A bad-boy prince is tamed by a vivacious American beauty in this charming love story. Officially, the world knows me as His Royal Highness Prince Lucien of Monaco, but you can call me Luc. A long time ago, I vowed never to let my heritage stand in the way of a good time. Now the party’s over. With the death of my father and my twin brother, I’ve lost a part of my soul—and my freedom. My heartless … soul—and my freedom. My heartless older brother tells me that not only do I have to settle down, I need to marry a girl with the right bloodlines. AKA, a princess. Yeah, I’ll get right on that . . . after one last trip to Vegas.
That’s where I meet Hannah. Not only is she gorgeous and down-to-earth, she reminds me what it’s like to live completely in the moment. Plus she has no idea who I really am. Hanging out with the locals, I feel like I can just be myself again. Besides, our chemistry is undeniable—especially after we take things to the next level.
What happens in Vegas is special, and I don’t want it to stay there. But I’ve been keeping a secret that will tear us apart. The last thing I expect, though? Hannah’s been keeping a secret of her own . . . one that might just bring us together.
Praise for Reluctantly Royal
“[Gillian] Archer’s royal romp is sexy fun with surprising depth. . . . This drama adds layers to two already appealing protagonists. . . . An even-handed balance of humor and pathos keeps the pages turning.”—Publishers Weekly
“Reluctantly Royal is an entertaining, sexy, opposites-attract romance. Gillian Archer created a fun story with a lot of banter.”—Harlequin Junkie
“Take a bad-boy prince, add in humor, heart, and passion, and you have a tantalizing, hard-to-put-down fairytale romance.”—Stina Lindenblatt, author of the Pushing Limits series
“Who doesn’t love a bad-boy prince story?! Gillian Archer wrote a fun royal story that I enjoyed. I look forward to read more from her!”—Steph and Chris’s Book Review
“A quickly paced romance, Reluctantly Royal is a fast and fun read.”—OMG Reads
“I fell in love with this book.”—A Crazy Vermonter’s Book Reviews
“I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book. . . . I recommend it.”—Buckeye Angel
This standalone ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads, so here is my review.
What happens when a reluctant royal meets a proud local girl from Vegas? You get Lucien and Hannah’s story and you may or may not like it but I did. I am a sucker for a Cinderella story and this one was really good. There were a few spots that dragged but I pushed through them and it was worth it.
Lucien is a Prince from Monaco and a year ago he was living his life as he wanted to. He was in the military and enjoying it. But when his father and twin brother died in a plane crash, Lucien’s life as he knew it was over. He was called back home to take his place beside his brother who would become the Crown Prince and Lucien would be the spare. So being sent to LasVegas for a speech would be like a vacation and Lucien planned to enjoy his time there. When he meets a woman at a karaoke, he is drawn to her down to earth spirit and she is beautiful to boot. After spending a little time with her, he feels as if she has brought him back to life and he wants to stay with her to keep that feeling alive.
Hannah Allen has lived in Vegas all her life. She has overprotective parents and a big brother that wants to keep her safe. She works as a cosmetologist but she isn’t happy with her job and hasn’t been for a while. When she meets Luc at the bar, he is different and she finds it easy to spend time with him. She wants to show him her sites of Vegas, not the touristy sites. So the set up adventurous dates and things get fun from there.
Lucien wants to tell her who he really is but will it scare her away? He wants her to go back to Monaco with him but will his family drive her away? And what happens when she tells him her secret? Which by the way, left me crying like a baby!
I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. I loved Gillian Archer’s MC stories and this being a Cinderella story I had to read it and was disappointed. So if you like royal stories, give this one a try, you may or may not like it but at least I hope you enjoy it a little.
**Wicked Reads Review Team**
I started out liking the story. The characters seemed engaging and like they had chemistry. But then out of the blue, the heroine turned into somebody else with no warning, and it just ruined the story for me.
I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was hooked from the moment Lucien was summond to speak with his borther Prince Bastien. His brother, the Sovereign Prince of Monaco is getting engaged and he expects his Lucien to do the same. Lucien is reluctantly agrees to take over his brothers duties at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas in the United State, not realizing his live is about to change once again. Lucien goes against his brother wishes to attend every function given to him on his artinerary and decides that if he is to go to Las Vegas he is going to have fun. With his body guards in tow they head to a karaoke bar where he meets Hannah. The more time Lucien spends with Hannah the more he falls, even though it was just supposed to be a fling. Luc hasn’t been completely truthful to Hannah and the truth may tear them apart. Hannah also has secrets she hasn’t revealed to Luc for fear it will devastate him, especially for what he has already lost. I love that this story kept me on my toes. The twist and turns had me hooked to the story and so wrapped up that I was not able to put the book down. This book is full of heartship, heartache, hope, struggles, family, drama, patience, fear, romance, love and duty. The twist and turns were unpredictable and unexpected, a real tear-jerker. I would definitely recommend this book. LOVED IT!
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Mary –
What happens when a reluctant royal meets a proud local girl from Vegas? You get Lucien and Hannah’s story and you may or may not like it, but I did. I am a sucker for a Cinderella story and this one was really good. There were a few spots that dragged, but I pushed through them and it was worth it.
