For a few blessed weeks, Her Royal Highness Camilla de Cordina could be just plain Camilla MacGee. And working for Delaney Caine in Vermont's backwoods offered a perfect refuge from the press. But as her irritation toward the cantankerous archaeologist grew into fascination -- then desire -- the royal runaway knew she'd soon have to reveal herself.
Del had never needed anyone, and at first he accepted Camilla's presence only grudgingly. But, as the remarkable beauty insinuated herself into Del's self-sufficient life, he found that she filled an emptiness he'd never known was there. Only, what was Camilla hiding?
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
I really enjoyed reading this.It was interesting,funny,with great characters and story.The main characters were fantastic,I loved the chemistry between them.Also,how cool are their parents?Loved them! Who can resist the grumpy perfection that is Delaney?♥ He is so funny and smart.I also loved Cordina,her inner-monologues got me laughing out loud!And that ending...man,I was laughing so much.Both from happiness and Delaney's ridiculousness.
Cordina's Crown Jewel is the 4th and last book in NR's Cordina series. It was written many years after the original 3 books and features one daughters of Gabriella and Reeve (Affaire Royale).
Camilla de Cordina has become a media favorite wherever she goes. Everyone wants to know about the beautiful, young princess. Photographers and reporters are constantly hounding her. One night while in the States for a benefit, it becomes to much for the princess. She feels like she's about to break. So she chops off all her heir and sneaks away. All she wants is some time to just be Camilla. Her trip takes her through Vermont where during a storm she ends up stuck in a ditch. Her only hope for help is grumpy archaeologist Delaney Caine. Circumstances leave the two stuck together for longer than they planned. But for Camilla, it's exactly what she needed. With Del, she can just be a regular person. Because he has no idea who she really is.
Unlike the first 3 Cordina books, which has a small suspense plot, this one is all romance. It's probably my favorite of the four. It's sweet at times, a little funny. The characters are great. Delaney is grumpy and crabby but it just really works in the story. The romance that builds between him and Camilla is enjoyable to read.
The plot is a kind of predictable because given the fact that Camilla doesn't tell Del who she really is, it's rather obvious what's going to happen once he finds out. But that doesn't ruin the story. It's still fun to read. Plus you get to catch up with the past characters and see how they are doing. It's always nice to get that years-later perspective.
So overall, this was a good book to read. But it is a short category romance so it's not something everyone would like.
Cordina’s Crown Jewel is the last book in the Cordina’s Royal Family series. Princess Camilla wanted a little bit of time to be normal, but she had a car accident in rural Vermont. Delaney Cane is an archeologist and a jackass, but he did help her. He was grumpy because he was recovering for an accident on his dig site. He didn’t want to love Camilla, but he couldn’t help himself. However, he didn’t know she was a princess. This was a fun secret identity romance and I enjoyed the banter between Delaney and Camilla. It was a good ending to the series.
...but I guess I understand now. I'm sitting here with a pile of books to my left taller than my laptop; on my right is a book I've been meaning to review and haven't made much progress. In that towering pile, though, I have Robin McKinley and Tom Clancy and Brandon Sanderson and Diana Wynne Jones; I have 'I Am Number Four' and 'Anna And The French Kiss' and yet, last night when I wanted something to read, I didn't reach for any of those... I went over to the auxilliary bookshelf, reached into the second row, and pulled out the third straight-up romance novel I've ever read. And dammit, I liked it. It's a little scary. I still refuse to pay full-price for one of these, or even fifty cents at a book sale, but I'll sweep one up on $5-a-bag day, and I might even grab two or three. Why? Because this story had interesting characters, smart ones, and I enjoyed their connection rather more than I care to admit- except whoops, just did- and their inevitable conflict was strangely satisfying in and of itself. Given my mood, this could have been a four-star read, but there is still one thing I want to rant about...
I'll call it 'Topper Man Syndrome' and no, it has nothing to do with the sexy tiemz. Here is how it works: Your heroine has a certain characteristic. Sunny, from 'Times Change', was pretty damn good at Karate. Camilla, from this one, speaks French. This is something that shows intellect and/or determination and/or is just an interesting aspect to her character. BUT. The hero also has this characteristic. What's-his-face out of Times Change had a higher degree black belt than Sunny; here, Del also speaks French. (Which turned out rather neatly as a Chekov's Gun, but it was kind of obvious.) Why can't the heroine have something like that entirely to herself? Isn't there something sexy, for instance, about the idea of a woman who knows more martial arts than her lover? Or about the idea that she might use terms of endearment that he wouldn't understand and would have to ask her to translate? Or even, if I may get a little more risque, something like this? The real thing that bothered me in this book was that Del turned out to be nobility. I almost threw the book against the wall. I did set it aside and treat my complacent cat (and eternal reading companion) to a hearty round of swearing and shouting. And yes, I understand that it had a plot purpose. BUT COME ON. It's so much better without that.
...it remains to be seen if this continues throughout other Roberts books. I will keep reading them to find out, though, albeit at a slow pace.
If one has not read the trilogy to which this is a sequel (found in Cordina's Royal Family and re-released in other forms recently) one might be annoyed at the wealth of secondary characters who clutter up the beginning and the end of the story with little given in the way of characterization. The body of the work is not affected.
The characters of the protagonists are beautifully illustrated with humor and depth of feeling. I loved that she had to trick him into the initial seduction.
The hero is a typical boneheaded guy whose oblivion was often funny. He didn't even see what an ass he'd been until he ruined it and loss of love kicked him in the stomach. She finally gets an "I love you" out of him in the 9th paragraph from the end of the book.
The heroine is a classy dame whose ability to adapt to adverse conditions was admirable, but I didn't really start liking her until she developed an interest in his profession and started to learn all she could about it. Nowhere did I get a sense of damsel in distress, even when her car ran into a ditch avoiding a deer in a heavy rainstorm where there was no cell phone coverage. It just was not in her.
A pleasant afternoon's entertainment.
I enjoyed learning that I can still knock out a Silhouette Romance if undisturbed in under two hours.
This is the last book in the Cordina quartet and my first one in the series as well. Camilla de Cordina is fed up with her life as a celebrity and wishes to escape the tabloids, paparazzi and the hectic life.Cropping her hair and taking up her father's surname she decides to escape to Vermont and has a long journey ahead. Fate intervenes and sends Delaney Caine, an archaeologist to her rescue. She ends up becoming the typist and housekeeper to the wounded and ill mannered young professor.As time goes by, the duo fall in love. Things blow out of proportion when her true identity is dicovered one day as Delaney overhears a telephonic conversation between Camilla and her friend.Del confronts her and she leaves Vermont immediately. The rest is as usual- the reunion and proposal. What kinda surprised me was the sudden discovery of Delaney's noble lineage. He happens to be a viscount!This was last minute!Then comes the reunion at the ball hosted by the Cordinas where there is all civility!The story ends with the typical white knight chivalry that leads Del to bruise himself while climbing his way to Camilla's private terrace and he in turn delares his love for her.Fairy tale ending. Typical Nora Roberts. This book is okayish for someone who has read The Bride Quartet and other amazing works of hers.
I didn't realize this was part of a series of books, but that's ok, I really liked it anyway. I like the idea of the need to escape responsibilities once in a while...I think we all need that now and again. So I relate to that to an extent...of course, we can't all run off for weeks on end and just go wherever the wind takes us like the main character does, but it does sound refreshing and adventurous. If you can get past her cantankerous, disagreeable rescuer, it IS quite romantic. Fun and flighty read.
I accidentally read book four out of order, but it could be read that way. Princess Camilla is hounded by the media and responsibility until she is ready to have a nervous breakdown. She takes off in a rental car and tours the East coast of America. After driving into a ditch, she is rescued by Delaney a injured archeologist. He decides to hire her to help with his research and she decides not to tell him she is a princess. Of course, it comes out and the fun is in how they resolve it. This story was so down to earth and interesting, I could not stop reading it.
I loved Nora Roberts' book, Cordina's Crown Jewel. I read the Cordina series out of order, starting with this one first, and I fell in love with Camilla and Delaney. The way they were irritated by each other at first and then slowly came to respect each other, getting used to each other's presence, and eventually falling in love. It was wonderful! One of the best romance novels I've read in a long time!
