Blog Book Tour | “Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombsell” (Book Two: The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles) by Jennifer Faye a selection of #Harlequin Romance

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

I received a complimentary copy of “Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell” direct from the author Jennifer Faye in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I enjoy reading Romance selections by Ms Faye:

It takes a dedicated eye to sort out how to write a newly spun fairy-tale sequence out of such a widely known canon such as Snow White and the Seventh Dwarfs – however, I was quite happily charmed by her first installment in this duet Beauty and Her Boss – therefore, finding out she took the name ‘White’ (a la Snow White) and utilised this to help cart the course for Sage was rather brilliant – as we find out the name is attached to a publishing company! Clearly, in the generations since we’ve first stumbled across Ms Snow White, the tides turnt to where her descendants can be rather industriously independent! Except, this is the world of fairy-tales and thereby, not everything is first as it is appears! For it isn’t Sage who has controlling interest in the publishing company, oh, no! It is her vile step-mother – and although, this turn in events early-on had me thinking this was a mash between Snow White and Cinderella rather than strictly a re-telling of the one signature canon, I liked how Ms Faye turnt the tables on the reader, giving us a keenly surprising insight into whom the ‘evil witch’ might be in this particular story!

Now, I’ll admit, any dog which is given the name ‘Happy’ is going to be a winner in my book! Not since 7th Heaven ended have I seen someone name a dog ‘Happy’! It suits this little guy so very well – I even liked the randomness of finding him, a credit to Ms Faye for not just giving a curveball of interest to explore for the reader but to find a way to take her characters off-guard! I love when writers do this – as it’s one thing to give a character growth building segues of difficulties but it’s another to throw them something their never going to suspect will change their life – like a stray dog! It’s just rather clever and the fact it takes both Sage and Trey unawares in similar ways is quite telling for how Faye loves to write strong heroines and heroes who are saving their own lives!

-quoted from my review of Miss White and the Seventh Heir

This marks my third story by Harlequin Romance I’ve read by Ms Faye – the first two were part of a duology series where she re-spun classical fairy tales and inserted us into realistic Contemporary settings where the fairy tale aesthetic was uniquely used to tell a compelling romantic tale! I truly admired how she instinctively made each ‘origin story’ her own and kept enough of the ‘classic’ tale inclusive to where you could ‘see the past’ but felt comfortable embracing her ‘future’ of breathing in a new life to the older tales.

This time round, I decided to take a chance on a second story in a series – as this seems to be a tradition I have now with Harlequin serials – I started out reviewing for their imprints in the midst of a series here or there, then two became tradition it appears as it continuously kept happening! Mostly because  I was quite eager to read a story I loved the premise of and also, in some instances I was a bit reckless in not realising they were not the first in the sequences! Laughs with mirth! What can you do?! Sometimes you leap as a reader before you realise your launching yourself into an established series!

The only key difference with reading Harlequin serials out of sequence and other series by different publishers is the fact I seem to find it easier shifting in/out of Harlequin serials rather than those published by a different publisher. A bit of a quirk, I realise but it is the truth. Given the fact I’ve admired Ms Faye’s style twice over now, I didn’t hesitate to request to be a part of this new blog tour – she is one of the newly discovered Contemporary Romance authors I appreciate for how she captures what I am seeking in a Contemporary Romance but also, the ways in which she builds the relationship through her novels. The fact this has a ‘royal’ twist was quite champion in my mind – as I happily forsaked sleep to see Prince Harry’s wedding!

For those of you newer to visiting me – you’ll soon discover I’m quite particularly particular when it comes to Contemporary Roms and for awhile now, I’ve noticed both the Romance & Heartwarming imprints at Harlequin are giving me what I’m seeking whilst certain authors in the INSPY realm of Romance are also stepping up to the plate, keeping my readerly balanced with equal joy for both spectrum’s of Romance!

Heiress's Royal Baby Bombshell
Subtitle: The Cattaneos Christmas Miracles
by Jennifer Faye
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

One-night miracle…

For the Crown Prince!

In this The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles story, rebel royal Max believes his infertility has cost him the throne — until heiress Noemi reveals she’s carrying his baby! And with his country’s future at stake, Max must claim his heir! Noemi is hesitant and fiercely protective of their unborn baby, but at his snow-covered palace can Max offer her the most precious Christmas gift ever — the chance to become a family…

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335135353

Also by this author: Beauty and Her Boss, Miss White and the Seventh Heir, Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby, Claiming the Drakos Heir, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring (Spotlight), Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring , Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise, The Prince and the Wedding Planner, Christmas in Bayberry, Love Blooms

Published by Harlequin Books

on 6th November, 2018

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)

Pages: 256

Published by: Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles series:

Cinderella’s New York (book one) by Scarlet Wilson | Synopsis

Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell (book two) by Jennifer Faye

CEO’s Marriage Miracle (book three) by Sophie Pembroke | Synopsis

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin

my review of Heiress’s royal baby bombshell:

I had a feeling the set-up for this romance had to get started rather quickly and with a certain level of insta-attraction in order for the time-line within the premise to work properly. The title alone clues you into the quickness needed and Faye delivered. We first meet Noemi and Max at an exclusively private party where there is plenty of bubbling drinks, music and the illusion of a party gone crazy in celebration for a couple’s engagement. However, the attention was not focused on whom the party was thrown but rather the eclectic list of guests! This included our two lead characters but also, Noemi’s best friend Stephania of whom disappears from view as soon as Max steps into focus.

