The Royal Bodyguard by Lindsay Emory

Published: November 11th 2019

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Length: 400 pages

My Rating: 4 stars

Blurb:

When Princess Caroline of Drieden of the Royal House Laurent eloped with a race car driver, she forfeited her royal title and her family.

Now a widow and exiled from Drieden, Caroline is working as a journalist, writing exposes under a pen name. When, one day, she catches sight of her sister Thea’s ex-fiancé, she’s stunned – Christian is supposed to be dead. Here could be the scoop of the century.

But Caroline’s plans to uncover Christian’s deception are foiled by the arrival of Hugh Konnor – her former bodyguard and Caroline’s first – unrequited – love. When Hugh stubbornly refuses to leave her side, Caroline can’t deny they make a good team.

As they unravel a web of deception that could bring down the House of Laurent, Caroline must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect a family she feels deserted her – and whether the man who swore to guard her body can safely hold her heart.

My Review:

This book is part of a series, which isn’t indicated on Goodreads or on the information listed on NetGalley, this isn’t an issue when reading the book, but it would be information I would like to see listed so I can find related books.

There are substantial similarities to the British Royal Family (BRF), in fact, it’s dedicated to Harry and Meghan which nearly put me off as I am not a fan of that relationship. Still, it is not a reimaging of the British Family. Yes, there are paparazzi issues, and some of the scandals did affect the BRF, mother’s affair with a horse trainer, divorced parents, questions of paternity, etc.. Still, the main characters are not similies to the current crop of Royals.

I stayed up well into the night to finish this book, the story was gripping, I loved Caroline as a character, she was the peacekeeper in the family, and she followed her heart. There was plenty of intrigue and romance. I think if there had been dual POV or at least a few insights into Hugo’s thinking, it would have really tipped this book into 5 stars. I wanted to know more about him, how he felt about all that went on with Caroline.

This was a great read, and I am definitely going to look into the other books that feature the Drieden family. I anticipate more will be forthcoming as the book ended in a cliffhanger, not about our current couple but a set up for another member of the family.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Blurb and cover image via Goodreads.