BOOKWORM REVIEW: The Head That Wears the Crown by Mariah Stewart
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐.5
SPICE: 🔥
Annie Gilberti was just a mom trying to navigate South Philadelphia, survive a thankless job, and co-parent two teens with her ex who has set up a whole new family for himself. When a mysterious George Clooney-lookalike started shadowing her, she was not expecting that he would change her life forever.
It turns out that Annie is actually Grand Duchy Annaliese of Saint Gilbert. Saint Gilbert is a small European monarchy long forgotten after Germany -- and eventually Russia -- took it over during World War Two. Now they are looking for the descendants of the monarchy that once ruled the land, and it looks like Annie and her sisters are it.
With "George" who turns out to be Maximillien Belleme, head of Saint Gilbert's royal security, escorting Annie back to Saint Gilbert, she spends a couple of weeks getting to know the land and the people that her family once ruled over. She is given the choice to claim the crown, but is she willing to relocate her family and take on the responsibility of rebuilding the kingdom?
This story was meant to be a grown-up version of the Princess Diaries, but if you're expecting a royal romance, I have to say you would be disappointed.
Annie's story focuses more on finding her roots. She learns more about the struggles of her family ruling over Saint Gilbert, including how her seemingly proper grandmother escaped the war to continue their legacy. My favorite part is how she strengthens the bonds with her sisters and kids as a result of her decision over the crown.
To me, the love story between Annie and Max takes a serious backseat to everything else. I felt that their chemistry was built more on friendship and love of country than actual love. The spice is behind closed doors if that is what you're looking for, and the culmination certainly felt rushed.
Did I enjoy the read? Sure, but it wasn't what I had expected jumping into. I liked the theme of bonding with family and finding who you are, but if you are looking for romance, this did not quite meet that mark.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A fortysomething woman’s ordinary life takes a royal detour in an engaging novel about embracing a family legacy and stepping up when it matters most by New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart.
Annaliese—Annie—Gilberti is a divorced South Philadelphia mother of two with a nine-to-five job when a shocking discovery turns another average day upside down: her late grandmother was the exiled ruler of a small European country, and Annie is next in line to wear the crown and restore the monarchy. The would-be grand duchess of the Grand Duchy of Saint Gilbert has vacation time coming, enough to take a quick trip to check it out.
It’s easy to fall in love with Saint Gilbert’s villagers; its mysteries (why does everyone look decades younger than they claim to be?); her family’s ancestral home, Castle Blanc (so many hidden rooms and passages!); and maybe—just a little—with the dashing Maximilien Belleme, the captain of the castle guard. Never one to walk away from a challenge, Annie steps up, determined to be worthy of the crown that’s been offered. As she, her sisters, and her children work to bring Saint Gilbert into the modern age, Annie discovers a legacy of courageous women and that no threat is too great to deny the grand duchess’s right to the throne.
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MEET MARIAH STEWART
Mariah Stewart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of forty-one novels and three novellas and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. She is a RITA finalist in romantic suspense and the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO Award for excellence in women's fiction, and a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times Magazine. A three-time winner of the Golden Leaf Award presented by the New Jersey Romance Writers, Stewart was recently awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award (which placed her in their Hall of Fame along with former recipients Nora Roberts and Mary Jo Putney — very excellent company, indeed!)
After having written seven contemporary romance novels, Stewart found true happiness writing murder and mayhem. She considers herself one lucky son of a gun to have landed the best job in the world: getting paid for making up stories. At home. In sweats and J. Crew flip flops. Could life be sweeter?