I loved the multiple perspectives and the whole kidnapping story line. This was my first book by Herkness and I will definitely be looking for more!

I have read all of the books in the Wagers of Hearts series by Ms. Herkness and a few others and have enjoyed them all so when I saw that she was starting a new series, I was quite excited to start it. Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to get an advance copy of this first book in the Royal Caleva Series. This was a complex and intriguing story line that I found to be really unique – not like anything else I’ve read lately. It certainly kept my interest even though it is quite a long novel. The characters are interesting and well developed and the plot flowed and moved at a nice pace. Gabriel and Quinn are very likeable characters and I found myself cheering them on and hoping for their HEA. The secondary characters, as well as the secondary story line, were quite different and interesting. This was a very enjoyable romantic suspense by Ms. Herkness and I look forward to reading the 2nd book in this series in the future. I’m grateful to have been given an advance copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

4.25stars--ROYAL CALEVA GABRIEL is the first instalment in Nancy Herkness’ contemporary, adult ROYAL CALEVA erotic, romance series focusing on the royalty of fictional island country of Caleva. This is twenty-nine year old, musician/ Gabriel Medina, Duke of Bencalor, and thirty-one year old, American profiler/computer wizard Quinn Pierson’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gabriel and Quinn) ROYAL CALEVA GABRIEL follows in the aftermath of the abduction and torture of our story. line hero. A few years earlier, Duke of Bencalor Gabriel Medina was mistaken for his cousin Raul, second in line to the throne, and found himself at the mercy of an unknown enemy who thought he was the King’s son. A classically trained musician, Gabriel would discover that the injuries he sustained no longer allowed him to perform the music the way he once did. Desperate to locate the people responsible, the King called in a private investigator who contracted American born Quinn Pierson to help profile the guilty party. From the outset Gabriel and Quinn’s palpable sexual attraction is apparent to everyone but the couple involved and will quickly escalate when neither is able to hold back their growing love. A trip abroad brings another attempted assassination, and the deeper Quinn researches, the more she believes the person responsible is someone close. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Gabriel and Quinn, and the potential fall-out as Gabriel continues to be the target of a desperate mind.

Quinn Pierson’s past has been kept a secret from our story line hero. As their relationship begins to unfold, Quinn knows that once the truth is revealed, she no longer will be welcomed by the Royal family. From her father and uncle’s questionable pasts, Quinn has been dragged into more family drama and activities than she is ready to admit. Duke Gabriel Medina has only ever wanted to play the guitar; to be a professional musician but the abduction and torture left Gabriel a shell of his former self. With the help of Quinn, Gabriel slowly climbs out of the depths of despair, into a working Royal who is about to discover where his talents lie.

The relationship between Gabriel and Quinn becomes as an assignment when Quinn is contracted to profile a possible killer. Several people were involved in the abduction of our story line hero, and Quinn must begin to place the puzzle pieces together in an effort to take down the person responsible. Gabriel doesn’t want a babysitter or extra security; he sacrificed himself for the family he loves but a sacrifice that came at a cost. Struggling to move on from the past, Gabriel, with the help of our story line heroine, will come to terms with what was, and what will be. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters: King Luis, and his son Prince Raul: Gabriel’s parents Duke Lorenzo and his mother Helene; CEO Odette Fontaine of the Royal Family owned Archambeau Cosmetics; Quinn’s boss Mikel; her ‘uncle’ Pete Gleeson, and her father Brendan Pierson. The requisite evil has many faces.

ROYAL CALEVA GABRIEL is a story of power and control, family and relationships, royalty and greed, relationships and love. The premise is captivating and detailed but I struggled with the inordinate amount of world building, some of which read like a red herring, and nothing ever came to fruition (Iowa?) ; the romance is seductive; the characters are dynamic and determined.



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Royal Caleva: Gabriel: Duke of Bencalor by Nancy Herkness is the story of Gabriel, Duke of Bencalor and Quinn Pierson. Gabriel was kidnapped but is now back home. Quinn has been hired to track down those that kidnapped Gabriel which has them working very closely and so starts their story. Enjoyed.

A down to earth royal hero with the soul of a musician features in “Royal Caleva: Gabriel: Duke of Bencalor”, by Nancy Herkness (Tabby Brothers Press), falling for a smart commoner nerd heroine in the enchanting country island of Caleva.
Gabriel is a wounded hero still recovering from a terrible and very traumatic experience.
Despite the trauma there’s a deep dignity in the open way he assumes his pain and the torture and loss.
His interaction with the heroine, for whom he falls head over heels, is all passion, tenderness and a contagious candidness, where he shows affection and love in several ways (I particularly loved the endearment vocatives and the use of the Spanish language, both intense and smooth).
The fact he acted out of love for his cousin and for his country is remarkable.
His precious music and guitars make him even more charismatic. The passion for his music is so sexy and seductive.
Quinn is a very pragmatic heroine, with fears and insecurities because of a troubled past.
I liked that Quinn had already fallen halfway in love with Gabriel before even meeting him in person, having seen his courage and sense of duty.
Gabriel and Quinn are so good together. They respect and cherish each other. In the beginning, the desire and attraction between them help Gabriel heal and divert his thoughts from the traumatic experience.
I liked the various scenes depicting the intimacy and closeness between them, emotional, spiritual and physical.
I also loved that Gabriel is so open and honest about his feelings.
I found the sex a bit sudden and the sex scenes too long.
One of my favorite parts in the story was the depiction of the royal family, with their strong relationships and problems like any other family. Combining the affection and love with duty, protocol and honor was well done. In Gabriel and Raul’s relationship we can see all this and the deep affection and camaraderie between them.
I liked the fictional country in a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, the way the author handled things as royalty, duty, protocol and how Quinn had to learn to deal with those issues.
I also liked the author’s elegant writing style.
While not being part of the royal family, I hope the mysterious Mikel will also have his own story.

Romantic Suspense
Musician
Computer whiz
Politics
Damaged hero and heroine
Royal Duke, commoner American romance, MF
Family, both good and bad aspects

As somebody who usually is not one for royalty trope, I loved this one.
It's about a Duke who let himself be kidnapped in place of his cousin, Heir to the Throne of caldavia ? And was taken for a good chunk of time, 2 weeks.
The FMC is Quinn, someone with a traumatic, mysterious past, that we have to wait for some time before it's revealed but for some tiny nuggets here and there, who is a tech investigative whiz.
And the books premise is essentially the investigation into finding whom the kidnappers were and finding themselves. I do wish we got to see more, or rather any, of the media opinions but that's just me and a very minor thing.
A romantic suspense with intelligence, complexity and politics, not to mention family's good parts and bad. A book that just keeps giving and keeps you hooked throughout.
I have found another great author thanks to Nethalley and Nancy Herkness has gained a new fangirl for life.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 great stars

I have read Nancy’s books before and enjoyed them immensely, however I was slightly disappointed with this one. It was a great start to a new series knowing that there was a lot of background and introduction to the characters. Yet I was disappointed that there seemed to be too many subplots to the point that at times I wasn’t sure which was the actual plot. Gabriel and Quinn’s romance was beautiful and the suspense plot twists involving both were good.

I am just going to say do yourself as a reader a favor, block out a couple of hours and truly settle down with this great book.