About the Book
Book: Heart Of A Royal
Author: Hannah Currie
Genre: Young Adult/Royalty
Brought to the palace as a newborn, the royal life bestowed upon Mackenna Sparrow was never meant to last forever. With Princess Alina engaged to be married, Mackenna’s presence as companion is no longer required and, like it or not, she must return to the birthright which should have been hers – that of a commoner. But not everyone at the palace wants her gone. When the truths she’s based her life on start crumbling as fast as her future, will she find the courage to trust, both herself and the prince she’s fallen in love with?
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About the Author
Aussie author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people (in small numbers, let’s not go crazy here!) and writing. She and her husband live with their three adorable kids in sunny Queensland, where it really is beautiful one day and perfect the next. Except, maybe, during heatwaves. They’re not so fun. She loves to connect with readers at http://www.hannahcurrie.com.
More from Hannah
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by royalty. Real ones like Queen Elizabeth II, who is such an incredible woman and a total hero of mine (not to mention, as a proud Australian and member of the Commonwealth, my monarch) but also the not-so-real ones. Those found in fairytales. Romances. Narnia.
I’m one of those people who blocks out an entire day to watch a royal wedding, sighs like a hopeless romantic through cheesy princess movies, reads just about any novel I find with a crown on the front and loves a full-spread photo souvenir magazine. I may have even written a short story starring a princess for an English assignment at school. More than once. [Side note, if you’re going to write a story about a princess who is totally adorable but can’t spell, don’t use a misspelled word as the title. It takes a lot of explaining to make sure the teacher knows you did it on purpose and doesn’t mark you down for it… sorry Ninth Grade English teacher!].
The glamor draws me in, the beautiful clothes, the history and romance of it all, but it’s the expectations they have on them which hold me there. Every title comes with a million expectations, whether or not they’re realistic. We expect royals, both real and fictional, to behave in a certain way. To be honourable (assuming they’re the good guys). To care for their people and put them first. To always be there. Yes, even to be beautiful.
But what happens when they’re not? When they’re shy? Fight anxiety? Hate the spotlight? Are blemished in some way? What happens when what’s best for the people isn’t what’s best for them? Or when they make a mistake? Something which, for anyone else, would be easily fixed or glossed over but for a royal, gets written into the history books forever. Purely because of their title.
Kenna, the main character in Heart of a Royal, never meant to be a princess. She wasn’t born into royalty, neither did she choose it. And yet, due to circumstances far beyond her control, there she is. Living in a palace. Part of that life.
Very few of us are royalty but I think we all know how heavy expectations can be and the pain of being thrust into situations beyond our control. And yet, even in those moments and seasons, just like Kenna, we have choices. They might seem small, maybe even insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re there. Who we put our trust in. What we do with the circumstances we’ve been given. Where we go from there.
Heart of a Royal is as much my story as it is Kenna’s. No, I’m not a princess (thankfully!) but I have struggled through finding hope and purpose when life flies out of control and the expectations prove too much. And here’s what I’ve found – God is good. There is hope and God is good. I hope, through Kenna’s story, you are reminded of that too.
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the author’s thoughts about why she wrote this story. I have also long been a sucker for royals. Details about the English royal family, the Queen, the Princes, the Princesses, and on and on….I think I may have mentioned it here on my blog once before, but I think my interest was piqued when as a young girl I was given a Princess Diana paper doll set (is it weird that I recently found & purchased an identical one for myself, yes, I’m sentimental that way! 😉 ). I love staying up to date on William & Kate’s lives, watching them with their adorable kiddos….anyway…when I saw that this book was up for reading and reviewing, I knew I had to sign up!
The story.
It’s intriguing. Not totally unusual, in fact, I’ve heard similar story lines quite frequently–A commoner living at the palace, she falls in love with the prince, and so on.
But this author, Hannah Currie, brings this story to life in a new and fun way. Kenna is such a sweet heroine, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her myself. And of course the Prince. Ben is such a swoony hero….
The story begins with Kenna and Ben being such good friends. You see, when the Queen died at Princess Alina’s birth, it was Kenna’s mom that saved her life. As payment, the King allowed their family to live at the palace, and Kenna was to be a companion to the princess until her wedding day. She had all the advantages of being a princess, and was treated like royalty.
Now, Princess Alina is engaged, and the King wants Kenna to leave the palace. He also asks her to not have any contact with his son.
What will happen to her? Will she be able to embrace her real roots, living as a commoner? I found this to be a very intriguing story!
If you like sweet, easy to read, fun romance novels, than be sure and give this one a try.
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
Blog Stops
Reflections From My Bookshelves, November 28
CarpeDiem, November 28
Hebrews 12 Endurance, November 28
Hallie Reads, November 28
Emily Yager, November 29
For the Love of Literature, November 29
Through the Fire Blogs, November 29
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 30
Back Porch Reads, November 30
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 30
To Everything There Is A Season, November 30
Books, Life, and Christ, December 1
Mia Reads Blog, December 1
Bigreadersite , December 1
Kathleen Denly, December 2
Genesis 5020, December 2
She Lives To Read, December 2
Texas Book-aholic, December 2
A Baker’s Perspective, December 3
Livin’ Lit, December 3
Kat’s Corner Books, December 3
The Becca Files, December 4
Becka Jiménez , December 4
HookMeInABook, December 4
janicesbookreviews, December 4
Blossoms and Blessings, December 5
Christian Chick’s Thoughts, December 5
Just the Write Escape, December 5
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 6
Avid Reader Nurse, December 6
For Him and My Family, December 6
A Reader’s Brain, December 6
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, December 7
Moments, December 7
Simple Harvest Reads, December 7
Remembrancy, December 8
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 8
Pause for Tales , December 8
Inklings and notions, December 8
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 9
Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 9
For The Love of Books, December 9
All-of-a-kind Mom, December 10
Just Your Average reviews, December 10
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, December 10
Living Life Free in Christ, December 11
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, December 11
Batya’s Bits, December 11
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour Hannah is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/f1a8/heart-of-a-royal-celebration-tour-giveaway
Sounds like a great book.
It looks like a book that I would love.
Marion
This sounds like a fun story!
It is such a fun story!!
I encourage reading so having a family who loves to read I sure support.Thanks for sharing your terrific read with us.