What a cute book! I will admit that I haven’t read the other Edgewood books, but I may go back and do so now! This was a slow burn but once it got going it kept my interested throughout. Elliana and Luke are both likable characters that have you cozy feel good vibes. I do like my contemporary romances a bit steamier but this one had me smiling nonetheless. The audiobook production was wonderful and I’m glad I listened rather than read! I’d give this 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham is a delightful, light-hearted beach read! Right from the start, the author makes you fall in love with the characters, especially Luke. The story revolves around a princess who falls head over heels for a down-to-earth carpenter from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Despite everything pointing to a future with him, her past decisions have lead her to try and embrace her role in the royal family. Let this book take you on an adventure of unexpected love! I will definitely be reading more books by Pepper Basham!

what a wholesome read! I had no idea I was jumping into the middle of a series but this was exactly what I needed. there were some aspects that I really enjoyed.

the cutest characters- a selfless construction worker and the kindest princess

the prettiest setting- european countryside

the best tropes- royalty, small town, found family, workplace

this gave off all the hallmark vibes! while it was a little insta-love for me, I found myself rooting for grace and luke from the beginning. read if you like the princess diaries or any rom com ever! thank you to net galley for the copy.

Loyally, Luke was the first book that I had the pleasure of reading by Pepper Basham. When I first learned that I had been approved to listen to the audiobook of Loyally, Luke, I was not aware that it was the last book in the Skymar series. I did not feel that I was at a disadvantage, though. Loyally, Luke can definitely be read as a stand-alone book. It was the kind of book that put a big smile on my face and made me laugh out loud at times. I loved the characters and was so glad that it ended with a happily ever after ending for Luke. I listened to the audiobook of Loyally, Luke that was very well narrated by a full compliment of narrators.

Luke Edgewood was an all around good guy. The two things that Luke would have had a hard time living without were his flannel shirts and his cups of coffee. It was no surprise then, that Luke found himself in the coffee shop after he arrived at Skymar Island. The thing Luke never expected though was to lay his eyes on a woman who looked like the spitting image of Grace Kelly only with blonde hair. The other thing Luke didn’t expect was for his coffee cup to collide with “Grace Kelly’s”. What a disaster! Oh well, Luke realized that he would never see her again. No harm done! He apologized and proceeded to meet the driver that would take him to the construction jobs that he was to bid on. There was a renovation of an orphanage and a cabin that Luke hoped to lend a hand in restoring. It was not surprising that Luke was hired for both the orphanage project and the cabin renovation. What was surprising was that the first day on the job at the orphanage, Luke was introduced to the interior designer for the orphanage. She was no other than the “Grace Kelly” look alike from the coffee shop. There she was right before Luke’s eyes! I just knew that romance was sure to come but there were other surprises that I wasn’t expecting.

Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham was a feel good book. I adored the characters and was more than satisfied with the ending. Even though I had not read the previous two books in this delightful series, I feel that I got a good sense of who Penelope and Izzy were and the relationship they had with Luke. At some point. I hope to go back and read the first two books in this series. I certainly will be watching for more books by Pepper Basham in the future. If you enjoy reading romance books then I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing/Thomas Nelson Fiction for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Usually, I rarely read contemporary romance from the MMC’s pov, not because I try not to, but I just get more recommendations whit either only the FMC’s pov or the FMC and MMC’s pov, anyway it works out fine in fact it didn’t make any significant difference.

I haven’t read the first or second book in this series, but I suppose the series are following Lukes family which I think is pretty interesting and I will probably read the other books.

It was a bit hard to get through sometimes but when I first had listened in some minutes it just flew away (I’m not sure if you can say that but you probably get what I mean anyway).
And it actually didn’t bother me, that there are multiple narrators, even though I usually do.

So, I would say it’s a great book and I liked I.
3,5

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Oh, Luke. This is just the perfect way to wrap up the Skymar series, with the rugged exterior and warm and gooey interior of Luke finally taking center stage! We knew it was going to take a special woman to break through his shell, but a real live honest to goodness princess? That is comic gold. From their first rendezvous in the broom closet to helping Ellie check off a list of things she’s never done Luke is chivalrous, mostly kind (in a very blunt Luke-ish sort of way) and he discovers that this woman he’s very attracted to happens to actually be the Princess. They’re the perfect foil for each other—he is the grumpy to her sunshine, the down to her up, the left to her right. Their relationship as it grew was so lovely to watch, and it was especially fun to revisit characters we met in previous Skymar books. Even though this book didn’t hinge as heavily on epistolary factors as previous books (if they did, we’d be looking at a novella at best…Luke is a man of few words!) it flowed effortlessly from a hidden identity trope to a blossoming relationship that I personally adored. The audiobook is everything, and I cannot highly recommend this book enough! I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

