The Story
This story is about the rake prince, Nicholas while on a trip to Paris. He is drugged and kidnapped by a lovely young woman, Veronique during a masquerade, who is under Lord D’Entremont’s bidding in exchange for the deed to her family home that was lost due to her father’s gambling. Once the Prince is held captive at the estate of Lord D’Entremont, he starts to smooth talk and seduce Veronique into letting him go. Veronique, on the other hand, tries not to fall for the handsome Prince but she ends up fantasizing about him. [spoiler]She finally plans to break him out of his prison with the help of her sister Gabrielle, but before they do, Lord D’Entremont arrives and asks to speak to the Prince. What happens next was something that I did not expect at all. As it turns out, D’Entremont is Nicholas’ father and he is in fact, a bastard. Apparently, D’Entremont is dying and wanted to meet Nicholas so that he can tell him in person that he is leaving his properties to him. Nicholas obtains love letters between his mother and the aging lord and is certain of it’s truth. Pierre, D’Entremont’s bastard nephew, who has served the lord for years only gets a property in Paris. Nicholas ends up marrying Veronique and they return to Petersbourg. Nicholas finally lets the country know about his illegitimacy and they return to D’Entremont’s estate where they have their HEA.[/spoiler]

My Thoughts
I thought the start of the story was very interesting. I liked Veronique’s spunk and I actually started to fall for prince charming, Nicholas! I loved the part where they were talking on either side of the door. Unfortunately, once the big secret was revealed, the story turned out to be very convenient and predictable. While Nicholas saved Veronique and her family, he didn’t really show her his love. I thought their love turned out to be pretty superficial.

When they returned to Petersbourg, Veronique martyred herself out and was not even angry at Nicholas at all, even when Nicholas didn’t come home at night and when he openly admitted that he was tempted by an ex! I did like the part where Nicholas was a bit tempted by the females. I thought that was pretty realistic.

The villain Pierre, was pretty tame. His motives for exposing Nicholas’ secret to the press was not very believable. It would have been better had he been really evil and had kidnapped Veronique with Nicholas rescuing her. He did end up rescuing her but the impact was not as great as I hoped it would be.

The last part of the story fell a little flat for me. I will be reading Princess in Love and I hope that one would be better.

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THE PRINCE'S BRIDE by Julianne MacLean is an exciting Regency Historical Romance. #3 in "The Royal" trilogy,but can be read as a stand alone. The final installment this interesting trilogy. See,"Be My Prince" and "Princess in Love". Fast paced and filled with secrets,passion,danger and love. Things are turned around when Veronique Montagne's kidnaps Prince Nicholas of Petersbourg to settle her father's gambling debts and save her family. "The Prince's Bride" will have you turning pages as you read this intriguing story. Passion,betrayal,sensual tension and a vengeful plot threatens to destroy both Prince Nicholas and Veronique. Well written with depth and descriptions. The characters are engaging,realistic,and will pull at your heart strings. I enjoyed this title and would highly recommend to any historical romance readers and those readers who enjoy a fast paced with twists and turns. A must read! Received for an honest reviewed from the publisher.

RATING: 4

HEAT RATING: MILD

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More ( )