Christmas Encounter With a Prince by Katrina Cudmore: Alice has shut herself up in her 
cousin’s home in London so she can work on her PhD thesis without distractions during the Christmas holidays. She feels a little guilty about not going home to Dublin to spend Christmas with her mother.
Her solitude is interrupted by Prince Luis of Monrosa who she met at a wedding. She is puzzled why he’s there and a little embarrassed because the last time she saw Luis, she kissed him and claimed she wanted to feel how a kiss was with a bearded man.
Luis doesn’t have a beard now, but is burdened about not wanting to go home to Monrosa to assume royal duties that his father has planned for him. Luis has just won a championship in a sport that has consumed his life for years. He feels adrift about what his future should be.
Alice seems to be having a hard time concentrating on her thesis, so Luis persuades her to have adventures and put work on hold. Alice is hesitant about Luis and his intentions, but decides this fairy tale like time with the prince is just what she needs.
Alice has shied away from relationships all her life. Her father is an abusive drunk and she is afraid to trust any man. The reader can easily see how this whole issue can make Alice isolate herself.
At first Luis comes across as a rich playboy, but his true caring nature is slowly revealed. He is very concerned about Alice and what she has been through.
The romance part of the story comes later in the book. There is more emphasis early on concerning family dynamics and how they determine who we have become.
At first, I thought that Alice didn’t care about her thesis as much as she should. If you had a prince who was offering fun adventure, it would be easy to put everything else on the back burner.
Christmas Encounter With A Prince is the second in a series. I had read the first one a while back, but this second novel stands well on its own. No matter what time of the year, a Christmas story always is fun to read.
Book Info:
Publication: October 13, 2022 | Harlequin Romance | Royals of Monrosa #2
Her heart is opened…
…by an unexpected royal guest!
Academic Alice seeks refuge in her cousin’s London residence to study in blissful peace. However, when the notorious Prince Luis unexpectedly arrives, ruining her solitude, Alice is bewildered by the chemistry they clearly have. He is everything her carefully guarded heart shouldn’t want, and yet…as he begins to remove his royal playboy mask, this mysterious prince shows her that Christmas miracles can happen!
