A contemporary, arranged marriage romance that takes place in a monarchy. It’s steamy with a generous dose of woman power! ⁣
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This contemporary romance about an arranged royal marriage was not what I expected. We chose this as our #diversebuddyreads for February and it was definitely outside my typical romance reads comfort zone. ⁣
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This had some steamy scenes and I definitely enjoyed the female main character, Shanti, and her fierce determination. Growing up all she wanted was to be a queen and make a positive impact on her people. It was interesting to read about how she was groomed for this role. ⁣
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I struggled a bit at first with the chemistry between Shanti and Sanyu but the more I thought about their situation, the more I realized that I appreciated how Cole let their relationship unfold. They were strangers, who had to get to know each other amidst the inherent sexism of the kingdom which scripted their roles. The stolen moments between them at night, when King Sanyu took her into his confidence, were so telling of how much she came to mean to him. ⁣
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Although Sanyu was not a favorite male lead character of mine - I did enjoy how he changed over the course of the story because of his growing love for Shanti and her influence over him. Above all, this book highlights the strength of women and their influence even in the face of misogyny. ⁣
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This book definitely gave us lots to chat about and as always, it was a lively discussion with our buddy readers. A huge thank you to William Morrow for my #gifted copy. ⁣