With Chinese and Lunar New Year taking place this month, I've been excited to share about this book as it's written by Asian author, Joy Crain, and features Asian main characters. The Trials of the Title is the second book in The Royals of Andelar series and is a royal adventure that combines amnesia and God's sovereignty in a beautiful cultural story (while making you want to travel!).
Content to be aware of: a few beach scenes where touch is involved, a kiss while betrothed
Book Synopsis
Three years ago, Princess Saraphina’s life changed forever when her older sister was stripped of her title and banished for daring to love a man their abusive father didn’t approve of. Unwilling to make the same mistake, or any mistakes at all, Sara fades into the role of heir thrust upon her. The last thing she wants to do is make her abusive father angrier. But now he’s dead, and she is determined to be a very different kind of ruler. With one month before she’s crowned and forced into an arranged marriage, she seizes the opportunity to travel to America incognito and find the sister she’s missed all these years.
Once heir, now the spare, Prince Alexander struggles to find his place in Andelar’s royal family. When his father grants him a leave of absence to travel, he takes the much-needed reprieve from the pressures of the palace, renting one side of a duplex on a small American island. A duplex that, quite by chance, Sara’s family owns. Attraction flares at his first meeting with Sara but is quickly tempered by an accident which leaves Alexander without a memory. He can hardly make promises to the woman who’s caught his attention when he doesn’t even know his own name.
As secrets begin to unfold and their dreams collide with the harsh realities of responsibility, Sara and Alexander must learn not only who they are but what it means to trust their future to God.
Source: Amazon
Book Thoughts
This is a thought-provoking book that speaks to the effects of a man who loses all self-control and how damaging it can be to a family. In meeting Saraphina, we see someone who has only been able to view herself through the wrong and distorted lens of her abusive father. I appreciate that Joy Crain humanizes such a difficult topic by showing how no one is immune to domestic violence, including royalty. Contrast all that Princess Sara of Harmon has ever known with a man who is the complete opposite, and suddenly, she has to reformulate what trust, love, and family all mean. Prince Alexander of Andelar is such a gem, not only because of his role, but because of who he is in Christ. The author captures his affable nature in such a way as to see why he is exactly who Princess Sera needs.
Furthermore, the Bible is a faithful constant in this book in how it guides and directs the characters, especially Prince Alexander. When he is at a loss due to being stricken of his identity, it is God he turns to first and it is God who helps him find comfort in his situation. While there is certainly romance in store, the core questions that this story raise have to do with whether we believe God is a good God and if we trust that He can work all things out in the midst of evil. If you love royal fairy tales where characters persevere against the odds and long to make a difference to bring about good, The Trials of the Title shows us that God can turn trials into testimonies.
Book Summary
- Format of book: 📖
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Recommendation: 👍
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