Încă o serie minunată dusă cu bine la final. Acest ultim volum a fost la fel de mai bun ca anterioarele. Pot spune că s-a observat că a fost scris mult mai târziu decât primele trei, deoarece stilul autoarei s-a îmbunătățit, astfel încât cartea s-a citit ușor, rapid și fără întreruperi cauzate de micile erori regăsite în celelalte.
Deși am vrut să cunosc povestea micului drăcușor prezent în volumele anterioare, Dorian, nici sora sa, Camilla nu a putut fi mai prejos și mi-a oferit o poveste de-a dreptul delicioasă.
Poate că am adorat-o pe Brie, l-am admirat pe Alexander și mai mult ca sigur l-am iubit pe Bennett, dar povestea de dragoste dintre Camilla și Delaney a fost mai mult decât mă așteptam. Gura de aer proaspăt de care aveam nevoie.
Camilla de Cordina, fiica cea mare a prințesei Gabrielle de Cordina, este un personaj bine creat, potrivit pentru a încheia această serie. Încăpățânată și sigură pe sine, ea știe care îi sunt îndatoririile venite odată cu titlul, dar nu dă înapoi atunci când ajunge pe marginea prăpastiei și face tot posibilul pentru a se menține la suprafață, chiar dacă este nevoie să apeleze la un gest nechibzuit.
Delaney Caine reprezintă masculul perfect din punctul meu de vedere. Cu o meserie cel pasionează, o înfățișare de nelepădat, un temperament vulcanic și o mină ursuză, el mi-a acaparat atenția de la prima intrare în scenă. Pasiunea de care dă dovadă când vorbește de munca sa m-a cucerit, iar micile mormăieli și mârâituri m-au făcut să-l îndrăgesc mai tare. Sigur, faptul că l-am făcut „măgar căpos” și „prost, prost, prost” nu mi-a afectat sentimentele față de el, doar am crezut că a meritat apelativele la momentul respectiv. Îmi pare rău, Delaney. Nu, chiar nu-mi pare. Din cauza acestui nume nu pot să nu fug cu gândul la seria mea preferată de la această autoare „Cvartetul mireselor”, unde îl avem pe dulcele avocat Delaney Brown.
Întâlnirea dintre cei doi a fost cât se poate de amuzantă, iar tot ce a urmat după a fost un deliciu pentru mine ca cititor. Micile detalii despre munca lui Del au fost un bonus bine venit și m-am bucurat să intru în lumea arheologiei chiar și pentru puțin timp. Caracterele diferite a celor doi i-au făcut doar să se potrivească mai bine, iar marile diferențe dintre cele două lumi le-au oferit mai multe oportunități. Mi-a făcut o deosebită plăcere să mă reîntâlnesc cu personaje dragi, pe care aș fi vrut să se pună puțin mai mult accentul chiar dacă nu mai erau în lumina reflectoarelor. Vechile cunoștințe mi-au făcut cu mâna și mi-au arătat că viața lor a continuat cu bine și după ce eu am închis cartea poveștii lor. Protagoniști la a căror poveste am asistat au devenit părinți, iar mai apoi bunici. Viața lor a mers mai departe și au evoluat.
Poate că acțiunea s-a mișcat foarte repede, poate că încă „o mulțime” de pagini nu ar fi stricat, poate că aș fi vrut mai mult de la cei doi, dar, ei bine, a fost o carte bună. Merită citită.
Sinceramente, no sé porqué la autora decidió incluir este libro en esta colección, específicamente, ya que la historia que cuenta, tranquilamente podría tratarse de un libro autoconclusivo. Pero no me voy a quejar, ya que se trata de una de mis series de libros favoritos, además de que es la serie que me introdujo a esta autora.
Si pasaban algunos años (7 y 2) entre el final de un libro y el comienzo de otro en los primeros 3 libros, imagínense ustedes los años que tienen que haber pasado para que Camilla , que era una nena en el segundo libro, ahora fuera toda una mujer; y con su hermana menor (de la cual no hablan en los primeros libros) ya casada.
Resulta que Camilla McGee ya tiene la edad que ostentaba su madre en el primer libro, cuando se enamoró y casó con Reeve. Pero, a diferencia de su madre y hermana, Camilla no encuentra su rumbo, por lo que decide simplemente escapar y viajar por todo EEUU.
