Review: Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck

One of the biggest benefits to reviewing books (besides of course getting to read great books!) is that I have discovered some fantastic authors that I may never have otherwise.  Rachel Hauck is one of those authors.  I absolutely loved her book The Wedding Dress that I reviewed back in 2012, so when I was browsing for a new book to review and noticed her name again, I knew I would be interested in reviewing the new book.  Except, when I read the book description for Princess Ever After, I saw that it was part of the Royal Wedding Series and it was the second book.  I requested the book anyway knowing that it would take a little while for it to come, and in the meantime bought the first book, Once Upon a Prince and loaded it on to my Nook.  The first book was wonderful and I couldn't wait for Princess Ever After to arrive.

Regina has begun her new life.  She gave up her career as a CPA and started a business doing what she loves, restoring old cars.  But, her plans are turned upside down when Tanner Burkhardt, the Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg arrives in Tallahassee with unbelievable information and a request.  He says she is a long lost princess and he needs her to return to Hessenberg with him to take her place and save her country's independence.  Regina is overwhelmed and doesn't know what to do.  She likes her life the way it is and doesn't want to move over 4,000 miles and be put in charge of a country that she knows nothing about.  With the help of Tanner , who has his own fear of failure to overcame, she makes the journey to Hessenberg only to discover that there is an opponent that wishes to abolish the throne forever.  Is she meant to restore an ancient nation, or ancient cars? Together, with a little divine intervention they discover Regina's true heritage and the healing power of true love.

I loved it!  Everyone needs a happily ever after story.  Princess Ever After is a great romantic, modern day fairy tale. Women all over the world have dreamed that they really were long lost princesses.  In this story the dream comes true.  But along with the dream comes a lot of reality.  Even though becoming a princess sounds like a dream come true, for Regina it meant walking away from everything she has ever known into a world she has never known and facing an enormous responsibility without knowing if it was the right thing to do.  Plus it came with a bit of mystery. Why didn't her grandmother or her mother ever tell her the truth?  What were they hiding and why?  Regina has to face these things and figure out what plans God has for her life.  Tanner feels like he is a failure who can do nothing right.  Yet, he takes on the task of bringing the princess home and helping her figure out where she belongs while along the way finding out a lot about himself and rediscovering his faith in God.  We can all see parts of ourselves in Reggie and Tanner.  I loved their characters and how they changed throughout the story.

If you are looking for a great,Christian,  lighthearted, romantic, fairy tale, you will love Princess Ever After. For me,one of the tests between liking and loving a book is if I want to read it more than once.  If I just like it, I won't, but books I love I read multiple times.  I will be reading the books in the Royal Wedding series more than once. I highly recommend them and other books by Rachel Hauck.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Princess Ever After for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.