tightened his arms around her so that her pelvis came into direct contact with the shockingly hard ridge of his arousal.
‘It is not an emotion I am familiar with, Kitty mou ,’ he murmured dulcetly, ‘but if you so much as look at another man for the hour or so remaining until we can leave, I will demonstrate in front of everyone here just how possessive I am of my wife—and how very impatient I am to make love to her.’
‘Nikos!’ Kitty could not hold back her shocked cry, or restrain the quiver of white-hot sexual awareness that ripped through her.

Although, Kitty was suffering from low esteem, she was a nice and caring person. She and Nikos helped one another to overcome some of their issues and learnt a lot from one another. Nikos didn't even realize that he'd begun to share with Kitty about the issues that still haunted him namely his guilt of failing to protect his aborted child.

The book was full of angst, which is why I think it got ingrained in my memory. Just as I started re-reading book, some scenes instantly flashed in my mind. Like some I mentioned above and also
-- the scene where Nikos ended up with a bruised jaw courtesy of Seb --Kitty's brother and his best friend-- after the two find out that Nikos is the father of her child.
-- the scene where she goes missing and Nikos, recalling she was miserable and angry over her nausea in the morning, thinks she did what his ex-wife had done --aborted their child.

He went from furious to someone in deep pain as he spoke about the loss of his child to her, to offering her the position of the president of the charitable fund he'd started and ended up worrying over her health.

He looked down at her pale face and frowned when she swayed unsteadily on her feet. ‘What’s wrong?’ he demanded sharply. ‘Are you ill?’
‘I forgot lunch,’ she admitted sheepishly. ‘And now I feel sick again and I don’t think I can manage dinner.’
‘Kitty! Do you think you could worry about other people a bit less, and yourself a bit more?’ he growled, ignoring her startled gasp as he swung her into his arms and strode down the hall.
‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled, trying to resist the urge to press her face into his neck and breathe in his tantalising male scent. ‘I know you’re concerned for the baby.’
‘Actually, agape , I am concerned about you.’ She looked drained and infinitely fragile, and something indefinable tugged at his heart, but he forced it away and reminded himself that she was the mother of his child and so of course he cared about her welfare

My favorite scenes has to be Kitty's sweet birthday surprise for Nikos and Nikos at the casino though I felt bad for Kitty when he called to tell her not to wait up for him and she could hear the casino sounds and women laughing through the telephone line. But, I liked the fact that Nikos had gone to the casino because he was scared to go home knowing the fact that inevitable had taken place - that he'd fallen in love with his wife and further realizes his place was no more in these vacuous places but rather at home with his wife. I really liked how stunned he was to see his what his wife had done and loved the presents they exchanged thereafter.

It would've been so much nicer had there been an epilogue showing them with their baby.
Also, a closure for that Vasillis idiot who had shredded Kitty's confidence like perhaps new, glamorous Kitty telling him with full confidence to FO when they meet.

Although, the book is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. Overall an enjoyable read

[Romance Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice romance. In my best Harlequin Presents of the year.

[Cady Lorenzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried my very best not to shout while reading it. Its a very pleasant read and I enjoyed it so much. The characterization were great and oh, I fell in love with Nikos despite of his past.

[Pamela McCullough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a good read

[elstaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This barely gets to a two star because the heroine, for once, was not blonde and British (I swear, 80 % of the HP I come across have that trope) AND had some body image issues. But otherwise...maybe it's because I've been watching too much Agents of Shield and discussing brainwashing techniques, but the plot mechanisms that got the "hero" and "heroine" to marry skeeved me out. No more than what usually appears in HP, I guess...royal line, no royal bastards, no child of mine will be illegitimate, etc...but for whatever reason, it particularly grated on me this time.

Luckily, it's in the same "series" as The Playboy Sheik and His Virgin Stablegirl, so I know who's getting this next...

[Kasumi Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was abrupt and felt a bit flat for me. It was starting to get tense in their relationship when they each felt the distance growing.

I thought that when he left for a week then went to a casino and she heard a woman's laughter on the phone with him, she will start to get gutsy enough to leave him. Because she'll realize that Nikos wouldn't love her but only the baby. And then he'll come home to an empty house or something and see the error of his ways.

But what happened next was that he came home from the casino, saw the birthday feast she prepared and her wife was waiting for him dressed up with her gift. She confessed her feelings. He confessed his.

