The Rebel Prince (Faye Morgan)**

The last romance I reviewed was about a princess who falls in love with a non-royal man. The Rebel Prince tells the more traditional story of the non-royal girl who meets a handsome prince. I tend not to enjoy stories about princes unless they’re the wimpy pathetic type. Yes, okay, finding a man with wimpy pathetic qualities in a Mils & Boon is very rare. But the more princely they are, as a rule, the more likely they are to be totally up themselves and physically incapable of showing any weaknesses or vulnerabilities. Which I consider a bit of a turn-off.

There are certainly no weaknesses in the character of Prince Sebastian, who is soon to be crowned King. Even though he has no wish to be a King there is something very strong and capable about him. But I liked him. Why did I like him? Because he’s a really nice guy. I wouldn’t go out with him myself but he is extremely nice and thoughtful and he knows how to have a good time. He treats everyone he meets with kindness and respect. I’m not saying that this is unusual for a Prince – I wouldn’t know – but it is quite unusual for a Mills & Boon hero.

You have to admire Sebastian even more for his patience towards the heroine of the book, Emma. Emma is a bit of an oddball. I usually wouldn’t refer to someone else as an oddball except as a joke because that would be a bit hypocritical but Emma is much worse than me. I’m sure she is. (Well, I hope she is.) The blurb describes her as ‘shy’. While this could refer to her complete lack of sexual experience, she is certainly not shy in other ways. On the contrary, she is extremely outspoken, even rude, and she is not afraid to walk up to a table of distinguished, titled guests and introduce herself as the chef. I applaud the fact that she is not overwhelmed by Sebastian’s social status - but a small amount of deference and respect for someone who is, after all, another human being, shouldn’t be too much like hard work.

Emma’s first appearance is, frankly, bewildering. Yes, being knocked out with a water polo ball probably can send you a bit peculiar. But Emma was talking such rubbish, it became quite disturbing. It was like she was on drugs or something. In another type of book, she might have got away with it, but this is a Mills & Boon. For the most part, she does seem like quite a nice person though, and she certainly doesn’t deserve the cruel treatment by her fellow cooks, even if she does treat them as rudely as she treats Sebastian. Even if they didn’t like her, they could have shown some respect for their national fish.

But there is a lot to enjoy in this book. The idea of the prince falling in love with the cook is always very sweet. There are also some interesting minor characters, including Will the doctor, Sebastian’s Aunt Trudy, and Emma’s cousin Louise. They all have their own interesting sub-plot, and whilst not all are resolved completely, this book is part of a mini-series. Aunt Trudy is probably too old to have a book of her own (although who knows, I have read a Mills & Boon about a fifty-two year old grandmother) but despite my reservations about Emma, I would definitely be interested in reading more about Louise and Will (not that I think they’ll end up with each other...).