Book Review and Giveaway Link: Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen

This is a lovely, sweet romance with hints of the Prince and the Pauper.
Just Ella
by Annette K. Larsen

• File Size: 3414 KB
• Print Length: 294 pages
• Publisher: Hidden Falls Publishing (August 14, 2013)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• ASIN: B00EK7R5ZW

Genre: Historical Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: August 14, 2013
A Proper, Clean Romance.
Ariella was only looking for a distraction, something to break up the monotony of palace life. What she found was a young man willing to overlook her title and show her a new and vibrant way of life. But when her growing feelings for Gavin spiral out of control and clash with the expectations of her station, she will discover that the consequences of her curiosity are far more severe than she’d imagined.

"I watched in helpless horror as two guards hauled Gavin to his feet and dragged him from the room. My voice was frozen, unable to protest as another guard took hold of my arm, leading me upstairs. From the confines of my room, I stared into the darkness beyond my window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Gavin. He was gone, and I wondered if he would have been better off if he had never met me."

Review:
Ariella is a princess who longs to be loved for herself...just Ella. No one knows that side of her. She doesn’t even have friends since she can’t mingle with others in her kingdom. She has a special camaraderie with her father, the king, as he shares history and explains political aspects of ruling when she visits in the library in the afternoons.

As she is nearing her sixteenth birthday Ella knows that there will be a big celebration with neighboring nobility coming to the festivities and some thinking about making alliances. One young prince, Jeshua, has shown particular favor towards Ella but she doesn’t like his arrogant, sly attitude that shows more interest in himself than in others.

Ella seeks refuge in a hidden room in the garden maze where she meets a young gardener, Gavin. He recognizes her as nobility by the way she speaks and carries herself. But she introduces herself only as Ella, and a gentle friendship begins before he realizes fully who she is. Ella begins to spend time in the garden, reading to Gavin as he works. Sometimes they chat about life as he tells her about village traditions. Then he even takes her on a surprise exploration, sneaking outside of the palace grounds.

When an excursion outside of the palace results in an attack Ella must explain that Gavin didn’t attack her but rescued her. Now that that her secret friendship is exposed, Gavin is banished, her father is angry and so Ella loses the two she cherished most.

Ella is sad and distraught but finds a way to share her desire to help others. She continues to avoid Jeshua even as he increases his pursuit. Then she is devastated to learn that Gavin has become engaged. But what can she expect? They are of two different worlds and Ella must learn to let him go.

There is danger and intrigue as Ella is kidnapped. She learns the identity of her kidnappers but is afraid that her parents won’t believe her and Gavin will get blamed instead. If there is any chance for Ella to be with Gavin they are going to have to take risks and sort out the misunderstandings that abound.

I liked Ella’s down to earth, caring personality and enjoyed the gentleness of her friendship with protective Gavin. I really appreciated the maturity that Ella learned as she dealt with the pain of lost love and loneliness. I also liked how she sought more than an idle life of royalty and wanted to make life better for the people.

The writing has an easy flow and the story is full of emotional depth. There is a very nice ‘afterward’ where the author explains the inspiration for the story and gives snippets and tidbits about certain characters or scenes. Although I was not enthralled, I would say the story is enchanting and a good read for those who enjoy stories of star crossed love with a happy ending.

Ella realizes a hard lesson:

...Love did not always conquer all.
   And so I was left to find a way to conquer love. Heaven help me. Location 2783.

I received this title as part of BookBlast Blog Tour.
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Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen

Book Summary:

A Proper Romance

Ariella was only looking for a distraction, something to break up the monotony of palace life. What she found was a young man willing to overlook her title and show her a new and vibrant way of life. But when her growing feelings for Gavin spiral out of control and clash with the expectations of her station, she will discover that the consequences of her curiosity are far more severe than she’d imagined.

I watched in helpless horror as two guards hauled Gavin to his feet and dragged him from the room. My voice was frozen, unable to protest as another guard took hold of my arm, leading me upstairs. From the confines of my room, I stared into the darkness beyond my window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Gavin. He was gone, and I wondered if he would have been better off if he had never met me.

I write clean romance. Why? Because that’s what I love to read, but over the years I’ve discovered it’s quite a challenge to find good clean romance. I believe it’s a genre that many people are looking for and too few authors are writing. My first novel, Just Ella, took me many years to write because I wanted it to be more than just a cutesy love story. I wanted it to have depth, to feel genuine. Hopefully I succeeded, but you’ll have to be the judge.

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Praise for Just Ella

"I fell in love with this book. Treat yourself to something wonderful. You can't go wrong with Just Ella!" ~Inspired Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

"By far one of the best romance novels I've ever read. Pulls you in with great, likable characters and keeps you going with a sweet and exciting love story--plus a good plot to give it even more substance. Full of those tender moments you want to go back and read again, plus exciting moments, clever humor, and some suspense as well." ~Jana Miller

"Annette Larsen writes a love story that takes time, is complicated, and yet still sweeps you up in the romance (without the cheese, thank you). It's compelling and emotional and sweet and you will love every page." ~Kimi

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Excerpt

“Now, wait just a minute. You can’t just plunge into a pool of water.”
“Why not?” I should have said something cleverer, but I felt a bit scatterbrained, all thoughts having fled when Gavin’s arm went around me.
He made a noise of exasperation. “Why not, she asks. Because, Princess, what’s going to happen when you show up for your lessons completely drenched? Or, what happens when we both show up on the palace grounds completely drenched? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to explain that to anybody.”
Unfortunately, he had a point. “Don’t call me Princess.” He had been so relaxed today, so willing to be himself and let me be myself. I hated that he felt the need to remind me of my rank. I was tempted to be angry and walk away but I also wanted to see how long he would keep his arms around me. Simply out of curiosity, of course.


Author Annette K. Larsen

I was born in Utah, but grew up in Flagstaff Arizona and St. Louis Missouri, the fifth of seven children. I attended college at Southern Virginia University and Brigham Young University where I studied English and Theater. I now live in Idaho with my husband and four children.

I have Charlotte Bronte to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it. After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to sacrifice what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but it the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it.

I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.

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