ARC Review of To Catch A Princess by Caridad Pineiro

Review originally posted at Ramblings From This Chick



To Catch a Princess is the second book in Caridad Pineiro's Contemporary Romance series that centers around a group of royals. I didn't know that this was in a series when I first decided I wanted to read this book, but this book was easily read as a stand alone. The first book in the series is the story of Prince Alexander who is Tatiana's Brother. Even though having read the first book, The Prince's Gamble would have probably given be some more insight into these characters, I never felt as though I was missing anything from the story or that I didn't understand anything. To Catch a Princess is a story filled with a little romance, a little suspense, some mystery and some steamy scenes between Tatiana and Peter. I enjoyed reading this story and will look for more from Caridad Pineiro in the future. 

Princess Tatiana is tired of her parents and brother trying to tell her what to do and arrange her life for her. She knows that they have arranged a marriage to a Prince, but she refuses to let them pick her husband for her insisting that she wants to find a husband who she is in love with and loves her in return. Tatiana has no idea that her betrothed happens to be family friend Detective Peter, who is undercover in America having left his life as Prince and the spotlight that comes with it. As Tatiana arranges a charity event filled with jewels from the rich and royal, it becomes clear that a famous jewel thief has set his sights on some of the jewels to be used during her event. Peter uses the event to ensure that Tatiana is safe and goes about trying to prevent the thief from accomplishing his goal. But as Tatiana and Peter spend more time together, their friendship begins to grow into something more. Will Tatiana be able to get past the deception of Peter and her brother Alexander, or will she be unable to forgive Peter for the lies that he has been telling for years for reasons that he hasn't yet revealed to her?

For me this story was a little slow to build and I found myself having a tough time really getting into the book. It wasn't until about half way through the book that I was drawn into the story. Once we reached the halfway point though, things started to pick up. Although I like both Tatiana and Peter, I thought that Tatiana was a little immature. She was portrayed as someone who was strong and able to take care of herself while having a good head on her shoulders from having the responsibility of being royal. Yet Peter told her that he would tell her why he had made the decisions he did when the timing was right and she was constantly thinking that he was untrustworthy because she hadn't been told right off. I know that they had been friends before, but I just felt like with her being a royal she should have understood more about where Peter was coming from and given him the time that he asked for. Peter was sweet and charming, and suffered from a tough childhood. I really admired that his character was able to give up the life and all the perks of being a royal in order to go after a dream of his own. The fact that he put himself in danger for his job in order to protect others really spoke a lot about his character. I think that Peter was a great balance for Tatiana and I found myself hoping for her to realize that sometimes being in a relationship means learning to trust your partner, even when you don't know all the details. In the end, I wasn't disappointed and Tatiana and Peter ended up being a great couple. 

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It took me awhile to get into the book, but i'm glad that I stuck it out and kept reading. Peter and Tatiana really grew on me and I enjoyed seeing them progress from friends to lovers as they fell in love. The suspense and mystery in this book are a little predictable, but the characters were great and fun to read about. For me this story was more entertaining than realistic with the princes, princesses, jewels and thieves. But it was a nice escape from the real world and I had a good time reading it. If you like a romance with suspense, mystery and royalty you should give this book a shot. I think that most romantic suspense fans will enjoy Peter and Tatiana's story. 

**ARC provided by Publisher**

ARC Review of The Master Undone by Lisa Renee Jones

Review originally posted at Ramblings From This Chick

I have anxiously been awaiting Mark's Story ever since I first read If I Were You. I knew Mark wasn't right for Sara, but there was just something about him that made me want to know more about him. The Master Undone Novella takes place after If I Were You, Rebecca's Lost Journals and Being Me. If you haven't read those, then you should not read The Master Undone until after you have done so as there is a huge reveal at the end of Being Me that would be spoiled if you read The Master Undone first. Also if you haven't read those first, beware of spoilers below. This series has to be one of my all time favorites and this novella was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Lisa Renee Jones has created some of the most interesting and deep characters that I have ever read about. Each one of them seems like one thing on the surface, but as her stories continue and you begin to peel back the layers, you realize that there is so much more to each one of them than you originally see.

After the events at the end of Being Me, Mark is left shaken to his core. He feels responsible for the tragedy that happened with Rebecca and he begins to question everything he thought he knew. He heads to New York to be by his mother's side as she undergoes surgery and cancer treatment. While in NY he becomes acquainted with an employee for Riptide and he can't help but be attracted to her despite the fact that she is everything that would normally turn him off. Crystal is not submissive in any way and is a self proclaimed control freak. Mark knows that he should stay away, but he just can't help himself. After the two spend a passionate night together, she leaves him. Crystal is everything that he never wanted, and yet she just might be everything that he needs. 

I loved getting to know Mark better. Even though he is a large part of the series, we really haven't got to know much about Mark in the previous books. This novella really starts to dig deeper into his personality and past. I enjoyed seeing him let his guard down a little. It was nice to see him actually be human instead of just some unreachable master and boss. I also liked that we got to see him with his mother. It was sweet seeing how much he cared about her and his reactions to what was going on with her health despite him trying to hold them back. I also loved Crystal! It was really fun to see such a strong woman come in to his life and not put up with his normal controlling personality. I loved that she would throw it right back in his face, and only relent if she chose to. Her honestly and bluntness was really refreshing and kept Mark on his toes. She is exactly what he needs and I cannot wait to see how their relationship progresses. These two also had a ton of chemistry. Their hook-up in The Master Undone was super hot and I can just tell its only going to get better. 

Overall, this was a quick read that left me wanting more. I enjoyed getting to know Mark better and meeting Crystal. This novella really added more depth to the entire series and gave us some insight into Mark's character and the life he has been living in the past. Although it did give us some more information about him and his past, there is so much left that we don't know about him. I am really excited to read more about him and Crystal both. I am really hoping that we will get a few more books on Mark. Lisa Renee Jones has exceeded my expectations again and if you haven't read this series yet, I cannot tell you enough how much you need to! This series is fantastic, and fans of all genres of romance will love these books!

**ARC provided by NetGalley**

Where I have been!

A lot has changed in the almost year since my last post! Things have been super busy and I haven't had much spare time.

We have done quite a bit to our house. Its finally getting there! Our most recent project was a new desk and work space for the spare room. It is part desk, part shelving unit...and is the perfect place for my husband to work on his photos and for me to scrap and create! I had seen some similar desk units on the A Beautiful Mess blog and knew that I wanted to make something similar for us. I got my husband and father-in-law involved and they made it happen! It is way better than I ever expected and I cannot wait to get everything in its new home!

Sorry for the kind of blurry pic! Its from my phone and is the best I had available!

I have also started reviewing books for a blog. You can find my reviews at Ramblings From This Chick, as well as posted on my Goodreads and Amazon pages! I have also recently starting adding them to Pinterest. I have been having so much fun with this! I love books and reading and have for as long as I can remember. Now I get to share that with others, and give my opinion...which i also love! ;) If you are interested in all genres of Romance you should definitely stop by and check them out!

ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com

I am going to try and start posting my reviews here and make a better effort to update this blog more! I always have the best intentions, but it just never seems to work out once i get busy!

Thanks for stopping by!
Casey