The Prince’s Bride by Charis Michaels

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Hidden Royals, #2

Release Date: May 21, 2024

Years ago, when they were just infants, Lady Marianne “Ryan” Daventry & Prince Gabriel d’Orleans were betrothed by their parents and they grew up understanding their obligation. But then the revolution swept through France and Gabriel and his sisters were smuggled out of France, hidden away and the betrothal forgotten. Ryan never really thought of her betrothed and while she had fond memories of Gabriel, she has been much too busy taking care of Winscombe, her family’s estate on the Channel Island of Guernsey to wonder about him. But that was before his cousin Maurice shows up claiming Gabriel is dead and that he is the new Prince and demands that Ryan honor the betrothal by marrying him and turning over control of the estate to him. The only way to thwart him is to find her true betrothed and bring him back to confront Maurice. But she has not seen or heard from Gabriel in 9 years and her only clue to his location is a letter he sent her before he disappeared for good. That is how Ryan ended up being held up by a highwayman in the Savernake Forest and saved by a strange man, who may or may not be her long-lost fiancé and who flat out refuses to help her.

Prince Gabriel d’Orleans has been living in seclusion as Gabriel Rien in the Savernake Forest for the last 9 years and has gained a reputation as an exceptional horse trainer. He avoids contact with others, including his sister Elise, who has tried without success to reunite with him, so when he hears a woman screaming, his first instinct is to ignore her, but he can’t and to his complete shock the woman he rescues is his betrothed. He refuses to help her, but he can’t seem to let her go and slowly he ventures out of his sanctuary. Going as far as to reunite with his sister and her family and asking them to help Ryan. And even as he falls in love with her, he is still adamant that he cannot be the man she needs him to be. So why is it so hard to let her walk away?

I loved this story, Ryan and Gabriel are such wonderful characters and truly have a beautiful connection. I loved watching them battle their demons and heal as they began to fall in love. The story is filled with emotion, personal doubts, a greedy relative, warm love scenes, adorable nieces, a hypochondriacal nanny, a match-making former rake, an almost grown-up Bartholomew, a stunning confrontation and a very sweet ending. This was such a great story, and I would happily recommend this story to my fellow HR readers. This is the second book in the series and while it could be standalone, I would highly recommend reading the books in order.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *