100% Determined
Prince Demyan Zaretsky does whatever it takes to protect his country. So seducing Chanel Tanner will be easy. And marriage? An unfortunate side effect of duty. She unwittingly holds the economic stability of Volyarus in her hands...and he must secure it.
100% Devastating!
With his royal identity and intent disguised, Demyan sets about a ruthless seduction designed to make Chanel lose her mind with ecstasy. But when he discovers she is a virgin, he uncovers something in himself-a conscience. Now his plan takes a shocking turn-one this dark-hearted prince had never anticipated!
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You know, with a title like Prince of Secrets and a summary that makes Demyan sound like the more typical Harlequin alpha-hole, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. I've read Monroe in the past and One Night Heir was good but wow - this book was really good. Like great, good.
Right from the beginning neither of these people were just stereotypes. Chanel might be named after a designer with her nose stuck to the microscope, but she's observant. She cares about what happens around her and when Demyan flirts with her she isn't overwhelmed by his attention - she's wary. Demyon could have been judgmental or consumed by the threat Chanel posed to Volyarus; instead, when he's bowled over by his own feelings for her, he becomes human for the readers and kind of also for himself. He unexpectedly ends up pushing for marriage to ensure his own happiness.
And this is a fantastic case where the whole is more than the sum of its parts, because Chanel and Demyan lift each other up, whether it's in bed or in front of their (at times) taxing families. Their HEA is believable and rocky enough to make think that since they've had to confront the depths of what they mean to each other here, they won't take it for granted later. Add in a bittersweet but heartwarming epilogue and you've got a winner.
Overall Feeling - A+
Series - 1) One Night Heir 2) Prince of Secrets
*Title requested from NetGalley*
Only a royal wedding…
Bitter life lessons have taught Crown Prince Maksim Yurkovich that duty must come before desire. His country needs an heir, so when he discovers his lover can't have children, he must sever their ties. Only Maks can't resist spending one last night in her bed.
…can avert this royal scandal!
Now he faces the biggest diplomatic crisis of his life. Against all odds, Gillian Harris has become pregnant. Maks's royal reserve masks the heart of a fierce Cossack warrior—one who is not above using their mutual passion to convince a hurt, wary Gillian that she must be his queen!
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I'm sure my coworker got super annoyed with me as I reading this because every other word out of my mouth was 'Oooh', 'That's different', or some variation on 'I didn't expect THAT to happen'. Reading One Night Heir reminded me that while Harlequin Presents are not usually my #1 pick when it comes to romance, there is still a place for them in my life/shelf.
The plot is very typical, prince rejects lover/marriage interest due to her supposed inability to conceive even though he really likes her, but Monroe does a great job at keeping things fresh. When Maks learns of Gillian's pregnancy and comes back to propose marriage, Gillian does not jump on the gravy train. In fact I would have loved this as a longer title where even more time was spent with Gillian going no a lot - because she does it in such a way that it's respectful of her own feelings while acknowledging what could happen with Maks in the future. Maks's 'incredible sexual appeal' doesn't suddenly override her reason or her intelligence and Maks has to work to show that while he 'may not' love her that doesn't mean he wants to live without her or that he'd be a bad father.
Highly recommended, but only if you're able to read the prose without rolling your eyes (too much). There's a lot made about Maks's urbanity combined with a Cossack spirit, and the language at times is incredibly flowery. Which I don't consider bad so much as representative of genre, but I wanted to give you a heads up.
Bring on Demyan!
Overall Feeling - A
Series - 1) One Night Heir (6/18/13) 2) Prince of Secrets (7/23/13)
*Title requested from NetGalley*
