The Illegitimate Prince's Baby

I have read both.  And I enjoyed Ethan & Lizzie's story MUCH MORE than Hannah & Phillip's.  I found "The King's Convenient Bride" hard to take because the heroine lived like a hermit/nun for 8 years, engaged to the hero since she was 16, building up all these dreams of love and duty, never expecting the hero to stay faithful to her during their engagement OR marriage.  I just couldn't take that kind of attitude towards marriage / arranged marriages / royal life. 

Here are both of my reviews... see what you think.

1876
The King's Convenient Bride
Michelle Celmer
Silhouette Desire

Back Cover: 
Prince Phillip had sworn to do his royal duty. Someday he'd take a suitable bride—in the traditional loveless "arrangement"—and father an heir to the throne. But then he unexpectedly became king. And when he met Hannah Renault, the virtual stranger who was his intended bride, all his plans to keep her at arm's length were suddenly forgotten. 

My Review:
Their marriage was arranged 8 years ago when the heroine was 16.  Ever since she's lived the life of a Queen-in-training, never even been kissed it seems.  Very hypocritical that she hasn't touched anyone else, while she knows that he hasn't been living the life of a monk.  She doesn't expect him to have saved himself, but she feels really disillusioned and upset to meet one of his lovers.  This is a huge peeve for me, it just is not fair to the heroine.  She lived 8 years like this, it's not fair for the hero to not give up anything (i.e. his freedom) until the very last moment when they marry.  Is fidelity so finite that you can say "it starts when you're married" instead of when you first commit to marrying a person?  Arranged marriages just don't make sense to me.  I know the hero was reluctant and liked his freedom and didn't expect even an arranged marriage to last, but jeez, how unfair is it for him to let his heroine cool on ice for years having absolutely no life of her own and locked away in chastity until he absolutely must marry her once he's crowned?  That's the kind of plotline that just ticks me off.  Other than the major ick of the heroine living the life of a nun while the hero patters around living a normal life without a care in the world, the book was good. 
My Rating: 2/5 stars, a good book, but I'm majorly icked out over the poor heroine.

1877
The Illegitimate Prince's Baby
Michelle Celmer
Silhouette Desire

Back Cover:
Prince Ethan would never have slept with a palace employee…normally. Then plain-Jane Elizabeth Pryce appeared at the royal ball, unrecognizably gorgeous— and too desirable to ignore. When he finally discovered her true identity, he also learned she was carrying his child. A royal courtship would defuse the scandal. But would a marriage inflame the passion that still burned between them? 
Spoiler Warning: All my reviews contain spoilers 

Favourite Scene:
He opened his locker, peeled his sweaty shirt off and tossed it in.

“Jesus,” he heard Charles say from behind him. “I should have known.”

He turned to him. “What?”

“That it was a woman distracting you.”

What was he, telepathic? “Why would you think this has anything to do with a woman?”

“I guess you haven’t looked in a mirror lately.”

He glanced in the mirror on the inside of his locker door, but other than appearing a bit tired, he didn’t look any different than usual. He shot Charles a questioning look.

“Other side,” Charles said.

Ethan turned and looked back over his shoulder, realizing instantly what Charles meant. There were scratch marks—deep ones—crisscrossed all up and down his back. That explained the sting he’d felt when he’d soaped up in the shower this morning.

Another Fav Scene:

It was official.

Ethan had just had what was by far the best sex of his life. He and Lizzy lay side by side in her bed, naked, sweaty and breathless, and too spent to move a muscle. He could barely work up the energy to breathe.
   

My Review:
Cute.  I liked how the hero said "five minute... ten tops" and "one kiss.... or two", he kept stretching what they had together, and that was fun and sweet and showed how eager he was for her.  I liked how they ended up fake engaged, and the hero's brother Phillip knew it all along and let the hero hang himself with his own rope.  *grin*  I liked Ethan & Lizzy's story much better than Phillip & Hannah, E&L were equals, P&H weren't and I felt like Hannah was an innocent getting a really shoddy deal.  Lizzy was really a perfect match for the hero from the first moment: she was wary of relationships and she just clicked with the hero and they slowly slid into love and permanence together.  The hero expected to have to grovel at the end, and I was happy that the heroine didn't make him grovel, she just heard the words "I love you" and that ironed out the kink in their relationship.   

My Rating: 4/5 stars, really good story, this couple was perfect together