How to Catch a Prince - Rachel Hauck

HOW TO CATCH A PRINCE (The Royal Wedding Series #3)

Publisher:
  Zondervan
Release Date:
  February 24, 2015
Market:
  Christian
Genre:
–Christian Fiction, Chick Lit
Length:
–368 pages
My Rating:
   4/5

 

About This Book (from Goodreads)

Prince Stephen came to America to escape responsibility. But what he found complicates his life more than ever.

Corina Del Rey is happy with her life in Melbourne, Florida. She spends her days engrossed in her career as a journalist and has her sights set on climbing the corporate ladder if for no other reason, to distract herself from her dissolving family. But when she is confronted with the past she fought so hard to put behind her, she struggles to make sense of her future.

Prince Stephen of Brighton Kingdom has moved on since the tragic death of his buddies in Afghanistan. A star professional rugby player, he has no intention of looking over his shoulder at what could ve been.

But when a notice arrives in the mail requiring his and his wife s appearance before the courts to dissolve their marriage, he must deal with the questions rumbling around in his heart. He thought his marriage had been annulled long ago, but his memories of Corina Del Rey remain close. Does he still love her? Can he even find her? Above all, can he tell her the truth about that fateful night in Afghanistan seven years ago? If he does, he might really lose her forever."

CRITIQUE

I have read the other two books in The Royal Wedding Series.  Knowing them to be fun, predictable reads made me excited to read the most recent installment. 

I received a digital copy of the book from the author as a part of the Street Team and the same time my request for an ARC from NetGalley came through.  A few days later, the request I had placed at the library a few months before publication was fulfilled.  Clearly I was meant to read this book.

This book certainly met my expectations.  And it was just what I needed to be reading at the time – something light and entertaining and uplifting. 

There was a good mix between the prose and the dialogue.  I never felt bogged down in any of the details or scenes. 

There were a couple of places that didn’t seem consistent.  For example, when Corina goes home to pick up a dress and says her flight leaves that night and then shortly after says it leaves the next day.  But it was just a little blip that didn’t take away from the story.

While the outcome of the story was predictable, I still liked to get to know Corina and Stephen and “see” their interactions with each other.  I will say the break-aways to Gigi I could have done without.  And the randomness of her having been at Cathedral City seemed to come from out of nowhere.

I don’t believe there was too much backstory.  You’re hit with the twist at the start and the past, while hinted at, is explained as needed.

The romance in the book is pleasant.  I enjoyed and cheered for Corina and Stephen.  Hoewver, I found the spiritual/supernatural elements to be a bit…I hesitate to say it, but hokey.  The whole Manor and Adelaide and all.  I really had to have a suspension of reality. 

That being said, I really did enjoy the book – reading the whole thing in just a day or so.  Every time my toddler would let me, I’d pick it up and read a few more pages.  It was a much needed break between the more serious reading in my piles.  Definitely would recommend.  And even though it’s the third in a series, I do believe it could be read as a stand-alone.