Series: Princess Brides (Book 2)
Can a convenient marriage…
…reignite a long-lost love?
Princess Donetta will never forget her first and only
love -- Crown Prince Enrico. Forbidden to marry by their feuding families,
Enrico left, letting Donetta believe he never loved her. Years later he's back,
offering Donetta his hand in marriage to unite their countries. Donetta feels
it's her duty to accept, but on one condition -- he give her his heart, too!
Good friends to lovers story with a bit of family feud
thrown in. Donetta and Enrico first met when they were both ten years old. Both
were outstanding equestrian competitors and recognized that quality in each
other. Over the next eight years, they met secretly at each competition, growing
closer with each passing year. By the time they were eighteen, both knew they
wanted to be together, but there were obstacles. Both were promised to others. There
was a two-hundred-year-old feud between the families. Though they continued to
meet whenever possible after Enrico left for college, and they planned to go
away together after he graduated, it was not to be. Devastating news about his
father sent Enrico home, where he was immediately engulfed in learning to run
his country. Communication between them dwindled to nothing, leading Donetta to
believe that he had never really cared. Devastated, she moved on with her life
but avoided all talk of marriage to another.
I enjoyed seeing the rekindling of Donetta and Enrico's
relationship. Five years after their last encounter, Enrico realizes that he
can't picture his life without her in it, but how to tell her? I ached for him
after he went to see her, and she accepted his apology but indicated that what
had been between them was a childhood love. I wanted to kick him for being so
willing to give up and loved that Giovanni gave him the kick he needed to fight
for her. I thought his idea to use a competition to bring her to his country
was brilliant. I did think he was somewhat naïve to believe that he could show
Donetta so much attention and not anger his mother. I felt that Donetta was
more realistic in her belief that the queen would never accept her after seeing
her reaction to Donetta's presence. I thought Enrico understood Donetta well
with his plan for their interlude together and ached for him when she told him
she was going to marry another anyway. Only her sister's straight talk kept
Donetta from making a huge mistake and sent her back to Enrico.
It was interesting to see the lengths to which Enrico's
determination led him to convince Donetta to marry him. Again, I thought he was
blind to the trouble his promises would create. Of course, I also thought his
mother's reaction was excessive. The problems that resulted from those two
stubborn people butting heads was enough to throw the government into chaos. In
the meantime, all Donetta wanted was for Enrico to have the opportunity to be
the king his country needed, even if that meant setting him free. It took
another intervention by Enrico's cousin Giovanni to bring them back together. I
liked seeing them actually talk about dreams and expectations and the true
depth of their feelings for each other. The epilogue was good and shows promise
for their future.
No comments:
Post a Comment