When a modern princess falls in love with her bodyguard, a royal fairy tale turns dangerous.ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a beautiful princess. Flicka von Hannover lived an enchanted life. She jetted around Europe staging charity events with friends, had married a handsome prince in the most spectacular royal wedding of the 21st century, and should have lived happily ever after.But then she found … after.
But then she found the handsome prince in bed with a duchess. And then a coffee shop barista. And then her own goddamn secretary.
Finally, the prince did the unthinkable, and the beautiful princess ran away.
The prince didn’t want to let her go. He couldn’t take his throne without her and sent henchmen to take her back to the castle. Her worried royal brother sent people to look for her, too.
The prince threatened her. He said that if the princess contacted her brother or any of her friends for help, he would kill her brother and her brother’s new, pregnant wife.
So the princess ran to the only person she could trust, a man who was frankly not a handsome prince.
Dieter Schwarz had been Flicka’s bodyguard for years. He had protected her from assassins, kidnappers, and high school dates who got too handsy after a few drinks. He was a sharp-witted, sharp-jawed, hard-muscled former Swiss Special Forces operator who had started his own private security firm, Rogue Security, and had no past that he spoke of.
No one knew that he had been her first lover and broken her heart, but he’s the only one she can trust now.
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A great beach read. A tapestry, each series and book woven to together, making a wonderful flow of characters and story. Wow, and this ribbon was well worth the wait. I try never to leave spoilers in my reviews, who wants to know what happens before the enjoyment of reading the book? Know that this is an excellent story, heartbreak, intrigue and steam are all here. Can’t go wrong with this one. If you have not enjoyed Blair’s earlier releases, consider them now, they are not necessary for this read, but expand on the characters included in this story.
I highly recommend this as your next beach read for the summer! Actually read it anywhere! I absolutely loved it and I think you will too!!!
I recommend this book as a great beach read and a perfect start to an anticipated series
Once Upon A Time would be a great beach read this summer. Just try to not get so engrossed that you forget to turn over so your tan is even!
Finally we get Flicka!!! After reading every In Disguise book and waiting patiently for the AMAZING Ms. Babylon to get to Flicka we’re finally here. Flicka is a princess who unbeknownst to her married a frog NOT a prince. After she decides she’s had ENOUGH she goes to another fan favorite whose story we’ve been waiting for because he’s THE only person that she can trust since the frog Prince doesn’t want to lose her. You really need to read this AMAZING BOOK and I CAN’T WAIT for the next book as I LOVE them ALL!!! This Series is INCREDIBLE and Ms. Babylon’s talent really shines as the series progresses!!! I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and I also purchased the BOOK it’s THAT GOOD!!!
ARC
**NO SPOILERS**
I definitely recommend this amazing book as a ‘Must’ for your beach reading!!! You will not be disappointed, just remember to keep putting your sun lotion on or you’ll burn, it’s so engrossing!!
We’ve been waiting for Flicka’s story ever since we met her big brother Wulf, The Dom of the Devilhouse, & Prince of Hannover She is a Princess of many Countries, Great Britain being one of them though she is far down the line of succession.
This Prinzessin’s family line comes through the House of Hannover as does the Queen of England’s forefathers. They are related, they are duty bound, they are Royals!!!
Flicka is marrying Prince Pierre Grimaldi of Monaco. She’s a modern Princess that’s ‘doing the right thing’ for their families, as is her Duty. They love each other & that’s enough for her. She’s had heart shattering love, she doesn’t intend to be broken like that again!! She will carry on her Charity work & to perform Piano as often as possible. Music is in her soul & she needs something to nourish it after all!!
Flicka desperately wants to burn her world to the ground. The lifestyle they all bow to disturbs her deeply. But for now she pulls on her shiny suit of armor and bides her time until she can strike the first match & she’s certain Pierre feels the same way about it too, they’re perfect together!!
