Book Review: “The Soldier Prince” (Royals of Stellangård Saga #1) by Aarti V. Raman

“The Soldier Prince” (Royals of Stellangård Saga #1) by Aarti V. Raman (2018)

Genre: Romance, Fiction, Suspense

Page Length: 284 (electronic review copy)

Synopsis:

The Soldier Prince…
Alexander ‘Iceman’ Heinrickson was born a prince.
The spare heir to a European principality whose future was set in stone.
Until circumstances forced him to abandon his wealthy lifestyle and royal heritage. He chose to become a soldier.
After years of seeing needless combat, he works construction in New York city. And craves a normal life.
Going back home is not an option for him.
But neither is leaving a brave damsel in danger.

…And The Commoner

Sasha Ray is an aspiring teacher and a soft touch waitress. Her life is normal. Boring even.
She also has a massive crush on the newest Tall, Blond, and Handsome who frequents the New York deli where she works.
What she doesn’t know about the stranger called Iceman might get her killed. Or worse.
For one, he turns out to be a lethally capable soldier.
For another, he is the secret Prince of Stellangård, who is not used to the word no.
So, when Alexander sweeps her off on a private jet to his castle nestled in the Swiss Alps for her own protection, she has no choice but to go with him.
Falling for a tortured hero like Prince Alexander might be the biggest mistake of her life.
But Sasha knows some mistakes are worth risking your heart for.

With an unknown enemy closing in, Sasha and Alexander need to decide if happily ever after is just a fairy tale. Or can a Prince and a commoner find true love in the middle of danger?

Meet the Royals of Stellangård – Alexander, Helena, and Michael – burdened by their heritage, freed by love, in three standalone novels of romantic suspense and action. (decsription from Goodreads)

Review:

The Soldier Prince is action packed from the first couple of pages. Alexander is a former soldier suffering from PTSD and has an aura of mystery around him. He meets Sasha, through his daily visits to her deli. When Alexander is under attack by a ruthless gang, Sasha gets caught in the crossfire trying to help him and ends in the middle of danger.

Alexander turns out to be a prince much to Sasha’s surprise. He immediately becomes protective of Sasha after the big rescue since she might be in danger since the criminals haven’t been caught. But he rubbed me (and Sasha) the wrong way because of his overt arrogant nature. He wisks her off to the kingdom of Stellangård for safety. The two characters butt heads at first sight, but you can tell as much as they deny it they are attracted to one another.

The book is mainly romance focused, but the it also has multiple elements of mystery, action, suspense, and a few comedic moments here and there. While Alexanders royal life is painted as glamorous from the outside Sasha sees how much work and dedication the Heinrickson family has put into keeping the county running smoothly for its people. It’s a lot of hard work and she sees how difficult it is.

Through Sasha’s time in Stellangård her and Alexander become close to one another as they learn more about each other. Alexander seems like a stronger person on the outside, but is dealing with a lot of inner turmoil on the inside. While Sasha is a smart woman who has a fiery spirit, she has the drive for what she wants in life. But under all that she is vulnerable and self-conscious. I liked seeing their backgrounds and it made me appreciate their characters a little more.

Towards the end of the book the action started to pick up and it got so climatic I couldn’t put the book down. It added to the entertainment factor. Overall I enjoyed that the book is fast paced and the plot is consistent and moves along smoothly.

Final Verdict: