Heart Of A Princess By Hannah Currie

Heart of a Princess
by Hannah Currie
Publisher: Whitespark
ISBN: 978-1946531841

I was looking forward to books 2 of the Daughters of Peverell since I finished book 1 in the series! I hadn't read much in the young adult genre, but Hannah's writing was so good I couldn't resist asking to review book 2!

Summary:

To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all – maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smiles and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together. 

After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claim it’s for her own good but – faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks and far too many of her own insecurities – Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does. 

Only there’s more to Joha than she realizes, and more to herself too. When the time comes to make a stand, will she find the courage?

My Review:

So, I was just going to jump right in talking about my thoughts on Alina in her story, Heart of a Princess. But then I thought that's really not the greatest way to start out a review except for the fact that this story IS about her. I'm going to do it! Just dive in.

Alina. Sakes alive! I wanted to do one of three things to that girl

1. Give her a good spanking
2. Feel sorry for her
3. Actually understand where she's at in life

Honestly, I vacillated between all three throughout the book. I'd have to say my strongest urge to tell her to stop being such a stuck up, snotty brat came mostly at the beginning of the story which picks up right where book 1 finishes. What we have to remember is she's just turning 18. She didn't have her mother growing up because she died right after Alina was born, and her father isn't much of a dad to her.

Like I said, I can understand why she was behaving the way she did... to an extent. Also, her 18th birthday was horrendous. I'm trying to remember, but I'm pretty sure not a single person actually wished her a happy birthday, no cake, and no gifts. I'll give her a pass that day. The rest of the time...

I really loved the way Hannah took us into Alina's mind during her anxiety attacks. The more they happened the more I could almost feel the anxiety rising in me! The more the reader experiences this through Alina, the more we can understand some of her behaviors. The author did such a great job of blending it all smoothly into the storyline! Also, I could certainly imagine that no matter if you're royalty of a large kingdom or small, life can't be easy whatsoever! Glad I'm just a commoner.

Alina also grew a lot throughout The Heart of a Princess. When she has a major anxiety attack after she makes a huge blunder at her birthday and then has to address her people, Thoraben whisks her away to The Well so she can rest. When Alina learns she's been secreted away, her behavior is horrible! I'm sure her mother would've turned over in her grave! Can you imagine being horrified at the thought of sharing a bathroom?! And then the nerve of the people who run The Well offering her donated clothing! Alina also had no one to straighten her hair every. single. morning! Her world was basically over.

Thankfully, Malisa, not me, was in charge of The Well along with her husband, Pat and their son, Joha. Malisa and Pat were kind, thoughtful, and patient. I was more like Joha. All I could see was Alina's rudeness. Malisa on the other hand had an understanding of Alina's life unlike most.

As Alina grows, she is thrust into the world of the Rebels, which we learned about in book 1. Because of that, she's forced to understand more of what they represent. The best part of that is her journey of faith. Towards the end of the story, this growth and desire to learn more is my favorite part of the story and one reason why I love that this series is geared towards young adults. I think many people can relate to feeling like they aren't worthy or have to perform in such a way that they'll never be able to earn God's grace. The way this part of the storyline was handled was fantastic!

There's a wide range of emotions for poor Alina. She has to deal with Marcos, who she's engaged to, but the wedding has been postponed. Hurt by her brother and new sister-in-law. Terrified of being left at a house in the middle of nowhere and not knowing a single person. Feeling abandoned. These are the times I felt terrible for her and wanted to just hug her.

Overall, this was a great story and I'm certainly looking forward to Lady Wenderley's coming out at the beginning of 2021!

About the Author:

Aussie author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people (in small numbers, let’s not go crazy here!) and writing. She and her husband live with their three adorable kids in sunny Queensland, where it really is beautiful one day and perfect the next. Except, maybe, during heatwaves. They’re not so fun. She loves to connect with readers at www.hannahcurrie.com.