Enter to win a "royal" prize pack!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A royal-themed Brighton charm bracelet
- 2 tickets to see the new Cinderella movie
- The Royal Wedding series (Once Upon a Prince, Princess Ever After, and How to Catch a Prince)
My Review: Disappointing
American heiress Corina Del Ray has spent the last five years mourning the loss of her twin brother, Carlos, in Afghanistan. Now she’s working for online megapaper, the Beaumont News, and her boss assigns her to go to the kingdom of Brighton to attend a movie premier and interview the lead actor. She doesn’t want to go—she has history in Brighton, and with Prince Stephen …I wanted to like How to Catch a Prince. After all, I read for enjoyment. However, I had two major issues. First, and most important, I simply couldn’t get into the imaginary kingdom the author has created. It’s not England, but has too many similarities with England to ignore—some of which make no sense, like the fact they play rugby, a game which wasn’t invented until 200 years after their independence from England. Why don’t they play Brightonian football?
There is a king who married a commoner (Wills and Kate, anyone?), a prince who spent time in the army (Harry?) and now plays rugby for his country (which sounds a lot like Zara’s husband. You know, Zara, Prince William's cousin?). Everyone in America seems to have visited or lived in Brighton at some points. Even the name Brighton is irritating, as it continually reminded me of the famous town on England’s south coast. And then there were the slightly magical elements, like the hotel only the hero and heroine could see.
My other issue was the language glitches. A movie premier. A prince being coronated. The King’s mother being called the Queen Mum. Bugger (we’re not allowed to use the f-word in Christian fiction, so why is the homosexual equivalent appropriate?). Every time I came close to becoming engrossed in the story, something would pull me out and remind me that it was all made up, an allegory.
The writing was okay. The characters were okay. The plot was okay. The Christian elements of the plot were, on average, okay (they ranged from being almost absent to too heavy-handed). But there were too many things pulling me out of the story, and “okay” wasn’t enough to overcome those issues. Overall, I had to force myself to finish How to Catch a Prince.
Thanks to Litfuse and Zondervan for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about the book and Rachel Hauck at the tour landing page.
Thanks for your honest review. I am almost finished with How to Catch A Prince and I like it , but it is not my favorite from Rachel Hauck. I really liked your take on the Kingdom of Brighton and the very Englishness of it. As an American reader who does not follow royal goings on, I didn't catch any of the similarities. But as one who has lived in the South all her life and in Georgia in particular for 29 years, I found some of the southern colloquialisms hard to swallow. Although I am familiar with them, I have not actually seen them used except as jokes or in "How Southern Are You" FB quizzes. Corina's friend Daisy came off as more Ellie Mae Clampett than a former Atlanta deb. Corina's homage to University of Georgia football was spot on. Unless you are a Mississippi State Bulldog or your son graduated from Georgia Tech -- like me!
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate your reviews and love to hear when American writers get it a bit wrong. Thanks!
Thanks for commenting, Beckie. I agree - I've enjoyed other Rachel Hauck books more. I like your take on the Southern colloquialisms - I had wondered, as some did seem a little more cliche than things people would actually say. I lived in London for ten years - it was hard to miss the royal goings-on, which is why the similarities stood out to me.
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