From bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries comes the first dazzling novel in a sexy new series featuring three half brothers. Bound together by the royal father who denied them, they’ve formed a pact to help each other achieve their every desire…including the women of their dreams. Miss Katherine Merivale is desperate to make a respectable match — if only her childhood sweetheart would propose … sweetheart would propose Until he does, she can’t touch the fortune she’s inherited. So the last thing she needs is notorious rogue Alec Black putting her proposed marriage at risk with his distracting, smoldering gaze and moonlit kisses.
Alec, the Earl of Iversley — and one of three bastard sons of the Prince of Wales — is secretly searching for an heiress bride to pay his debts. Fiery Katherine seems the answer to his prayers, and her passionate response to his practiced seduction soon assures him that she is his. But Alec knows Katherine is looking for a love-match, and he wonders…what will happen when she discovers his deception?
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Humor: Yes
Basic plot
Katherine has been unofficially betrothed to Sydney since childhood and she’s ready for him to make it official. Alec is in need of an heiress. While it’s not common knowledge, his half brother informs him of Katherine’s fortune upon her marriage and he sets her in his sights. Alec convinces Katherine to embark on a fake flirtation to force Sydney into proposing.
Give this a try if you want:
– Hero with daddy issues – he is a bastard of the Regent and was abused by his ‘father’, ending with his destruction of the finances and estate that was entailed to him
– Regency time period – this book takes place in 1820
– You are okay with a jerk hero/jealous hero – Alec comes off as the stereotypical alphahole – he is rather pushy, arrogant, he knows what’s best for the heroine despite her thinking otherwise
– You are okay with dubcon coming into to play – Alec doesn’t really listen to “no”, and keeps pushing until she relents
– Fake relationship trope
– Mid steam – this is typical Jeffries with a solid 3 steam scale and some kisses
My thoughts:
I just thought this story was all right. There was quite a bit of deception on the part of the hero here and that’s something that is usually a huge story turn off for me.
Alec has a few things he’s hiding, but he’s desperate for funds to restore his estate, so he’ll do anything to keep it from his soon to be wife until the money is secure. He’s also convinced it won’t be an issues once Katherine finds out and is mad because he’ll just sexually satisfy her until she forgets 😛
Katherine I felt bad for – her father’s debts loom over her and her mother is a lot to handle. She thinks she’s in love with Sydney, but Sydney doesn’t treat her as anything special. She longs for love and adventure and Alec definitely provides that.
Sydney has a bit of his own story line – it’s obvious he has feelings for one of his male friends, but I don’t recall anything being resolved with that by the end of the book – I was curious about it because Sydney wasn’t a bad man – he was basically forced into this childhood engagement just as Katherine was. I’m wondering if the future 2 books of the series will bring him up at all.
There were some funny parts in this story, my favorite being that Katherine’s mother tried to speak French but usually butchered her phrases into something embarrassing.
There was a time that I read many historical romance books but not anymore. But after reading and enjoying this story I think that I will read this genre a little more in the future.
‘In the prince’s bed’ is the first book of ‘The Royal brotherhood’ series and the first book that I read of the writer Sabrina Jeffries. ‘In the prince’s bed’ is a very pleasant story and it left me very curious about the other books (about the other two half-brothers) in this series. I will certainly read them in the future.
I loved both characters very much. Although Alec is an earl, in my eyes he didn’t really acted like one. He didn’t think that the world revolved around him, nor was he very arrogant and he wasn’t afraid to work hard. The same can be said about Katherine. Katherine was a young woman but she already had the responsible of a house hold on her shoulders. I loved how both accepted the other like that person really was.
This book was a good read.