An adventurous story filled with unexpected thrills, fascinating characters and hidden agenda's. Under Karen Hawkins skillful hand The Prince and I became a glorious romance full of triumph, determination and intrigue. As I read through every page the images were so vivid I almost felt like I was there. The experience was so captivating I felt the emotions as if they were my own. Murian's convictions lead her down a dangerous road but she did not pull back. She refused to be rescued by anyone but herself. That is a heroine I can look up to. Gregori is thrust into a situation that he never saw on the horizon. Will he follow his head or listen to his heart? I received an ARC of the Prince and I in exchange for an honest review. Amidst all the chaos Karen Hawkins has created a romance that sticks in the mind and entrances the soul. ( )

READ AND REVIEW: THE PRINCE AND I BY KAREN HAWKINS  
 
THE PRINCE AND I BY KAREN HAWKINS
 
Release Date:  August 25, 2015
 
SYNOPSIS
 
From New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins, the lively and sizzling second book in a new fairytale-based Scottish historical romance series, The Princes of Oxenburg.Max Romanovin, Oxenburg’s warrior prince, is escorting his grandmother to a house party deep in the Highlands when he and his entourage are robbed at sword point by a group of ruffians led by a man the locals have dubbed “The Scottish Robin Hood.” The battle-savvy prince instantly realizes there’s something different about this thief, and it’s not just the Scottish accent—it’s the fact that “he” is really a “she.”Lady Murian, a young widow out for revenge against the powerful earl who killed her husband and stole his birthright, is now living in the woods with her family’s banished retainers. To stay alive, she and her band of men rob rich nobles coming to visit the evil earl. But when she ambushes the Prince of Oxenburg’s golden coach, she gets far more than she expected. For when the prince uncovers her true identity, she’s afraid that hemight be the real thief…of her heart.
 
BUY LINKS
 
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Prince-I-Oxenburg-Princes-ebook/dp/B00P42WYTE/
 
Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-prince-and-i-karen-hawkins/1120678810?ean=9781476786094
 
Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Karen_Hawkins
_The_Prince_and_I?id=pk4jBQAAQBAJ&hl=en
 
Ibooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-prince-and-i/id936205126?mt=11
 
Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-prince-and-i-4
 
 
 
REVIEW:  THE PRINCE AND I BY KAREN HAWKINS
 
The Prince And I: Princes of Oxenburg 2 by Karen HawkinsMy rating: 4 of 5 starsAn adventurous story filled with unexpected thrills, fascinating characters and hidden agenda's. Under Karen Hawkins skillful hand The Prince and I became a glorious romance full of triumph, determination and intrigue. As I read through every page the images were so vivid I almost felt like I was there. The experience was so captivating I felt the emotions as if they were my own. Murian's convictions lead her down a dangerous road but she did not pull back. She refused to be rescued by anyone but herself. That is a heroine I can look up to. Gregori is thrust into a situation that he never saw on the horizon. Will he follow his head or listen to his heart? I received an ARC of the Prince and I in exchange for an honest review. Amidst all the chaos Karen Hawkins has created a romance that sticks in the mind and entrances the soul.View all my reviews ( )

Started off with promise, a re-imagined telling of Robin Hood. Our Robert is dead but his widow, Lady Murian, robs from the rich to give to the poor and leads a band of widows, a giant, and Will in a community in the woods.
I was a big fan of our hero, Prince Max. He is not the heir but the General of the country's military. He was sexy competent and occasionally stubbornly take charge. Murian and him worked very well together but after their first feisty meeting, their romantic relationship gets boiled down to repetitive moments of trying to find alone time to make out and getting interrupted.
The villain storyline, Murian trying to get into the castle to find a journal to prove the new Lord of the castle cheated her husband and Max's grandmother trying to get back an item she lost in a card game to the same lord (which was kept secret for far too long) all felt needlessly dragged out, especially when we the readers never really get to know the villain or see him.
Our couple had good chemistry but I didn't really feel the romance here as their relationship didn't really have any build up. I am interest though in reading the third now as I want to see Nikolai, the heir and who looks to be possibly wonderfully broody, get his happily ever after. ( )

This is an awesome addition to a fun series! The Prince and I is technically the third book in the Princes of Oxenburg series, however you will see it often listed as the second, due to the first book being part of another series. So, just in case you like to read in order as much as I do.. Here's how they connect.

The Oxenburg Princes Series:
1)How to Pursue a Princess- The Duchess Diaries #2
2)The Prince Who Loved Me
3)The Prince and I

What I loved:

• The "Robin Hood" theme.. I don't believe I have read that troupe before.
• The words written in a Scottish accent. That always brings me more in touch with the characters.
• The chemistry and banter between Murian and Max was wonderful.
• Murian is a strong woman and I liked how she knew herself well.
• The end. It was one I didn't expect, which doesn't happen too often, and as such was a nice surprise!
• Tata Natahsa is as ever the cantankerous old grandmother and makes me laugh.
• Loved Max and the way he dealt with his Grandmother.

