No Ordinary Princess

Rating:
Summary: Realistic heroine
Review: Heroine: near-sighted, classically pear-shaped

Plain but passionate Princess Calhoun is swept off her feet when a handsome Eastern gentleman flirts with her at the annual fourth of July bash thrown by her father, "Royal Oil" baron King Calhoun.

Sexy Tom Walker is walking a fine line working days in King Calhoun's oil fields as "Toolie Tom," and spending his nights wooing the boss's daughter as "Gerald," the son of a wealthy family from back East.

Cessy chases down her dreams of being honestly loved for the woman she is on the inside, while Tom chases down the dream of having more money than he could ever hope to spend. The real test comes when the attraction and tenuous bond these two created during their courtship has to withstand the loss of her oil money and the revelation of his true background.

What worked for me:

Cessy seemed very real to me; she was a passionate and sweet lady who was overlooked by potential suitors because she wasn't a knock-out and had a tendency towards bossiness. And despite the fact that Tom was a gold-digger, I didn't dislike him for it. He never once had plans to leave Cessy or set up himself up with a mistress. He intended all along to be the best of husbands to her.

There was not one secondary romance in this story, but two! I do wonder if Cessy could actually have had a friend like Muna, a girl of Syrian descent, in the early 1900's. Despite being a bit P.C. this romance did add some humor to the story, and I enjoyed Muna and her fiance immensely. I also liked the neat and tidy epilogue at the end which ties Muna and Cessy together as sisters by law and not just spirit. :^) The other romance, which flourished between Cessy's father and a local madam, didn't do as much for me but was still sweet in its own way.

What didn't work for me:

King Calhoun had a daughter named Princess, and a girlfriend named Queenie. I was terribly disappointed that Tom's name didn't turn out to be Duke. *L*

Overall:

I don't generally go for American or Western settings, but I enjoyed this sweet and sexy story anyway. The characters were fun, and it was a nice twist on the Regency fortune-hunter stories I have read. :^)

Rating:
Summary: enjoyable
Review: I liked this book, but not quite as much as some of her others, like SEALED WITH A KISS. It was so well written that I felt embarassed for Tom many times. It was as though I was there hiding. Read this, but read some of her other books too.

Rating:
Summary: Morsi tells a heart-warming story about "real" people.
Review: Like no other author, Pamela Morsi can take a subject I have absolutely no interest in (fish, rice, moonshine) and use it as a backdrop for a beautiful story. No Ordinary Princess takes place at the start of the midwestern oil boom in 1907, just prior to Oklahoma statehood.

Princess Calhoun and Tom Walker are two real people who occasionally do stupid things and for that they are all the more endearing to the reader. Illusions are shattered, lies are exposed and relationships are nearly destroyed, but love is cord that binds this story together. The secondary characters are as integral to the plot as the hero and heroine. They bring humor to the story and provide a sense of community.

Although I can't say the story is as riveting as Morsi's previous books, it is well written and the pages kept turning until the impossible situation was resolved. As always, Morsi gives us a glimpse of these characters in the future that lets you rest easy as you turn the last page, knowing that everything will be all right.

All in all, No Ordinary Princess is a good way to start the summer. It's a nice, evenly paced, heart warming book that fits nicely into the beach tote next to the sunscreen

Rating:
Summary: Slow in spots, very gentle.
Review: Tom Walker, orphan from the Indian School, wanted to be wealthy, like some of his friends in the Rough Riders. When he sees tall, bespectacled, bossy Princess Calhoun, daughter of oilman King Calhoun, Tom changes himself into Gerald Crane, adventurous Eastern millionaire's son. He soon falls in love with Cessy, but doesn't know how to tell her the truth, even after they marry.

Gentle and slow, Morsi has another lovely tale with interesting characters. I found the story a bit too long, but this was one of her earlier books. The pacing is a little erratic, but Princess and Tom are worth the patience.

Rating:
Summary: Slow in spots, very gentle.
Review: Tom Walker, orphan from the Indian School, wanted to be wealthy, like some of his friends in the Rough Riders. When he sees tall, bespectacled, bossy Princess Calhoun, daughter of oilman King Calhoun, Tom changes himself into Gerald Crane, adventurous Eastern millionaire's son. He soon falls in love with Cessy, but doesn't know how to tell her the truth, even after they marry.

Gentle and slow, Morsi has another lovely tale with interesting characters. I found the story a bit too long, but this was one of her earlier books. The pacing is a little erratic, but Princess and Tom are worth the patience.