Há quase 30 anos, o filho mais velho do rei Phillip e da rainha Gabriella de Wynborough foi seqüestrado ainda bebê durante uma visita aos Estados Unidos. Especula-se que o príncipe James tinha morrido. No entanto, as quatro princesas Alexandra, Katherine, Serena e Elizabeth resolvem investigar por conta própria e tentar chegar à verdade.
Paixão Impossível – Susan Mallery – Alexandra Wyndham e Mitch Colton – Momentos Íntimos 80 (duplo)
(A Royal baby on the way – 1999 – Silhouette Books, da Harlequin)
A princesa Alexandra Wyndham recebeu uma pista de que o irmão mais velho, James, poderia estar vivo. Ela parte para os Estados Unidos atrás de evidências e encontra um fazendeiro muito atraente. Mitch Colton não consegue acreditar que o irmão de criação seja o herdeiro desaparecido. Mas não negou ajuda… e se viu querendo ficar com a princesa.
O cavaleiro da princesa – Carla Cassidy – Serena Wyndham e Gabriel Morgan – Sabrina
(The princess’s white knight – 1999 – Silhouette Books, da Harlequin)
A princesa favorita do povo, Serena Wyndham, era o maior tormento da vida do guarda-costas real, Gabriel Morgan. Tanto que, para protegê-la durante a temporada nos Estados Unidos, ele acabou se casando com ela, prometendo anular quando voltassem para Wynborough. O que ele não desconfiava era que os planos de Serena eram bem diferentes…
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Pesquisando na internet, descobri os livros que completam a série. No entanto, ainda não os localizei em Português:
Undercover Princess (Royally Wed) (Silhouette Intimate Moments, 968) by Suzanne Brockmann
personagens: princesa Katherine Wyndham e Trey Sutherland
Pregnant Princess (Royally Wed) (Silhouette Desire, 1268) by Anne-Marie Winston
personagens: Princesa Elizabeth Wyndham e príncipe Rafael de Thortonburg
*** Man, Mercenary, Monarch (Royally Wed) Joan Elliott Pickard.
personagens: Laura Bishop e John Colton
It turns out that Elizabeth’s candidate could not be Prince James, which leaves just one prospect, John Colton, adopted brother of Mitch Colton, who married another of the princesses in one of the books I never found. John was adopted from the orphanage to which the baby had been traced. Unfortunately, John is one of those secret agent types and has been incommunicado for months. (Man…Mercenary…Monarch, an equally strange title.) Since all of the Wynborough princesses are heading home for Elizabeth’s and Rafe’s wedding, they decide to leave their friend and public relations expert, Laura Bishop, at the Colton Ranch, just in case John turns up. John does return home, with a big problem on his hands. He goes to the local honky tonk to contemplate this new wrinkle in his life. When an attractive woman who doesn’t look like she’s used to frequenting honky tonks walks in and immediately starts having trouble with an obnoxious cowboy, John rides to the rescue. Yes, it’s Laura Bishop, who has come to town because she’s lonely and at loose ends at the ranch. Laura and John have one of those instant attraction moments. They decide not to even identify themselves, just to go with the flow. John tells Laura about his wrinkle: he’s just discovered that a brief affair resulted in a son and that the mother has died. Now he is responsible for an eleven-month old baby. Laura tells John about her dream of her particular pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: a man to love and raise a family with. The two slip out to John’s motel where they have an unforgettable night of love. Then they part. John doesn’t believe he can really love anyone and anyway, he has to devote all his attention to caring for his new son. The next day, John shows up at the Colton Ranch, baby Jeremiah in tow, meets Laura again to both their astonishment, and she informs him that he is really Prince James of Wynborough. And then the fun begins. I suppose that, given the constraints of the storyline, neither of these books is all that bad. Certainly Rafe’s dislike of all the royalty stuff makes a certain degree of sense and we can understand why he might feel as if he were somehow set up. Certainly John’s confusion and uncertainty given the double blow of discovering that he is a father and a prince is perfectly comprehensible. I suppose that if one has bought into the fantasy, well then both books move the story along. It’s just that, while I could buy into the storyline once, it seemed more and more improbable as it went along. But obviously, lots of readers have embraced the “Royally Wed” fantasy. Having matched up all five Wynborough offspring with their perfect mates, Harlequin is moving onto the Thorntons. I think I’ll get a vaccination.