✯BLOG TOUR:✯ The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright {REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!}

The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright

Release Date: January 18th 2016 by Merit Press

Pages: 288

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit, British Literature, New Adult

Family can be complicated. Especially when skeletons from the past pop up unexpectedly. For American Evie Gray, finding out her deceased mother had a secret identity, and not one of the caped crusader variety, was quite the surprise. Evie’s mom had a secret life before she was even born, one that involved tiaras.

In this modern day fairytale, Evie is on a path to figure out who her mom really was, while discovering for herself what the future will hold. Charged with her late mother’s letters, Evie embarks on a quest into her past. The first item on the list is to attend Oxford, her mom’s alma mater. There, Evie stumbles upon a real life prince charming, Edmund Stuart the second Prince of England, who is all too happy to be the counterpart to her damsel in distress.

Evie can’t resist her growing attraction to Edmund as they spend more time together trying to unravel the clues her mother left behind. But, when doubts arise as to whether or not Edmund could ever be with an untitled American, what really ends up unraveling is Evie’s heart. When Evie uncovers all the facts about her mom’s former life, she realizes her mom’s past can open doors she never dreamed possible, doors that can help her be with Edmund. But, with everything now unveiled, Evie starts to crack under the pressure of new family responsibilities and the realization that her perfect prince may want her for all the wrong reasons.

Purchase: Amazon, B&N

MY REVIEW:

Emily Albright brings a different twist to your typical commoner-falls-for-a-prince type of story that will definitely leave you wanting for more. Through a series of quests Evie Gray gets ready for the adventure that will change her life forever, and it is through those quests that she gets involved in a series of events that will lead her to her destiny. 

At the beginning of the story we get to meet Evie Gray, an American college student whose mother has recently passes away after battling breast cancer. Through a letter that her dad gives her from her mom, Evie finds out about the mysterious quest that her mother has sent her to. Her first task is to do anything possible to get accepted to Oxford University, he mom's alma mater. Having tried to best to do that she travels across the pond to her new home only to stumble upon Edmund Stuart, a fellow college classmate and Prince of England. Without recognizing who he is, Evie treats him like anyone else until she finds out the truth. Their connection is rather quick and as the two of them start to spend time together, the more she starts to trust him with the letters that she keeps receiving. That is until one specifically changes the course of her quest, only to guide her to her mom's mother. It is then that she starts to find out the truth behind all of those quests and she doesn't like what she finds. But her growing friendship with Edmund has slowly changed into something neither of them can't stop, and it is then that she'll have to decide whether to accept her heritage to be with the love of her life or go back to Seattle to her old life. 

It is evident from the start that Evie is in for a big adventure, but as she starts to discover things about her mom's past she realizes just how much she didn't know about her mom. Firstly, I love the setting of this book, it really worked well of the overall story. Though the story almost felt like the Princess Diaries and The Prince and Me (movie) together, the author still managed to keep the story interesting by adding twists and turns to the plot line. Evie is such a strong character, and as the story progressed we could tell just how much she had grown throughout the book. From the very first day at university, she got to meet new friends who became essential to the story as well. They were all funny and caring towards Evie that made their scenes that much more enjoyable to read. On the other hand, Prince Edmund is charming, handsome, and loves history! Although there were times when the pace of the story got slow, it slowly picked up the pace again as we got to the climax, and ultimately the end of the story (which I loved). I do wish we could have seen Edmund's POV, it would have helped the story that much more. The ending was great, I hope the author writes another book of what happens to the characters in the future (I would love to read something like that). Overall, I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a good modern day fairytale romance. ; )

***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.***

MY RATING:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Emily Albright's debut novel, THE HEIR AND THE SPARE, is releasing January 18, 2016 from Merit Press. She's a writer, a major bookworm, a lover of romantic movies, a wife, a mother, an owner of one adorable (yet slightly insane) cockapoo, and uses way too many :).

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