Heart of a Royal (#01 in Daughters Of Peverell Series)

I have a soft spot for stories containing royals, so when I saw this cover and read the title, I was immediately drawn in. I was then delighted to discover that Hannah Currie is an Australian author!

Mackenna Sparrow is not a princess, but her best friend is one. She was brought to the palace as a baby to be the princess's companion, and formed a deep friendship with the princess. She has the heart of a princess, and the people love her.

With the princess engaged, and her services coming to an end, Mackenna is thrust into a life she doesn't know - that of a commoner. But her ties to the palace cannot be easily broken, for she was also friends with Prince Thoraben (ben), and he isn't ready to to let go of Mackenna.

With miscommunication, and the characters not being open with their true feelings, the path to love is not an easy one, but the ending definitely satisfies!

Although this is a contemporary set in a made up kingdom, there is an intriguing plot line of the threat of rebels to the kingdom that gave this a fantasy vibe, and as a fan of fantasy, I loved this.

Heart of a Royal was a well written, captivating read. The characters were likeable and relatable (most anyway), and there was great chemistry between Ben and Mackenna. It was charming, and funny, with just enough drama to keep things interesting. There was an eyepopping twist that I didn't see coming! It was a sweet and clean romance, with faith themes weaved throughout. This is the first book in the series and…

Heart of a Royal is a sweet story of Mackenna and her search for her identity and place in the world after being kicked out of the palace by an angry King. And of course, there is a sweet prince, beautiful dresses and a natural disaster just to throw a spanner in the works. This book is technically YA fiction, but don't let that stop you from reading it. Besides the age of the characters it is very easy to forget that it is YA as the storyline is interesting and the lessons relevant to all ages. The thing that I liked most about this series was the Christian message. It is a more overt message than many other Christian books but it is seamlessly integrated into the story. The message in each book is one that is relevant to all ages and hopefully, reading it in a story will help this message be heard and understood by more.

I am not a young adult, but I did find this book really gorgeous! It was an easy read, but really engaging. The story hooked me in straight away. Highly recommend and am looking forward to the next in the series. This book would appeal to 16+ upwards. I'm in my 40's and enjoyed it. Lovely to support an Aussie author too.

I thought the plot in this story was very clever and it is well written. I liked the way the author wove in the one true God. I also found Thoraben to be delightful. I love the twist in relation to the rebels and I absolutely love the cover of the book! I haven't given the story 5 stars as because at first I struggled to connect with Kenna and felt frustrated by the way she was blind to what was right in front of her, but I do acknowledge that this is also what the author used to grow her character. I also struggled with the detail of food and gowns, but this is just because I am more of a people person and not really interested in that kind of thing. I'm glad I persevered as the story became more and more gripping as it went on. I know most people will love this story and probably not have the same issues I did.

This is a YA novel that adults will love too. I was drawn in from the first page and interaction of the main characters, Kenna and Thoraben which had me laughing. It is a story with a surprise at the end. I love how the author showed the different ways to live for God without being overt. I loved the journey of discovery each character was on. It is a great book to give to people who don't yet know Jesus. I can't wait for the next book in the series.