While I would have liked a little more depth for the characters, overall this was a very pleasant read. I like that Hawkins made me think she was using certain Cinderella tropes, but then surprised me by turning them on their heads. Sometimes I was worried it was going to get too angsty, but it never did. Issues were resolved fairly quickly, which I'm always thankful for.

Read the review on my blog here. ( )

I think my only issue with this book was the meddling relative trope because that never goes well and almost always feels awkward. Watching the couple kind of slide into love with each other was endearing, and while I'm not 100% sold on the hero, I really liked the heroine. All in all, I found this book enjoyable and a fast read. I will definitely pick up more of this author's books in the future, including sequels to this novel so I can read about the other brothers. ( )

Love this author. All of her books are exceptional and enjoyable reads. The Prince Who Loved Me is a fun read. Can't wait for Karen Hawkins next book. A MUST MUST MUST READ. ( )

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

With a little bit of inspiration from Cinderella, The Prince Who Loved Me tells the tale of the loveable shy spinster Bronwyn and the dashing rakehell prince Aleksey. He is intrigued by her and would like to whittle away the country hours by engaging in some bed sport. She is wary of his slick charming attitude but would like to have a real life adventure that she so often reads about in books. Both are looking for just some light and fun interactions. Fate, well it has its own agenda.

Bronwyn is a very likable and relatable character. She lost her mother as a very young girl, began to emulate her father, worried the family with her unladylike behavior, and ended up with a stepmother and sisters. Unlike Cinderella however, Bronwyn gets along with her new family members and while she is compared to the older more beautiful one, there is no resentment or jealously. Bronwyn is very strong minded and while at times she may lack self-confidence, she also goes after what she wants; readers will enjoy cheering her on. Our hero Aleksey is the one I had a problem with. For a large part of the story he was very selfish, immature, and displayed an overall unattractively young personality. I can see why he was attracted to Bronwyn, intelligent and different from anyone he had meet before but beyond his good looks I have no idea what Bronwyn saw in Aleksey.

The story moves at a good pace, I'm just not sure anything really happens for eighty percent of it. A majority of the story arc is Aleksey trying to convince Bronwyn to simply be in his presence. Their interactions are all fairly quick and barely move beyond the "I want to seduce you" "I can't allow myself to be seduced! But oh my, look at those gorgeous eyes!" Without any real substance to their connection I was left feeling very bereft when their first love scene occurred and wasn't as emotionally involved as I usually like to be when they eventually came together. The "villainous" grandmother and stepmother were extremely overdone and detracted from the story rather than added to it as this story arc went on for too long and overshadowed Aleksey and Bronwyn towards the end.

Bronwyn was a keeper character for me, unfortunately Aleksey never measured up. I also wish we could have seen them interact more away from the seduction/trying to avoid plot so more material could be gathered as to why these two felt such a strong connection to each other. Ms. Hawkins can write, lamentably, this book fell short.
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The Prince Who Loved Me
4 Stars

Alexsey Romanovin enjoys his rakish ways and has no intention of marrying despite his grandmother’s machinations. When Alexsey meets brainy and bookish, Bronwyn Murdoch, he realizes that courting her is the perfect solution as she will never meet his Tata’s requirements. Bronwyn enjoys her quiet life and has plans of her own for the spoiled and arrogant prince - none of which include falling in love with him.

A sweet, but exceedingly loose retelling of the classic Cinderella fairytale. Thankfully there is relatively little angst and no keeping secrets.

Bronwyn is a lovely heroine and the fact that she always has her nose buried in a book makes her very relatable to the bibliophile in me. She sees straight through Alexsey’s suave charm and the seducer ends up being seduced himself.

Although Alexsey initially comes across as selfish, spoiled and immature, he grows on you and it is impossible not to appreciate the extent of his love for Bronwyn and the lengths he will go to, to win her.

Bronwyn’s family is nothing like Cinderella’s. Although her stepmother is preoccupied with social enhancement for her daughters, she seems to truly care for Bronwyn (even though there are moments when this is questionable). Her daughters, Sorcha and Mairi, are very likable and my main complaint is that Sorcha’s relationship with Alexsey’s friend, Strath, is underdeveloped.

All in all, a fun read and I particularly enjoyed the manner in which Hawkins subtly weaves the Cinderella elements into the plot without allowing them to overwhelm the originality of her story.
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