Review: A Very Merry Princess

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When Princess Bethany’s father, the king, sells one of his best stallions, she insists the animal get the royal treatment. Disguised as Beth Archer, a mere stable hand, she takes him to Happily Inc, California, a quaint wedding destination that’s especially sparkly over the holidays.
Rich women have no place on Cade Saunders’s ranch. He wants a down-to-earth girl-next-door type—like Beth Archer. After a few cocoa-flavored kisses by the Christmas tree, Bethany begins to fall for her irresistibly handsome host. But will Cade still want her when he discovers she’s more familiar with a crown than a cowboy hat?

Genre: contemporary romance

Publication date: November 2017

Mature content: other than a few kisses, it's pretty much a clean romance novel

Review: A Very Merry Princess is book three in the Happily Inc. series by Susan Mallery, though this third installment is just a Holidays themed novella, not a fully developed book. While I loved both of the previous books (You Say it First and Second Chance Girl), I have mixed feelings about A Very Merry Princess.

What I liked: 

• it's short and sweet, a very quick read. And while it may interest you to find out more about the secondary characters, if you haven't read the previous books don't worry, because this one can be perfectly read as a stand alone
• the fact that while the general direction of the plot is fairly predictable, there are original streaks, such as the issues with Rida the horse (I had no idea horses could need so much care while acclimating to new surroundings). Besides it's not every day you meet an American-born princess of a Middle-East country, even a fictional one

 

What I didn't like to much: 

• the size. Ok, this sounds strange because I just said I liked it short. The problem is that there are so many details put into the story to complicate it (such as the relation between Cade and his mother, the grandfather who still owns the ranch and kind Malik's rushed appearances) that in the end there are lots of things that sound too rushed.
• The "royal" thing sounds so cheesy it becomes unrealistic sometimes - Cade's visit to the royal palace being a good example of that. It's almost like one of those princess novels for teenagers
• I failed to actually grasp the connection between Cade and Bethany beyond physical attraction and their mutual love for horses. The jump from that to "I love you" was too much too quickly, even for a novella. 

All this combined meant that for me part of the magic of the book was lost, so I think this one is mostly good for those who are already into the series and don't want to miss an installment. Otherwise, I believe there are better options out there, even a few of Susan Mallery's own Holiday-themed books in the Fools' Gold series.

Happy readings,