Heir Untamed (The Latvala Royals) Paperback – April 4, 2013

I have now read this series at least 5 times. Whenever I am in a reading funk where I just can't seem to become interested in much of anything I come back and read this series. I just wanted to say thank you for creating such beautiful books and stories that I can come back to time and time again. Chey and Sander's story is like a Cinderella story but also not a Cinderella story all at the same time. They face real adversary and threats and its not all sunshine and rainbows. Absolutely wonderful series.

A broke and jobless American photographer gets the offer of a lifetime when she is hired to photograph a royal family and their kingdom over a four month period. She needed the pay and boost to her career but was immediately attracted to a prince. Two days later she was more attracted to another guy. The book follows only Chey's viewpoint throughout so you never know what thoughts other characters have other than their expressions and conversation. The story itself is good and an interesting subject. Bourdon's description of landscape and architecture is stunning and described like an artist. Unfortunately, the characters don't evoke any feelings. Her character descriptions, clothing and personalities fall flat. Words like blond or brown hair, a peach gown, a beautiful dress, tall, broad shoulders, white shirt, blah, blah. Half the book is flirting. Lots of innuendos and juvenile flirting. They flirt, kiss and go to bed. As Chey put it, " he took me four times in the night. " There are no naughty words whispered, no touches of naughty places, no foreplay. There was never a moment where I even cared about Chey. She never reflected on a past, friends, childhood or home. It's as though she sprouted as a adult. I missed emotions. There weren't any longings or heated looks, heaving breasts, breathless feeling or yearnings. No tearful emotion or any strong feeling. Good story but I prefer to have my feelings engaged and depth in the characters.

Chey Sinclair was all alone in the world. She had no siblings and her parents had died in an accident severalmonths ago. To make matters worse, she was behind on rent and if she couldn't pay it in the next two weeks, she was going to be kicked out of her apartment. Chey had lost her job recently and was having trouble finding work. She had been working with a photographer before everything fell apart. But her luck was about to change when she met two men in suits who said they want her to come take some pictures for a very prestigious family. Not just any family, but the royal family in Latvala. It was on a whole other continent and she would be required to stay for four months to photograph the royal family, grounds, etc. On the bright side? She would be getting paid $35,000 for it! Little did she know exactly what she was getting herself into... Once arriving in country, she starts to work immediately. During her shoots though she only meets part of the royal family. The crown prince was out of the country checking out a woman his mother wanted him to marry. Chey meets the handsome Mattias and they become friends of a sort. He is very attractive and has a commanding air about him. He is second in line for the throne. The women, on the other hand, seem to be snotty and entitled to say the least. They treat Chey with no respect. While out riding on horseback on the grounds one day Chey meets a very ruggedly handsome stranger, Sander Fisk, head of security detail. As annoying and irritating as Chey finds him at first, she also starts to enjoy his company. They begin spending time together and he becomes a sort of protector for her when things start heating up in the castle and Chey is being threatened by someone within. But nothing is ever as it seems, not even Sander Fisk. Should Chey stay even though the danger is so very close? This book was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. It wasn't near as steamy as I thought, but not in a bad way! It is a great story about a girl who is alone in the world, finding someone who she wants to be with regardless of how real the danger is. It reminds me of one or two of Jane Austen's novels where there is a heroine, mystery, and a man that she inevitably falls in love with. And you get all three in this book! Chey is battling it out with the royals in a polite way so as to keep her job because she desperately needs the money. Sander is an enigma, but one Chey definitely wants to spend time figuring out. And even though she likes Mattias so much, she consciously makes the choice of who she really wants to be with. The thing is that she makes that choice partially because Mattias is a royal and it would never happen between then. The queen is basically looking for "brood mares" for her children so that they are insured heirs. Let's just say Chey is not an ideal candidate. There is a huge twist in the book that comes towards the very end that even I never saw coming!!

1st time reading Danielle Bourdon, & I loved it! 1st book in a new series.Couldn't understand why Chey (heroine) would not tell security that she had been attacked & threatened with being framed. Kept saying she was scared of losing job & unable to pay back down-payment. All the more reason to let security know!Sander was too good at everything - even fighting & cooking! I knew they would fall for each other. I suspected who he was so I wasn't too surprised when they were formally introduced.Mattias sounded dreamy, but I didn't like how he made Viia, whom he was in a long term relationship with, jealous by going out with Chey. He seemed to enjoy antagonising his family. I suspected he took Chey to several functions/ family dinners to introduce her to royalty, dignitaries etc, & pave the way for her joining the royal family.I suspected who was behind the attacks, but not the attackers.The trip in Latvala only takes place over 1 week, but it felt like Chey had been there a lot longer. She definitely made a big impression on the royal family & castle staff.I felt the ending was a little rushed, & really disappointed that Chey didn't get her HEA. I have to admit I couldn't resist checking out the rest of the series, which all feature Chey & her prince. Definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy romance & suspense. There is no bad language or graphic sex scenes to spoil the story.However, be aware there are many books in this series (& an off-shoot series), which makes this a very expensive purchase. It's times like these that I wish I live in USA, & can borrow the books for free! Also wish Amazon/ Kindle had more British writers to download for free...

