Books for Christian Girls: "To Love a Prince" by Rachel Hauck

About this book:

“Daffodil Caron is not a princess, even though she once dreamed of being one. After all, she grew up as a playmate to royal princes, running through the halls of Perrigwynn Palace and dining with the queen. But the day she stumbled upon a royal secret, everything changed.

Flash forward eighteen years, and Daffy’s living a sweet, non-royal life. A skilled art curator for the Royal Trust, she has friends, a flat in the heart of the city, and a handsome, successful fiancée. The last person on her mind is Gus, a prince she once called her best mate.

HRH Prince Augustus is no longer “Prince Pudgy,” as caricaturized by the press, he’s charming and gorgeous, possessing a world-famous smile. But when he’s jilted at the altar by an American heiress as millions of people around the world watched, the spare heir to Lauchtenland’s ancient House of Blue escapes, finding solace on a Florida beach.

A year as a regular bloke allows him to rethink his purpose. He’s half decided his calling is to pour pints at a tiki bar, rather than serving his country and the Family.

Until an accident on the beach with a Frisbee changes his course.

Despite his long hair and beard, Daffy recognizes her prince, and their childhood friendship is renewed. She assures Gus Lauchtenland needs him, giving him the courage to return home.

When Daffy and Gus find themselves on assignment to Hadsby Castle in preparation for his brother’s wedding, their friendship blooms into affection.

But Gus cannot, will not, trust his heart again. Daffy’s engaged. And she also remains a royal family outcast because she knows the Queen’s secret.

When affection grows into love and secrets are exposed, trust is destroyed. Gus must choose which is stronger: the lies of his past or the hope of his future. And Daffy must face every fear to prove she will forever love a prince.”

Series: Book #1 in the “True Blue Royal” series. Mentions characters from “The Royal Wedding” series and “The Fifth Avenue Story Society”.

Spiritual Content- There is a character that is supposed to be Christ and another supposed to be a angel; Being witnessed to & Talks about God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, & missionaries; A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A mention of an event from the Bible;

*Note: “Thank God”, “If there was a God [this would happen]”, “Perhaps there is a God”, and “[after a kiss, I feel] Like the Divine cares about me” are said by the main characters (see my final thoughts on this); Gus had prior said that he was his own higher power.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, a ‘gosh’, an ‘oh my word’, two ‘crikey’s, two ‘oh my gosh’s, two ‘shut up’s, two ‘what/where in blazes’s, three ‘blooming’s, three forms of ‘idiot’, four forms of ‘blast’, six ‘blimey’s, and ten ‘stupid’s; A mention of the ‘b-word’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & pubs/bars (both Daffy and Gus drink with their friends; at one point Gus has a lot to drink and ends up drunk); A few mentions of a story of someone falling to their death (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of a woman who left her child in a hot car; A few mentions of thieves, stealing, & a stolen item; A few mentions of deception & lies;A few mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of hatred; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of cigars; A mention of divorce;

*Note: Mentions of brand names; A couple mentions of singers & songs; A couple mentions of Star Wars & characters; A mention of a car brand.

Sexual Content- three cheek kisses, three forehead kisses, four almost (up to semi-detailed) kisses, nine not-detailed kisses, twelve barely-above-not-detailed kisses, nine semi-detailed kisses, and two detailed kisses; Wondering about kissing someone & wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering nearness & kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Cuddling, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including a shirtless man’s muscles, up to semi-detailed); a ‘babe’ and a ‘sexy’; Catching a couple in the middle of a kiss with clothes and hair messed up; Many mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, dates, exes, & crushes; *Spoiler* Mentions of the queen having a baby out-of-wedlock & when they conceived the child *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of Daffy not going to hop into bed with a guy until it’s right but considers being with her fiancé at night; Mentions of yearning for someone & desire; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of cheating & affairs; Mentions of flirting & flirts; A few innuendoes about intimate relationships & a first night together; A few mentions of jealousy; A mention of Gus wanting a love with passionate nights and giving themselves to one another; A mention of some guys who only want one thing; A mention of an old law to watch a royal couple’s wedding night; A mention of being a virgin when married; A mention of a fling; A mention of a wife swishing her bottom and winking at her husband; A mention of a woman sitting on guys’ laps without asking; A mention of catcalls; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of shirtless men & their abs; A few mentions of women in bikinis; A mention of a woman revealing her store-bought assets; A mention of tampons; A mention of menopause; A mention of books with shirtless men on the covers.

-Daffodil “Daffy” Caron

-Augustus “Gus”, age 28

P.O.V. switches between them, Taffron (once in the beginning chapter), Catherine (twice), & Coral (once)

Set in present day (with the exception of the beginning chapter being set in 1938)

352 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I’ve read some of the authors other books—including some of her royalty series—and like many others, I find royalty stories to be interesting, so I gave it a try. I liked the book overall, but some parts were a little strange to me (such as the almost allegory/supernatural character of Christ, lots of kisses, and some comments by our main characters that weren’t really Christians at the beginning.) I struggled at the beginning to tell if either main character was a Christian and while they would tell someone to bring a complaint up with the Almighty or Thanking God, in the middle they both said the phrase “If God was real [this would happen]” or “Maybe God was real after all”. Personally, those two phrases annoy me. The ending felt a little tied up with a bow and there were many mentions of other characters and their stories from other books by this author. I suppose it was an overall likeable read, but not one I really really enjoyed.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!