After marrying solely for convenience and to produce an heir, Crown Prince Amadeo doesn’t expect to find such passion on his wedding night. He senses there’s more to shy Elsbeth than she reveals, but self-controlled Amadeo cannot allow emotion to distract him from his duty. Elsbeth is prepared for a loveless union, anything’s better than the cruelty she left behind. She’s unprepared for her growing feelings for Amadeo. But when her husband always follows the rules, can she convince him to break them for her?
This was an interesting romance. I was drawn to it because it was about royalty. But Elsbeth's circumstances was a little outdated in my opinion. I felt the chemistry between the two main characters, and the climax made it a satisfying read. Thanks to Harlequin Romance and NetGalley for the honor of reading this advanced reader's copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Not even sure why I read this. This books was a quick way to pass the time but not really memorable. I would recommend Harlequin readers to grab a copy for their wait in the doctors office or for a long flight while on vacation.

Rules of Their Royal Wedding Night concludes Michelle Smart’s scintillatingly romantic trilogy, Scandalous Royal Weddings.

Crown Prince Amadeo has been left with no other choice – he must marry and the bride that has been chosen for him is a woman he cannot bring himself to trust: Elsbeth of the House of Fernandez. As part of the household of a ruthless king who has caused Amadeo and his family no end of anguish and despair, Elsbeth is a bride whom he plans to keep at arm’s length. Theirs is purely a marriage of convenience that will benefit both their countries and feelings will certainly not come into the equation. However, Amadeo soon realises that there is more to his shy innocent bride than meets the eye…

Elsbeth is absolutely thrilled to escape the nefarious clutches of King Dominic and although she finally has the freedom which she had been desperate for, she cannot help but be concerned about the fact that her new husband doesn’t seem to want anything to do with her. Although he always seems to have a ready smile for the cameras, their communication is kept to a minimum and outside of their duties, they only meet once a week in the royal marriage bed in order to produce an heir. Elsbeth tries her hardest to be a biddable royal wife, however, as Amadeo’s expert kisses and seductive touches begin to bring her to life, she starts to find her own voice in the palace and becomes the woman she has always wanted to be.

Seeing his wife bloom serves to increase Amadeo’s desire for her. As their attraction deepens and an undeniable passion ensues, will Elsbeth and Amadeo find the strength to fight for a love that simply cannot be denied? Or will their fear of rejection and inability to trust cost them this chance at happiness?

Rules of Their Royal Wedding Night brings Michelle Smart’s fantastic trilogy to a sensational conclusion. Intensely emotional, wonderfully dramatic and highly passionate, this sensuous marriage of convenience romance grabs readers’ attention from the very first page and keeps them hooked until the very end. Elsbeth and Amadeo’s love story is poignant, captivating and sure to tug at the heartstrings and bring a tear to the eye.

An enjoyable contemporary romance from a very gifted writer, Michelle Smart’s Rules of their Royal Wedding Night is not to be missed.

A marriage of convenience to prevent a war between two countries and produce an heir.

The rules are clear, Prince Amadeo will come to his wife's bed once a week and do his duty. The biddable submissive princess has character hidden beneath her facade which emerges to puzzle and intrigue the prince. Will their dutiful marriage turn out to be more?
Clearly this is a Harlequinn, with happy endings and happily ever after but it's the getting there which makes it a sweet read.

So disappointed as I really love this author. These two are bound to enter into a loveless marriage. Elsbeth has been traumatized and a loveless marriage is a welcome thing to escape what her love has been. Prince Amadeo has no expectations of love in a marriage so he may not want this, but having relations once a week to produce an heir are part of his duties.

Of course there is off the chart passion and chemistry but neither will admit to anything. He is an ass as he will admit to lust and that's it. I thought Elsbeth would transform and come more into what she could potentially be, a bit quicker, but it was not to be.

Both are stubborn, and it takes a near tragedy to set things right. This one just lacked that oomph that is was looking for.

I love author Michelle Smart books but, I was not sure about this book when I first started reading but once I got into the book I loved it. Amadeo and Elsbeth marriage was a strange one from the start. because they were so different because she taught to obey her husband at all cost. He felt she was empty head woman with no thoughts of her own. He grow to realize she was very different from what he originally thought. But Amadeo fort his feelings for her until he finally realize it. Do Elsbeth get her happy ending?

Rules of Their Royal Wedding Night by Michelle Smart is a story about a marriage of convenience with a purpose, produce an heir. But what neither expected was the undeniable chemistry they would share. But can they ever truly let the other in? Crown Prince Amadeo is only marrying for duty. He is distant, determined and not looking for love. Elsbeth was set to be the wife that was expected of her, but she found her voice and strength. It was not easy for them, but they found something in the other neither expected.

