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Reviewed by Priya Mathew for Readers' Favorite
Some love stories end with a kiss. Others end with a suitcase and eight years of silence. Royal Reluctance, the fourth book in Holly Kerr's Love in Laandia series, belongs firmly in the second camp. Prince Bo Erickson and Hettie Crow eloped in secret, only for grief and guilt to tear them apart two days later. When Hettie returns to Battle Harbour after eight years, she brings with her a seven-year-old daughter named Tema, a child Bo never knew existed. The question is not whether they will find their way back to each other, but whether they can both grow enough to deserve the second chance in front of them. There’s a particular cruelty in almost getting what you want. Royal Reluctance is built on that specific ache. A love that was real, legal, and witnessed, and still somehow not enough to survive grief and silence.
I was drawn into the story by the deceptively simple but delightful writing. The dual point of view between Bo and Hettie was one of the strong pros for me. I could hear Bo’s voice as grounded, occasionally funny in an understated way. Hettie, on the other hand, came across as warmer and more in touch with her own feelings. I could understand why they fell apart just as easily as why they fell in love. The story moves at a comfortable pace. Royal Reluctance is a slow burn that never stalls. Bo’s arc is handled with sensitivity. Hettie’s journey of learning that she is not responsible for her family’s mistakes is equally believable. There are a host of other characters who are not just wallpaper and who make the story so easy to sink into. Holly Kerr's Royal Reluctance is an easy but absorbing read, the kind of book I’d pick up after a long day, and suddenly it’s midnight. It has definitely left me wanting to read the other books in the series.
