Love, Royal and True

A Romance Novella

Romance - Historical
143 Pages
Reviewed on 02/24/2018
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Author Biography

Ronnda Eileen Henry is originally from Michigan and was raised in California and Virginia. She read a lot of history, biography, science fiction, and regency romances when she was young, and her favorite authors are Jane Austen and Aleksandra Layland. Retired now, she lives in Florida.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Love, Royal and True: A Romance Novella by Ronnda Eileen Henry tells the tale of Lady Hyacinth and Prince Adelard, who become king and queen in medieval Penruddock through sheer fate, neither of them expecting nor prepared for the difficulties that stand in the way of their marriage. The union is established shortly after the birth of Lady Hyacinth, and the connection between the betrothed is solidified early on, when a three-year-old Hyacinth and a twelve-year-old Adelard attach themselves in a sweet and familial affection, later blossoming into a profound and determined love. War, conspiracies, intrigue, and all the unnatural coercion from those who wish to see the pair separated come into play, and the resolve of Lady Hyacinth and Prince Adelard is put to the test, with both their love for each other and their destiny to rule left hanging by a golden thread.

However compact Love, Royal and True: A Romance Novella by Ronnda Eileen Henry may feel in the hand, it's surprisingly stacked in plot twists and narrative. Henry does an excellent job of making her protagonists easily relatable and humanizes them well in a short number of pages. While most of the story is told in the context of a memoir - with the knowledge that Hyacinth and Adelard do get married from page one - nothing is lost in its unfolding as Hyacinth outlines how she arrived to become their queen. It's a quick read but it is wonderfully told, recommended for any who enjoy an afternoon reprieve with a vibrantly packaged medieval love story.

K.J. Simmill

Love is never easy. It comes with its ups and downs, challenges and hardships. But when said love stems from a royal romance the challenges seem overpowering. Adelard should never have been king. There were countless lines in place, all of whom would rule before him, so no one batted an eyelid when he was betrothed as a child to the daughter of a minor earl. Yet fate and happenstance intervened, and all too soon Adelard found himself next in line to the throne. Adelard was forbidden to marry the woman he had grown to love. But the story of Adelard and Hyacinth is not all it appears at first glance. Upon his death, Hyacinth dictates the truth of the events shielded from the public eye, revealing for the first time the secrets within the royal and noble houses her husband did not want to remain hidden.

Love, Royal, and True is a romance novella by Ronnda Eileen Henry. It follows the blossoming young romance of Hyacinth and Adelard as they attempt to overcome the obstacles thrust into their path by life and ill-wishers alike. It is written at a steady third-person pace, starting at the end of the story with Adelard's death, and a request she let the truth of their hidden life be known. Through the course of the story, Hyacinth dictates her tale, and you are told of their hardships and blossoming love, and the devastation life places in their path. Theirs was a bittersweet romance with hardship, challenges, opposition, and adversaries. Those opposed to their wedding plotted and even committed and accused acts of treason to ensure the two could never be together. Deception, schemes, and heartbreak advance the tale as you come to wonder about the truth of their love and the secret life they led. All in all, it was a good read, with some sweet and heart-breaking moments.