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The Royal Game

A Novel

Audiobook
Always available
Always available

American pop singer Jennie Jensen is ready to marry the love of her life, England's Prince Hugh, but someone is determined to keep her from becoming a princess—any way they can. To give her fairy tale a happy ending, she'll have to play the royal game.

Jennie Jensen is touring Europe, already living her dream, when Prince Hugh of Wales—the future King of England—appears at a gig and requests his favorite song. He's already smitten, and soon so is she. After a secretive, whirlwind romance, Hugh proposes, and when Jennie accepts, her world changes overnight. She's still learning to navigate the minefield of constant scrutiny, barbed social interactions, and royal protocol (there are rules about pantyhose), as she learns that not everyone in England is excited about the prospect of an American princess.

When Jennie receives a threatening note, she can't help but see the parallels between herself and another young woman who struggled to adjust to royal life: Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, who was killed in a mysterious plane crash. And as the threats to Jennie grow more serious, she digs into Penelope's past, discovering a woman who also suspected someone in the palace was out to get her. Was Penelope murdered? And is Jennie next? With the eyes of a nation on her as the royal wedding approaches, she's in a race against time to save her marriage ... and her own life.

Both a charming love story and a thrilling mystery, The Royal Game reveals one woman's determination to find happily ever after—on her own terms.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 30, 2023
      Keir (The Three Mrs. Wrights) explores the dark side of royalty in a fast-paced contemporary love story that will put readers in mind of the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. American musician Jennie Jensen teases a latecomer during an intimate concert in Spain only to discover that he’s actually Prince Hugh, the heir apparent to the British throne and a true prince charming. The pair fall into a whirlwind romance and, after Hugh proposes, Jennie is initiated into the life of British royalty. It’s rough going: who knew it was possible to curtsey too deeply? Soon, she starts receiving threatening notes originating from inside the palace. Who wants to break Hugh and Jennie up and why? That mystery is intercut with flashbacks to Hugh and Jennie’s very different upbringings, showing how Jennie’s birth mother fought her adopted parents for custody and detailing the tense marriage between King Edmund and Princess Penelope, a thinly veiled analog to Princess Diana. Keir ends the tale with a bang, revealing the truth about both the plane crash that killed Penelope and the threats to Jennie. With empathy and emotion—plus a large supporting cast with questionable motives—Keir reveals the cracks in the princess fantasy, even when one has the perfect prince. Royal romance fans will be hooked.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners who love the monarchy will snap up this royal romance narrated by Shiromi Arserio, with additional narration from Barrie Kreinik as the voice of the late Princess Penelope. Singer Jennie Jensen meets and falls for Prince Hugh, heir to the UK throne. As she prepares for marriage, she suspects that Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, was murdered and worries she might be next. Arserio voices Jennie as a grounded woman who stumbles through royal protocol and paparazzi encounters with comic effect. The royal circle sounds suitably remote, while Hugh's voice is consistently devoted and modern. Kreinik portrays Princess Penelope as elegant and distraught over the royal machinations. The audio isn't high energy, but details of palace life, along with the sinister plot, will capture listeners' attention. C.A. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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