I felt the lead-up to the inevitable was done rather well – you have to get two people to find traction with each other and the best way to do that is to find a way to separate and isolate them from others. Faye took a stolen moment outside of the party to show us how desire and a curiosity about each other lead Max and Noemi to contemplate coupling even if neither of them went to the party to see out someone else. It was the foundation of the story but also a clever glimpse into who they were and how they strove to keep their own lives private from each other.

The kind of regret and remorse Faye knits into the heart of Noemi was touching – she hadn’t wanted to agree to the terms of her encounter with Max but they each went their own ways all the same. You immediately feel for her due to her personal losses within her own family but this was a complication of a different kind. Where you wanted to reach out to someone who needed to know something important but then, couldn’t sort out how to contact them due to mutually agreed upon anonymity. Talk about frustrating!

Max was dealt a hard hand in life to sort through – he had battled through a serious illness in his younger years and had survived but his survival was anchoured to a reality he wasn’t prepared to accept. One of the side effects of his illness was the prospect of not being able to enter fatherhood and this weighed on his mind more than most as due to his nature as a bloke groomed from childhood to succeed his own father in the responsibilities of their country, he news did not sit well with Max. Realising his limitations due to the rites of ascension, Max was what you would consider a floundering wanderer – a lost soul who couldn’t sort out his passions nor his life whilst he moved round the world seeking one thrill after another. He lacked vision and he hadn’t a whit of knowledge towards what interested him most but he was striving to change that – if only he could see how he could move forward without the kind of resentment which alights when your moving against what you feel is your own predestined future.

The worst regrets are the ones you never realised you’d feel when unexpected and unwanted truths start to bubble to the surface. Such as the kind Noemi was discovering about Max – now that they shared a ‘meet cute’ moment in the village, where they reconnected but also, dropped the mask from their identities – Noemi was finding herself betwixt feelings. Should she proceed with her plans to meet for dinner or should she try to find a way to distance herself which was her first instinct initially? You truly feel for Noemi as she was lost in a heat of passion and wanted one night of spontaneity not to define her but to serve as the one night she gave into the freedom of the moment; though of course, life is not without its complications!

Max at this point is presented as the overly eager knight – where he wants to charm Noemi back into his life but doesn’t understand her hesitations and anxieties. She revels more than she would want to know through her mannerisms and body language – little clues Max was able to pick up on but not the telling truth of the situation, which I felt was valid. Sometimes you can get caught up in reuniting with someone you never expected to find again and miss the obvious! To Max, Noemi reflected the one kind of woman he could honestly see himself being genuine with – she wasn’t as hung up on who he was but rather accepted him for himself. A rare quality of person which in this instance swung both ways between them.

I truly smiled when I found out the direction Faye was taking us in this story – she wanted us to see the realities of trying to bring two unlikely people back together who had a very definitive way of living on their own. In this way, she owned the realities of the situation well. She gave Noemi a strength of mind, heart and character that most who could be younger than her might not have possessed. It helps that she was in her mid-to-late twenties as age was a wisdom of its own. For Max, she definitely knitted out the solemnness of expectation against the growing worries of honesty and truthful disclosures. They were each at a different crossroads when they were reunited – the realities of having a child between them was one thing but how to unite their lives was quite the other.

I was a bit surprised by how cold and distant Max’s parents felt to me – I know they were trying to protect their son but they felt a bit overhandedly reserved. Almost as if they did not want their son to find a bit of happiness in life or to have a life outside of their realm. Though the irony of that was not lost on me as up until recently he did not have any other options but to travel; casting himself as a vagabond. Even his brother, Tobias felt judgemental and the further irony to the whole lot of them is how hard Max had to overcome his illness in order to live. Everything was hinged back to his critical illness and how it re-shaped his life and his body. He went to the ends of beyond and returnt and yet, his family treats him as if he doesn’t understand his place in their world. The odd part is that for so many years he was never given the option of having a ‘place’ in their world – they truly had found a way to carve him out of the lineage and traditions his country afforded them all.

For Noemi, the hardest part of reading her story was realising she was shouldering everything alone. Even with Max, as he was one half the son of his parents and influenced by their counsel over the years – even he was not as sympathetic to Noemi as you would have preferred. Trust is a big hurdle they face in the story, as much as Noemi has trouble sorting things out whilst she has to work through a change in status which would affect her own future as much as Max. I am unsure why the details of her parents death was still withheld – as when she finally told Max about them, I thought for sure the revelation was going to come forward but it did not.

