Married for the sake of their countries, but can love be part of it too?

Synopsis

Will the king finally surrender to their tantalizing chemistry? Find out in the latest royalty romance by Lela May Wight!

Their royal marriage: Separate beds but shared temptation… 

Two months have passed since the world watched Natalia La Morte marry King Angelo Dizieno. But Natalia hasn’t seen or heard from him since their startlingly scorching kiss at the altar… 

Promoted from spare to heir after tragedy struck, Angelo can’t be distracted from his duty. Being within touching distance of the woman he has always craved—his brother’s intended queen—has him on the precipice of self-destruction. The last thing he needs is for Natalia to recognize their dangerous attraction. If she does, there’s nothing to stop it from becoming all-consuming…From 

Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.

My review

In kingdoms, it’s accustomed that marriages are arranged. That I the reasons Princess Natalia La Morte finds herself married to King Angelo Dizieno.
She hopes that with her marriage, the people of her kingdom can prosper from the wealth of her husband.
But Angelo doesn’t want anything to do with Natalia, he only wants to spend time with her when required. His duty lays with his own people, especially since his “promotion” from spare to heir. And the last thing he needs is to be distracted by the woman that was intended for his brother, even if Natalia was the woman Angelo craved.
But with a palpable attraction and Natalia’s desire to make progress, can Angelo keep his walls up? Or will Natalia find a way to make her husband trust her?

Sometimes you need to read a book where it may be predictable how the story will evolve. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it!

I have to admit, I had a few difficulties with this book… and one of them was that I couldn’t really place it. Reading Natalia’s bits, made it seem that it was taking place in a far past, yet while reading Angelo’s bits, it was clear it was set in the present. That caused short circuit at moments in my head! 😊
And while I knew that it was part of the story, and it was needed to give both Natalia and Angelo more character, I didn’t truly appreciate the way the both of them were raised…
And finally, for a princess, I would have assumed Natalia’s last name would carry more importance. But La Morte is a rather sinister last name, as it literally means ‘The Death’… so it didn’t bring me any joy reading that last name 🤣

Nevertheless, I liked reading this story. Not only because the attraction between the two characters was very palpable.
But also because we see how both Natalia and Angelo are growing maturing in the book.
Because Angelo hasn’t had it easy growing up, as his brother always was more important than him. And that truly affected him. Yet he also made mistakes in the past, and he wants to show everyone he is worthy of wearing the crown, even if it was intended for his brother.
It saddened me a little bit to see how his determination built such high walls, as he couldn’t manage to show any real emotions, even behind closed doors. And it saddened me to see how guilty he keeps on feeling, even with him marrying the woman he desired, because it was supposed to be once again his brother marrying Natalia…

And Natalia… she wants so much for her people, she is ready to sacrifice her own happiness for them. She hopes that with marrying Angelo, she will be able to make the necessary changes. But she finds herself once again fighting for her people.
I could understand her anger, as Angelo not only does not listen to her, but just ignores her completely.
But I admired her determination, as she doesn’t just give up, and persists. And it was sweet to see how slowly, very slowly, Natalia manages to break down Angelo’s wall. Despite him being so closed – off, she sees that behind the King, there is a man afraid to fail everyone, and is a man carrying a heavy burden…

This story shows us how the past and even expectations can be a strain on someone. Life doesn’t go always as expected, but even with the unexpectedness of it, the right people can come on your path. And when perhaps it all starts as just a physical attraction, can turn into a better understanding of each other, and even more. As long as we dare to break walls, and dare to let our guard down…