The heart wants what the heart wants…
Christian Diaz grew up as the best friend and unofficial bodyguard to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Corazón. After an incident left him questioning his place in the castle, Christian joined the military and didn’t return for ten long years.
Now he’s been assigned to the castle as Royal Military Liaison to investigate the source of some recent threats against the crown. The annual Midsummer’s Ball is the perfect place for the anti-monarchy group to make their next move, so that’s where Christian will be too. If it gives him a chance to reconnect with his friends in the castle and make a play for the man he has compared all others to, it’s even better.
Max Ramirez is now the head chef for the castle. He started as a sous chef at age twenty when Christian was just an awkward teen. Now that Christian’s back at the castle, all grown up and interested in Max, the chef is determined not to let an opportunity with Christian pass him by.
When someone tries to sabotage the Midsummer’s Ball, Max and Christian need to work together to track down the people determined to make this event their last.
Amazon
I was looking forward to the premise of this book. A fictional monarchy, some suspense, intrigue…but it just fell flat for me. The MC’s in this romance did not date before Christian left town for 10 years. He shows back up, and immediately, as in right away, they are dating and living together, and said I love you a few days later. I understand insta-love, but this to me should have been more of a second change. However, these two never spent time together as a couple, and there was no learning new things about each other. It was just a look across a ballroom, and they were in love.
There was some backstory with the father of Christian, not sure we learned anything about Max’s backstory, and that was solved in a quick meeting with the King. Then some intrigue that really didn’t lead much of anywhere, and they moved in together and were talking marriage.
This book was rushed, which I can understand if you are working on a novella. However, there just wasn’t the story to allow the reader to understand the connection these men had, which left me feeling like it was a missed opportunity.
2.5 pieces of eye candy
