To be honest, I DNF'd Authenticly Izzy. I tried reading and listening and just could not get into it. I had no interest in book 2 and then figured I'd give Luke's book a try after hearing all the hype. I am so glad I did because this was so great! I don't think reading them out of order messed up the series, but you probably know each character a bit better by reading them in order. I will definitely be going back and reading the previous two books now.
I did enjoy the audio narration of this book, but I wasn't 100% sold on the southern accents, but otherwise, I enjoyed the numerous actors for each character, bringing such life and fun into this book! Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Thomas Nelson, for the opportunity to listen and review this advanced copy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio ." I read/listened to this book and I absolutely feel in love with Luke and Ellie. I loved the how the narrators did Luke's part and how the did Ellie's parts. But lets be real most of all I loved how the text messages were read. I loved the references to faith it was not in your face for those that don't need it but it was perfect for those of those that do. I cant wait to go back and read the prev two stories of Skymar now.

The writing was amazing and interesting at the same time. The characters were well penned down so that we as a reader can easily relate and understand them.
Right from the starting till the end, it was interesting and had my attention to the fullest. Plus in audiobook format it was fabulous.
I love it.

This was such a cute book! I had not read any of the Skymar series books, so I went into this book somewhat blind in the Skymar world. That said, I was unprepared for the fun texts between Luke and his 3 sisters. These added an additional element to the story that I feel some other romcoms could benefit from. Luke gives me Luke Dane vibes from Gilmore Girls, a tough, rough, and grumpy man, who loves children and knows hard work. Throughout the story, Luke's sisters are texting him stating that his life will become a Hallmark rom-com, and sure enough it does. Who doesn't love a romcom that talks about life becoming a romcom?

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and loved the cast of seven different narrators. The texts come alive with the various voices *chiming* in. Overall it is a cute story that the cast of narrators brought to life perfectly.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I finally read (but mostly listened to) my first contemporary by Pepper Basham and that I enjoyed the story is no surprise. Loyally, Luke is the third Skymar book, and I was not fully prepared for the delight that is the texts between Luke and his three sisters, the perfection of the grumpy meet-cute between this small town American carpenter and the princess set on rehabilitating her image, and all the overt fun with tropes - the characters basically calling their story out as a Hallmark romcom.

With a cast of seven narrators, the texts are particularly lively with the different voices chiming in. A fun story, a cast of voices that help bring it to life, what more could you ask in an audiobook? Loyally, Luke may be best when the Skymar books are read in order, but I found it quite enjoyable as a first read in the series.

Recommended.

This review refers to an advance digital audiobooks that I voluntarily read and reviewed via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

Super cute (both Luke and the book)! I need to read the first two Skymar books now!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Loyally, Luke is a sweet story about a regular US citizen who meets and falls in love with a member of a royal family while on an assignment in a foreign land. It feels like a loose adaptation of fairytales such as Prince and the Pauper and gender-reversed Cinderella, and has the flavorings of a Hallmark movie. Although part of a larger bookish universe by author Pepper Basham, this third installment of the Skymar series does very well as a standalone Christian romance with a few mentions of characters from previous books.
The story features a carpenter from the Blue Ridge mountains who travels to the European nation of Skymar for a construction project that he will be leading. On his way at the airport, he has an unpleasant encounter with a haughty and rude lady. Lo and behold, this arrogant ‘Grace Kelly’-lookalike turns out to be his client for the project he is leading. As they learn more about each other, they discover the softer and sweeter cinnamon roll interiors to their gruff and prickly exterior personalities. As their romance blossom, they are faced with the obstacles of distance, royalty, and adult responsibilities.

I love the female protagonist, a princess trying to redeem her reputation and outgrow the lasting impact of her wild past. In my opinion, the grumpy male protagonist exudes traits of toxic masculinity and was trying too hard to come across as a conventionally masculine ‘manly man’. I particularly dont care for the mentions of losing ‘man-points’. Hopefully these traits are not something women still find attractive in the 2020s in real life. Luckily his toxic masculinity is limited to his internal monologues, and does not spill over much in his actions.
Although categorized as a Christian romance, this book doesn’t mention God or religion too much. Overall, this is an easy, and fun read with depictions of a caring family.

Luke goes to the Skymar ready for a construction job. He met Ellie over a coffee mess-up. Immediately dislike until he ends up working for her. They kiss and start to fall for each other until he finds out she’s a …….princess! Now what is a normal man to do

This movie is hallmark, Cinderella and what every girl (or boy in Luke’s case) dreams. Finding your true love and making it work in this crazy world. It was a really sweet story

Not my cup of tea. The audiobook was a combination of the two things I don’t care for in romance novels - cutesy story and voices that make the book sound even cutesier.

I simply adored this book! How could you not love Luke! I love his “macho” personality of being a classic flannel loving carpenter. This book had some many cute and sweet moments. All the cheesy hallmarks references had me cracking up and loving the storyline even more.

The book was cute. The narration was great. I do think it was too long for what it was. I also wasn’t a huge fan of all the hallmark and God references, a bit cringy.

I really enjoyed this story. I have enjoyed the other books in this series because I think the characters are fun and imperfect but I love seeing them find their true loves. I loved how Luke fell for a princess and the impossibility of their situation. I liked how their romance developed and how the author was able to come up with a believable solution for them being together. I loved how the story is a mix of text messages and narration. I think that makes the story unique and a fun one to read. I would definitely recommend this book and this whole series. I also loved the narrators and how they read the story.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

Initially I didn't realize this was the third in a series but after finding it out it helped explained the involvement of so many characters who didn't really add anything to the story.

