About the Book
Book: To Save A King
Author: Rachel Hauck
Genre: Christian Royal Romance
Release date: May 8, 2021
A modern-day fairytale of rescue and hope from NYT bestselling author Rachel Hauck
Growing up in small town Hearts Bend, Tennessee, Gemma Stone had big dreams. So she headed to Hollywood to make her mark in the world.
But dreams have a way of becoming nightmares. When she returns home twelve years later, she’s limping through life and harboring a dark secret.
Running a rescue ranch and raising her friends’ orphaned daughter is her sole mission now. All the while she’s well aware these defenseless ones are also rescuing her.
HRH Crown Prince John has learned a royal title cannot shield him from heartbreak. He had the perfect life as heir to the revered House of Blue, the royal dynasty of Lauchtenland, and married the love of his life. Then tragedy changed everything. Is there any way to be saved from a life of grief?
When he finds himself in Hearts Bend on a mission for his mother, Queen Catherine, he catches up with a good friend–country music great Buck Mathews. He has no intention of joining the 4th of July fun until he’s cajoled into a three-legged race with the beautiful Gemma Stone.
The disastrous race leads to a quick friendship. They are easy and comfortable around one another because love is absolutely not an option.
John desperately wants to hold onto the memories of his wife while Gemma refuses to trust her heart to any man. Even a prince.
When trouble in Lauchtenland calls the prince home, he realizes how much Gemma has rescued him. Saved him and restored his hope for his role as future king.
For Gemma, falling in love with the prince must be quenched. If it weren’t for her past, she’d give him her heart in a second. How could she risk bringing her shame to the House of Blue and the world stage?
However, she’s not the only one who can rescue and heal the wound. If she saved Prince John, why can’t he save her? And when he tries, will she have the courage to say yes to the best role of her life?
“Another compelling royal story by the master of princely tales!” Susan May Warren, USA Today bestselling, RITA award-winning novelist
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Rachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
She is a double RITA finalist, and a Christy and Carol Award Winner. Her book, Once Upon A Prince, first in the Royal Wedding Series, was filmed for an Original Hallmark movie. Three more of her titles are under film contract.
Rachel was awarded the prestigious Career Achievement Award for her body of original work by Romantic Times Book Reviews.
A retired member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Executive Board, she teaches workshops and leads worship at the annual conference. She is a past Mentor of The Year.
In the real world, she’s a wife, writer, worship leader and works out at the gym semi-enthusiastically.
A graduate of Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) with a degree in Journalism, she’s a former sorority girl and a devoted Ohio State football fan. Her bucket list is to stand on the sidelines with Ryan Day.
She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.
My Thoughts
To Save A King
by Rachel Hauck
Book 2 in the True Blue Royal series
Rating: 4/5
As expected, I gobbled up this next release from Rachel Hauck. LOL. I always enjoy reading her stories about royal families and the supernatural aspects that move in their lives. This book was no different, and you get to visit with characters from her other books, which was fun to read. You do not need to have read her other books, but I enjoyed them so much and highly recommend them.
“All he had was a collection of broken pieces. A man still in love with his dead wife, chained by memories and what should’ve been.”
HRH Crown Prince John of the House of Blue still mourns the loss of his late wife after only being married for a few months. Now, the law states he cannot be king unless he is married. The queen, his mother, has the power to change the law but thinks it will show favoritism. Although the country, Lauchtenland, sees a mourning prince, they still question what will happen if the prince does not remarry and is not officially named the next-in-line – will their entire government system come crashing down if something happens to the queen? There are others who also question the need for a royal family anymore. When John makes a deal with his mother, he ends up in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, to connect with the half-sister, Scottie, who his mother kept hidden and secret for so many years. In exchange for going on this visit, the queen promises to discuss changing the law.
While in Heart’s Bend, John finds a peace and calm that he hasn’t been able to find since his wife’s passing. Staying with his friends is relaxing, but when he’s partnered with the lovely Gemma Stone in a three-legged race, things start to get interesting.
Gemma Stone has returned to Heart’s Bend in need of healing and restoration. Taking in a newly orphaned teenager and starting a farm for rescue animals while also managing a bridal shop is a lot of work but she’s determined to escape her shameful past. Life in Hollywood and Vegas as an actress was not what she thought it would be. She wanted to make a difference but fell horribly short. Meeting Prince John is special but their relationship can never go beyond friendship due to the humiliating choices in her past.
Can these two hearts find a way to be together despite their heartache and responsibilities?
Seriously, Rachel Hauck knows how to weave a tale that is both humorous and beautiful and heartwarming. Though the main characters are hurting and struggling, they so effortlessly find each other and start to fall in love. I especially loved the relationship that Gemma had with her animal rescues and how the puppies helped bring the two together. I love that Hauck uses certain supernatural characters in the story to help the main characters find their way. Though the story ends happily, I still felt there were some unresolved issues, which I hope will be addressed in the third book. I anxiously await the next book.
Highly recommend this clean royal romance with heart and hope.
My thanks to the author and CelebrateLit for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.
More from Rachel
One of the biggest challenges in a series is keeping the reader interested. Even more of a challenge is writing in a trope like royals.
I never set out to write a second royal series. With five stories in the Royal Wedding Series, I thought I’d explored the topic to my satisfactions.
Yet when readers asked for more, and when I found myself in a season to produce my own stories, another royal series seemed like the perfect fit.
But can I be honest? Really honest? Come close. I’ll tell you a secret. Closer…
Royals can be a bit boring. At least to write. You laugh but I’m serious.
What do we really know of their day to day lives? They attend national functions, patron charities, represent the nation on walkabouts around the world. They are ambassadors with no real political agenda. They champion causes.
But what exactly do they do with their days? What are the inner workings of palace life? What are the real expectations? Do they call the queen “her majesty” when talking among themselves? When talking to her? Are they as formal as it seems on television?
Yet royals are the most documented people in history. So there is a lot to glean from when I make up my worlds.
But at the end of it all, they key for me in writing royal characters is to make them real, everyday people. The prince is the kind of chap you want to chat with over tea. The heroine is the sort of girl you’d love to see become a princess. Maybe even see a bit of yourself in her.
In To Save A King, Crown Prince John is trying to emerge for a year of grief. Gemma Stone is desperate to escape her past.
Gemma’s story has some what of an edge to it. In her attempt to achieve her goals, she walked a path she never thought she’d walk when she was a girl growing up in Hearts Bend, Tennessee. And it proved her undoing.
While we may have never faced a past like Gemma’s, we can all relate to personal betrayal of our values from gossip to immorality. I hope Gemma’s story reminds us the nearness of love and forgiveness.
On a lighter side, I recently learned British society has moved away from chap and bloke, replacing it with the American term “guy.” Isn’t that funny. Louise Lee, my narrator, said it was funny to read those words in To Love A Prince since there were more her parents’ generation. Ah, the signs of a more global society.
Well, I didn’t care if they have gone out of style for young people. I used them anyway. I like them. Maybe we should adopt “chap” and “bloke” over here. What do you say, guys?
I hope you enjoy To Save A King, book two in the True Blue Royal series and find your heart cheering on broken, wounded characters to a happily ever after worthy of a prince and princess.
Blog Stops
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