Heart of a Princess by Hannah Currie

About the Book
To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all—maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces, and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smiles and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together.
After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claims it’s for her own good but—faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks, and far too many of her own insecurities—Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does.

Only there’s more to Joha than she realizes, and more to herself too. When the time comes to make a stand, will she find the courage?

My Thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised by Hannah Currie’s debut last year and so I was eagerly awaiting this sequel! And it was another enjoyable read that further cemented Currie as an author to watch.
Alina, I will admit, was a bit hard to love but I kind of knew she would be based on her actions in book one. Part of it you could pass of as simply the product of her upbringing, it’s hard to not be spoiled when you are a literal princess. But beyond just being used to a fancy lifestyle she really was extremely self-centered and, when she wasn’t putting on her public persona, wasn’t very nice to people. Thankfully she matured as the book went on though it did happen a little later than I would have liked and a bit too abruptly. Currie did a good job though of showing the why behind what she said or did which made it easier to put up with when in other books it may have sent me running. I liked seeing her discover who she was beyond just her title and learn to love and let herself be loved.
Joha was really great and I liked how he didn’t put up with Alina’s crap and called her out on it! But he also was gentle and caring and was supportive when she needed it. I did feel like his opinion of her shifted a bit out of nowhere but I wanted them to end up together so I didn’t mind overly. I liked them as a couple, they balanced each other out well. The sparks were there from the beginning, first as they butted heads then as they fell in love.
It was also fun to catch up with all the characters we’d met in book one and see how their lives were going.

All in all a solid follow-up and I’m looking forward to what else the author has in store for us!

Meet the Author
Aussie author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people (in small numbers, let’s not go crazy here!) and writing. A book nerd from birth, she knows firsthand the difference a good book can make in a person’s life. Even, and especially, fiction. Her dream as a writer is to make people laugh, cry and maybe even swoon a little but mostly to remind them that no matter how dark life may get at times, because of God, there is always hope.
She and her husband live with their three adorable kids in sunny Queensland, where it really is beautiful one day and perfect the next. Except, maybe, during heatwaves. They’re not so fun.
Her debut YA novel, a princess-themed story titled Heart of a Royal, is being published by WhiteSpark Publishing in October 2019.

She loves to connect with readers. Come visit her at www.hannahcurrie.com

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.