Once a Princess

Once at a small tavern in Natchez, Mississippi where river rats, bandits, conmen, hucksters, hustlers and other lowlife came to gather a young woman named Tanya slaved away running it for her guardian crippled by disease and age during the day, and at night danced to entertain men. Until one night a golden eyed stranger found her desirable, his name was Stefan, a prince from Eastern Europe sent by the dying king his father with his last decree to go to America to retrieve Tatiana Janecek, the last of her bloodline to bring back home. Tanya is reluctant to believe he and his companions tale that she is a princess, and tries escape after escape to return to her payment for her enslavement, the very tavern she worked. Johana Lindsey makes a great read, you'll read again and again.

Once upon a time there was a baby princess born in the small European country of Cardinia. Her name was Tatiana Janacek and her father was the king. Her life should have been an endless parade of balls, cotillions and fairy-tale dreams, but before her first birthday her world shattered. Her entire family was killed in a blood-feud that destroyed the royal house of Cardinia and her own life was threatened before it even had a chance to begin. So, the new king, Sandor, held a ceremony to betroth Tatiana to his son, Stefan, and then the only remaining Janacek was spirited away to the wilds of America. Unfortunately, the bad luck she'd faced in Cardinia followed Tatiana to the new world and the woman who accompanied her on the harrowing journey died the moment they reached America. Tatiana never had the chance to learn of her noble ancestry or even to know her own birthday. Left in the care of a tavern-owner and his wife, Tatiana grew up as Tanya Dobbs. In her formative years she suffered greatly at the hands of the man she believed to be her father. Beatings and emotional abuse were Tanya's constant companions. Now in her 20s, the man who abused her so grievously must depend on her for his care. With his incapacitation, Tanya is finally able to take control of her life and the tavern where she was barely better than a slave will soon be hers. Thus, the woman who should have been the queen of a country finally becomes ruler of her own destiny. In the land of Cardinia, king Sandor's health is failing. The rigors and responsibilities of ruling are taking their toll on him and he feels it would be in his country's best interest if he turns the reins over to his son, Stefan. His last wish as king, and possibly the last wish of his life, is for his son Stefan to journey to America, find the now-grown Princess Tatiana, bring her back to her homeland and marry her. Stefan is completely against the idea. Not only does he have no desire to marry a woman he's never met, he's sure the pampered princess will turn out to be extremely beautiful. Unlike most men who would be thrilled at the prospect of a beautiful bride, Stefan suffered an horrific accident when he was younger. While trying to save his younger brother from a pack of rampaging wolves, his face was disfigured. Left scarred physically and emotionally, Stefan has resigned himself to a life of scorn from beautiful women. Though reluctant, Stefan decides to honor his father's last wish and journeys to America with three of his friends. What follows is one of Johanna Lindsey's best stories as Tanya becomes accustomed to the idea that she's actually a lost foreign princess and Stefan learns that not all beautiful women are shallow and self-serving. I've always found everything about this book engaging. The plot, the dialogue, the characters, the setting all come together for an amazing read. Tanya is probably one of Ms. Lindsey's most likeable heroines. Tough, sassy, brave and com

This story is simply amazing. Johanna Lindsey outdid herself with "Once a Princess," a novel about a girl raised in a Mississippi tavern who is really a long lost Eastern European princess. Tanya is a splendid heroine. She is feisty, spirited, and witty, AND she knows how to stand up for herself. Stefan is her perfect match: dark and brooding with "devil's eyes," the future king of Cardinia fights fire with fire, with some passionate results. The two are an excellent pair together and fun to watch. The fact that Tanya absolutely refuses to believe she's a real princess leads her into quite a few adventures as Stefan and his dashing companions escort (er, kidnap) Tanya back to Europe. Stefan's three companions are great characters, but the best is Vasili, the nasty conceited peacock who is so gorgeous women fall all over him. Of course, he gets his own book in the sequel "You Belong to Me." What else can I say about "Once a Princess" but read it, read it, read it. It is my second favorite JL, the first being "Savage Thunder."

I am always interested to read other reviews and I am often amazed at how books I think are fantastic are rated poorly and books I thought were merely okay are eulogized. This is one of those books I truly adored, finished and then picked up immediately again to re-read and savor. I think it is one of her best. The story is a fairy tale that even the heroine does not believe--long exiled princess, growing up unaware of her identity, is kidnapped by 4 absolutely charming men and told she is being brought to a distant country, her homeland, to marry the King. There is much humor and amusing dialogue, gripping love scenes, adventure and action. The King himself is a wonderfully drawn character, as are his 3 men. The pacing of the love story is well done, and never boring. Read it and judge for yourself!

This is a story about a Prince who travels to 'collect' his Princess who is currently working in a bar because she was taken away as a child. Stefan is not an ordinary Prince, he's a man who doesn't think too much of himself as he has a scarred face. Tatiana, his princess, seems plain when he first meets her and he is pleased as he doesn't think a beautiful woman would want him. Much to the Prince's dismay, Tatiana is in fact beautiful but hides her beauty as she doesn't want to be accosted by the men at the bar where she occasionally dances. If you like stories where the male character has flawed looks but a great big heart, you will love this one too. Beauty is only skin deep. I think it's what's inside your heart that really matters and it takes a special someone to look past the flaws and see the person.