[ARC Review] Nobody's Princess by Erica Ridley

Publisher's synopsis: Nothing happens in London without Graham Wynchester knowing. His massive collection of intelligence is invaluable to his family’s mission of aiding those most in need. So when he deciphers a series of coded messages in the scandal sheets, Graham’s convinced he must come to a royal’s rescue. But his quarry turns out not to be a princess at all… The captivating Kunigunde de Heusch is anything but a damsel in distress, and the last thing she wants is Graham’s help.

All her life, Kuni trained alongside the fiercest Royal Guardsmen in her family, secretly planning to become her country’s first Royal Guardswoman. This mission in London is a chance to prove herself worthy without help from a man, not even one as devilishly handsome as Graham. To her surprise, Graham believes in her dream as much as she does, which makes it harder to resist kissing him…and falling in love. But how can she risk her heart if her future lies an ocean away?  

My thoughts: I just adore the Wynchesters. They definitely top my list of favorite families in historical romance, and Graham's story only helped to solidify their standings on my list. 

Ever since Baron Vanderbean passed and Chloe married the Duke of Faircliffe, Graham has found himself as the de facto leader of the wild Wynchester bunch. With his information gathering as important as ever, it was fun to see everything happening from Graham's POV. Previously, Graham just provided the intel for his family, but now readers got a more behind-the-scenes look at just how some of that information is obtained. 

Kuni was such a good fit for Graham. In the business of information gathering herself while on an extended stay in London, Kuni was strong, intelligent, and independent. I loved that right from the beginning, Kuni fit in so well with the Wynchesters. Obviously, it's going to take someone extraordinary to catch a Wynchester's eye, but Kuni, in her pursuit of her dreams, was both mentally and physically a match for her Wynchester counterpart. I loved Philippa in The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, but Kuni is a refreshingly tomboy-ish figure that I don't normally see in historical fiction - especially as the love interest. Kuni was just as at home in a pink dress as she was scaling walls with Graham and readers just have to love a leading lady who won't back down from a Wynchester. 

Throughout the story, Kuni had a brilliant storyline involving her own internal struggles. She had been raised her whole life to want something she was told she couldn't have, and it was her dream to make the impossible a reality. But then she started falling for Graham, who lived in a different country and had vastly different goals then she did. Kuni's internal debate between her old dreams (joining her brothers in the Royal Guard) and what could become her new dreams (Graham and a place within a loving and eccentric found family) was so well done. It's no easy decision, and Ridley wrote that struggle really well; Kuni's pull in both directions was almost tangible. 

I loved that Kuni gave the Wynchesters another tie to their adopted guardian. Baron Vanderbean had been from Balcovia, and I loved that one of the Wynchesters fell for someone who gave them a connection to the place Bean used to call home. 

One aspect that immediately caught my attention was how quickly Ridley called out the racism that people like Graham, and now Kuni, faced on a regular basis. Readers only have to get a few pages in before we see society ladies moving to the other side of the street to avoid running into Graham and his brother Jacob. And the point is brought home several more times throughout the story. [As far as I am aware, Ridley doesn't identify as a POC. I do wish that more POC authors were given the chance to write about these issues themselves (whether in a fictional setting or not), but I am glad that Ridley chose to draw attention to these problems rather than feature POC main characters and just ignore what they would have experienced on a regular basis.]

Overall, I truly enjoyed Kuni and Graham's adventures and watching them slowly admit they could no longer ignore their feelings for each other. The Wynchesters always bring fun and excitement to any relationship, and Graham and Kuni's story was no exception. Nobody's Princess was a fantastic read featuring everyone's favorite acrobatic Wynchester and the one woman who can match him in both brains and talent. 

A huge thank you to Erica Ridley for providing review copies of Nobody's Princess to her Review Crew. And a big thanks to Forever for gifting me a finished copy of the book (aren't all these covers just simply gorgeous??)

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Release date: 7/26/22
Format: eARC and paperback
eARC provided via: Erica Ridley's Review Crew
Paperback provided via: the publisher