Royal Scandal

A Royals in Exile Novel

by Marquita Valentine

Fairy tales do come true—and so do tabloid scandals! Bestselling author Marquita Valentine kicks off a juicy contemporary romance series with a novel about a prince whose best-laid plans go deliciously awry when he marries the maid next door.

Forced to flee to the United States with his siblings after their parents’ assassination, Crown Prince Colin Sinclair takes it upon himself to become the caretaker of his family while hiding out near Charlotte, North Carolina. But after a decade in hiding, the secret’s out and Parliament demands that Colin wed a princess of their choosing. Unwilling to play their game, Colin decides to marry an American instead, and he has the perfect candidate in mind.

As a home-service professional, Della Hughes doesn’t believe in storybook endings. But when her best friend and secret crush reveals that he’s a flesh-and-blood prince, she doesn’t know what to think. Still, she’ll do anything for Colin, including becoming his wife—in name only, of course. But when their plans to stay purely platonic go by the wayside, their fake honeymoon turns all too real. After a week of white-hot nights, Della can no longer deny her feelings—not with a happily ever after so tantalizingly close.

Y’all, I absolutely LOVED Valentine’s Take the Fall series and was super excited that she was starting a new one (especially with a prince!)  And she definitely didin’t disappoint.

The friendship between Colin and Della is fantastic.  It’s so sweet how she’s there to help him as he struggles to keep his family together.  She’s that understanding, mother figure that the family needs and the support he especially needs.  Of course, there’s more going on between them than either of them is willing to own up to, plus quite a few secrets on both sides.  Which, understandably, means that their fake relationship is going to be anything but smooth sailing.  Things definitely get a little messy along the way (not too drama laden though thankfully), but they’ve got a strong enough bond amongst them all that they’ll figure it out somehow.

Over the course of the book we’re given a little glimpse of the royal intrigues (and at just how screwy the Sinclair parents were) but more importantly we get a few chances to learn about the Sinclair siblings.  Each of them is sure to have a story coming up and I’ll be waiting with bells on!  Valentine is such a deft story teller that she’d make even the phone book an enjoyable read, but with this group she’s got the material to make things really juicy and fun  🙂