Royally Abandoned
by Sarah Fischer & Kelsey McKnight
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Standalone
Number of Pages: unknown (2065 kb)
Kindle Edition
Source: ARC from publisher
Contemporary Romance M/F
Rating: PG
Read 9/20/19 to 9/21/19
Greyson Montgomery dreams of a simple life, but as the crown prince of Aldora, simple is not in his future. Before ascending the throne on Christmas Eve, Greyson is given one month to explore how the other half lives. Armed with a few hundred dollars and a fake backstory, Greyson flies to Savannah, Georgia, to see if he has what it takes to chase the American Dream.
Scarlett Calhoun is a Southern Belle with a heart as big as a Georgia peach. When she meets the charming construction worker, Greyson, it isn’t long before she is embracing the holiday cheer. Soon, she’s teaching him how to cook, falling for his exotic accent and soulful eyes, and joining him on picnic lunches where they talk for hours.
With Christmas Eve nearing, Greyson must fly back to Aldora and either abdicate the throne, or take his rightful place as king. Will he ignore his birthright to remain with Scarlett or will she be royally abandoned?
I absolutely love holiday romances, especially Christmas romances. Probably because that’s my favorite holiday in real life. So I was excited about being offered an ARC of this story by new-to-me authors. It was kind of a bummer that the story didn’t really feature Christmas to the extent I was expecting.
While this story does take place during the holidays, they only touch on the actual season here and there. It’s still a sweet story. Both Greyson and Scarlett are amazing people and they have beautiful chemistry.
As much as I enjoyed the premise and the main characters, I found myself skimming this one a lot. I loved the dates Scarlett and Greyson had and when they were actually interacting with one another. But the parts where they were reflecting on their feelings and have internal dialogue seemed to go on more than necessary. I kept waiting for things to happen far before they happened.
The conflict at the end of this book did not play out in a way that I found true to the characters as I had gotten to know them through the story. Maybe that was the point and I was missing something? I’m not sure. As much as I’m sure Greyson wouldn’t have been a perfect gentleman in the situation (as he saw the situation anyway), the way he acted seemed so far from the way the authors had written the character to that point. The same can be said for how Scarlett reacted to what happened. She spoke her mind, even to the detriment of her relationship with her parents at one point. Her reaction to the way Greyson was treating her just didn’t fit her persona.
All in all, I found the story sweet and, at times, interesting. But there were some holes in the flow and continuity of the characters that I can’t ignore and that took me out of the story.
2.5 stars
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
All In Good Time 