Title: Royally Yours
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher/Year: Createspace Publishing 9/11/18
Length: 197 Pages
Series: Royally #4
Overview
Princess Lenora Celeste Beatrice Arabella Pembrook had an unusual childhood. She was raised to be a Queen—the first Queen of Wessco.
It’s a big deal.
When she’s crowned at just nineteen, the beautiful young monarch is prepared to rule. She’s charming, clever, confident and cunning.
What she isn’t… is married.
It’s her advising council’s first priority. It’s what Parliament is demanding, and what her people want.
Lenora has no desire to tie herself to a man—particularly one who only wants her for her crown. But compromises must be made and royals must do their duty.
Even Queens. Especially them.
**
Years ago, Edward Langdon Richard Dorian Rourke, walked away from his title and country. Now he’s an adventurer—climbing mountains, exploring jungles, going wherever he wants, when he wants—until family devotion brings him home.
And a sacred promise keeps him there.
To Edward, the haughty, guarded little Queen is intriguing, infuriating…and utterly captivating. Wanting her just might drive him mad—or become his greatest adventure.
**
Within the cold, stone walls of the royal palace—mistrust threatens, wills clash, and an undeniable, passionate love will change the future of the monarchy forever.
Every dynasty has a beginning. Every legend starts with a story.
This is theirs.
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the first 3 installments to this series, all stories that laid a nice framework to the history is Wessco and what it’s like to be a royal there. With this fourth book, i’m happy to see that we get to see a Princess, a Queen as the leading lady, and the one that has to truly reign and lead her country while tying to find her own happiness.
We go on a journey with Leonora where she grows from being a girl who knows her future, to a woman who’s forced to live in the present, during a time when there are still so many expectations on what is ‘right and proper’. It’s through a friendship that she starts with Thomas, a newly appointed Duke of his family’s land (taking the title because his older brother decided that he had a different purpose in life) that Leonora finds freedom. Thomas is the kind of friend who gets her into trouble but not enough to cause problems. Just enough to let her feel like she’s living. He shares the stories of his older brother with Leonora, and some how even though it’s only through writing, she starts to feel butterflies when Thomas’ brother Edward sends regards to ‘Lenny’. More to come on that later.
Leonora finds herself in the role of Queen earlier than expected and her world is thrown into a tailspin. She’s forced to grow up very quickly, earn and keep the trust of her citizens, and some how keep the old men of Parliment at bay and happy. Which of course means that she must get married. Since in the 1940s/1950s, it’s just NOT ok to be a single woman ruling a country.
The story from here is expected yet frustrating and sweet at the same time. A list of appropriate men is shared and countered. The determination that Thomas is the perfect guy of course makes the most sense…and on to wedding planning we go. Until Thomas falls gravely ill, terminally so, and the world comes crashing down. Here enters Big Brother Edward and the world is perhaps righted again.
What’s really nice about how Emma Chase wrote this one is that we had a fairly innocent and clinical first part, and then things start to get romantic. Even dirty in places. It’s like there’s a tangible shift once Edward comes into the mix, partially because of how commanding he is in physique and character but also because there’s a clear chemistry between them, and Edward is able to teach Lenny things that she never really understood.
Theirs is a partnership built on grief of Thomas, but also developed and strengthened because of who they are to one another. We can only hope that this strength is able to keep them together while there are those who are out to discredit Edward’s faith and loyalty to Lenny. Add to that the sense that Parliment is constantly against everything that Lenny wants to do, there’s concern that Edward has too much power over Lenny and the country and then the crazy ‘live your life as you want’ little sister of Princess Miriam. So much that can be overwhelming and so much that can derail even the best laid plans. Who gets caught it the cross fire, what is sacrificed to make the country prosperous and what does that means for our mains? you’ll only find out if you read. Enjoy!
