Review: Lone Star Princess by Lenora Worth

Series: Castles of Dallas Book #2

Format: Ebook

Rating: 2 Stars

How I Got It: NetGalley

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Annabelle Castle is a rebel without a cause…until her stepsister, the head of the glamorous Castle Department store, offers her the chance of a lifetime. Too bad the opportunity to finally play a role in the Castle’s future comes with strings attached—the man who gets under her skin.

Former cop Johnny Darrow is head of security for the Texas-based Castles. He excels at his job and nothing gets to him…except Annabelle. Even as he dragged Annabelle out of many public relations disasters with the paparazzi, he knew there was so much more to her than the headline-grabbing, rich girl. Now that she’s matured and determined to turn over a new leaf, he finds her irresistible. She’s smart, creative, and makes him feel things he hasn’t after a personal tragedy.

When Johnny’s assigned a job as Annabelle’s bodyguard, he must push his feelings aside. Can Johnny keep his focus to protect Annabelle or will his feelings for her put everything at risk?

Review

***I received this book via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

I had such high hopes for this book. I have a soft spot for books set in Texas (no idea why) and the cover is super cute. Throughout the whole story I felt like I was missing something. Maybe if I read the first book I would be less confused.

Annabelle and Johnny are likable enough, but a little flat. Johnny especially felt a little difficult to understand. I knew I was supposed to think he had romantic feelings for Annabelle, but I struggled to see it. And his constant pushing her away never really made sense. There is a referenced backstory between them, but it wasn't explained/explored enough.

The world of visual merchandising was interesting. And you can see Annabelle's passion for it. I also liked how Ms. Worth used fashion to show of Annabelle's personality. It felt weird when Johnny would talk about her clothes, but it mostly worked.

In the end, I think this book could use 10-15K more words to flush out the characters and romance. It has a lot of potential and I would consider reading another Lenora Worth book in the future.

Thanks for reading!

Holly