The Marcelli princess

The Marcelli princess, by Susan Mallery (book 5 in the Marcelli series)

Published by Pocket star, March 2007

Grade: C over all, B+ for the end.

About the book:

A smart, independent woman with a gorgeous four-year-old
son, Mia Marcelli lost her one true love. Four years ago, while working
undercover for the CIA, she watched Diego, the father of her unborn child,
perish before her very eyes -- crumbling the world around her. But one morning
she awakens to find Diego lying next to her, alive and well with an unbelievable
confession: he is really Rafael, Prince of Calandria, and he had been working
covertly on the same mission when they met -- his death had been staged. Utterly
stunned, Mia is wary and delighted -- she may have suffered a broken heart, but
her breathtakingly handsome lover is back to reignite the passion that existed
between them. Little does she know that Rafael has returned to give his newfound
son a proper upbringing back in Calandria -- even if it means seducing Mia into
marriage. But when Rafael finds himself truly falling for this luscious beauty,
he must decide between his royal duties and the woman who has claimed his
heart.

Imagine this; the man you love is killed in front of you. A few weeks later you find out that you are pregnant. 5 years later your baby daddy comes back and tells you that he was a spy and had to fake his death. He tells you that tried to find you but the government told him you had been killed. It wasn't till he saw your picture in the paper and saw that you were alive that he finally came to you. You tell him he has a son, and you fall in love all over again. When he asks you to marry him you say yes, and plan to elope.

Thats what happened to Mia. It sounds great, doesn't it? Ah, but then the truth comes out. Mia over hears a phone call and finds out that her Prince is a scumbag. He never loved her, he never looked for her, and the only reason he came to her was because he found out that he had a son, and he wanted him in his own country so that he could train him as the heir. He planned to bring Mia and their son to his country, then divorce her, send her away and keep the kid with him. The law of his country says that the heir to the throne cannot leave the country without the fathers permission. That means Mia would have never been able to take her son back home with her.

Jerk!

As I was reading I kept wondering how Rafael was going to make up for trying to kidnap the kid. Holy moly, what a jerk. I was so angry. My emotions kept going up and down because first I was mad at him, then I was mad at Mia. We got to know Rafael's POV, so it was easier to forgive him knowing his thought process.

Mia's a strong willed woman. She tries to be funny, and she is a great mother. She did make me mad when she slept with Rafael after he lied to her. It was a major dimwit move to me.

The end saved everything! I was keeping a list of things in my head (negative things) that had me rolling me eyes and saying 'huh?'. When I read the fabulous wonderful ending I forgot all about the stuff that had made me unhappy.

Rafael made up for his bastardness is a huge way. It put a goofy grin on my face. Way to go Prince. You got the girl. You deserve her this time, too.

This is a light, fluffy read that I think you will enjoy. Everyone from the other Marcelli books make appearances so if you liked them you get to say hello again. Even if you have not read the others in the series, this is still easy to read as a stand alone.