The Prince Who Loved Me
The Prince Who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins is a Cinderella story with a twist. I enjoyed the fairytale aspect of the novel, but it definitely had some problems.
Bronwyn Murdoch is content with being the plain, spinster older sister (or so she thinks). Her younger stepsisters are both beautiful and destined to be a success during their Seasons, while Bronwyn can’t dance, can’t sing, and is labeled a blue stocking. Now at twenty-four and on the shelf, she runs the family’s household and spends time day dreaming about heroic princes she thinks she’ll never meet. She’s sitting under a tree reading about one of those princes when a handsome Huntsman appears on her property, chasing his misbehaving dog. The two share a kiss and Bronwyn figures she’ll never see him again.
Turns out he’s Prince Alexsey Romanovin from the country of Oxenburg. He’s staying at a neighboring estate for a house party. Alexsey can’t forget Bronwyn–she’s smart and sassy and curvy and she challenges him. The problem is Bronwyn’s stepmother and Alexsey’s grandmother have decided that Bronwyn’s stepsister, Sorcha, will make the perfect princess.
So what were the problems with this book? Alexsey’s mother was Romany, and this book sometimes trips itself up with “exotic gypsy” stereotypes. For example, Alexsey’s Romany grandmother curses people and threatens to turn them into goats. Noooooooope. So much nope.
Also Alexsey sometimes comes across as an oversexed douche bag.
I did like that Bronwyn’s stepsisters and stepmothers weren’t villains. Her stepmother is sometimes insensitive, but it’s never intentional.
As a Cinderella story, The Prince Who Loved Me was okay, but the Romany stereotypes and (sometimes) Alexsey’s behavior pissed me off.
– Elyse
A handsome, rakish prince who doesn’t believe in true love meets a stubborn lass who will settle for nothing less…
In a lighthearted retelling of a classic fairy tale, bestselling author Karen Hawkins gives Cinderella a Scottish twist!
Prince Alexsey Romanovin enjoys his carefree life, flirting—and more—with every lovely lady who crosses his path. But when the interfering Grand Duchess Natasha decides it’s time for her grandson to wed, Alexsey finds himself in Scotland, determined to foil her plans. Brainy, bookish, and bespectacled, Bronwyn Murdoch seems the perfect answer—she isn’t at all to the duchess’ taste.
Living at the beck and call of her ambitious stepmother and social butterfly stepsisters, Bronwyn has little time for a handsome flirt—no matter how intoxicating his kisses are. After all, no spoiled, arrogant prince would be seriously interested in a firm-minded female like herself. So . . . wouldn’t it be fun to turn his “game” upside down and prove that an ordinary woman can bring a prince to his knees?
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