Chasing Down Her Highness by Fiona WestMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Chasing Down Her Highness" by Fiona West was a fun, refreshingly creative blend of adventure, fantasy, and romance that featured lovably quirky characters and a fast-paced, engaging plot. For good reason, female lead character Abelia (aka Abbie), the erstwhile princess of Brevspor, gave up her claim to the throne and left to build a life of her own. Her betrothal contract to childhood friend and fellow royal Prince Edward of Orangiers remained in effect, however, so when Edward's brother attempted to murder their father and set off a potential civil war, he decided to track down his wayward fiancee. Edward hoped that marrying Abbie and solidifying their countries' alliance might be enough to prevent the coming battle. Unfortunately, he didn't plan on Abbie's refusal to honor their contract, mercenaries intent on kidnapping her to prevent the marriage, or any number of other threats along the way. They were forced to undertake a lengthy, arduous journey in disguise on horseback through unknown (and often unfriendly) territory to get back home.
I loved the way Abbie and Edward's romance slowly grew over the course of the story as they got to know each other again as adults. Even though the book ended in a HFN (Abbie and Edward's story continues into book two with their wedding), their story felt complete, and I wasn't disappointed at all with where they ended up. I also loved how much growth was evident in each of their character arcs.
The book's secondary characters were a tremendous amount of fun and added a lot of depth and humor to the story. My favorite was Stargazer the talking horse because he was so amusing; his lines were some of the best in the book. I also liked Abbie's traveling companions, Rubald and Rutha. Rubald was sometimes a bit gruff, but his wife Rutha was so kind and loving, and they each took good care of Abbie in their own way.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Chasing Down Her Highness" and recommend it for fans of YA and/or adult fantasy romance. I plan to continue with the series.
*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
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