About the Book
Book: Heart Of A Royal
Author: Hannah Currie
Genre: Young Adult/Royalty
Brought to the palace as a newborn, the royal life bestowed upon Mackenna Sparrow was never meant to last forever. With Princess Alina engaged to be married, Mackenna’s presence as companion is no longer required and, like it or not, she must return to the birthright which should have been hers – that of a commoner. But not everyone at the palace wants her gone. When the truths she’s based her life on start crumbling as fast as her future, will she find the courage to trust, both herself and the prince she’s fallen in love with?
Click here to get your copy!
My Review:
If I could describe this book in only one word, it would be “intriguing”.
This book grabbed my attention from the very first page. It’s a little hard to put this story in an exact time and place which makes it even more intriguing. At times I thought I was reading a “modern” fairytale, but then something would happen to make me question if it was actually set in a modern time period or a more historical one. The author does a great job describing the palace and the “kingdom” and making it seem as if the country of Peverell could actually exist.
The character of Kenna is compassionate, thoughtful, and has a deep sense of loyalty to the kingdom. She’d make the perfect princess or Queen—except she’s not born to royalty. She’s been raised in the palace from babyhood and treated like a princess and companion to the royal princess Alina; even had palace duties and made public appearances on behalf of the royal family. But Alina is now engaged, and Kenna’s role in the palace is no longer needed. She finds herself now leading the life she was actually born to—that of a commoner. Ben, the oldest royal son and next in line to become King, does not look at Kenna as a “little sister” anymore, although Kenna does not realize this. Their love story has quite a few obstacles to overcome, and that’s what kept me reading until I finished the book. Ben’s a good guy, and wants to be Kenna’s hero.
But all is not well in the Kingdom. There’s a challenge to worship and faith. This part of the story raises some interesting questions and I’d love to be in a group discussion about this aspect of the book.
And it’s not often that I think this, but this cover was PERFECT for this story!
This clean, sweet story is great for Young Adults-up. And now I’m waiting to see what happens next in the kingdom of Peverell.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Aussie author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people (in small numbers, let’s not go crazy here!) and writing. She and her husband live with their three adorable kids in sunny Queensland, where it really is beautiful one day and perfect the next. Except, maybe, during heatwaves. They’re not so fun. She loves to connect with readers at www.hannahcurrie.com.
More from Hannah
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by royalty. Real ones like Queen Elizabeth II, who is such an incredible woman and a total hero of mine (not to mention, as a proud Australian and member of the Commonwealth, my monarch) but also the not-so-real ones. Those found in fairytales. Romances. Narnia.
I’m one of those people who blocks out an entire day to watch a royal wedding, sighs like a hopeless romantic through cheesy princess movies, reads just about any novel I find with a crown on the front and loves a full-spread photo souvenir magazine. I may have even written a short story starring a princess for an English assignment at school. More than once. [Side note, if you’re going to write a story about a princess who is totally adorable but can’t spell, don’t use a misspelled word as the title. It takes a lot of explaining to make sure the teacher knows you did it on purpose and doesn’t mark you down for it… sorry Ninth Grade English teacher!].
The glamor draws me in, the beautiful clothes, the history and romance of it all, but it’s the expectations they have on them which hold me there. Every title comes with a million expectations, whether or not they’re realistic. We expect royals, both real and fictional, to behave in a certain way. To be honourable (assuming they’re the good guys). To care for their people and put them first. To always be there. Yes, even to be beautiful.
But what happens when they’re not? When they’re shy? Fight anxiety? Hate the spotlight? Are blemished in some way? What happens when what’s best for the people isn’t what’s best for them? Or when they make a mistake? Something which, for anyone else, would be easily fixed or glossed over but for a royal, gets written into the history books forever. Purely because of their title.
Kenna, the main character in Heart of a Royal, never meant to be a princess. She wasn’t born into royalty, neither did she choose it. And yet, due to circumstances far beyond her control, there she is. Living in a palace. Part of that life.
Very few of us are royalty but I think we all know how heavy expectations can be and the pain of being thrust into situations beyond our control. And yet, even in those moments and seasons, just like Kenna, we have choices. They might seem small, maybe even insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re there. Who we put our trust in. What we do with the circumstances we’ve been given. Where we go from there.
Heart of a Royal is as much my story as it is Kenna’s. No, I’m not a princess (thankfully!) but I have struggled through finding hope and purpose when life flies out of control and the expectations prove too much. And here’s what I’ve found – God is good. There is hope and God is good. I hope, through Kenna’s story, you are reminded of that too.
Blog Stops
Reflections From My Bookshelves, November 28
CarpeDiem, November 28
Hebrews 12 Endurance, November 28
Hallie Reads, November 28
Emily Yager, November 29
For the Love of Literature, November 29
Through the Fire Blogs, November 29
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 30
Back Porch Reads, November 30
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 30
To Everything There Is A Season, November 30
Books, Life, and Christ, December 1
Mia Reads Blog, December 1
Bigreadersite , December 1
Kathleen Denly, December 2
Genesis 5020, December 2
She Lives To Read, December 2
Texas Book-aholic, December 2
A Baker’s Perspective, December 3
Livin’ Lit, December 3
Kat’s Corner Books, December 3
The Becca Files, December 4
Becka Jiménez , December 4
HookMeInABook, December 4
janicesbookreviews, December 4
Blossoms and Blessings, December 5
Christian Chick’s Thoughts, December 5
Just the Write Escape, December 5
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 6
Avid Reader Nurse, December 6
For Him and My Family, December 6
A Reader’s Brain, December 6
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, December 7
Moments, December 7
Simple Harvest Reads, December 7
Remembrancy, December 8
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 8
Pause for Tales , December 8
Inklings and notions, December 8
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 9
Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 9
For The Love of Books, December 9
All-of-a-kind Mom, December 10
Just Your Average reviews, December 10
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, December 10
Living Life Free in Christ, December 11
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, December 11
Batya’s Bits, December 11
To celebrate her tour Hannah is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/f1a8/heart-of-a-royal-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thankyou so much for your review! And for hosting my book today. I feel so honoured 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
It was my pleasure, Hannah! I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!
Great Review! This book sounds really interesting., and the cover is gorgeous.
My family loves reading so hearing about another great book I appreciate. Thanks for sharing and also for the giveaway.