Going to have to be between 3.5 stars and 4.0I honestly can't give this book a full five stars as I am going to have to be honest, yes the storyline is good but in my honest opinion I don't think some parts are executed that well and I also found some of the conversation to be stilted. I also found the situation of how she came to be the Royal photographer slightly unbelievable, a too good to be true scenario and why would a Royal family pick her and not some sought after professional photographer that's in demand by all and sundry?That said though, the one thing I can't deny, is that even though I didn't find it riveting by the end of the book I had been caught up in the idea of all this Royalty and what may happen next, that I will be reading the next book.For those wondering about adult content and hot scenes, this book contains little sex and what there is, is very tame. So it shouldn't be likened to anything erotic that is out there at the moment this book is definitely on the gentile side of romance but it does contain sexy males and an female lead that although doesn't roll over and want tickling, she is gently pliable and accomodating.So in terms of how I think this book delivers it comes across as a cutesy, slightly old fashioned style romance, very light read, a tad predictable but entertaining nonetheless and let's face it, it's free! So if you don't have too higher expectations you are not going to be disappointed.

Heir Untamed is the first in the Latvala Royal series. It was recommended to me by a friend after she read the first 3 in the series on holiday. After she briefly described the outline of the story to me I knew it was something I was likely to enjoy. I downloaded the book to my kindle and started reading straight away. This is also the first of Danielle's books that I've read so wasn't sure what to expect based on other books.The story is about Chey, a photographer struggling to make ends meet in Seattle. It follows her as she travels for work as the photographer for the Latvala Royal family. I liked Chey instantly; her character seemed down to earth and easy to relate to. Chey meets Mattias. He is second in line to the throne and appeared to me as Latvala's answer to Christian Grey - all enigmatic charm and seductive looks. I liked him instantly, I found him really easy to imagine and liked the relationship between his character and Chey.Sander Fisk, head of the Royal Family's security team, is the other main character in Chey's story. He is arrogant, rude and definitely determined. Chey's relationship with Sander develops throughout the story and although I couldn't see him as the mercurial fifty, he definitely had an air of George of the Jungle, albeit clothed, about him.The story is set in the fictional country of Latvala. Danielle's detailed description of the country really brings it to life. It appears as quite medieval and really made me think of Monte Carlo. I read a lot of other books where the locations are purely fictional but due to Danielle painting the country's image so well it feels as though it is real.The story gets off to a quick start which I think made it really easy to get into, it was fast paced throughout and is full of twists and turns in the plot including an absolute corker of a twist near the end. I can remember sitting with my jaw hanging open as I re-read what was written and then quickly read on to find out how the story continued.I have already downloaded the 3 others in the series which follow Chey's story as it continues in Latvala. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fast paced, easy to read, well written story. If you are looking for a holiday read then this would be perfect, the characters are easy to like and it's easy to immerse yourself in their world.

This book captivates you from the start!Truth be told i only `one clicked' this book as it was a freebie, but WOW, i loved it!. It has a bucket load of romance and twists with a capital T, your reading along thinking this story is going this way then, BAM! turns in another direction, so not what i was expecting to happen next.The story flows well and is an easy read, the book eludes to sexy scenes but they are not described in detail, which i think is a shame in a way as Sander and Chey have wonderful chemistry and passion in there relationship.I wasnt expecting this book to have such a gripping impact on me, as i got to the last page, i was thinking `no, this cant be it', thank goodness Sander and Chey's story continues, book 2 King and Kingdom has been downloaded straight to my kindle!from niccis book blog.

I saw a tweet advertising that the first book in the Latvala Royals Series – Heir Untamed by Danielle Bourdon was free on Kindle. I clicked on over (as we do) and fell in love with the cover to start with. I just felt it was so clean and classy and different from the bombardments of half dressed guys I’ve been seeing lately. On book covers that is, not in person.This book is offered under the Romantic Suspense category and it certainly lives up to that with our female character having two love interests, a ‘whodunnit’ situation and a twist towards the end with one of our male lovers.Don’t get me wrong the first chapter which explains our story is a bit far fetched and definitely a fantasy- Chey (our poor female lead) is offered tens of thousands of dollars to be a personal photographer to a European Royal Family and be a guest at their castle for 4 months. Although once Chey arrives at the castle and the story really gets going it slowly becomes an addictive read.Chey has two love interests in the story with one of them being the only character I really liked and had some depth to. The other hmm not so much. I’ll leave that for you to work out who was who when you read it!There are no graphic sex scenes in this book, but some tame,sweet parts in the book. Not my usual choice in a romance novel, but a refreshing change. The guys were still described as being pretty hot though so don’t worry!Overall I have to say I really enjoyed this story. I would class it as a more traditional romance novel with a few modern twists and highly entertaining. This first book could standalone as it does have a HFN, but with 6 more books in the series it will be interesting to see how the story can keep going. I will definitely be downloading the second book.I would recommend this book to any who likes the following:❤An ordinary girl mixed with Royal love interests❤Romantic Suspense and a ‘Whodunnit’ situation❤Sweet, loving scenes and no graphic erotica❤An addictive story where you can’t wait to see how it turns out❤HFNPaige