"I will always think of you as I feel the ocean air on my face. In my highest tower, I will look out across the expanse of water and wonder if the same air is bringing me a whisper of you."
synopsis
Prince Layton Wilhelm is the youngest of the King of Oldenburg's eight sons and has been charged with leading the Royal Navy. Upon discovering Napoleon's privateers in Oldenburg waters he is sent to England with a singluar purpose: to petition the British navy for aid. On his carriage ride to the castle he encounters the lovely Lady Aribella and cannot remove her from his mind. Prince Layton soon finds himself pulled between his duty to acquire British aid and courting Lady Aribella, despite an impossible future.
thoughts & feelings
This book was a little hard for me to get into but once I had fully emersed myself in its pages I throughly enjoyed it. I also know the reason for my early struggle. Admittedly, the books were sitting in the incorrect order on my bookcase. When I was rushing out the door I grabbed the second book on accident. A few chapters in I realized my error. I was already HOOKED on the story and was a bit disappointed to have to put it aside. Thus, my hesitancy was born.
However, within the first few chapters I was very intrigued with the lives of Lady Aribella and the kingdom of Oldenburg. I LOVED that the majority of the story takes place outside of the London Season and its whirlwind of balls and social gatherings. Don't get me wrong, I love a good ballroom waltz scene but I love when authors change it up a little.
I loved the glimpses we get into the lives of the British royal family. Although we don't dive far into the British family enough information is given that I had a good understanding of the basic relationships and was honestly intrigued to know more.
I also loved that Jen Geigle Johnson had the characters stay true to their duties and responsibilities. Yes, it is a love story but neither character completely abandons their responsibilities in the name of love. They are both really realistic about how impossible a union between them is and both aim to focus on fulfilling their duties. The forbidden love trope is not usually one of my favorites, because it usually gets a bit cheesy, but Johnson did a great job writing this story in a practical way that still tugs at your heartstrings.
Do you want to know another one of my favorite things? This one might shock you so brace yourself...I really enjoyed Prince George aka Prinny. Yes, he actually is quite annoying, scandelous, and very entitled but I really did enjoy his character. I love the contrast he provided between not only himself and his father, the current King, but also between the court of Oldenburg and Britain. It always intrigues me how in every single historical fiction book that features him, Prince George is written in a similar yet different way. He seems to fully embrace the concept of marching to the beat of your own drum and his subjects seemed to either love or hate him. There is no middle line. It makes me want to fully research Prinny and learn as much as I can about him. Jen Geigle Johnson actually shocked me with a few of the lines she provided for Prince George. I LOVED that we got to see his usual dandified self, the court fawning all over him, and yet we also got a glimpse of a serious side of him. He fully understands what it means to be a royal and the future King. While he definitely takes advantage of his title and wealth he also seemed very knowledgable about duty, responsibility, and obligation. Like I said, I am so intrigued with Prinny!
book tags
Steam Level: clean, kissing
Language: clean
Content Warnings: very mild battle scenes, no graphic content
Trigger Warnings: none
book information
Title: A Foreign Crown
Series: A Royal Regency Romance #1
Author: Jen Geigle Johnson
Rating: 4/5