Playing the Royal Game by Carol Marinelli

Synopsis: STOP THE PRESS:  THE SANTINA-JACKSON ROYAL FAIRY TALE -- FACT OR FICTION? — It seemed like every girl's dream:  fall in love with a prince and be whisked off for your very own glamorous happy-ever-after -- a royal fairy tale for Allegra Jackson and Prince Alessandro Santina. — Allegra's headline-grabbing family hardly prepared her for a life of public duty, and sinfully delicious Prince Alessandro has always seemed virtually allergic to the idea of settling down in Santa Maria.

Out of all the flamboyant, beautiful women his name's been linked with, the heir to the throne picked ordinary Allegra with the family from hell....


My Thoughts: I have mixed emotions about this book. I enjoyed it very much yet felt the I Love You's were out of place. 

Carol Marinelli did an excellent job of creating characters that I connected to. My heart broke for Allegra and I wanted to cheer for every character who bucked the Santina governing system. The characters were great. The plot was great. The romance could have been better.

Throughout the book the H/h were separated much of the time. When they were together they fought. Allegra was often saying how much Alex had changed from the man she met in London to the uptight cold fish he was in Santina. With that in mind I was not sure how she fell in love with him.

His inner thoughts of love, however,  were actually more believable. I liked that Marinelli didn't say 'and he realized he had loved her since they first met.' Nope. It was at the wedding that he realized he was falling in love with her. No instantaneous love at first sight which I very much appreciate!

I would recommend this book to fans of Harlequin and to not quite fans of category romances. Just keep in mind the I Love You's part is a little hard to swallow but overall you'll find this a great -- curl up in your favorite overstuffed chair by a warm fire on a cold afternoon -- read.