Review: Not your average Christian romance, reviewed by not your average Christian romance reader
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2012
I am about the last person who should be reviewing inspirational romance, but The Peculiar Princess is a special case, as the author, Christina Graham Parker, has been a sometime crit partner of mine (and knows that will mean I'm just as blunt as ever).The premise of The Peculiar Princess is a tough one for me, as anyone who follows my book reviews knows: time travel. Lexy visits her friend's new theme park, set in a legendary castle, only to find herself transported to the 16th century, where she discovers she is the missing princess of the castle's legend. She is now caught up in the political events of the past and must struggle to come to terms with her role in the past, or find some way to get back to her life in the future. Naturally, there is romance and intrigue, as well as Lexy's struggle with what God's plan for her is, and her attempts to bring her faith to the people she encounters in the past.The time travel part is fairly believable; Parker flashes to the present a few times so we know that Lexy's disappearance has not gone unnoticed and time continues to pass, but makes not mention of whether the events of the past are or have changed those of the present. That may be something for a potential sequel, which is hinted at in the ending of the book. A few times I had to wonder how the people of the past would have understood Lexy; she seems determined to cling to her version of the future in terms of how women should be treated as well as how they speak, but considering that the rest of the time travel issues weren't as apparent as they have been with other books I've read lately, I was more willing to let that slide.In terms of the romance, I found it believable: no insta-love, no hiding uncomfortable situations under the rug when they came up. And if the fades-to-black were not what I'm used to when reviewing romance these days, they did remind me of the romances my grandmother used to hand me when I was a young girl, which were more sweet and less sexy.For those who aren't Christian or don't like their God with their romance, then this probably isn't the book for you, and I'll warn you of that upfront. There's no escaping the faith issues, and while I'm not religious and wasn't offended by the references in the story, they are definitely prominent and essential to the storyline of several of the characters. It's not like you can simply skim past a few sections. Those who are regular readers of inspirational romance, however, will likely feel right at home, while finding something new in this atypical plot for the genre.This review appeared previously on Goodreads.