Once a Princess (Cardinia's Royal Family Book 1) Kindle Edition

I always enjoy her books! This is one that I’ve read several times!! The characters are so well thought out.

Review:Awww, a Cinderella/rags to riches story, my favorite! Well this was a pleasant and fun romantic historical: Tanya just wants her years of hard work and pain to pay off and own the tavern belonging to her so called "stepfather." The prize gets closer and closer till four men show up an claim that she is the long lost princess of a small European country and has to come with them so she can marry the king, well, this obviously crashes all her current goals and makes chaos of her former life. Not that she actually believes them, but they are a stubborn lot. So begins her journey to her so called kingdom, while trying to ignore her growing feelings for the tortured and easy to irritate Stefan. Who wants to be a princess when you can be a tavern owner? Now that's a real dream life! At least for Tanya it is, and that's why I liked her.Aside from the spunky and opinionated Tanya, the other characters were definitely likable as well, at least the ones that were supposed to be that way. Vasili - I'm not so sure about if we were meant to despise him or feel compelled, but to me he was definitely the comic relief, not to mention a hot hunk, whom I couldn't completely take seriously. Need I say that he was my favorite character?Other aspects I liked: Looking over the physical and seeing what is actually inside was very important. The dynamics of the four guys come to retrieve Tanya. Reluctant love-hate romance is always a win for me, the banter stemming from that was decent.Didn't like: There was too much emphasis on the whole whore-question and it was getting kind of annoying with the accusations and no final clarification on that topic for so long. Besides, I know it was a different time and age, but this really pushed my injustice and discrimination buttons. There was also too much miscommunication or simple withholding of information at times. The main clue on what made Tanya a princess was slightly far fetched.Characters:Tanya was such a punch-in-the-face heroine for any guy trying to bring her down. I totally respect her for that take-no-s***-from-anyone attitude, but her constant defiance and hostility got slightly tiring in the end. There could have been a better balance, but then again I can't blame her of showing who's boss and you just couldn't put her down without a fight even with all the prejudices against her. I also liked that she wasn't gullible and didn't fall for those highly improbable claims the four guys come to her with. She was quite daring in her ways to brush them off. I wasn't, however, particularly fond of her extreme stubbornness, it did a disservice to her more times than one.Stefan wasn't really charming as much as captivating. He had big temper/anger control issues, but I didn't find them that bad. He was honorable and tried to be a gentleman, but Tanya had the ability to make him, well, a total idiot. He was also quite blind to the glaringly obvious, especially in things concerning Tanya. It was slightly odd that everyone else was bothered by the scars, but Tanya didn't even notice them that much. Well, love is blind I guess. A more than decent hero to the untamable Tanya.Overall:This was an enjoyable fairy tale historical that totally quenched my need to read something romantic, old-fashioned and so far from reality that it's so bad it's good. Recommend to all who like historicals and Cinderella.

Stefan Barany, prince turned king. Tatiana, princess turned tavern wench. Completely opposite in their upbringing and stations in life. She was betrothed to him at birth, then sent into hiding to save her life. Stefan, scarred both in and out, has no expectations from beautiful women. Tanya, scarred from life, has reason to hide herself physically. Through arguments, miscommunication, and attraction they fight each other. This is one of my favorite stories by Johanna Lindsey. Tanya is an independent, strong-willed woman who gives as good as she gets. She makes no apologies for who she is. Exceptional story!

I'm definitely starting to notice that Lindsey's strategy for reeling in her readers is FRUSTRATING, PROLONGED COMMUNICATION ISSUES between her two main characters. That being said, it was far more pronounced in this book than any other book of hers that I have read.One thing that really bothered me was the fact that Tanya's transport to her rightful home on the thrown in Cardinia took up 50% of the book. It wasn't until this halfway marker that the men finally get her on the ship and she FINALLY starts believing this "fairy tale" of a story, that she truly is a princess. But before that, the characters and us, the readers, must endure a 220 page extravaganza of her stubbornly refusing to believe what they say, her consistently failed escape attempts, and the new title for her, "Princess," used so sarcastically by Stefan and his men. I swear, every page has a "That's too bad, Princess" OR "I'd like to see you try, Princess" or SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES! I was so done with it!As I said before, this novel is an excellent example of communication issues that can be present in male-female relationships. This is what happens when people aren't direct in what they say and what they mean. And of course, everything that Stefan says is misconstrued and misinterpreted by Tanya, and of course, everything Tanya says is misconstrued and misinterpreted by Stefan and all of the other guys. It's constant, and omnipresent, and does not go away. Not until the VERY END of the book, just before they're about to get married, do these two lovebirds sort out all their issues. So here I am, reading my heart away, dying, begging, praying that Lindsey will absolve my anxiety, and allow this couple some happiness for a few chapters before tearing it away from them. But alas, it was not to be. If this is Lindsey's strategy for reeling in her readers, then it's entirely effective. I was hooked, and I didn't stop reading until 1:30AM. And felt awake enough to write this review shortly afterward. But effective or not, it was maddening to go through and feel all of the frustration of having the main characters' understanding of one another be so far off for the entire novel. Maddening.Yet, I loved it. I hated it and I loved it. I would not read it again, I would not recommend it to someone else, but it certainly entertained me for the duration of the night. I couldn't put it down. I didn't like how obstinate Tanya was, but I loved Stefan's passion. I loved that he used this passion as a wild, wonderful outlet for his anger. I loved that his eyes glowed when he felt angry. But I did not love how predictable the passionate scenes became for Tanya, and it'd almost be as if she was saying, or maybe I was thinking, "Oh, his eyes are glowing, he's angry, here comes a whirlwind of passion and kissing and lovemaking. Right on cue."Don't read it. Or do read it. It depends on whether you like Lindsey's suck-you-in-and-grip-you-until-the-end-and-it's-1AM style.

I’ve read Johanna books for many years and enjoy her way of writing. I’ve just started to re read them after a few years. Before I read them in paperback but with eyesight changing with age I have turned to the kindle. Johanna’s story’s can transfer you to a different time & place.She lets you use your own imagination to form the characters and surroundings in the books. Which to me is important part of reading any fiction book.

love this writer

I'm completely shocked at the five star rating. The arguments lasted for the whole book. The two main characters either avoided each other argued or had sex. It wasn't a very compelling love story. It lacked lindsays's usual humour and character description . The story dragged on unnecessary storylines and rushed the falling in love. The end was predictable and lacked a satisfying taste once reading the book. Waste of money try her other books. This book is defiantly one I will forget sadly UN purposely

no strong storyline. characters not. did not get into the storyline nor did I find the characters believable. I expected better

Although it took reading through the hurst 10 pages to warm up yo this book. Once I hit started I Judy could not put it down. I definitely recommend.