(Originally from All About Romance)
Susan Mallery
2007, Contemporary Romance
Pocket, $6.99, 320 pages, Amazon ASIN 0743499581
Part of a series
Grade: C-
Sensuality: Warm
To purposely misquote: “Romance novels should beware of kids and pets.” Invariably, they send the cheese factor through the roof. Unfortunately Susan Mallery had already put herself behind the eight-ball, plot-wise, and the prominence of the character of Danny kept her there for most of her latest Marcelli novel The Marcelli Princess.
First, this is a secret baby story. The baby doesn’t stay secret for long – about three pages I’d say, but there you have it. Second, the secret baby’s secret father? European royalty. Apparently Susan Mallery likes to challenge herself. Unfortunately, especially for fans of her previous charming Marcelli stories, she never really rises above this cliché-ridden plot.
Mia ran wild in her youth. So her job as international spy seemed par for the course. She was excited, ready for her big adventure. Fortunately, she fell right in with the bad guys. Unfortunately, she fell hard for the baddest of the lot. Watching him die as she escaped was the hardest thing she’d ever done, and she might have succumbed to the grief indefinitely if their unborn child hadn’t given her new reason to live.
Rafael never imagined that portraying his cousin to help catch a band of art thieves determined to destroy his country’s heritage would lead to falling in love. Especially not with a completely unsuitable American tourist. But fall he did. Unfortunately, faking your own death has a way of complicating relationships.
There are two major problems with the story. The first lies in Rafael’s character. At the beginning of the story, he is warm and playful and charming. This is Rafael at his most natural. But he morphs into Rafael the Imperious and it never quite feels right. Sure Rafael can be arrogant and demanding – he’s a prince after all – but if this is real Rafael, then Rafael is an ass and there’s no way Mia would ever have fallen for him. The only reason I bought the resolution was because I never believed all of Rafael’s bogus “I’m a prince, I have responsibilities” crap. In my head, Real Rafael was just wearing an ill-fitting Fake Rafael suit, which pretty much destroyed the source of conflict, but at least made him likable.
The second problem is, as I mentioned, the high cheese factor in the novel. Certainly having a four year old around helped that. He’d do something cute, his parents would bond on the wonder they’d created. He’d do something bad, his parents would bond over behavioural issues. He ran away, his parents bond. Puts me in the mood for some Kraft Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese doesn’t stop there but continues with another secondary character, but I won’t go too far into subplot here.
I’ve really enjoyed Mallery’s novels in the past and I’m confused as to why she thought Mia wasn’t compelling enough as a character to drive her own story. She’s an ex-spy, single mom going to law school, with a huge family. The Marcelli clan remains as bold and beautiful as ever. There were lovely moments in this novel, just never in relation to the hero and heroine.
Maybe it was the Marcelli wine that inspired Mallery to use a vintage Harlequin plot, but the complications and the feeling that she was never really in control of her characters left a bad taste in my mouth.
