​Review: Lindsay Emory’s THE ROYAL RUNAWAY.

A princess who is second in line to the throne. A hot Scot. A Roman Holiday-esque adventure. A murder mystery.
 
This gorgeous book has it all—and it’s certain to hit the spot for all of those people who love their romance with a hefty dose of suspense and/or royal aficionados whose heartstrings are still resonating from all the love and romance on the other side of the pond (must be nice).
 
Theodora “Thea” Isabella Victoria knows how to play the role of princess because, in her words, “I really was a princess. I had the tiara, the palace, the framed certificate, and everything.” But in a real departure from a princess story, Thea’s fiancé, Christian Fraser-Campbell, a duke, abandons her at the altar, resulting in her ignominious exile to Perpetua, a territory of Drieden (the name of her kingdom), for four months.
 
After returning to the palace and her responsibilities as second in line to the throne, she escapes to a bar—as she is sometimes wont to do when her life’s demands become too much. There, she meets a man named Nick who makes her wonder if her betrothed deliberately left her at the altar, or if someone made him disappear. Now the hunt is on, and our runaway princess wants answers as the questions become more and more complicated…
 
The Royal Runaway kept me engrossed from beginning to end. First, there is Thea, the whip-smart narrator with a dry sense of humor; a beautiful historian of sorts who is also an able escape artist. Then there is the romance (sighhhhh)*, and a conflict between royal duty and the need to escape, which Emory thoughtfully plays up throughout the book.
 
And it’s all very well done. Somehow the book manages to be both effervescent and weighty, so that I was quickly turning the pages, lulled into happiness by the romance and adventure, and then occasionally shocked by the reminder that the stakes regarding Christian’s disappearance were actually quite high.
 
In short: The Royal Runaway is a lovely book that packs a wallop. 
 
**The romance scenes in this book are *fade to black*, so this book is highly recommended for those who like to read exciting and charismatic romance stories that are also less explicit. 

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