3.75 ✨ It is a sweet heart warming romance book where opposites meet, I felt like the story was so slow (for me) and not moving forward but it ended well and they all lived happily ever after 💗 the side characters were also well written. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook provided by NetGalley

In 'Loyally, Luke', Luke, a grumpy carpenter and brother of Penelope and Izzy from the previous books, comes to Skymar for a construction job. He has an unpleasant encounter at the airport with a woman he nicknames 'Grace Kelly', as he doesn't know her name. It turns out that 'Grace Kelly' is not only supervising one of his projects, but she is also the royal Princess of Skymar, and she is so much more than Luke initially thought. This is a “clean” contemporary romance with the tropes royal and commoner, enemies to friends to lovers (kind of) and there is also a small-town love element to it, as the majority of the book takes place in a small town in Skymar.

There are many references to Hallmark movies and their different tropes and clichés in this book, and 'Loyally, Luke' is actually written in a very similar fashion. It does have a little more depth due to the book format and there are more mentions of God, prayer and general Christian believes. I am not Christian myself and those themes were definitely noticeable to me, but they were still very palatable, so you can still enjoy this book if you do not follow the Christian faith.

I was missing a bit of a spark, tension or any kind of suspense, so I was not overly invested in the outcome of this book. But it is perfectly fine for a bit of a wind down after a busy day, just like a Hallmark movie.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review.

This story was just ok. I didn't realize it was the third in a series when I picked it up, and honestly, I'm not compelled to read the others in the series after reading this one. This story is a reverse Cinderella story trope - Luke is starting to have feelings for Ellie, who is really a princess in disguise.

The story was ok, but it made a lot of fun of Hallmark movies, which this is of that genre. Also, there were some rather random references to God or praying etc, that didn't quite seem to fit the characters or the story.

Overall, it was just ok. The best part of this book was the narration done in the audiobook. I loved those accents.

💛 A little different of a book then I normal read/review....This cover just stole my heart and your girl ended up reading a kisses only Christian romance. But I freakin loved it!

Loyally, Luke is:
💛 Secret identity - princess/royalty
💛 MMC Southern boy Carpenter
💛 Cinnamon roll MMC
💛 HUGELY different worlds
💛 Opposites attract
💛 Close Proximity
💛 Forbidden - would the King approve 😱
💛 Funny - LOL funny
💛 Book 3 in a series (but I was never confused)
💛 Delightful banter
💛 Reverse Cinderella retelling
💛 🐶🐶 Chewy + Indie
💛 Texting!

Honestly I feel like that ^ covers it. But just know it was so freaking cute. I laughed out loud and had a heck of a good time. I am so glad I applied for this on a whim. The audio narration was phenomenal as well. A full cast narration?! Amazing! I will definitely be adding book 1&2 to my tbr for when I need something outside of my norm.

Thank you for the alc

This was a like, not a love for me. The characters were pretty flat and one dimensional. I didn’t love the religious aspects of the book either. To be fair, it is listed as a Christian book, so that is entirely my personal opinion.

The story was predictable. If the characters had more dimension to them, and weren’t so simplistic, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

If you like cliche romance and characters repeatedly pointing tropes out and a whole lot of movie references with a sweet ending then this book is for you.
Let me start by saying that I wasn't aware this is part of a series so this is the perspective of someone reading it as a standalone.
The things I liked about it were:
-The narration
-Ellie and her father
-The small town was nice
-The orphanage
-Izzie (kinda)
The things I didn't like were:
-how the first 30% or so were so repetitive like okay we get it Luke you don't want romance and think it's gross now can you stop saying it every sentence?
-Penelope as a whole character was getting on my nerves, I don't think I ever rolled my eyes so much because of a character.
-The talks about the tropes among the characters were very annoying.
-There was a lot said but not enough at the same time and I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that this is the 3rd book in the series or if it was the same way in the other books.
-The chapters weren't split between the two characters and it jumped randomly between them. It was a bit confusing in the audiobook but I can see it being even more confusing for someone who's reading the book
-The narration of Penelope had me gritting my teeth (but maybe that's more so because she's annoying me)
-The references were too much for me
-I was considering reading Izzie's book but when I think about the things that annoyed me here being there made me reconsider.

