Book Review for The Princess by Lori Wick

          In the Land of Pendaran, Shelby Parker lives a humble but good life. Her special qualities are eventually noticed by the king and queen of the House of Markham, who seek a new wife for their widowed son, Prince Nikolai.

To uphold the tradition of their country, Shelby and Nikolai agree to an arranged marriage. But while Nikolai is a perfect gentleman in public, he remains distant at home, leaving Shelby to wonder what is in his heart. Will the prince ever love her as he did his first wife? Can the faith they share overcome the barriers between them? (Product Description from Amazon.com)          

        I was so excited to read a book about a woman named Shelby!  For some reason, I resented the fact that Shelby had red hair. I just don’t like red hair (no offense to all those red-heads out there). And Nick. *sigh* With a few adjustments, he could easily be my dream man. J    But enough about the characters. The plot was slow getting started, and I must admit, I got pretty bored with the book at some points (I had to get used to Mrs. Wick’s writing style). It got much more exciting when I reached about page 70 or so.  One thing I must mention real quick: it’s so weird for me to read old books. By old I mean books that were written around the time I was born. When people still thought pantsuits were attractive. It’s like I was shot back in time. For some reason, it isn’t weird like that when I read historical fiction (which, technically, books from the 1900’s ARE historical, right?J). Alright, that was my rabbit trail for the day.  
            I’ll start with the positives: I really like the idea of the book- an arranged marriage. I loved the love that Shelby and her family shared. They were all such a sweet and innocent bunch- it seemed unrealistic. I loved when Nick finally told Shelby he loved her, and I also loved how eager they were to see each other in the hospital. And that’s it. There wasn’t much I really loved about this book- it was just so-so. Here are the negatives: The cover. I hated it. It didn’t have anything to do with the book, and it seemed old-fashioned and a little blurry. Also, Shelby and Nick seemed like Barbie and Ken. I suppose they did have a few flaws, but most of the time I felt like they were perfect little individuals. Shelby was so caring, compassionate, and innocent, and Nick was so manly and regal. It was unrealistic how Nick could tell when Shelby was thinking or hurt. Find me a male who is that female-ish, and I’ll give you a billion dollars. J Mrs. Wick made him out to be the perfect man, and even I know that there is no such thing. One thing I found kind of annoying was Shelby’s constant blushing. Every time Nick spoke to her, her face matched the color of her hair. It was incessant and obnoxious. If she was really that shy, she wouldn’t have been able to talk to Nick at all.
            This book had a TON of tension in it. Nick and Shelby don’t even know each other till their wedding, so you can imagine their trials getting to know each other.  They pretty much avoided each other for the first 6 months, and after that, they still had rough times. The Princess is definitely an adult book, and I don’t suggest that younger teens (13-15) read it (only adults and mature teens who can handle the tension between Shelby and Nick). There’s nothing really horrible in it, but I know that even my mom can’t handle reading a book with a lot of tension before bed. It’s just up to you and what you can handle.
 Quick Content Review:
Profanity- None
Violence- Minor (Shelby and Nick are involved in a car accident; Shelby loses a lot of blood and her unborn child dies.)
Sexual- Mild (Shelby and Nick share intimacy before they fall in love because they want children, but not for several months after their wedding. Nothing is described, only insinuated.)