Book Review: She's No Princess by Laura Lee Guhrke

At First Sight: Sir Ian Moore has dedicated his life to the diplomatic corps of the British Government, and is known as a most proper gentleman. He enjoys his job and the international politic intrigues he gets to be a part of, so he's quite put out when he's given orders to return to England and deal with Miss Lucia Valenti barely a fortnight after he had been assigned to Anatolia.

Lucia has been shuffled about all her life between houses of relatives, schools and convents, never with a place to call home. Being the illegitimate daughter of a Prince and a famous courtesan, Lucia is beautiful and vivacious and really good at getting herself into scrapes. 

After one last scrape - that involves her younger half-sister, the Prince's legitimate daughter - Lucia is sent off to England, to be placed in the care of Sir Ian Moore, and he's charged with his most complicated diplomatic mission to date: to find Lucia a proper, boring husband. 

But that's easier said that done as Lucia isn't ready to just go along and be married off. And, as much as Ian would like to see her as a spoiled, irritating beauty, the more he gets to know Lucia, the more he realizes that couldn't be farther from the truth, that Lucia's bold, saucy exterior hides a very vulnerable heart. 

And Lucia can't help to feel attracted to Ian, who is good and honorable and at times so stuffy that she just wants to muss him up and make him liven up a little. 

Second Glance: She's no Princess is the fourth in a loosely connected series, usually known as the Guilty Series, but it can be read perfectly well on it's own, and I gotta say that it's one of my favorite books by Laura Lee Guhrke. I keep going back to it year after year for a re-read, because I just enjoy it so much. 

Lucia and Ian are two wonderful characters and I so enjoy watching them fall in love time and again. They definitely have the whole opposites attract thing going on. And, different as they are, Ian and Lucia are two very decent people to their core. 

The cast of secondary characters is nice and remains unobtrusive to the main couple -though you do get a few updates on the characters of previous books, like the Duke of Tremore and Ian's brother Dylan - and I like that, because the focus remains on these two. 

Bottom Line: She's no Princess is a great story of opposites attracting, it's fun to read and makes you spend a really good time. Perfect to read one afternoon and to just get lost in a story that will leave you with warm fuzzies afterward. 

Favorite Quote: "Sometimes, Englishman, I don't understand you. I love you, but I do not always understand you." - Lucia