About this book:
“Brielle
Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking
annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha's Vineyard. But everything
changes when her mom drops the mother of all bombshells--Brielle is a princess
in the kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal
position, since the health of her grandfather, King Tiwa Jimoh Adebayo, is
failing.
Distraught by her mother's betrayal,
Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an
old edict that states she must marry before assuming the throne or the crown
will be passed to another. Uncertain who to choose from the council's list of
bachelors, she struggles with the decision along with the weight of her new
role in a new country. With her world totally shaken, she must take a chance on
love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring.”
Series: As of now, no. A stand-alone novel.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read & remembered; Many, many Prayers; Blessings
over food; Many Talks about God, His will,
& forgiveness; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Brielle has a
dream similar to the one Samuel had that is recorded in the Bible (“Here I am,
Lord”); Church going & a bit of who they are discussing in the Bible; Many
mentions of God, His will, & forgiveness; Many mentions of prayers, praying,
& blessings over food; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, a
pastor, & worshiping; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those
in the Bible; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of faiths; A few
mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of devotionals; A mention of a Bible
study; A mention of sins;
*Note: When on a date, after the
man says he will say the blessing, Brielle asks what if she wants to say grace,
he replies that in a marriage the husband is the head of the household and the
spiritual leader, she retorts back that they are not married; Another man tells
Brielle that he doesn’t believe in love, so she questions his allegiance to God
because God is love; Mentions of a Muslim population in the country, mosques,
and the elder of their community mentioning that if a man doesn’t “follow the
God he claims to profess, his word means nothing”; A mention of Hala carts in
New York; A mention of Santa.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah’, a ‘gah!’, an ‘OMG’, an ‘oh
my word’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘dang’s, and four ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said,
not written); Eye rolling; Grieving the death of a loved one; Mentions of a
drowning & death; Mentions of slavery & past protests about slavery and
the oppressions of Blacks and other racial unrest in the States (Brielle has
seen some of these protests and says it stirred an anger she didn’t know what
to do with); Mentions of threats; Mentions of a divorce; Mentions of rumors; Mentions
of lies, lying, liars, & feeling betrayed; Mentions of smoking & cigars/pipes;
A few mentions of social drinking (at dinner or parties); A couple mentions of vandalism;
A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of a hostage situation; A mention
of jail; A mention of depression; A mention of blood; A mention of thinking
about getting a tattoo;
*Note: Mentions of TV shows (Punk’d,
Undercover Boss, The Bachelorette, Friends, and Law & Order); Mentions of social
media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest); Mention of other pop
culture references and celebrities (Michael Jackson, Usain Bolt, the Grinch, Superman,
Wonder Woman, Hermione from Harry Potter, the Narnia series, and Uber); A few mentions
of movies (Pride & Prejudice, Return to Me, Lord of the Rings, & The
Hobbit); A few mentions of brand names (Apple products, Wikipedia); A few
mentions of a car brand (Mercedes).
Sexual Content- A hand kiss, two
cheek kisses, four forehead/head kisses, a not-detailed kiss (married), a barely-above-not-detailed
kiss (married), three semi-detailed kisses (all married), three detailed kisses
(1 unmarried, 2 married), a very detailed kiss (married), and a kiss (semi-detailed)
leading into a fade-to-black scene (no true details, but the leading up to it
is barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of staring at someone’s lips; Embraces, Touches,
& Hand holding (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & be embraced (border-line
barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Flutters, Sparks, & Heat (barely-above-not-detailed);
Winks & Blushes; Noticing & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed
// semi-detailed); *Spoilers* Brielle needs help unzipping her dress & her husband
helps her (though she grabs the top of the dress so he doesn’t have a view of
anything that could lead to something neither of them are ready for); On the
wedding night, Brielle is conscientious of her short pajama shorts; After a
very detailed kiss, her husband breaks it off and goes to shower before they do
something they’re not ready for, she thinks of the “heat pooled in her middle”
and his eyes “glistening with desire”; As mentioned above, there is a kiss that
leads into a fade-to-black scene with barely-above-not-detailed mentions of the
beginning *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of a wedding night, being prepared, sharing
a bed (it’s an awkward conversation for Brielle and the man, but she thinks
that they could share a bed and respect each other’s boundaries), being ready,
& consummating a marriage; Mentions of illegitimate children, a father
doubting a child is his, cheating, & women “comforting” (sleeping with)
married men to get something they want (the woman who brings this up says women
in her family have been sleeping with men in power for generations and that it
is not something to be ashamed of, that she can help him in ways his wife
cannot); Mentions of a man’s harem-like commune & his multiple baby mamas; Mentions
of kisses & kissing; Mentions of fertility & popping out a child; Mentions
of dates; Mentions of crushes & blushes; Mentions of summer romances &
boyfriends; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of flirting &
flirts; A couple mentions of a man saying he’s slept with a woman before marriage
and is not proud of it; A couple mentions of Brielle being suggested to keep her
office door open with meeting with a man so nothing untrue is accused; A couple
mentions of a lady’s man (player); A mention of something happening between men
and women for centuries (intimacy); A mention of a husband’s knowing look &
saving the thought the wife is having for later (at night); Love, attraction, falling
in love, & the emotions;
*Note: *Trigger Warning for miscarriages*
Brielle’s husband has a dream that she was pregnant and miscarried, he describes
their grief and how they drifted apart *End of Trigger Warning*; Mentions of misogynistic
views from some men believing that women should only be wives & mothers
(not rulers of a country); A mention of a man’s eye roaming Brielle’s figure.
-Brielle Bayo, age 25
1st P.O.V.
of Brielle (Prologue in Tiwa’s 3rd person P.O.V.)
352 pages
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Pre
Teens- 
New
Teens- 
Early
High School Teens- 
Older
High School Teens- 
My
personal Rating- 
I went into this book only
knowing that it was about a girl who founds out she’s a princess. I have never
read any of the author’s other books, so I wasn’t sure what to expect on
content levels.
I was enjoying this book—the beginning 75% of it—so much. The faith content was excellent, how Bri’s faith was so second-nature to her, it was obviously a large part of her, and I loved seeing that represented throughout the story. It was an easy four star for me at that point because of that and how light the romance was in the book.
But then at 74% in (reading on Kindle, roughly 260 pages in (?)) the romance kicks up quite a bit and leads to a (married couple) fade-to-black scene. I’ve said it more than once and, unfortunately, I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time I say it: I do not need to know that a couple—real or fictional—consummated their marriage.
The kisses and emotions got heavier than I was comfortable with and I’m truly so sad about this. I was ready to go buy my own copy because I was enjoying the story so much at the at the beginning with the faith content and diversity, but this sexual content is disappointing and lowers all the ratings for this book.
See y’all on Friday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this (Advance Reader
Copy) e-book for free from the Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest
review. Having read an ARC, there are some details listed in this review that
may have been changed in the final print edition.