This is a squeaky-clean romance with some grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, royal romance, tropes going on. I love romance regardless of if it's spicy or clean, but I also really like subtlety and this book had none of it. It seemed like it was almost calling itself out for how cheesy and obvious it was.

I did not enjoy this book. I did it as an audiobook and while I can appreciate a full cast of characters the accents were not great. The production was a good quality.

It didn't seem like there was any chemistry at all between the two main characters. As a reader I didn't feel like there was anything that made me care about their story. I also feel like using texts/emails to express dialogue is lazy when used to the extent it was in this book. I understand I didn't read the other books in this series, but I felt that Luke's sisters were super annoying.

I can't give this book a good review based on my experience reading it as a standalone, but I would consider reading the other books to see if it changes my impression of this one.

A sweet, opposites attract, dual POV Royal romance between Ellie, a Skymar Duchess and Luke, the American carpenter who travels to her country to help renovate an orphanage. As the two work closer together they try to come to terms with the short-term nature of their friendship but feelings get real quickly (as they always do) and there's a perfect Notting Hill esque grand gesture ending.

While I found this one a touch long, I did enjoy all the text message exchanges between Luke's sisters who feature in the previous two books of the series - their cameos were a lot of fun. Recommended if you enjoy a light-hearted, kissing only romance that is sure to put a smile on your face. It was also really good on audio with a full cast of narrators.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! I look forward to more in this series if Luke's third sister hopefully gets her own story next!

Loyally, Luke is the third book in the Skymar series. While I think you might have some better understanding of the family dynamics in Luke's family if you've read the previous books, I do think this could be enjoyed as a standalone as well.

I must admit, I didn't expect to love this book nearly as much as I did. While I enjoyed the previous two books in the series enough to keep reading them, they weren't my favorite books by Pepper Basham. Part of that, I think, was the epistolary style that those were written in. I enjoyed them by the end, but it always took me a little longer to get into. While this book does have a lot of fantastic sibling text threads and emails too, it's overall written in a more traditional style. That definitely may have played a part in my enjoyment, but honestly, a lot of that was just Luke himself. This was such a great character. I'd enjoyed him in the previous books, but his own love story was absolute perfection. Growing up the only boy, he knows more than he'd like about Hallmark movies and romcoms... but her certainly never planned to be living one in real life! And yet, that's exactly what happens when he finds himself falling for a real-life princess. I loved the pop culture references and his need to balance out his sisters influence with action flicks... but he's ultimately the biggest sweetheart and it was hard not to be charmed by this fantastic story. There were so many moments that had me laughing out loud and I couldn't get enough.

If you're looking for a great Christian romance that will have you laughing out loud and swooning at the same time, this is absolutely one not to be missed.

As for the audiobook version, it was fantastically done too. The narrators did an amazing job of bringing this story to life!

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute, clean romance. This is the third book in the Skymar series. I haven’t read the first two books, but I didn’t feel like I missed anything. It can be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed the setting of the story, a small European country and I liked all of the side characters. There are a lot of side characters to get to know in this book. Luke and Ellie were cute and I enjoyed their romance. Though at times, I did find Ellie a bit annoying. I appreciated how the book ended with a compromise and a HEA.

If you are looking for a cute, clean royal romance, then I recommend you read this book.

Read if you like:
👑 Clean romance
👑 Royal romances
👑 Forbidden love
👑 Hallmark movies

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and to the author, Pepper D. Basham, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Audio version of this book and found it a struggle to get through. Not that the story was not interesting, I have a hard time connecting with a book if I do not connect with the narrators. I have not read the other books in the series and perhaps if I had I would have found it more interesting for the cameo/crossovers. I never like to yuck someones yum, so I think my review should be taken with a grain of salt.

DNF at 41%

Every single character, save the female main, is unbearably annoying. The worst is the main, Luke. At one point after realizing he finds a woman attractive he actually says “gross, romance” or “ew, girls” or some other iteration. Apparently being a masculine manly man means you don’t ever have soft feelings towards women- at all. Upon realizing he likes the way the love interest smells he actually says he better go home to watch Rambo to save his manhood. In fact, in the 40% I suffered through, Rambo is mentioned at least SIX times.

I had no idea this was the third in a series as I got it as an advanced audiobook courtesy of Harper Collins. Safe to say I probably won’t be picking up the first two stories.

Thank you Harper Collins for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A rom-com full of hilarious rom-com references and terminology?! You don’t have to ask me twice-sign me up! Luke, a gruff, southern contractor, has temporary work in Scotland and meets and begrudgingly falls for a princess. I enjoyed that this book focused on the male main character, a departure from then norm, and included epistolary elements too. This book is the third in the Skymar Series by the author, but I went into it blind and despite a few spoilers of how the first two end (typical rom-com endings), it was easy to follow and a cute story. The Southern accent that the male narrator used for Luke’s thoughts and the female narrator’s Scottish accent were full of charm and made the characters come to life, and I also enjoyed the full cast for the supporting characters too. Can I take a moment to mention this cover design too?!…you had me at the pencil tucked behind the flannel, too belt wearing, scruffy bearded man staring at his nemesis in a field of flowers.

The audiobook was overwhelming so I did not end up finishing it. It was hard to keep up with all the narrators especially during the text conversations. I couldn't keep track of what voice was whose as they only said the name the first time.
And it mentioned an accompanying enhancement pdf. I feel like the kinda defeats the purpose of having the audiobook. Maybe I'm just not familiar with this option though.
Additionally, it got really weird when he was drinking his coffee. He was overly into his coffee that it seemed off. I know that is really specific but it was a strange way to describe how he reacted to the coffee. It felt like he was going to make love to it.