The Wild Heir by Karina Halle
Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Verdict: Royally in Love
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Royal Romance
Release Date: 17 May 2018
Synopsis: After the sex tape he makes with the Prime Minister of Norway’s daughter is released, Prince Magnus had to do something to improve his image. Enter Princess Isabella of Liechtenstein who he has recruited to be his wife. Magnus is a BASE jumping, adrenaline junky with some serious issues with authority and Ella is a bookish young woman wholly focused on her schooling at St Andrew’s College. The last thing either of them want is to be married.
The Wild Heir is a stand alone royal romance by Karina Halle, but those who have read The Swedish Prince will remember Magnus and Viktor. After reading The Swedish Prince, I had high hopes for this book and I wasn’t disappointed. I love a good royal romance and since that seems to be all that’s about these days I can’t say I lack for choice.
Prince Magnus of Norway is an irreverent man whore who has been shirking his royal responsibilities for the entirety of his adult life. The author, however, takes a character it’s initially rather hard to like and turn him into the sort of leading man you can’t help but completely fall in love with. Magnus is strong, stubborn, frustrating, and devastatingly handsome. He is a deep character and the explanation for his actions not only makes sense but it doesn’t feel forced or cheap in anyway and as someone who has a similar disorder it was nice to see this handled with such care.
Princess Isabella, Ella, of Liechtenstein, is a shy, insecure, bookish young woman. Coming from a country where her title means very little she was prepared to live her life in obscurity. Her insecurities aren’t overplayed in the slightest, it’s just apart of who she is rather than a convenient plot device. Her insecurities are also warranted especially when it comes to her feelings of inadequacy. Beyond all of this she has a quiet strength that is truly admirable and a passionate nature that really made her come alive.
Marriage of convenience stories normally go one of two ways; they are either contrived, cliched messes or they surprise you with a heart and flare you never expected. This was definitely the latter. The story constantly surprised me, their love was a slow burn that left you breathless, and the characters were so flawed, so vulnerable, and oh so perfect.
The Wild Heir is everything you want in a romance novel. It hits all the right notes so effortlessly in a way that feels fresh, modern, and different. Karina Halle’s writing is truly transportive, I didn’t want to leave this little alternate world she had created. It had me ensnared from the first paragraph.
What kept me from giving it a full five heart rating was that I wish the big conflict was more fleshed out and felt it was resolved a bit too neatly and quickly. I wanted Heidi to suffer and I felt a little cheated by her ending. However, even that little issue, I am completely in love with the book.
With truly swoon worthy lines like;
"So, love fiercely, Magnus. Love bravely. Love her with everything you've got."
The interactions between Magnus and Ella were truly the best part of this book. They were snarky, loving, and sometimes down right dirty. In the end they felt so real to me, like they were long lost friends I wanted to hang out with. Their teasing was cute, their sex scenes were on fire, and their happily ever after one of my favourites of all time.
As someone who usually abhors contemporary romance (I tend to favour HR), I’m always so pleased to find one that completely sweeps me off my feet. This book did that in spades and then some. I didn’t want it to end.
This is one that shouldn’t under any circumstances be missed.