The Royal

 

The Royal (Game of Chance #2)- Susan Stoker

Montlake

Release Date: August 8, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Former military man and member of a royal family Callum Redmon can’t deny his sense of responsibility. So when his cousin’s latest love interest claims to have a stalker, Cal reluctantly meets with the young woman and her mother. He wants to write off the situation as a complete farce—if only his feelings for another member of the household could be as easily dismissed.

Since her father’s death seventeen years ago, Juniper Rose has been at the cruel beck and call of her stepmother and stepsister. Her fantasies of escape mean leaving behind her father’s beloved home, but enough is enough: when Cal offers her a way out sooner rather than later, June takes the leap.

Cal’s home in Maine with his military brothers seems like the safest place to start fresh. But as Cal and June’s fairy-tale romance blossoms into something real, they find that the dangers stalking them may have been real all along.

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I'm always a sucker for a Cinderella retelling and this was a great one! June has been a servant in her own home since her father's death, thanks to the emotional abuse of her stepmother and stepsister. Seventeen years later she's gotten the courage to try and leave when fate brings Cal Redmon to the house. He's been strongarmed into going there to check out a stalker situation for his cousin, who has been "dating" the stepsister, and while it takes about a day to see through that ploy, it takes less for him to become fascinated by June.

She's observant, calm, intelligent, and Cal wants to help her out. So when he leaves he convinces June to go with him. What starts out as just helping turns into more on both sides. Both have massive insecurities- both emotional insecurities and body insecurities- and are convinced the other won't want to be with them long-term. It was really interesting to see Cal so hung up on his body since we don't usually get men in romance books who are so unsure of their looks. Connected the way it is with the torture he went through and you can understand how painful and self-conscious he feels about it and you feel so bad for him. I was so happy June was able to see straight to the heart of him and what a great, caring guy Cal is. She seemed to instinctively know just the right things to say, even if Cal wasn't always quite ready to hear them, which I thought was great. She knows it isn't about the outside- her steps are gorgeous women and horrible- though she never quite internalizes that for herself. 

This was more a book about finding yourself and internal healing for both Cal and June, and Cal freaking out about falling in love, than it was a fast-paced mystery or thriller the way some of Stoker's books are, so you have to go into it with a bit of a different expectation. You don't have to have read The Protector first, though all Cal's friends show up again so you see familiar faces if you did read it. I loved how protective the guys are of each other and how they embraced June once they were sure she was right for Cal. And we get a tease for the next book that promises major action ahead!

An enjoyable, lovely romance with Cinderella vibes that were just enough for me without being over the top, great friends turned family, and two damaged people learning to trust themselves and each other enough to fall in love and admit it. 

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review