Es en esta aventura que ella conoce al hosco y tosco Delaney Caine.
Podés congeniar tranquilamente con ambos personajes, ya que ella quiere encontrarse a sí misma y saber que quiere hacer de su vida (algo que todos en algún momento nos planteamos, y si alguien dice lo contrario, o miente o todavía no le llegó el momento) y él… al menos, yo pude empatizar más con él porque Delaney ama la arqueología y yo amo la historia, que es una ciencia que va de la mano con la ciencia que él ama.
Además, se que las ciencias sociales (sobre todo estas) no te dejan mucha ganancia y él no vive rodeado de lujos…
Delaney es algo tosco, pero teniendo en cuenta su profesión, podría decirse que se le perdona ser ese cliché. Es, de todos los protagonistas varones de esta serie, el que más se rehúsa a admitir que está enamorado, aunque actúa igual a Alex: agarrandoselas con ella.
Camilla es lo opuesto a él: comunicativa y sociable. Lo único que me chocó al leer la historia fue la "estúpida necesidad" (expresión mía para este caso) de ocultar a Delaney quien es ella realmente. Si le contó todo sobre la granja de su familia en Virginia , ¿Por qué no decirle cuál es su verdadero apellido? Porque él no lee los diarios, ni las revistas, y ¡mucho menos ve la televisión!
¿Recuerdan cómo empecé la reseña? Bueno, al final del libro se explica perfectamente porqué la historia forma parte de la serie. ¡Si supieran como me reí cuando entraron en acción las madres de ambos! Eso solo le vale la calificación final…
¡Y las escenas! Hay demasiadas situaciones como para contar, pero mi escena favorita es (y no por lo romántica, que de eso no tiene nada, aunque la intención de él si que lo es) cuando el se cuelga del techo del palacio y baja hasta el balcón de la habitación de ella, todo el tiempo ¡corriendo el riesgo de romperse la crisma!
This book was sitting on the shelf of our housesit in Mazatlan. I've never read a Nora Roberts book before. In fact, I've read only a few romance novels in my life--but they were all historicals because I was trying to get the feeling of the genre as I co-wrote REVOLUTIONARY KISS (a French Revolution-era historical love story).
At any rate...I'm intrigued by the fact that she's written 200 books and sold more than 500 million. What is it about her writing the draws so many readers?
Of course, reading just one of her books can't answer that question. But this one suggests she's good at creating likeable characters and building attraction and conflict. However, it bothered me that all the good people in the book are beautiful and the irritating characters (there are just a few) are described as "pizza-faced" or fat.
Some aspects of the writing were odd, such as the head-hopping (getting into anyone's head at any moment, which sometimes threw me and also deflated the potential power of a given scene).
There's tons of dialogue--and it's often witty--which makes it a fast read.
Truth is, I'm not the audience for this book, so I'm not going to rate it. I wouldn't go to her for what I usually want in books: depth of person, place, feeling, and an examination of the human condition.
I did take a look at Roberts' Facebook page, where she slams plagiarism (apparently she sued another writer for plagiarizing her) and explains how she writes so much. Here's the link, but the bottom line is she ascribes it to writing 8 hours a day and doing 3 drafts per book.
This one was a good one. I liked the fact that she wasn't a spoiled princess. She took really good care of her man. I loved the ending where Del put an effort to it, to show that he could be romantic, even if he took it a little too far, by climbing down the castle. Nora R is as always an amazing author who make you feel like you are in the story and can really imagine how everything looks and feels like. I gave this story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because of how good every single detail is explained to perfection. The missing star is because I had a few questions I waited for answeres on, but never came. For instance, Sarah came to the castle as a guest, but you don't read anything after that about her, a little weird, considering she is the friend Camilla got to know and that also Del know. And second thing is, what happened to Camillas watch? Did she get it back or what? It's those little things that I can hang up on. They don't matter in the overall story, but like I said, I can hang my self up on this, and start second guess myself if I did read it and forgot about it or not. However,, a great love story that I recommend reading.
