seriously romantic: the crown prince's bride by donna alward

stephani has been in love with raoul for far longer than she should have. he was married to her cousin cecilia after all. and since ceci's death steph has been by his side, supporting him in all things, and it's suddenly become too much. she wants marriage and babies and love. and right now all she does is work for the palace.

she knows and understands how heartbroken raoul is. but when the attraction that flares between them can no longer be denied, when for the first time she isn't fading into the background, the hope that they have a chance at something real is almost too much to bear.

and there is something between them. something beautiful and unexpected. she loves raoul with her whole heart. and even if it's not fair to ask him, she wants him to love her that way too. but raoul has had too much loss. his mother, his wife, and he doesn't know if he can stand to lose stephani too.

but when the unexpected pushes them out of their comfort zone, it's how they react and how they fight for a chance with each other in the crown prince's bride that will make all the difference. love and life after loss isn't easy. but second chances abound, and perhaps both raoul and stephani have found one.

this is a sweet, royal romance. both stephani and raoul are idiots at times, but when they do come through for each other, when they go all in, it's well worth it.

**the crown prince's bride will publish on january 9, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press (sweve) in exchange for my honest review.