Member Reviews
His Majesty's Temporary Bride is that latest book to be released by Annie West under Mills & Boon Modern. This story focus's on Cat and Alex, two different people. Alex is actually King Alexander of Bengaria, while Cat is a feisty bodyguard. This story is about romance, chemistry and a little bending of the truth. What is great about this book which sets it apart from other romance novels, is the main lady Cat. Cat is a strong bodyguard, a job not usually given to the female lead in a book. Not only has she got a strong job role but she is also a very sporty lady who is more suited to parcours than to royal balls. This is a well written story, that makes you want to reach the end. A great thing is that it also sets you up for a connecting story called 'The Greeks Forbidden Princess'. To find out whose story that is and how it connects, you will just have to read the book. I can tell you this much, I will definitely be buying this book.
A good story. Typical mills and boon troupe but still good. Gorgeous new cover.
I realk6 enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the series....had a few moments when I thought..would this really happen in real life!? But hey it’s a book and that where magic happens x
I found this book riveting from the start. The plot is a good one and well thought out, even if a little far fetched - but it is fiction! Unknown to Cat, a strong female bodyguard and the daughter of a single mother, she is the half-sister to princess Amalie of St Galla, the island where Cat was born. Cat hasn't been back to St Galla for quite a while, so when she is approached by the minister of St Galla requesting she stand in for Princess Amalie at an important function as she has gone missing, Cat at first is reluctant and inclined to refuse. However, the minister is aware that Cat is struggling to raise money for a project close to her heart, and he offers her a large cash payment to undertake the impersonation. Cat agrees, and spends the first week being versed in the royal etiquette and comportment required of her. During that week, she goes swimming, and finds herself having to rescue two young boys and is aided in this by a tall, handsome stranger who is, in fact, the King of Bengaria Alex, who has arrived early for the function Cat is being groomed for. Unknown to Cat, the function is to propose a betrothal between Princess Amalie and King Alex. However...
I am not proposing to go any further with the spoilers, only to say that this book is a delight to read, and well worth buying to read. I was lucky enough to be asked to read this as an insider, but have to say I would have bought this to read anyway as it is well written, fast paced and sufficiently sexy to satisfy most readers.
This is amazing story which I totally enjoyed reading and it was such a pleasure to read. Anne West writes excellent books that all us who love are romance books loves. Has everything fantastic storyline with fabulous characters and really warm chemistry between them. What more could a girl want other than her own fella like this book gives ( so jealous lol ) would recommend
His Majesty's Temporary Bride is the first book in Annie West's The Princess Seductions series.
Cat Dubois grew up with a bully for a stepfather, she got away from him and her home as soon as she possibly could and trained in self-defence. She excelled at it and became a most sought-after bodyguard. It's in that role that she is employed to be a body double for Princess Amelie who unknown to most is her half-sister. They look so alike that it will be easy for her to impersonate the Princess. She doesn't understand why the Princess won't attend a function that it's vital she is present at, but Cat agrees to attend in her place.
King Alex has spent the few years since becoming King trying to fix huge mistakes his father had made while running the country. He could still do with a huge injection of money, but he'll be damned if he is forced to marry somebody he doesn't know in order to get that money. The function that Cat is to attend is the very one that Alex is supposed to attend in order to meet Princess Amelie who he is expected to propose to. He is pressured into attending the event where he will meet the Princess, but he has no intention of marrying her.
Cat has to spend a week at the palace with the hope that she can be taught enough deportment, royal etiquette and everything she needs to know in order to convince people that she is really the Princess. Early on after her arrival, she goes for a swim in the ocean only to end up having to save two boys whose canoe had capsized. She is helped with the rescue by Alex. Neither know who the other is, but one thing they do know is that they are immensely attracted to each other.
You can imagine Cat's surprise when Alex arrives at the palace, days before the big event, and she learns that not only is he the King that Amelie is supposed to marry, but that he intends to stay in the palace rather than leave and return for the function. Their lust for each other is palpable, can they resist the temptation, what if Cat gives in but then later has to stand aside and watch the Princess marry him? Will she be able to give her body and possibly heart to Alex with him thinking she is somebody else?
This was such a fast-paced, fabulous story involving blackmail, deception, a lot of lust and steamy moments, all with the possibility of a fairytale ending. Both main characters have emotional baggage that they need to deal with, but it will be so much easier for them to manage that with each others' help. I love how they both fought giving into their lustful urges, and the utter relief they both found in each others' arms once they finally did. The story was intriguing, we were kept wondering 'til the last minute why the Princess fled the palace, and why the Prime Minister made it sound like Cat would just be attending a small function in Amelie's place, rather than one that had much more significant connotations. This book definitely had all the ingredients for a story that I could not read fast enough to see what happened next.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers' copy of this book
5☆ Compelling, Addictive, Passionate and Sexy and I didn't want it to end!
Her Majesty's Temporary Bride by Annie West, is my very first encounter with Annie's writing and I have to say I'm excited for more!
This book oozed Passion, sizzling Chemistry, Lust, Secrets, Lies, Family Drama, Forbidden Affairs, Royalty, Danger and I absolutely LOVED It!!
Cat has a big big secret, what that secret is I'm not about to divulge!
But what I will say is Cat ends up impersonating Princess soon to be Queen Amelie.
But what she doesn't plan for is the very sexy King Alex walking into her life and flipping it upside down.