This is the fourth and final story in The Cordina Royal Family series. It follows Princess Camilla de Cordina, the daughter of Gabriella and Reeve. Camilla is being worn down by constant media scrutiny, she decides to get away from her royal duties for a while. Traveling as Camilla MacGhee, she crosses paths with Delaney Caine, a grumpy anthropologist. When her car breaks down, he begrudingly offers her a place to stay in exchange for her help in transcribing his notes. This story has some enduringly meddlesome mothers, secret identies, and some forced cohabitation so it will tick a lot of boxes! It's also nice to see what the Cordina Royal family has been up to since the end of Playboy Prince. To hear a full discussion of Cordina's Crown Jewel listen to Season 2, Ep. #5 "Nora Roberts' Cordina Royal Family: Playboy Prince and Cordina's Crown Jewel" of Romancing the Shelf, a Nora Roberts podcast: https://romancingtheshelf.libsyn.com/
The story follows Cordina a princess who is constantly in the media, and can never go anywhere without the presence of photographers. One day she decides that she cant take it any longer and decides to just start driving. She ends up getting caught in an awful rain storm and ends up off the road. The person that stops is man with a broken collarbone, who also has no idea who she is. She eventually starts working for him while he has no idea who he us. And she worries about what he will think when she finally reveals who she really is. Overall I thought the book was okay. There was nothing that really pulled me into the story.
This was actually hilarious and cute. :) Well worth a quick read. Camilla needs to escape the pressures of her life (most specifically the press). She goes on an adventure and ends up at a cabin in New England with the grumpiest man in the world. She befriends him by helping with his work. His grumpiness lets her know he is genuine in a roundabout way....and romance story nonsense ensues. There are actually a few lines where I actually chuckled. I gave the book away already so I don't have them written down but definitely enjoyed. :D
By far the best book of the series, since this was when NR was hitting her stride and writing some of her stories I love best. I had some laugh-out-loud moments listening to the audiobook, especially when they were in Del's cabin in the woods. And when Camilla's father and brothers first dealt with Del. Unfortunately, Del and Camilla themselves got a bit boring once the scene moved to Cordina, but it was pretty well offset by seeing all the couples of the previous three books. Happily ever afters all around!
Feeling nostalgic and pulled this one off the bottom shelf for a re-read. Reminded me of My Fair Lady is some ways. Camilla (princess) needs some time away from the royal court and runs away. After crashing her car she is rescued by Delaney (stodgy professor) who doesn't know who she is. Time away tucked into the woods of Vermont allows the romance to blossom. Unfortunately, the realities of the world always intrude.
This series of books was great. I read all four and was not disappointed. While Nora does an incredible job at telling backstories in each book so that it is not necessary for readers to read all of the books in the series, I highly recommend reading all of the books. They tell a wonderful story and immerse you into a beautiful fantasy world that the princess in us dreamed of as a child. Not to mention the explicit romance that follows, highly recommended!!!
Beautiful ending to a series . Even though there was no dangerous plots against the royal family the romance and personal conflict between Camilla and Delaney was enough to keep me interested till the end . Always love reading Nora Roberts books and there is plenty more to read
Let me be very clear: this is not my preferred genre or author. I needed a quick, easy distraction during a time of some turmoil, and this was on the top of the pile. That said, go for it, if this is precisely your cuppa. It moved quickly, it wasn't too horribly over the top in the drama, and I can understand why my mother loved this author.
Always love a good runaway royal story. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the build of their romance. A few twists I didn't see, though the end was predictable, as it is with all of the romance genre. The strength of the main female character was inspiring, while the career of the leading male was also intriguing. Overall, a quick page turner to read in a day or two.
It's really uncomfortable going back and rereading books I initially read (and enjoyed) in the 80's, 90's, and 00's - especially romance novels - in the wake of the #MeToo movement. There were definitely scenes and dialogue that did not hold up well in this one, but despite the problematic parts I still zoomed through it in a couple of hours and enjoyed it for the most part.
Read as part of Cordina's Royal Family: Bennett & Camilla
This on was a good story to pass a cold Sunday afternoon with, I found myself skimming through parts of it. I thought Caine was a great character as well as his parents.
This is a book in the series, but can be easily read as a stand alone novel. It was a quick and easy romance, and as I kept reading it I constantly thought of Beauty and the Beast. I quite enjoyed it.