Erica Ridley: Nobody’s Princess

A fun and feminist Regency romp from a master of the genre hailed as "a delight" by Bridgerton author Julia Quinn.

Nothing happens in London without Graham Wynchester knowing. His massive collection of intelligence is invaluable to his family's mission of aiding those most in need. So when he deciphers a series of coded messages in the scandal sheets, Graham's convinced he must come to a royal's rescue. But his quarry turns out not to be a princess at all... The captivating Kunigunde de Heusch is anything but a damsel in distress, and the last thing she wants is Graham's help.

All her life, Kuni trained alongside the fiercest Royal Guardsmen in her family, secretly planning to become her country's first Royal Guardswoman. This mission in London is a chance to prove herself worthy without help from a man, not even one as devilishly handsome as Graham. To her surprise, Graham believes in her dream as much as she does, which makes it harder to resist kissing him...and falling in love. But how can she risk her heart if her future lies an ocean away?

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CW: grief/parental death, abandonment, family conflict

Graham is obsessed with royalty, and Kuni is obsessed with becoming a Royal Guard for the princess she has served as companion for in her home country of Balcovia.  Both talented in intelligence gathering, fighting, and protecting their families, sparks fly when these two meet.

I found the first third of the book to be a bit slow going.  Readers who like sparring (physical and verbal) between MCs may get more out of it then I did.  But I am glad I pushed through after teetering on the edge of DNF, because this turned out to be a lovely book with a host of wonderful supporting characters (Wynchesters) that I look forward to reading more of in their own books.

Both MCs are driven by trauma in their past.  My CW is specifically around parental death which much of the character arcs are built around.  Its subtle enough as to probably be okay for most readers, but I want folks to be aware that the accidental death of two parents plays a factor in this story.  There are also a sense of abandoment/family conflict that is healed by found family, but could be tough for some readers.

There are some sparring and action scenes, but nothing graphically violent.  There is intimacy on the page, but fairly mild in length and description.

Once Kuni’s mission begins evolving with the Wynchester’s help, and Grahama and Kuni let themselves give in to their infatuation, this book heats up and goes quickly.  I enjoyed learning about how love transforms them both, and found it to be less angsty then it might have been handled in another author’s hand.

More than the romance, I really enjoyed the various characters within the Wynchester household and that strong sense of found family.  They are all characters with special skills that work together to help other families with various issues.

I recommend this for readers who like MCs sparring (physically and verbally), found family, and romance that defies MC expectations.