The Warrior’s Princess Prize is written by Carole Townend and published by M&B Historical. Set in Medieval Europe Princess Zorahaida is being kept captive by her father, Sultan of Alhambra. Jasim ibn Ismail wins her in a tournament. Is this her chance to escape? Jasim must have some political reason to want her as it can’t be love.
I enjoyed this book. The two main characters are engaging and likeable. The princess try’s to help people in the palace whilst Jasim is trying to get a trade agreement for his village as the Sultan and his father had a disagreement years ago and there has been no trade since then.



I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley #gifted

Princess Zorahaida is the last remaining daughter of the Sultan, held captive in his luxurious palace in Alhambra, after her two sisters ran away and married Spanish knights, Zorahaida changed her mind at the last minute, and hoped to comfort and soften her father. Unfortunately he has become even more cruel and controlling. Zorahaida works hard to help the poor and needy in secret, and the Palace servants love her as she does her best to protect them from her father's wrath, and do their best to cover for her when she visits and helps the city infirmary.

Jasim Ibn Ismail is a handsome knight at arms, in Alhambra to try and get the Sultan to resume trade with his town. Trade between the regions was cut off by the Sultan in a rage against Jasim's father years ago. He signs up to compete in the Sultan's tournament - competing to win the Sultan's greatest treasure. When he wins and demands Zorahaida's hand, he hopes that this will help his cause.

After they are married, Zora is very apprehensive about her father's reaction to being coerced into agreeing the match, when she tricks Jasim in a bid to escape her father's wrath, it drives a wedge between the newlyweds.

can Jasim keep Zorahaida safe from her father, and can Zora break though and convince Jasim to trust her again.

This was a great story between the two protagonists, Jasim was drawn to Zora from the first, and intrigued by her secrets, he also treats her well, unlike the Sultan, the way their relationship unfolded was well handled. I also liked the sense of danger throughout the book, which made for a pacy and exciting tale.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Oh, I loved this one. A terrific historical romance, with everything you could want in such a book: a beautiful princess and a handsome knight. The writing sparkled, and the characters came very much alive.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so different to the usual historical romances but it had me gripped and wanting to know what would happen next
Zorahaida is a princess in an Arab state but she is also in a way a prisoner kept by her controlling and violent father. Jasim is the nephew of a governor and a knight who has come to the palace to take part in a tournament in a hope that it may be possible to bolster trade from his region with the sultan. Jasim wins the tournament and instead of the pot of gold he chooses the other option, to receive the most precious jewel. Thing is he chooses that the jewel he wants is to marry Zorahaida
I loved Zorahiada as a character, she may have been trapped by her tyrannical father but she makes the most of her life in the palace and has the loyalty of a select few guards so she is able to carry out work in the local hospital undetected by her father. She also protects others in the palace and the people of the state adore her. She is a strong woman who is confident in her actions and beliefs and will do what is right even if it may get her into trouble. In essence she is the type of princess we want to be!
Jasim (whose name my tired brain kept reading as Jasmin before I took a break and then noticed my error!) is trying to get a trade deal but he is also kind and is determined to rescue Zorahiada from her father and keep her safe. He is guided by he beliefs as a knight and his protective instincts are strong. He is a strong confident character and his arguments with Zorahiada make for excellent reading as they are both determined to win
This book was a breath of fresh air compared to normal historical romances but it worked so well with the change of setting, customs and traditions that I wasn’t used to. The interpersonal relationships between the characters was so well written that it sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a non traditional historical romance with a brilliant cast of characters and lots of drama

Set in medieval Europe this the third book in the Princesses of Alhambra series but reads well as a standalone. Princess Zorahaida is a virtual prisoner in her father's castle in Medieval Spain. Jasim is a knight whose family has a history with the Sultan. He enters a tournament to bring him into the Sultan's orbit and wins, but not the prize he expects.

This is an atmospheric story with vibrant historical characters and detail. There is an undercurrent of danger in this story, and poignancy about Zorahaida's abuse by her father. The romance between Jasim and Zorahaida is passionate, but the emotion takes a while to develop, as both have political agendas and trust issues.

An engaging historical romance.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This is part of a series but I read this as a standalone and don't feel I have missed out

I really enjoyed this - it had exotic settings, lots of descriptions and the imagery I thought was particularly good.

I liked the characters and the story and now want to catch up with the other books

The Warrior's Princess Prize is the third book in the Princesses of the Alhambra series by Carol Townend. I haven't had the opportunity to read the other books before this one so can confirm that this one can easily be read as a standalone.

Princess Zorahaida, let's just call her Zora for this review, is being kept in a tower by her abusive father the Sultan. He has lost two of his other daughters to marriages and refuses to lose Zora. She is quite a clever woman though and her staff love and will do anything for her. She manages to sneak out of the tower and into town often to help out at a hospital, and it's there that Jasim ibn Ismail (Jas for this review) first spots her. He doesn't know who she is but he can tell she is more than the servant she is portraying herself as.

Jas is visiting the palace to take part in a tournament held by the Sultan, he intends to use his skills to win and to hopefully speak with the Sultan to fix trade agreements between his family and the Sultans. I won't go into detail as I am sure you will prefer to read for yourself how it all comes about, but Jas ends up winning Zora as his bride instead of a trunk of gold. As you can imagine it's not something that happens easily and the Sultan although on the surface being agreeable, is anything but. Will he wreak vengeance on the man who takes his daughter from him?

What of Jas and Zora, there is an attraction between them, but could there be anything more than that or will Zora just have to accept she has been bartered for and won by a man who only has political gain in his mind.

This is a very nice romance with the bonus of all the descriptions of the beautiful scenery, clothes, the people etc and the large caravans used when royalty travels between places. I pictured the scenes and could easily immerse myself amongst them. The only thing I didn't like, and it's purely a personal thing, is that all of the names were so long and repeated often. Hence me shortening them to such as Jas and Zora. Other than that the story was lovely. It had the perfect amount of drama, romance and intrigue. It has made me want to read the previous books which I am sure I will do shortly.

For now, though, I am very happy to recommend this book.