Happy reading!

Crown Prince Amadeo marries Elsbeth as part of a treaty between their countries. She does her best to be the perfect, submissive wife her mother taught her to be—but he's frustrated by her cold mask. He gently coaxes her into showing him her true self—yet he hesitates to give her his heart. Are they destined to be trapped in a loveless marriage?

I appreciated Amadeo's kindness to Elsbeth despite his impatience. I enjoyed the whimsical nature she kept hidden beneath her controlled exterior. The pacing of this novel is restrained without being slow. Both characters are constrained by circumstances, and it's nice to see them helping each other reveal their true selves.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review

The h is urged to wed the heir of the throne of a rural country. She agrees to this in order to get away from her disgusting cousin, the king of a rival country. The H dislikes the h, thinking she is vapid and because of her relationship with his rival. The H tells the h that they will only have sex on Saturdays, since he can barely tolerate her, but he needs an heir. Eventually they come to care for each other and the h becomes pregnant.

Shy Princess Elsbeth completely stole my heart in Rules of Their Wedding Night, an absolutely perfect series romance showcasing the best of Harlequin Presents: layered main characters that the reader cares about and a riveting and dramatic plot that pulls you in from page one. Bravo Michelle Smart! This author's backlist has moved into my next reads column.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Presents for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Ok, I felt so bad for Elsbeth-that she was treated the way she was and became a doormat. She was a pawn (as many royals are or hopefully were). Amadeus is a bit of a jerk at least in the beginning. They became more likeable, his family treated Elsbeth better than he did in the beginning. I did find this all a bit odd but ok. 3 stars

Quick Summary: Virginal bride meets her stubborn albeit well-meaning prince

My Review: Rules of Their Royal Wedding Night by Michelle Smart was a solid read. I very much enjoyed the reading experience. The plot was simple and easy to follow. The characters were likable and not overly complex. The conflict was minimal. The romance and chemistry were mild and well-controlled. The ending was sweet. The epilogue was predictable in a good way.

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own.

Rating was 2.5

I do not know if it's me or authors have a new formula going for some of these hero's/stories, but it's not working for me that well. This months in the HP department has been not so great, for me.

This is a continuation of the Royal Berutti family. And this last story is about our Crown Prince Amadeo. Amadeo has been forced/arranged to marry after a faux pas that occurred with his sister, so he became the sacrificial lamb. And again it's the hatted King Pig who is the center of the story again (from book #1 in the series). A family member from King Pig, his neice, will be marrying Amadeo.

We open with the wedding ceremony taking place between Elsbeth, niece of King Pig, and Amadeo. We have a lot of internal dialogue going on to set things up. We get a glimpse of what each individual is thinking and feeling leading up to this.

Elsbeth reminds me of Stepford Wives and the whole concept of being perfect and subservient. And that's pretty much how her character starts the story. Of course there is a back story on why she is that way and it's sad. But she does evolve and grow into herself, slowly unfortunately.

Amadeo, he's kind of a cold fish at first. He's sticks by the "agreement" they made before the marriage. And he's determined that he will not fall in love like his siblings. He's not really that kind of individual and really didn't see himself acting "in love" like they do. Over the top silliness in his opinion.

So why the 2.5 rating. A couple things really. One of the reasons is this didn't really tell of the story of them "falling in love" more like "falling in lust". This story really was about their conjugal visit's stipulated in their agreement. How great their chemistry was and sex life. It was about Amadeo seeing past Elsbeth "perfect" behavior and dialogue. And from being irritated by it to realizing there was a reason for it. But again the sex was great with Elsbeth and now she not so irritating to Amadeo. Elsbeth was brought up to be the "perfect wife" her mother taught her that she is to make her husband "happy" because that was her mother's life, thanks to King Pig. He ruled the family with an iron fist. Woman were not valued. So with a little encouragement from Amado, or bluntness about his irritation, he told her she had rights, a voice, a opinion and to use them. Another reason was for the low rating is Elsbeth character development. Ir evolved but in my opinion was a too slow process. And her full evolution didn't emerge till the end of the book. Which to me was a little sad.

The end was rushed and some of it was a little far fetched (the car racing incident). And the epilogue was nice to read about all the families, but again you were given the impression the lust was the core of it all. Don't get me wrong about the "lust" part, I'm okay with it as part of component of the relationships (it is a big part of some relationships). But I feel that there should be just as much heart and emotion to the whole of a relationship and falling in love as well. And that is what I found lacking in this story. The balance of both and the "falling in love" part wasn't well balanced or very prevalent in the story.

This author is one of my favorite's and it isn't often I am disappointed, but this one didn't work for me.
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