Lucien is a Prince from Monaco, and a year ago he was living his life as he wanted to. He was in the military and enjoying it. But when his father and twin brother died in a plane crash, Lucien’s life as he knew it was over. He was called back home to take his place beside his brother, who would become the Crown Prince and Lucien would be the spare. So being sent to Las Vegas for a speech would be like a vacation, and Lucien planned to enjoy his time there. When he meets a woman at karaoke, he is drawn to her down-to-earth spirit, and she is beautiful to boot. After spending a little time with her, he feels as if she has brought him back to life and he wants to stay with her to keep that feeling alive.
Hannah Allen has lived in Vegas all her life. She has overprotective parents and a big brother who wants to keep her safe. She works as a cosmetologist, but she isn’t happy with her job and hasn’t been for a while. When she meets Luc at the bar, he is different, and she finds it easy to spend time with him. She wants to show him her sites of Vegas, not the touristy sites. So they set up adventurous dates and things get fun from there.
Lucien wants to tell her who he really is but will it scare her away? He wants her to go back to Monaco with him, but will his family drive her away? And what happens when she tells him her secret? Which, by the way, left me crying like a baby!
I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. I loved Gillian Archer’s MC stories and this being a Cinderella story I had to read it and was not disappointed. So if you like royal stories, give this one a try, you may or may not like it, but at least I hope you enjoy it a little.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Reluctantly Royal (HRH #1) by Gillian Archer to read and review.
Lucien was the youngest son of the Crown of Monaco. And it should be noted that he hates every minute that he is forced to act according to what is expected of him.
Exactly so, a few years ago, he enlisted in the Air Force.
But unfortunately, with the death of his father and his twin brother, Julien – the good prince – Lucien had to return home.
Now, his older brother Sebastian – Bastian – was perfectly in the throne of the Principality of Monaco.
Bastian wanted Luc to act on his title, and he was already beginning to trace the fate of his younger brother, something Luc would bravely fight against.
Bastian announces his own engagement to another princess – all done as a business deal without emotion. And that, Luc did not want for his life.
Luc is then sent to represent Bastian at an event about hotels and gambling.
His surprise was that the event would take place in Las Vegas, and Luc intended to enjoy his seven days of semi-freedom, even though he put his bodyguard team in desperation.
Except Dimitri, who was his bodyguard and friend.
On his first night at Sin City, Luc goes to a karaoke bar and is enchanted by a girl who sang in a bad tune but had a contagious laugh, and for some reason, Luc wanted that feeling in his own life.
Hannah and her friend introduce themselves, they were in celebration.
She was simple, cheerful, with a big heart, worked as a hairdresser, and did not even know who Lucien was.
The couple gets more and more involved and Luc begins to have stronger ideas regarding Hannah staying in his life.
But Bastian thought differently, and maybe the fairy tale was not as beautiful as in the movies.
This is another book that contains as plot a Royal Family.
The author manages to blend fantasy with reality, and bring a cute novel with some snippets of comedy.
In its near ending a surprise for the female character, and as for that I must say that touched me deeply because I faced the same problem.
In addition, it is interesting to see how roles can change in the blink of an eye, and the rogue become the best example.
5 stars
Lucien lost his father and twin brother a year ago in a plane accident. Now he is second in line to the throne of Monaco. A position he does not want. When his brother informs him he will have to pick a wife soon, Luc adamantly argues against it. To momentarily appease him, Bastien sends Luc to Las Vegas on a business trip. It is the perfect place for Luc to forget about responsibilities and experience a bit of freedom.
Hannah has a past filled with pain and suffering. Through all of her struggles, she has learned to live life to its fullest. It is in one of those carefree moments that Luc first lays eyes on her and he is enthralled with her effervescent beauty and charm. They indulge in a one night only that leads to more and soon they are in a relationship that has a definite expiration date.
I absolutely loved this book! Told completely in Luc’s point of view I enjoyed that his thoughts were what I would think a man would think. Lol! So many times Hannah would be talking and his mind would drift off to other more carnal musings before she’d call him out for it. One moment he was offering the sweetest compliment and then he’d tag on a dirty suggestion.
The ending has some angst in it and while I knew that Luc was there to stay, I did worry how things were going to work out with this couple. Ms. Archer did an amazing job bringing life and love to these characters and I look forward to more in this series.
This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Loveswept.
I very much liked the author’s True Brothers series, so was eager to read this new series.
A year ago, Lieutenant Luc Greiner’s world fell apart, when the plane carrying his beloved twin brother, Julien, and their father, the Prince of Monaco, went down over the Atlantic Ocean. He loved his life as a helicopter pilot. That was the life and future that he wanted for himself, but when the older “spare” died, Luc was forced back into the palace. Chaffing at the palace life, his older brother, Bastien, now the Prince, sends him to Los Vegas, to give a key note speech and rub hands with possible investors to the kingdom, after which he must marry a girl with the right blood lines. But when he gets to Vegas he finds his assistant has him over scheduled. So he takes his security team out to a local bar, where he sees Hannah Allen, and is drawn to her effervescence, like a moth to a flame. Hannah, is a local cosmetologist, who has had a difficult life, and now is living in the moment. He presents himself as a visitor from Monaco, in Vegas only for a week and she agrees to show him the sights. What he finds in Hannah, is the happiness his life has been missing and he doesn’t want to let her go. However, they both have been withholding secrets. Can their feelings for each other, over come the obstacles? The author draws her characters with a fine tip pen; characters that the reader is rooting for to get their HEA. The plot is pretty straight forward, with a few villains thrown in.
I read an ARC from netgalley.com. It was a pleasure to read.