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Royally Pucked by Pippa Grant
Romantic Comedy
April 6, 2018
346
A hockey-playing prince, a most improper lady, and one accidental pregnancy…
When you’re an heir so spare that getting attacked by a shark is more likely than you ever wearing the crown, you’re only allowed certain liberties. Yet still, those liberties can bite you in the ass.
Good thing I’m such a charming devil.
Even then, I’ve been banished to America for a year under the pretense of playing professional hockey while my father cleans up my latest mess. But trouble follows me wherever I go. Generally trouble of the beautiful female variety, and Gracie Diamonte is no exception. Or possibly, she’s the best exception.
Until the dinosaur suit. The cookie incident. And the accidental pregnancy.
Of course I’ll do the right thing.
Just as soon as I solve that pesky problem of my royal betrothal.
I’m about to be the biggest scandal to rock my country and there’s a good chance my father may throw me to the sharks after all. The funny thing is I’ve heard that raising children may not be so different from swimming with the sharks. So no matter how you look at things I am Royally Pucked.
Royally Pucked is a hilariously wrong romance between a spare heir and the lady least likely to ever wear a princess crown, complete with dirty cookies, an emotional support monkey, and lots of pucking around. This romantic comedy stands alone with no cheating, cliffhangers and ends happily with a family of…more than two.
“What would you be if you didn’t have to be a prince?” “Yours.”
Every time I read one of Pippa’s books, I am astonished by how much I love her characters. And every time I finish one of her books, I am torn, because I can never decide which of them I love the best. 
Manning Frey is the spare heir to the spare heir, and then once again. Having departed Stolland, under the guise of playing ice hockey in the United States, he left trouble and drama in his wake, in the form of the prime minister’s daughter. Being a super-extraneous spare means playing the role of the mischief-making playboy and Manning plays it to the hilt, always with a smile on his face. But that cheeky grin is so often a front. It covers up turmoil and feelings and the fact that he has been betrothed, since birth, to a woman he has no desire to marry. Being born into royalty sometimes means doing things you don’t want to. So Manning is willing to suck it up, and do his duty for king and country. But maybe he can let himself have just one last time to feel, really feel, before he submits to his fate?
Gracie Diamonte is no prude. I mean she prints genitals on cookies for a living for chrissakes. But as a younger sister to Joey “Fireball”, she’s often sheltered, protected. And living in Goat’s Tit, a small, tight-knit community, she doesn’t have a lot of options for dating. So when the opportunity comes to have a once in a lifetime fling with princely, handsome, Manning, she jumps on it (or on him?)
Neither could have expected the consequences. And neither could have imagined the feelings that would develop between them. Shenanigans ensue and there will be much swooning and much snort-laughing. 
Gracie often refers to herself as not being smart, or not worldly. Although in many heroines this character trait might come off as weak and whining, in Gracie it does the opposite. She questions her abilities in some areas, but recognizes her strength in others. And despite her not believing that she is clever and strong, she stands up for everyone. She is kind, she speaks her mind in order to help a friend in need, and she is a wonderful character. And Manning ALWAYS supports her, even to his own detriment, making the decisions he thinks will benefit her the most.
This book showcases Pippa’s versatility as an author. She has that amazing ability to write completely over-the-top hilarity, but yet balance it with heartfelt moments, character vulnerability and a sweet romance. She is absolutely a one-click author for me. 
