About the Book

Book: Heart Of A Royal

Author: Hannah Currie

Genre: Young Adult/Royalty

Brought to the palace as a newborn, the royal life bestowed upon Mackenna Sparrow was never meant to last forever. With Princess Alina engaged to be married, Mackenna’s presence as companion is no longer required and, like it or not, she must return to the birthright which should have been hers – that of a commoner. But not everyone at the palace wants her gone. When the truths she’s based her life on start crumbling as fast as her future, will she find the courage to trust, both herself and the prince she’s fallen in love with?

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About the Author

Aussie author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people (in small numbers, let’s not go crazy here!) and writing. She and her husband live with their three adorable kids in sunny Queensland, where it really is beautiful one day and perfect the next. Except, maybe, during heatwaves. They’re not so fun. She loves to connect with readers at www.hannahcurrie.com.

More from Hannah

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by royalty. Real ones like Queen Elizabeth II, who is such an incredible woman and a total hero of mine (not to mention, as a proud Australian and member of the Commonwealth, my monarch) but also the not-so-real ones. Those found in fairytales. Romances. Narnia.

I’m one of those people who blocks out an entire day to watch a royal wedding, sighs like a hopeless romantic through cheesy princess movies, reads just about any novel I find with a crown on the front and loves a full-spread photo souvenir magazine. I may have even written a short story starring a princess for an English assignment at school. More than once. [Side note, if you’re going to write a story about a princess who is totally adorable but can’t spell, don’t use a misspelled word as the title. It takes a lot of explaining to make sure the teacher knows you did it on purpose and doesn’t mark you down for it… sorry Ninth Grade English teacher!].

The glamor draws me in, the beautiful clothes, the history and romance of it all, but it’s the expectations they have on them which hold me there. Every title comes with a million expectations, whether or not they’re realistic. We expect royals, both real and fictional, to behave in a certain way. To be honourable (assuming they’re the good guys). To care for their people and put them first. To always be there. Yes, even to be beautiful.

But what happens when they’re not? When they’re shy? Fight anxiety? Hate the spotlight? Are blemished in some way? What happens when what’s best for the people isn’t what’s best for them? Or when they make a mistake? Something which, for anyone else, would be easily fixed or glossed over but for a royal, gets written into the history books forever. Purely because of their title.

Kenna, the main character in Heart of a Royal, never meant to be a princess. She wasn’t born into royalty, neither did she choose it. And yet, due to circumstances far beyond her control, there she is. Living in a palace. Part of that life.

Very few of us are royalty but I think we all know how heavy expectations can be and the pain of being thrust into situations beyond our control. And yet, even in those moments and seasons, just like Kenna, we have choices. They might seem small, maybe even insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re there. Who we put our trust in. What we do with the circumstances we’ve been given. Where we go from there.

Heart of a Royal is as much my story as it is Kenna’s. No, I’m not a princess (thankfully!) but I have struggled through finding hope and purpose when life flies out of control and the expectations prove too much. And here’s what I’ve found – God is good. There is hope and God is good. I hope, through Kenna’s story, you are reminded of that too.

My Review

While most little girls dreamed about being princesses, in the fantasy of my imagination I was a prairie girl—funny, really, because my name is Hebrew for “princess.” I watched all of the Disney movies and read endlessly, so I had a passing familiarity with fairy tales, but the life of royalty never appealed to me as something I would welcome. Too much attention, too many restrictions, having to dress up and entertain…no thanks! Finery and lavish living don’t entice me at all. I will admit that being able to have a gorgeous library for my vast collection of books would be wonderful, though! That aside, however, I gravitate toward frontier fiction and add a few imperial reads for spice. In this case, I’m glad that I did!

As a debut novel, “Heart of a Royal” swept me off my feet. Hannah Currie crafts a beautiful beginning to the Daughters of Peverell series, and I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. Although it is primarily a romance, there is also plenty of humor as well as some somber scenes. Even the cover evokes uncertainty and refinement. The interplay between the characters was well done, and although the major plotline itself was for the most part predictable, its execution and details did contain several twists. Mackenna (Kenna) Sparrow narrates the tale in the first person, and from the first line, I liked her. As more or less a companion to Princess Alina, she has lived her entire childhood with the same privileges, but that ends with Alina’s engagement: “For almost eighteen years, I’ve lived the life of a princess. It’s time I stopped pretending to be someone I’m not”. Kenna is much more down to earth and sensible than Alina, with an empathetic nature and compassionate heart. In some ways, Prince Thoraben (Ben) seems too good to be true, although more of his disposition becomes clear later in the narrative. Ashe’s roguish yet caring personality makes him shine. I was a bit disappointed that Kenna’s parents did not feature into the story much, especially given the decisions they made in her life.

Intended for a teen and young adult audience, “Heart of a Royal” is suitable for older readers as well. While there is some angst, I did not think that it was overdone, and this is a clean Christian story that promotes faith and traditional values. I will confess that there were many times during the narrative when I wondered how Mackenna could be so blind as to not recognize the love being bestowed upon her, but then I realized that we do the same thing. How often do we not realize God’s love for us, even after we are saved? Sadly, we, too, doubt the One who has never left us and who never will. Yet His arms are always open to welcome us home, and if we will take Him at His word and trust Him, as Kenna learns, “All will be well.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book through CelebrateLit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.