The Prince’s Special Bride by Devika Fernando

The Prince’s Special Bride is a sweet love story between Prince Christian of Taragonia and Marie Kemei,  an Anglo-African hotel manager working in the Maldives.

The background –

The book starts with a beautiful sunset in Maldives which Marie loves to watch in solitude.  Her solitude is broken when she finds one of the hotel guests sobbing her heart out.  Marie soon becomes friend and confidante to Olivia.  Christian comes in search of his sister Olivia and finds her staying in the Malaysian hotel.  Marie and Christian are attracted to each other.  But,  Marie comes to know later that Olivia and Christian belong to the Royal kingdom of Taragonia.  It is a fictitious kingdom in Europe.  Olivia’s distress is she is engaged to be married to the Prince of Visteria.  Everything changes when Princess Olivia invites Marie a month in advance to her wedding and asks her to be her special Bridesmaid.  Marie is awed by the grandeur of the palace and the way the royals live.  Her exotic looks with darker skin and Afro hair makes her stand out in the European kingdom of pale skins and pastel gowns.  She feels she is a misfit.  It is only her love for the Prince and the friendship of the Princess that makes her stay pleasant.  During the course of the month, she discovers a lot about the kingdom and also about herself.  So,  what makes Prince Christian fall in love with a commoner like Marie.

What I liked –

1. I love to read about heroines who are strong and independent.  Marie is a very independent woman content with life.
2. I have never read a romance where the heroine is of a different skin-color.  I would like to see more of such heroines.
3. Christian is a dutiful Prince who wants the best for his Kingdom.  He is duty bound as Crown Prince and takes his role seriously.  He is environmentally conscious, grows organic food and is also ready to help out countries in distress.  It actually made me root for monarchy.  He is a true knight in shining armour.
4. The descriptions are vivid.  The author brings the Palace alive in her descriptions,  you will wish to go have a walk in it.
5. The dresses are described well and there is some excellent designer wear there.
6. The language is easy to read and simple.

My only grumble is I wanted to read a little more of their romance in the beautiful palace.  They are two very good people who are in love.  But, I wanted them to have some lover’s tiffs,  some misunderstandings,  some distress.  But, they truly are a match well-made.

This Cinderella meets Prince Darcy tale is a light, breezy read.  It is perfect for an afternoon of good times.