The Charmer in Chaps by Julia London – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
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Description:
Cimarron County knows the youngest son of the fabled Prince family as a womanizing hell-raiser, but Luca has another side to him. He intends to turn the overworked pasture land his father left him back to its natural beauty. There’s just one problem–a woman with sparkling eyes and more fight than a barnyard cat is grandfathered into some acreage on his portion of Three Rivers Ranch.
After years of living in foster homes, Ella has exactly three things to her name: A dog, a pig, and the rundown house she just inherited. Luca may not remember her from high school, but she definitely remembers him. He is as seductive as he was then, but Ella isn’t about to fall for his flirting–if only she could stop melting at his touch.
What begins as a game of seduction for Luca quickly turns into something more, but Ella has learned the hard way to trust no one but herself–especially when it comes to her deepest secret. Yet the closer Luca gets to Ella, the more he wants to be the one she leans on. For once, Luca is determined to do something right and give the woman he loves the home she deserves
Review:
The Charmer in Chaps by Julia London is the first book in her new Princes in Texas series. I loved reading this sweet romance, in a small western town, with some great characters.
Ella Kendall, our heroine, returns to Three Rivers, Texas, after her grandmother died and left her a rundown house. Ella, just barely makes ends meet, as she tries to find more work as an accountant. Ella had a difficult childhood, moving from different foster homes, as her mother was in jail; but before that she had a huge crush for the handsome and rich prince charming, Luca Prince. She has never forgotten an out of no where kiss from Luca when school was over; now that she has returned to Three Rivers 12 years later, she tries her best to avoid Luca. Ella is very shy, and lacks confidence, and when she does run into him, she is surprised that he doesn’t even remember her. Being the playboy that he is, Luca finds himself interested in the beautiful Ella, and knows he wants to find out more about this girl that intrigues him.
Luca doesn’t understand why Ella wants nothing to do with him, but quickly learns that she went to school with him, and doubles his effort to make amends in trying to win her over. With Ella’s house falling apart, Luca starts offering his help to fix things, as well as helping with Ella’s dog, a pig and 3 wild horses that came with the house. This was a cute addition. Slowly, Ella begins to enjoy Luca’s company and the chemistry between them grew hotter with each passing day.
When the Prince family loses their patriarch, the family is in disarray, and we get to spend time with their dysfunctional family, Luca, Nick, Hallie and their mother, as they realize that they will need to live differently, as the money is not as much as they thought it was, due to their father’s gambling problem. Luca having inherited 2000 acres want to build his environmental conservation dream, and Ella gives him more confidence, especially as she learns he is dyslectic, and never could read. This was another wonderful addition to this story, as we watch Luca learn to overcome his disability.
The Charmer in Chaps was a wonderful, fun, enjoyable story that holds our attention throughout. Both Luca and Ella were great, and we loved them together. It is Ella’s fear of having always lived on the poor side, that holds back her relationship with Luca. Will she trust his love and allow him fully into her life?
I always find that when you have a lot of likeable characters, it makes the story so much better. I did like the Prince family despite some issues. I loved Luca and Ella. I did not like two characters, Stacy (Ella’s friend who used her constantly) and the sheriff, Blake; but there were so many other great characters, this did not matter. The Charmer in Chaps was a perfect, small town romance that was written so well by Julia London. I suggest you start with this first book of a series that I intend to be reading.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
Cinderella is one of the most enduring stories of time. Did you know one of the earliest renditions of the tale appeared in 7 BC in Greece? The story has been told many times over in many different languages, and in many different iterations. But in all of them, the main theme holds true—the girl is plucked from obscurity and wins the prince. Well, who doesn’t want to be whisked away to the ball in the most beautiful gown, and then knock the socks off the prince?
But why is this tale so enduring? Why do we still relate to it? There are laws against evil stepmothers enslaving us as charwomen now. If we aren’t happy with our lot in life, we can get an education, or a new job, or move—there are any number of things we could do to better our situation. And yet, the fundamental appeal of the story just keeps on keeping on. I think it’s because it goes to themes that are a little deeper than we might realize from watching the Disney movie.
Cinderella is persecuted. While we may not be persecuted, who among us hasn’t felt neglected from time to time? Or invisible? It is so easy to allow ourselves to be buried under the needs of our work and our families. Everyone else comes first, am I right, ladies? So the fantasy that a Prince Charming—someone who is handsome, and strong, and rich enough to take care of all your problems—would choose you, and make life better for you, is still a pleasant little fantasy.
The story is also about rags to riches. Most of us work hard for what we have. We make budgets, we balance the needs and wants of everyone in our family, we make ends meet. How fun to imagine going from rags to riches. And this fantasy is one step better than the lottery, because not only do you get the riches, you get a prince. It’s the modern Prince Harry fantasy—that he would notice you, fall in love with you, then offer you a place at the top of the world in a fancy castle with servants and anything your heart desires. We might have to check in with Duchess Meghan to see if that’s what actually happened, but we can dream, just like we did the day she got married.
The story is also about good prevailing over evil. Cinderella is held down by the evil stepmother and her odious daughters, but in the end, she is the one who rises from the ashes. It’s not hard in this day and age to see the appeal of the idea of good triumphing over evil. Good people want to believe in the good in everyone, and when they can’t see it, they still want to believe that good will always triumph over evil in the end. Cinderella gives us those feels in spades.
In The Charmer in Chaps, Ella Kendall is the girl who has been neglected—she was a foster care kid. She’s lived a hard life, has been imprisoned by the state, but now, she is all on her own. She has gone out into the world, has earned a degree, and she is building her house, one brick at a time. But when she runs across Luca Prince, her high school crush, the guy they literally called Prince Luca because he was so popular and so rich, the fantasy roars back to life. She doesn’t expect anything, of course, because life has taught her not to expect much. But just like the prince noticed Cinderella, Luca notices Ella. He sees past her situation, which is vastly different than his own. He sees someone with layers and stories to tell. He’s a good man. He wants good to prevail for Ella. The trickery part will be convincing her that he can give her a good life and that she deserves it. I hope you enjoy the novel.
Berkley Romance is graciously offering a paper copy of THE CHARMER IN CHAPS to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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