Both of these characters are reserved and private in their own ways – they like to hold important details close to their hearts and I suppose in that way, this is why we hadn’t known the fuller details of how her parents died. Their death did re-shape Noemi as much as the illness re-shaped Max – they were each altered through circumstances whether they realised it or not. What they had in common was their sincere attraction and respect for each other; at least when they were not testing each others will of tolerance. They had their issues to work out but for the most part they were simply two people who understand each other at first meeting. If only the rest of their days after that encounter could have gone a bit easier for them, I think they might have realised more truths about themselves a bit sooner!

NOTE: I personally love reading Harlequin novels for having the option to read outside regular print – as their larger print editions have the tendency of being my favourite. However, this time round I was a bit thrown by their typography choice? The font itself made the ‘larger print’ feel a bit more intrusive and difficult to read. It took me a bit to sort out how to read this font as when I was reading the story it felt jarring on my eyes. This I believe is the first time I’ve felt this way about a Harlequin edition – unsure if they changed fonts or if they changed how they printed this edition – something just didn’t work for me between the font itself, the size and the way it was printed. Towards the middle – the issues started to work out but I just never found this the easiest to read which surprised me as I am generally giving Harlequin full props for making reading their Larger editions easier for people who need the font to be increased.

on the contemporary writing styling of ms faye:

I honestly enjoy how Ms Faye sets up her characters to find each other – how they seemingly are not meant to be involved but then, there is a door which opens to allow it. She finds ways to let them present themselves in the muddling glow of their lives – here we have two persons who are dearly known in the public eye but their facing hurdles that no one would want for themselves. From the details of how the death of Noemi’s parents is affecting her centre of gravity to the fact Max isn’t ready to yield to his younger brother’s right to ascend ahead of him to the throne – these two are subjected to the harsher realities of their lives but without the blessing of being anonymous. Their world is painted in cameras and newsfeeds – where everything they do is photographed and archived. You have to wonder how anyone can survive that kind of finite attention after awhile and Faye does a good job of setting up how this hangs on the heart of her characters.

As you move inside the story, you start to see how Faye wanted you to see her characters for who they are and not for what they stand for as they both have legacies within their families to preserve. It wasn’t quite readily known how Noemi’s parents died though from the suddenness of it – as seen from how Noemi was still reacting, it felt tragic and perhaps accidental. I was only surprised this wasn’t fleshed out a bit more at the first disclosure as Noemi had such a strong connection to her parents even if they shared a row here or there. Their death was a pivotal turning point for Noemi – that much cannot be disproved as it forced Noemi into a role within her family she was not prepared to accept.

A note of gratitude to the author:

Ms Faye is a delight to receive #bookmail from as she includes a bit of swag with the books she sends out for review considerations! This is my third book parcel to receive from her & I was equally delighted finding what awaited me as I opened her trademark pink baggie! Inside I found a lovely book cover magnet (love these!) for the Mills & Boon version of the novel – the lovely bookmark you’ll see featured in the banner below for her personal giveaway (its lovingly double-sided!) and a pen! I love when authors find clever ways to SURPRISE us as book bloggers – not every writer includes swag, but this reader is joyfully delighted by what she finds whenever something is ‘tucked into’ a book or hidden inside the parcel it arrives in – little gestures of grace and bookish joy. Thank you, again Ms Faye for giving me loads of SMILES by your kindness!

Special Announcement:

As you know, this is a giveaway-free book blog – as I do not host giveaways here on Jorie Loves A Story (per my Review Policy) however, there is one exception to the rule – I love to talk about and happily promote authors who are hosting a giveaway on *their website or blog!* whilst my review is posting via a blog tour! For this reason, it is with a joy and pleasure to bring this to your attention:

All you have to do is go to Jennifer’s Contact Page

and let her know your physical mailing address*.

NOTE: Please state the quantity you desire and which bookmarks/titles you are interested in. And remember you can order extra to share with your favorite bookstore, library and family/friends. *for readers in the continental USA

You can have your very *own!* Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell bookmark if you follow the steps outlined the author provided to receive one! I realise my blog is read internationally, but this is unfortunately only for those readers and visitors of mine stateside. I truly think you will be charmed by the eloquence of her bookmarks and the way in which they are lovingly sturdy and the perfect length for keeping your spot in whichever book your #currentlyreading!

This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours

Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Jennifer Faye, the bookmark giveaway badge and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers & My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life

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I had a feeling the set-up would involve a certain level of insta-attraction. Love how @JenniferFaye34 sets up her characters – how they seemingly are not meant to be involved til a door opens to allow it.

?https://t.co/MUFraf5qur | #blogtour pic.twitter.com/18TfXM9ppv

— Jorie Story | #amwriting?? (@joriestory) November 9, 2018