Review: Ever After by Riley Hart & Christina Lee
SYNOPSIS:
As next in line for the Evergreen crown, Prince Merrick Davendall’s future involves ruling, marriage, and producing an heir of his own. But he’s long been tormented by desires that are far from princely. Especially when the beautiful Cassius is promoted to be his new valet, and Merrick is struck by a longing like never before—a longing to know him far beyond royal and servant.
After his father’s passing, Cassius Havendale’s sole duty is to provide for his family. A promotion to serve a pampered prince is something he endures only for their sake. Surely Prince Merrick has no understanding of the true suffering of the common people, nor could he possibly understand what it’s like to desperately desire something he cannot have.
Except the prince is not at all what Cassius imagined. Kind, humorous, and caring to those in need, he also shares Cassius’s affinity for the arts. In fact, Merrick understands his deepest vulnerabilities in a most remarkable way.
As their affection deepens, the underlying tension between them becomes unbearable and they’re unable to ignore it any longer. But when the queen prepares a lavish ball with all the eligible ladies in the land in attendance, Merrick must fulfill his obligations to his country, and Cassius has the needs of his family to consider. They’ve long known their stolen moments would have to come to an end, but are they ready to give up one another and the idea of a happily-ever-after?
***PLEASE NOTE: EVER AFTER is a romantic fairy tale—minus the magic—that features one compassionate prince, one brooding valet, and plenty of angsty, forbidden love. It’s loosely based on a certain treasured fairy tale in a wintery make-believe setting that wouldn’t be considered contemporary but also isn’t based on any specific time period and doesn’t play by any traditional rules.
REVIEW:
Okay this was an adorable story. I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this modern, fairy tale twist but I was delighted with what I read. Unique, refreshing, and light-hearted, this charming romance swept me off my feet.
I get loose Cinderella vibes with this story. The era and timing is a little wonky for it doesn’t say, there are cars but no phones so it is up to us to imagine how we want. Cassius and Merrick are the definition of slow-burn. Cassius seems to loathe royalty until he quickly learns not to judge things at face-value. In contrast, Merrick found himself intrigued by Cassius and wanted to know more. As these two are forced together, they find friendship and common ground. Yet the world is still not accepting of same-sex relationships. So these two dance around each other until they finally confess and give in.
Their friendship provided a solid foundation for things to naturally progress into a relationship. Their chemistry and passion is tangible and you can truly feel how much Cassius and Merrick love each other. And things flowed smoothly from there till about the 85% mark. This is where the book took a turn I didn’t like and the Cinderella moment happened. Honestly, it felt like an unnecessary drama to me and while Cassius and Merrick did need to be more transparent about their relationship and feelings, how this played out just felt tactless. It cheapened their romance and made both men seem a little hypocritical.
Things ultimately get cleaned up and the last chapter was so cute I found myself smiling while reading it but I just wished that the climax the story built up to played out differently. But overall, it was definitely a cute, sweet, light story.
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