ARC Review: Royal Retelling (Love in Laandia #2) by Holly Kerr
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Series: Love in Laandia #2
Author: Holly Kerr
Published May 14th 2024 by Three Birds Press
Goodreads Synopsis
What if Prince Charming fell for the wicked step-sister?
The youngest son of the king of Laandia, Gunnar lives a charmed life, travelling the world without a thought of what’s going on in the kingdom. But when he’s called home for the royal wedding, Gunnar finds he has a big problem:
Prince Gunnar doesn’t have a date for the wedding.
And while this shouldn’t be a problem for the Playboy Prince, Gunnar has requirements: whoever he takes can’t take the attention away from the bride and groom, which would definitely happen with his jet-setting friends; and whoever he brings needs to know this is a one-time thing.
So when the town’s Sea Queen agrees to go with him, Gunnar is relieved—but her oh-so wicked stepsister, Stella, decrees it a very bad idea.
Once childhood friends, Stella now considers him more like a sworn enemy. Gunnar prefers to not think of her, because this Stella, who curses rather than curtsies, has a never-ending arsenal of insults that is a sure way to ruin his day.
But as the wedding approaches, and Gunnar spends more time with Stella, he starts to wonder that, in this fairy tale retelling, he’s picked the wrong sister.
Royal Retelling is the second in the Love in Laandia series, an enemies-to-lovers, sweet royal romcom, with sharp banter and sweet blushes, of brotherly love and royal duties and saving all the dogs in Laandia.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
For the young Prince Gunnar, he knows that he will never be king of Laandia, and he hasn't had to prove his worth to the people like his older brothers. After a rumour destroyed his relationship, and turned him into the playboy prince, Gunnar has been travelling the world and focusing on enjoying his life. But his brother is getting married, and as one of the groomsmen, he needs to come home, and find a date to be in the wedding party. The only catch: his date can't overshadow the happy couple, and they need to know that there's no chance of a relationship coming out of it. So the 'Sea Queen', and daughter of the mayor of Laandia's capital city would be perfect, right? Not when her stepsister is one of Gunnar's oldest childhood friends, who blames the entire royal family for her parents' divorce, and hates Gunnar with a passion. Stella needs to suck up her hurt feelings, and come to terms with her own guilt over the past. But as she and Gunnar are forced to spend more time together, it seems like the past might come back to bite them.
I think I liked this book even more than the first one. I always love enemies-to-lovers romances, especially when the couple has a past like Gunnar and Stella do. Stella is hiding the fact that she was the one who spread the rumour about Gunnar being a playboy, which led to his undeserved reputation. However, she feels vindicated after her father and older brother left the family to continue to serve the royal family, and she hasn't seen or spoken to them since. She was hurt and suffering, and took it out on the wrong person. When they spoke about it, I loved how understanding Gunnar was. He was definitely someone misunderstood by many, and he wanted to help, but was seen as someone unable to comprehend what was needed. He and Stella worked perfectly together, and I'm glad that Stella was proven not to be the evil stepsister, but was rather the heroine of the day!
Dates Read:
August 12, 2024
Rating
4 Stars
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