{"id":4670,"date":"2020-07-14T19:55:42","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T23:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/?p=4670"},"modified":"2020-07-28T17:45:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T21:45:52","slug":"a-closer-look-at-royal-fiction-princess-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/a-closer-look-at-royal-fiction-princess-books\/","title":{"rendered":"A Closer Look at Royal Fiction (Princess Books!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Why We LOVE All Things Royal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Hannah Currie<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it\u2019s Cinderella\u2019s fault, or Belle with her gorgeous yellow gown, but for as long as I can remember, I\u2019ve loved reading about royalty. Princesses, in particular. There\u2019s just something about them which captivates me. Cinderella<\/em>, Beauty and the Beast<\/em>, Kiera Cass\u2019s Selection<\/em> series, Rachel Hauck\u2019s Royal Wedding<\/em> series, Jody Hedlund\u2019s Lost Princesses<\/em>, Lori Wick\u2019s The Princess<\/em>, Brigid Kemmerer\u2019s A Curse So Dark and Lonely<\/em>, just to name a few. Basically, if a book has a pretty gown on the cover, a prince or princess as a main character, and\/or a tiara or some jewels, it\u2019s highly likely I\u2019ll read it. As to the why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, when I was young, it was mostly about the sparkle. Beautiful gowns, sparkly jewels, glittery tiaras, royal balls \u2013 what more could a girl want? But alongside that was the idea that anything was possible. I knew it wasn\u2019t likely I\u2019d get out of tidying my room by some fairy godmother suddenly whisking me off to a royal ball, or come across a grand palace (with an endless library of books) while traipsing through my suburban neighborhood, but that never stopped me from dreaming about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these days? When I\u2019m past those childhood dreams of meeting royalty and getting out of chores? What is it now that still draws me to royal fiction? Not only to read but to write?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are just a few reasons I still love it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Expectations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The number one reason I love royal fiction is because of the expectations that come with being a royal \u2013 and what happens when they go awry. Which, inevitably, in some form or another, happens in every royal-based novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether or not we say it out loud, we all hold certain expectations of royals \u2013 like the fact that they\u2019re beautiful, they\u2019re well behaved, they care more about their people than themselves, they say the right things, they marry certain people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what happens when they don\u2019t live up to those expectations? When they fall for the \u2018wrong\u2019 person. Or hate the spotlight. When they\u2019re not classically beautiful, or prefer high tops to high heels. When a word spoken in frustration becomes something they\u2019ll never live down because of who happened to hear it. When a simple mistake becomes worldwide drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes royal fiction so much more interesting because the characters are under that added level of pressure. Every decision they make affects not only themselves but their country and all the people looking up to them. When torn between two decisions, do they do what\u2019s best for themselves or what\u2019s best for their country? What if choosing their country means denying their own heart? Ahhh\u2026 the dilemmas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Momentary Escape from Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m never going to be a royal. And, to be honest, I wouldn\u2019t want to. That level of scrutiny? All those rules and regulations? Having to dress up all<\/em> the time and never have an \u2018off day\u2019??? No way. Give me my jeans, privacy, and simple life any day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is something nice about \u2018living\u2019 that life for a little while and, through books, being swept away into a royal world of gowns and intrigue and decisions so much bigger than I\u2019ll ever have to make. It\u2019s exciting and grand \u2013 and makes me appreciate my life even more when I get back.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gowns and Grandeur<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I admit it, this is still a pull. I might have grown up but I\u2019m still that little girl dreaming of pretty dresses. The gowns, the tiaras, the endless wardrobe (which totally suits the girl and no one ever seems to have to pay for). No, I don\u2019t want to be a princess but I love a good ballgown, and the idea of being dressed in one, my hair and makeup done beautifully (by someone else, of course) and feeling like a princess for a night? Sign me up!  I always sigh in that moment in books\/movies when the princess walks down the stairs in all her finery and the prince catches his breath at the sight of her. What girl doesn\u2019t want to be thought of as beautiful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prince<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of the prince\u2026 I\u2019m just going to say it. Royal fiction is that much better because it has a prince. Call me old-fashioned but there\u2019s something so romantic about a prince coming to a girl\u2019s rescue. Could she save herself? Probably. In some books, she does. In some books, she\u2019s<\/em> the one to rescue him<\/em> (which is also sweet). But, I\u2019ll be the one swooning every time when a prince steps up and saves the girl, proving himself worthy of her love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it\u2019s the romantic in me which finds this so captivating, but maybe it\u2019s something deeper. I wonder, sometimes, if stories like that make my heart cheer because it reminds me of what God did for me. The King, sending his Son into the mire and darkness of my life to fight my dragons, save me and pull me out of my messy life when I was an absolute nobody. Not a princess. Not a royal of any kind. Simply a commoner. Not because I had anything to offer but simply because He loved me. Because He saw something in me that He thought beautiful. Because He thought me worth the rescue. Worth a room in His palace. Worth a life lived with Him forevermore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happily Ever After<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Which brings me to one more thing I love \u2013 happily ever afters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot of mess in this world. A lot of not very happy moments. A lot of reasons to give up. Royal romances, with their happily ever afters, remind me that there\u2019s still good too. There\u2019s still a reason to hope and dream and believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seems I have a lot to thank Cinderella for after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to hear more about Young Adult fiction?
Read S.E. Clancy’s Take on Sarcastic YA Fiction<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Listen to Hannah’s Podcast on unExpressed!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where she and publisher David White chat more about princess books and young adult fiction in general, and how it’s had a profound impact on her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n