The end. Happily ever after...

I was waiting for something more dramatic to happen.

[Widala · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice story, but not enough drama for my taste. Kitty was sweet even though she had a very low self-esteem. Nikos was an arrogant jerk but he had a difficult past and had been betrayed by his ex wife. And they healed each other.
As a part of the House of Karedes, this book didn't really contribute to the development of the series and could be read as a stand alone.

[Kellcifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm surprised I even finished reading this one.

[Mtve41 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story with no OW drama. A long lost princess with body image issues meets Greek alpha that turns out to be one of my fave tropes : brother’s best friend. However, here this trope wasn’t played on. It seemed that the H and the h’s bro had been friends only recently!

Kitty was alright. She was no air head but she had serious insecurities about being (maybe) on the plus size or atleast non-skinny. These issues totally clouded her judgement at many places in the book even without the presence of any OW or OM drama.

The H was a possessive alpha but he also had a previous negative experience through a failed marriage. This affects his trust issues and connection with Kitty. Kitty also got a little stubborn and silly to want to jut out on her own for volunteer work without security shadowing her. Not a smart move for a princess/ a billionaire’s wife to act so petty!

Good while it lasted. The epilogue was missing sadly!

[Lenore Kosinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars -- I sort of remember why I enjoyed it before, but now I just notice too many things that don't work for me anymore.

I'm attracted to insecure heroines, I really am. But her insecurities lasted WAY too long, and there wasn't a gradual progression to confidence...or it was kind of stutter-step-y. Plus, her confidence of course came from a makeover. Which...*sigh* is okay, but not ideal.

And then there's Nikos. I can't help but notice that he had moments where he was kind of abuse-y -- mentally, but he also grabbed Kitty at times. It wasn't huge, but I noticed it.

And while I can tolerate lack of communication, sometimes it's more annoying than others. This would be one of those times. If Nikos had even remotely confided in Kitty...well, I guess there wouldn't be much of a book. Or there would be a different book. It's not that I didn't sort of get his reluctance and trust issues, but at a certain point I got tired of it.

[MaryD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plump Princess Kitty has a one-night encounter with her brother's friend Nikos Angelaki who thinks she's a waitress. When it results in Kitty's pregancy, they are pretty much forced to marry.

Kitty struggles with body image problems and much prefers doing research for the Arista's Museum of History rather than shop. I loved that he was taking the time to get to know her, realizing that she wasn't like his "other women":

and so he’d had no choice but to talk to her, and to his amazement he had discovered that he liked her as a person and would value her friendship.

Yet he also dared to push her out of her comfort zone, acting pretty autocratically. So there were pluses and minuses to Nikos' actions toward his wife.

Book #5 of "The Royal House of Karedes" series in the volume that contains #5-8.

[*CJ* · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess" is the story of Kitty and Nikos.

Oh how I hated this book.

Doormat curvy heroine has zero self confidence and easily controlled and swayed by people around her. Hero is a massive garbage bag who judges heroine by her looks when they first meet, even though shes a royalty. He treats her like a servant, and then has sex with her when opportunity arises.
Ofcourse she gets pregnant and he is forced to marry her, and thus begins a horrible relationship.
All he wants is sex, he refuses to let her work or dress herself, makes her give up her lifes work and wishes she only be a breeding machine for him, and also goes to seek OW when hes afraid. His past is NO excuse for him being a absolute sewer 🐀🐁

Ugh

Safe??? didnt trust him
0/6

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I expected. He was a totally besotted hero. Yes he had some issues due to his past but he totally worshipped the heroine. I loved that about him. I was worried when his first impression was that she was dumpy and not his type, that it was going to be bad but immediately he reversed his opinion. It was fun watching them fall in love and I did like how they communicated. I didn't like that he went in person to go break.up.with his.mistress but I don't think anything happened. But I swear in the first chapter he said he'd been celibate too long. Who knows just confused me.I loved when she gave him his birthday gift too. It was so sweet. He cried. And then he gave her his gift! Priceless. Just wish it would have had an epilogue!

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is good and very exciting

[Marjdomingo Obeso · Rating 3 out of 5]

june 4, 2018

[SassyLeg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[《Jaqueline》 · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/3 stars

[AnonymousBubble101 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I fucking hate the characters. The guy is obnoxious and the girl plain stupid and boneless.

[Nubeluz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Keriboo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected