She's No Princess

Avon

She's No Princess
Laura Lee Guhrke
2006

The Summary
"The illegitimate daughter of a prince and a notorious courtesan, Lucia has been confined to schools and convents for most of her life.  But that hasn't stopped her from causing one scandal after another.  Exasperated, her royal father decides that his exquisite hellion of a daughter must be married immediately.  And Sir Ian Moore, Britain's most proper diplomat, is the perfect man to choose her a groom.

"Diplomacy, not matchmaking, is Ian's forte, but he vows to get the chit married off as soon as possible so that he may return to more important duties.  Yet, despite an abundance of very eager, worthwhile candidates, none is a match for Lucia's spirit and fire.  And the more time Ian spends with the infuriating beauty, the more reluctant he is to marry her off.  Could it be that he has already found Lucia the perfect husband...and it is Ian himself?"

The Good
For some reason, I adored this novel.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just found She's No Princess to be a wonderfully whimsical, terribly amusing, and incredibly refreshing.  You see, Lucia and Ian's romantic entanglement is far from conventional.  I mean, you have your generic boy meets girl, they fall in love, they discover some kind of barrier that keeps them apart then they finally marry and live happily ever after.

And yet...I found that their relationship seems to climax (no pun intended) with a series of selfish acts, which surprised me.  Most lovers (note:  not all) usually do something foolish--or, in some cases, something selfless--that breaks up a relationship.  They leave or let their lover leave, they uncover some hidden truth and accusations fly, or they do something they believe will save the one they love.

But both Lucia and Ian do something--that is, they actively make decisions that are thoughtless and, confidentially, selfish.  That's usually not the way of things and, honestly, I was completely unprepared.  It's actually very refreshing.

Besides it's unconventional conclusion, I loved the relationship development between Lucia and Ian.  I think it was nice to see Lucia evolve as a character and, more to the point, I think it was nice to see a passionate, rebellious young woman who really pushed the boundaries and tried to establish herself as an individual.

Granted, I don't think I always understood her--and I definitely recognize her selfish tendencies--but I appreciated her.  She's flawed, but she feels so relatable.  She's contrary, she's moody, she's delightfully passionate, but, overall, she's a good person and she's a good character who manages to convey all the facets of the human personality, all the good and the bad, which I appreciated.

The Bad
Scandal--especially very public scandals--embarrassment.  And I hate feeling embarrassment, especially when I become invested in these characters.

The Ugly
My heart broke a little for Lucia and Ian.  In some ways, they managed to betray each other:  Lucia tempting fate, pushing in just the right way to get the outcome she desires; Ian overstepping his boundaries, succumbing without thought to repercussions.  It's a bit...frustrating, you see, and it's not quite the "happily-ever-after" I expected.