Right from the very first meeting when Cat and Alex met on the boat they undressed each other with their eyes.
There was an instant sexual chemistry and Alex was not about to let her go!
Secret liaisons and the ever-growing burning sexual tension between them was mounting up.
Alex just had to devour Cat and he was going to stop at nothing to get her into his bed!
I adored Cat she was very endearing.
She has had an abusive, bullying upbringing which has left her scarred and vulnerable. So she puts up this barrier as she feels she will never be good enough.
It takes such bravery to go back to the place that holds such miserable and fragile memories.
Alex too is a broken soul, he is open, honest and wears his heart on his sleeve.
He too has had a tough upbringing.
Despite being royalty his father was a manipulative,deceitful, mean, uncaring and vile.
He is determined to make sure he is nothing like his father.
Cat and Alex truly are Kindered Spirits inside and outside the bedroom. I loved watching the spark between them ignite.
Her Majesty's Temporary Bride is sizzling hot!
But it's more than that it was a very compelling and heartwarming read, with a Cinderella Feel.
But don't be fooled by that it has plenty of Lust and Sex to make even Cinderella Sexy!
Do I recommend this book..... without a doubt...... 100% ....... YES!!!
The perfect read for those wanting a short Addictive sexy read, that has Romance, Sex, Lust, drama, emotion and fantastic characters.
King falls in love with decoy Princess in a Cinderella-style story of falling in love with someone you really shouldn’t.
Bodyguard Cat has never met her royal half sister, Princess Amelie, but tragedy in Amelie’s family sends her fleeing from her country, and prompts Cat to be unwillingly recruited as a stand in to cover her absence.
Interestingly, before the assignment really begins, Cat is involved in the rescue of two struggling swimmers, and meets Alex, who has also swum to the rescue. Apparently not one for keeping up with Royal gossip, Cat does’t recognise that Alex is in fact the King of the neighbouring country where Amelie comes from, and, somewhat strangely (given that it is later suggested that an engagement between Alex and Princess Amelie is planned - although admittedly the two have never met), Alex doesn’t identify Cat as looking like Amelie - it’s an interesting set up, but it is a case of suspend your disbelief that both are oblivious to fact that they should probably be at least somewhat recognisable to each other.
That aside, the story is well plotted, and Cat and Alex are well written and likeable, and they are believable as a couple as the plot progresses.
It’s an interesting premise that Alex,despite discovering the truth of the deception, soon discovers that Cat is the one woman he really could fall for, despite announcing he did not wish to marry Amelie (or anyone else for that matter)
Given that there aren’t really any secondary characters, it is good that Cat and Alex are created strongly and hold the story without the need for others or secondary plot lines, Amelie’s mysterious whereabouts aside (I assume we will find out in the concluding part of this duet), and you really do root for Alex to defy convention and declare his love for the illegitimate daughter of a King.
All in all, an easy going, fun, escapist read that leaves the reader smiling. I look forward to reading Princess Amelie's story in the next book
Cat is a strong, independent character, who is shaped by her childhood hardships but with a yearning to belong and connect with her half sister, Princess Amelie of St Galla. Her half sister has disappeared, and Cat's striking resemblance to the Princess puts her in a situation where she has to pretend to be Princess Amelie, until her sister returns.
Alex, the King of Bengaria, is a sexy, honourable character with a strong sense of right and wrong. He is attempting to right all the wrongs his father has done to his country. He agrees to meet with Princess Amelie as the two countries are hoping for an alliance through marriage, between himself and Princess Amelie.
An unexpected meeting where both Alex and Cat do not know who the other is, but the instant chemistry between them, will compel you to read on.
Both characters have a past that defines their personalities and they compliment each other perfectly. How will Alex react when he realises that he has not actually met Princess Amelie but her half sister Cat? You'll have to read the book to find out.
The book was exactly what a M&B Modern romance should be, and I haven't enjoyed a book like this in quite a while. The reference to Cinderella and the slippers was very cleverly integrated into the story, see if you can spot it.
This book was received free from NetGalley via Mills and Boon Insiders, but that does not influence my opinions.
Great start to a new Duet, 5 stars 🌟 :
The Princess Seductions: Book One, His Majesty's Temporary Bride.
When Cat Dubois, a professional bodyguard, receives a phone call from the Prime Minister of St Galla asking her to impersonate Princess Amelie of St Galla (her secret step sister) with whom she bares a striking resemblance, Cat reluctantly agrees and returns to her homeland for the first time in a decade.
However, Cat doesn't count on meeting Alex and from the first unplanned meeting between the two sparks fly! But unbeknown to Cat, Alex is King Alexander of Bengaria and is who the Prime Minister is hoping to dupe with Cats presents as the missing Princess Amelie, in order to keep his own plans of a dynastic marriage between the two countries alive. So Cat finds herself caught between her attraction to Alex, her guilt over her deception and her concern for the missing Princess, but when the deception is uncovered can Alex forgive Cat to find their own HEA!
Ms West has written a wonderful witty adaptation of a modern Cinderella story with strong confident characters (that make it a great standalone read) and some clever future plot references, so if you enjoyed this book and like me are looking forward to Amelie's story and finding out why she ran and to whom, then Book two The Greek's Forbidden Princess is a must!
Fyi I received my copy from NetGalley and Mills and Boon via Mills and Boon Insiders, but this does not influence my opinions as all opinions are my own.