The July 2023 #TBRChallenge is "Opposites Attract." I went back to the HP well and found another hit, so yay! =) The opposites in this story are a new monarch, nicknamed the Ice Queen, and her rather contentious neighbor, infamously known as the Playboy Prince.

Queen Agnesse has just ascended the throne after the sudden death of her father. She is the first queen to rule in her own right, and she has a lot of reservations about her subjects - and her government - accepting their first woman ruler. She has been groomed for this position all her life, but she never expected to step into it so soon. She's under so much pressure, in fact, that she's having full blown panic attacks - which she hides from her family and staff, as she thinks they will view her as weak because of them.

Her family has a good relationship with a neighboring country's royals - for the most part. There is some history between Agnesse and Prince Sebastien - a distant encounter as young teens, and more recently, she slugged him after he broke her younger sister's heart. They are forced to front a huge charity gala together, and neither are looking forward to it.

Sebastien couldn't be more different from Agnesse if he tried. He is the second son (of a second son), the product of a second marriage for his father, who had the audacity to wed his secretary because he'd genuinely fallen in love with her. Unfortunately, she died giving birth to Sebastien, and his father basically punished him for having the temerity to live, while his beloved died. He basically abandoned his kid, and his family also turned their backs on him, so Sebastien had a very lonely childhood. Only one cousin ever showed him kindness, and its for this cousin that he does the favor of appearing in public with Agnesse.

Sebastien lives down to his playboy reputation basically because its the easiest thing to do, and shields him from the hurt of being rejected by his family. He never had a dalliance with Agnesse's sister, and really didn't appreciate her punching him five years ago, but he grudgingly agrees to stand in for his cousin at this gala.

Of course, sparks fly at the gala (good and bad), but the real turning point in the story is after the gala is over, and Agnesse suffers from a really bad panic attack. Sebastien is the one who uses his training in mental health to help her through the worst of it. They are immediately vulnerable together, which makes the rest of the story work. They fall into bed, become pregnant, marry to save themselves from scandal, etc etc etc.

Considering the confines of HPlandia, this story really works. The characters felt fleshed out - both the hero and heroine, as well as their various family members. The emotional tug between the two is there (Sebastien fearing he can't give his heart away, considering the history of rejection; Agnesse not wanting to let her surface calm crack in front of her nation). The third-act breakup is believable, and the ending is downright cute. I really enjoyed this!

I also have to make special mention of the hero's magical peen and all of its abilities. During the first sex scene, I had to laugh when Agnesse (who has of course had sex exactly one time and of course it was a miserable experience) considers herself a born-again virgin at the literal exact moment that Seb is taking her v-card. His Peen Powers don't stop there: she somehow becomes pregnant in spite of his using condoms every single time they have sex (which as most HP fans know, that's *not* how the oopsie!pregnancy or secret baby usually happens). Quite frankly, this is the kind of HP silliness I can get behind.

This author is very new to the HP line (this is her third novel), but she's become one to watch for me. Her second book is actually about Sebastien's cousin, Leo, and his apparently runaway bride, so I will definitely be picking that one up! ( )