Things start to go off course for our beautiful Prinzessin. Her spiteful, nasty Father & ‘others’ may or may not have a hand in events, it’s always so hard to tell. All that’s certain by the end of this book is Flicka seems to be in shock & running away. She’s also not turned to her beloved big brother, Wulf, who raised her from 6yrs old!! Could it be him she’s running from or his new Bride perhaps? Or could it be the known murderer amongst them all, that has fear thundering in her heart??
For the long term Blair fans, we are lucky enough to see almost all of our favourite characters & for the newer readers, this book will have you scrambling into Blair’s backlist to read their full stories
The diehard fans will be sighing over every sighting of our Book Boyfriends ‘Wulf’, ‘Xan’ & of course everyone’s favourite Bodyguard, ‘Dieter’ Be still our pounding hearts
Thankfully book 2 ‘In Shining Armor’ is already available
I LOVE this Author’s work. I have no idea how she keeps her complex, intricate & intertwined worlds straight throughout each series of books Thankfully she does and we all reap the staggering benefits in books like this!! A 10 star read
Debbie, 1970, UK
I love Blair Babylon’s writing and I loved this story as much as her other novels. This is the beginning of Flicka’s story and it is hard to read at times. Some pretty horrible things happen to Flicka. You do really get to see why she and Dieter fell in love and what went so wrong.
Oh myyyyyyyyyy! I have read many of Blair’s books, and I have to say she’s outdone herself. Anyone who has read any of the Billionaires in Disguise storylines has (like me), been waiting for this story since we met her brother Wulf many stories, characters, and plot twists ago, and we finally, FINALLY get to see things through Flicka’s eyes. As a real, life princess, she can tell you that life isn’t always a fairy tale! I don’t want to spoil anything with this review, which makes it a lot harder to write. Suffice to say that we get some fabulous tie-ins with everything we already know and love, but we get inside of Flicka’s head. I’ve had my eye on her for many books now, so I pounced on this as soon as it was available. All of the BID books are steamy, twisty, unapologetic, and deliciously fun; filled with serious alpha males and amazing women. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the release of the continuation, In Shining Armor. I highly recommend this book (and all the rest of the BID-universe – one of my favorite things is how we keep seeing the characters pop in and out throughout the various series!!).
Okay, I’m hooked. Complex, fully realized characters, great dialogue, and an actual plot. I completely enjoyed Flicka, Dieter, Wulf and all the rest. Wonderfully readable romance!
Like so many others who have read any of this author’s Billionaires in Disguise series, I have been dying to know what happened to Flicka since the first time her name was mentioned. We know she is Wulf’s sister and was raised by him…and that she married a handsome prince from Monaco. Then, she disappears. But that’s where the trail ends, and we’re left with the taste of something exciting in our mouths that leaves us wanting more.
Well, this is where it happens. Flicka von Hannover marries the handsome Prince Pierre Grimaldi of Monaco and should be living a fairy tale life, and she is up to a point. She has all of the perks of being a princess and enjoys what the status can do for her charities and for her work. But once a cheater, always a cheater, and the the fairy tale prince can’t seem to keep it in his pants. And she’s come to the end of her rope. Leaving the future of the prince’s throne on the line, she runs away.
Dieter Schwarz has worked for Flicka’s brother, Wulfram von Hannover, on his security team for years, and he was tasked with guarding her all through her teen and young adult years. Now that he has his own security firm, he is free to do an be what he pleases. But he is not without a secret past. Still, he is the only one she can turn to when her life is threatened and there is nowhere else to turn.
I can’t even begin to tell how much I loved this book. It was in constant motion, and I learned so much about the aristocracy of this world. I was drawn to Flicka and her cynical, sarcastic attitude. Something about her words and actions told me how broken she still was inside, especially knowing how she’d grown up and what she’d been through as a child. Though this world it entirely out of my league, the characters are human and easy to relate to. The good guys are not all good. And the bad guys are worse than I expected. The story pulled at my heartstrings, and I wanted to climb into the book and kick some royal butt myself. We see sides of some of the characters we already know in a new light, through the eyes of two people who know them well. And that cliff hanger ending… I don’t know which direction the author is going to take us next, but the outcome is up for grabs.
