If the Shoe Fits

Three and a half stars. Ally Parker used to work for a gossip magazine (think Grazia or US Weekly) until she was fired and had to return to her small country village in the Cotswolds and live with her parents because she couldn't get another job in the same industry and she couldn't afford to pay her rent/credit card bills. Now she cleans the local pub, serves in the local café and is generally condescended to by all the people in the village to whom her mother boasted about Ally's high-flying career. One of Ally's two BFFs is actually marrying a prince from San Michele (one of those minor made-up little kingdoms so beloved of Romanceland) and she has asked Ally to do the PR for the wedding. Ally is due to co-ordinate with the royal family's head of security Count Fredrik Jensson, but he is early and manages to find her in the pub, wearing pink marigolds and a pinny. Fredrik takes an instant dislike to Ally for two reasons. Firstly, because of her former job, he worries that she will use her position to dig up lots of dirt on the royal family and their guests and sell it to the highest bidder. Second, because she hardly looks like a successful PR person in her cleaning lady outfit. Oh and he's a tortured soul because ex-military and former mountaineer and war wounds. If, like me, you enjoyed The Prince and Me (the film with Julia Stiles) then I imagine you will also enjoy this, more grounded than some other books in this genre that I have read, thankfully much of the action takes place in the Cotswolds and not just in San Michele. This is the third book in a series but I found it quite easy to read as a stand-alone and I have to confess I am interested in reading the book about the third couple (the chef and the Lord of the Manor). Easy, light-hearted, escapist reading.

A nice addition to the series! This is a light easy read with some great characters, low angst, and a great romance between two people who at first don't hit it off all that well. Journalist Ally Parker has just been let go from her job on a gossip magazine and she's not quite sure what's she's going to do with her life now. When her friend Hope asks her to head up the PR for her upcoming royal wedding it seems like the perfect opportunity. Then the Chief of Security for the royal family, Count Fredrik Jensson, shows up and basically tried to fire her before she even starts. He's convinced that because of her last job she's trying to use her connection to get her job back. Needless to say there are sparks flying between these two but they aren't all about the job~~ A quick fun read I think you'll enjoy. I recommend it.

I so enjoy reading books based in the English countryside and this one was not only based there but we also got to hop over to a fictional European country and experience their nobility. This is part of a series written by different authors that area ll linked but can be read as a stand alone. In this book we get to know Ally Parker, one of the bridesmaids and PR specialist as well as Count Fredrik Jensson who is in charge of the Prince's security. So security for a Prince you ask? Well Ally's bestie Hope is getting married to Prince Jonas in her small town and of course they need to keep things secure and under wraps until they can announce it to the world. I really enjoyed this book. It was fun reading about the small town country side and how they hold a wedding compared to a royal wedding. Watching this romance come together over the pages of this book is like watching a movie on tv... I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other books in this series.