To Catch a Princess is the second book in Caridad Pineiro's Contemporary Romance series that centers around a group of royals. I didn't know that this was in a series when I first decided I wanted to read this book, but this book was easily read as a stand alone. The first book in the series is the story of Prince Alexander who is Tatiana's Brother. Even though having read the first book, The Prince's Gamble would have probably given be some more insight into these characters, I never felt as though I was missing anything from the story or that I didn't understand anything. To Catch a Princess is a story filled with a little romance, a little suspense, some mystery and some steamy scenes between Tatiana and Peter. I enjoyed reading this story and will look for more from Caridad Pineiro in the future.
Princess Tatiana is tired of her parents and brother trying to tell her what to do and arrange her life for her. She knows that they have arranged a marriage to a Prince, but she refuses to let them pick her husband for her insisting that she wants to find a husband who she is in love with and loves her in return. Tatiana has no idea that her betrothed happens to be family friend Detective Peter, who is undercover in America having left his life as Prince and the spotlight that comes with it. As Tatiana arranges a charity event filled with jewels from the rich and royal, it becomes clear that a famous jewel thief has set his sights on some of the jewels to be used during her event. Peter uses the event to ensure that Tatiana is safe and goes about trying to prevent the thief from accomplishing his goal. But as Tatiana and Peter spend more time together, their friendship begins to grow into something more. Will Tatiana be able to get past the deception of Peter and her brother Alexander, or will she be unable to forgive Peter for the lies that he has been telling for years for reasons that he hasn't yet revealed to her?
For me this story was a little slow to build and I found myself having a tough time really getting into the book. It wasn't until about half way through the book that I was drawn into the story. Once we reached the halfway point though, things started to pick up. Although I like both Tatiana and Peter, I thought that Tatiana was a little immature. She was portrayed as someone who was strong and able to take care of herself while having a good head on her shoulders from having the responsibility of being royal. Yet Peter told her that he would tell her why he had made the decisions he did when the timing was right and she was constantly thinking that he was untrustworthy because she hadn't been told right off. I know that they had been friends before, but I just felt like with her being a royal she should have understood more about where Peter was coming from and given him the time that he asked for. Peter was sweet and charming, and suffered from a tough childhood. I really admired that his character was able to give up the life and all the perks of being a royal in order to go after a dream of his own. The fact that he put himself in danger for his job in order to protect others really spoke a lot about his character. I think that Peter was a great balance for Tatiana and I found myself hoping for her to realize that sometimes being in a relationship means learning to trust your partner, even when you don't know all the details. In the end, I wasn't disappointed and Tatiana and Peter ended up being a great couple.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. It took me awhile to get into the book, but i'm glad that I stuck it out and kept reading. Peter and Tatiana really grew on me and I enjoyed seeing them progress from friends to lovers as they fell in love. The suspense and mystery in this book are a little predictable, but the characters were great and fun to read about. For me this story was more entertaining than realistic with the princes, princesses, jewels and thieves. But it was a nice escape from the real world and I had a good time reading it. If you like a romance with suspense, mystery and royalty you should give this book a shot. I think that most romantic suspense fans will enjoy Peter and Tatiana's story.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling paranormal and romantic suspense author Caridad Pineiro wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project – to write a book for a class lending library. Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word through high school, college and law school. In 1999, Caridad’s first novel was released and over a decade later, Caridad is the author of over thirty-five published novels and novellas. When not writing, Caridad is an attorney, wife and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista.