I can see people liking this as a standalone and more as a series but sadly that wasn't the case for me.
I received the advanced audiobook recording of the publication via NetGalley.

Luke is hot, chivalrous, southern contractor, while Ellie is pretending to be a normal person. But she's really a princess who has been trying to stay out of the public eye after some major scandals. They work together to restore an orphanage. Sparks fly!

I would recommend reading this series in order, unlike I did. I would have appreciated it more if I knew the side characters and the inside jokes from the books that came before. I enjoyed the numerous voice actors. It was an engaging, sweet listen.

Read this if you enjoy:
Christian romance
Just kisses
Royal/commoner
Happy and sweet

There is something truly wonderful about finding a new author to read. I’m new to Pepper Basham’s books and I’m excited to read more.

I absolutely loved this book. The story of a rogue man and a princess is reminiscent of my favorite rouge and princess (Han and Solo). Luke has a heart of gold. He was the perfect grumpy contractor. I appreciated how down to earth he was and how he always himself. Ellie, was so lovely. A down on her luck princess, trying to work her way back into the public eye in a positive way.

The dual POV was perfectly done. I loved the texts between the characters. Maeve especially was a favorite. Some of her lines had me laughing out loud. Being new to Basham’s books, I was still able to get a sense of family and love between Luke and his family. Penelope and Izzy were so funny and wanting a HEA for their brother.

I loved how the ending came together. It was a lovely gift.

Huge thank you to the publisher for the Netgalley approval for the audio and the ebook. I enjoyed listening to the beautiful accents. The narrators did an amazing job of bringing these fantastic characters to live.

I can’t wait to read the other books in this series and more books from this talented author.

I was pleasantly surprised by this whole story. I have not read or listened to any other books in the Skymar Series or by this author and I went in blind with the content for the most part except that it was a romance.

Take equal parts Gossip Girl, Bridgerton, Hallmark Movies and Princess Fairytales and you get this heartwarming story about Luke and Ellie. The author, Pepper Basham, does a beautiful job of supplying the reader with all the little idiosyncrasies that make each character become their own. And on top of that, the narrators, all 7 of them, do a brilliant job of bringing them each to life in their own way.

This tastefully PG romance of an American visiting Skymar to help with the renovations of an orphanage and a cottage, takes you through the emotional roller coaster of wanting something you cannot have. While Luke, the only brother of 4, has been brainwashed by his hopelessly romantic sisters, causing him to balk at anything having to do with love. Yet, sometimes you just cannot avoid the life-like love troupes that are happening.

The banter of the siblings via text, of Princess Eleanor and her best friend, and the gossip journalist adds to all the details that help wrap this story up in a little bow. This very sweet romance has a religious/faith based sentiment intertwined. In the end, this story reminds us the importance of being true to our hearts and finding the best in each other.

I will happily take Luke Edgewood as my book boyfriend! I smiled and I laughed throughout the story. I would recommend this light love story to those ready for a feel good story with a happily ever after.

Many thanks to NetGallery for the audio version of this title.

what a cute book. form the very start i was sucked in. I love a good silly quirky snarky romance. and this is all of those things!

This is a sweet and slow romance with no spice. I thought parts of it were funny and delightful, but overall the pace moved a little too slow for my personal taste. This is considered a standalone but there was a ton of involvement from other couples from previous books. I didn't know it was part of series when I requested it.

This book meets every Hallmark trope there is, and I have to be honest it just wasn’t for me. It felt so cheesy at times that I just found myself rolling my eyes.

I can see how there would be a good audience for this book. If you want to read a sweet, easy, cheesy romance that has all the tropes from secretly royal, fake dating, and friends to lovers this is totally for you.

Unfortunately, this was just not the kind of romance that I would lean into. I didn’t feel much connection to the characters. There was no character growth, or anyway that I really felt the romance grow between characters. Part of that may be because I didn’t read other books in this series so I lost some connection. I don’t think I lost anything in terms of the plot by not reading the others.

This book simply wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book honestly!

I enjoyed this story. The narration was very well done and I enjoyed the plot as well. The characters are realistic and relatable, and the plot is well written.

I enjoyed seeing more of Luke and his knight in shining flannel persona! This was a great read in the continuation of the Skymar series. Ultimate message is we are all just people trying to find our way in life.