The Marine & the Princess

Princess Vanessa just wanted some time off! She had been a princess twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week for so long she couldn't remember when she wasn't and enough was enough. She was taking action! She decided to take a vacation and see the sights. Marine Corps Captain Mark Wilders does a favor for his sister-in-law and goes to Vanessa to be her personal guard. Going out into New York to sight see, eat, shop and be merry. Little does she know she is going to fall madly and deeply for the handsome man in uniform and boy does he look sexy in it! Being away she is free to think about her dreams and hopes that she keeps hidden deep inside her. Mark just wants to do his favor and get out of there until he meets her. Everything was going splendidly until her father had security guards come for her. Then the truth came out and it just wasn't a pleasant truth.Vanessa could be a snob. She could be witchy but she isn't either. Instead she is a kind, sweet, generous woman filled with dreams she never believes can become realities. Mark is married to his work and is NOT into marriage until Vanessa comes into his life and then all the fears he had before suddenly weren't so scary. Together they both could fulfill their dreams and leave all the restrictions of duties behind for a life of normalcy (to a point). Ms. Linz wrote something beautiful.Romance At Its Best

Marine Corps Captain Mark Wilder is assigned to guard Princess Vanessa Von Volzemburg while she's traveling incognito in America. He has no desire for what he considers a frivolous assignment, but the princess just happens to be his sister-in-law's best friend, and his commanding officer believes it is in the country's best interest for Mark to protect her since her European nation is an important ally of the U.S.This well-motivated setup works really well for getting this unlikely pair together and keeping them together. They have a long, hard road in order to bring their hearts, and lives, together, and it is a delightful ride getting there with them. As always, wonderful author Cathie Linz offers plenty of deep emotion along with the laughter she provides. Mark is a tough but fair and kind man. Vanessa is a strong, duty-bound woman who is desperate to break free of her family-imposed burdens and spread her wings. They are a great match for each other.This story is a fun addition to the tradition of princess adventures, and, as such, is particularly in the spirit of the 1950's romantic comedy, Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. This, time, though, unlike in that movie, the boy gets the girl and there is, in keeping with modern times, lots more sexual tension! Enjoy!

Desperately tired of her role as heir to the throne of Volzemburg, Princess Vanessa enlists the aid of her good friend Prudence to escape her responsibilities and enjoy a normal lifestyle. She wants to eat fast food, shop in a department store, and play tourist in New York City. Prudence asks her brother-in-law, Marine Captain Mark Wilder, to help out. But the king, who tapped Vanessa's telephone, has also contacted the Marines, and Mark is ordered by his commanding officer to protect Vanessa, while reporting all her activities to her father. Cathie Linz's talent lies in making her characters and situations so believable. The best storytellers involve the reader emotionally. This book made me alternately laugh, cry, and want to yell at the 'bad guys' (Vanessa's father and the smarmy court officials who appear at just the wrong moment to whisk her back to the palace). I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.