Review: Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

A royal prince. An ordinary girl. An extraordinary royal wedding.

MY TAKE:
The blurb for this book was pretty intriguing, if not quite short.

In Once Upon A Prince, Susannah has been dumped by her boyfriend of 12 years. Surprisingly, she's not as sad as she expects. Soon after the breakup, she meets Nate. Nate is sweet and charming, but who is he really?

I had really high hopes for this book. I guess my expectations were a little high because I didn't enjoy the book as much as I thought I would.

The first chapter was pretty strong, and the last part of the book was okay. The problem with the kingdom of Brighton and Hessen was a good plot point, and the use of slang and words made it easier to imagine them being said in their appropriate accents.

However, personally, some of the dialogue and narrative felt a little cheesy and treacly sweet. Nate also didn't feel all that realistic to me. By that, I mean, he was more like an ideal than an actual person.

There were elements in the book that reminded me of Princess Diaries 2, as well as The Prince and Me (a Julia Stiles movie). If you've never seen The Prince and Me, what happens is a prince from Denmark heads to an American university in an attempt to clear his head. There he goes by an alias and doesn't reveal to his love interest that he really is a prince. The ending is also similar in a way, if you mesh it with Princess Diaries 2, but not so much so that they're identical or that the book feels derivative. Think of it as an adult, Christian version of a mashup of the two movies.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. It's easy to imagine the characters speaking.
2. There are some good plot points.
3. You can tell that a lot of effort went into research and making sure there are no plot holes.

THE BAD:

1. Some may find some of the lines a little too sweet or cheesy. 

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

"Wow? I get a blessing out and Prince William gets a wow?"

READ IT IF:

1. You like princes who are charming and devoted to the word of God.
2. You like characters who acknowledge the role God plays in their lives.
3. You believe in destiny. 

RATING:


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