There is really nothing I didn't like about this book.. apart from the fact that I now have to wait for the next one to read about Niki. I would highly recommend this series!

** I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review **

Original review posted at:
http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/ ( )

Good book with a twist on the Robin Hood theme. Max is accompanying his grandmother on a visit to Scotland when they are waylaid by a group of bandits. As an experienced soldier, he realizes that there is something different about them. A confrontation with their leader, which he barely won, reveals that "Robin" is actually a woman. When they have what they want, they disappear as quickly as they appeared, leaving Max frustrated and intrigued.

Murian is the widow of the former owner of Rowallen Castle. Her husband was killed and the castle stolen by the Earl of Loudan, who evicted Murain and all those who served the castle. Determined to find the proof of what happened, she and her people have moved into the woods, and harass the Earl and his guests on a regular basis. She gets more than she bargained for when she stops Max's coach.

I loved their initial confrontation. Max's frustration at being caught unawares was obvious, as was his surprise at the efficiency of the group. I loved the request for "donations" instead of demands (this is important later on). I also liked Max's keen observations that revealed more about the bandits than they realized, leading to a fun exchange with the Grand Duchess about some chickens. The sword fight was exciting, and it was fun to see Max having more difficulty than he expected. The whole confrontation ends up in something of a draw, and Max and company continue their journey to the castle.

We see Murian and her people as they live their lives in the woods, trying to survive while at the same time looking for a way to succeed in their goal. Murian's care and worry for them is obvious, especially as the cold weather approaches. Their worries are worsened when villagers who have helped them are attacked by the earl's people. At the same time, Max has been searching diligently for Murain. When he finally succeeds, he's surprised to find the reasons for her actions.

I loved Max. He can be very imperious, as a prince and a general of his country's army. But he is also loyal and loving to his family, as shown by the way he cares for his grandmother. She irritates him, but he loves her, and will do almost anything for her. He is also very observant, and I loved the way he recognized the straits that Murian and her crew were in. He wanted to help and brought his men to make repairs without talking to Murian first. I liked that he saw where he had gone wrong and apologized, without getting all sulky. He's also very protective of her, and gets a bit overbearing when he's trying to keep her safe.

Murian was awesome. Her marriage had been an arranged one, but she and Robert fell in love. She had felt right at home with the castle and the people. When Robert was killed while she was away for a few days, she was stunned and heartbroken. When she discovered that the castle had been taken by the earl, she was certain that there had been trickery of some kind and was determined to prove it. I loved her way of getting even with him, by taking all the contents of the castle that could be moved within those few days they had to vacate the castle. She was also incredibly clever, thanks to the unusual education she got from her guardian, and I enjoyed seeing her use those abilities to confound the earl and also Max at the beginning. She is also very stubborn and it is hard to make her see reason when her activities become more dangerous. I did enjoy seeing her stand up to Max when he needed it.

I loved the development of their relationship. It started out as friendship and Max's sense of justice compelled him to help her regain the castle. As they spent days together working on the village repairs, that friendship started to change. There had been sparks of attraction from the start, but both tried to ignore them, until they became too strong to do so. It wasn't too long until they were taking every chance they could get to get their hands on each other. But both have very definite views on the idea of a relationship. Max is a soldier who has seen too much death and unhappiness. He doesn't intend to marry because he never wants to put a woman through the grief of losing her husband. Murian has no intention of deserting her people, and falling for a man who cannot stay in Scotland is something she doesn't want. But hearts can't be denied, and decisions will have to be made. When the end came, Max's solution was perhaps implausible, but definitely romantic. I thoroughly enjoyed the epilogue, both for the view of their future and the setup for the next book.

I also adored the Grand Duchess. She is quite the piece of work, with very definite opinions and her own set of morals. Her part in the confrontation with the bandits was hilarious, especially when it came to the chickens. She also had her own reasons for wanting to visit Rowallen Castle, though Max had a terrible time getting her to tell him the whole story. I just had to shake my head when she finally got around to telling it all. She also has quite the mind of her own, and no qualms about using her Gypsy heritage to bend people to her will (something about turning people into goats gets their attention). Her appearance in Murian's village was unexpected, and watching her and Murian put their heads together for their own plan to find their missing items was pretty funny, as was Max's reaction.

The mystery of the truth behind Robert's death and the loss of the castle was very well done. The earl was definitely a bad guy with no redeeming value. His actions against the Grand Duchess were also so very wrong, and the discovery that she wasn't the only one to lose to him at cards wasn't really a surprise. I loved how he got what was coming to him at the end, with the coup de grace coming from an unexpected connection to Max's other reason for being there.

I also loved the descriptions and characterizations of the other members of Murian's village. Each one was unique with their own personalities and quirks. I loved Ian's protectiveness toward all of them, and how he tried to keep Murian from going too wild with her plans. I also enjoyed the various widows and their attempts to push Murian and Max together. ( )