It was intense and heartbreaking, sweet and sexy. And once again, I’m left thirsting for the next part of the story. Thanks for sharing a bit of the fantasy that is your mind, Ms Babylon.
This story would make a fantastic beach read. Although there is a cliffhanger all 5 books in this series will be released by September and I highly recommend anything by this author! Blair Babylon’s writing is fantastic!
I recommend this book as one of the summer’s great beach reads.
This book would be a great beach read!!!!
I read a lot of love stories and I really enjoyed this one!
Oh my goodness I was so excited to finally be reading Flicka’s story.
She is one wildcat indeed and it shows much more in this story. Her father is still as wicked as ever but not this time…
Enter Dieter to the rescue as always Flicka’s love for this man has lasted for a very long time but can it be again?
Fantastic story and I anxiously await for more more more….
Cliffhanger. This is an interesting royal romance with some hint of authenticity in using some current royals and places. It is also very love triangle-like which is not a favorite trope of mine, but I am willing to see how it all plays out because it is a good story.
One thing really keeping me reading is that I sense one really big mystery surrounding Dieter. There are a couple Easter eggs that hint to more going on with him. I also expect his freshly divorced ex-wife to cause more trouble.
I am intrigued enough with how this book ended to move on to the second book.
I have read the entire series and it is a good and entertaining read.
I was blown away with this book and Flicka’s story thus far!! I have had a hard time waiting for her story to come out and have waited patiently for it and I was happy to finally get a story for Dieter as well so I am counting this as a two for one read for me! I felt that both Flicka and Dieter were well rounded and complex characters as they both have secrets and hurts that not everyone is aware of. In typical Blair fashion, she is only doling out their secrets a little bit at a time and then waiting to drop a bomb in this series later (like with Dieter’s past that has me totally intrigued). The plot moved along at a good pace even though at times it kind of felt like a rehash of events from previous books in the series but told from a different POV making it feel fresh and not recycled. There were a few twists that I did not expect, especially with Pierre and can not wait to see where Flicka’s story goes next.
5 star Review Once Upon A Time: Billionaires In Disguise: Flicka (Runaway Princess #1) by Blair Babylon
AUDIO REVIEW:
I was so intrigued by this blurb that I couldn’t wait to dive in to Flicka. Narrated by Jason Clarke and Lucy Rivers, they did a good job bringing this story to life. Be prepared this is the first book in a five book series, so you have been warned, there is so much more to come and I for one cannot wait, particularly since the firs three books are already in audio.
Flicka von Hannover has lead a rather charmed life and married the prince of her dreams, or so she thought. What happens when the truth is revealed? She flees right to the one man she knows without a doubt she can trust, her ex bodyguard and first love Dieter Schwarz.
Listening to Jason Clarke is always a pleasure and this book is no different. For me he was spot on as Dieter. Dieter would give his life for Flicka and I was so glad that we finally get their story.
I absolutely loved Flicka, she is a woman on a mission and her organizational skills are impressive. There were times when I laughed and cried whilst listening to this entertaining read and I cannot wait for more.
Audio Review: Once Upon A Time: Billionaires in Disguise: Flicka (Runaway Princess Bride, #1) by Blair Babylon, Narrated by Jason Clarke & Lucy Rivers
Dive right into the intensity that is Blair Babylon. Prepare to be taken on adventure of the heart. Once Upon a Time takes a dangerously steep route to love. Dieter and Flicka are an emotional high dive of heartache, danger and suspense. There’s always a twist lurking in the shadows to draw you even deeper into the maze of a different kind of fairytale. Beautifully tragic. Breathtakingly emotional. Unpredictable romance.