Review of “The Princess Stakes” by Amalie Howard
Howard, Amalie. The Princess Stakes. New York: Forever, 2021. ISBN-13: 978-1728243412 | $8.99 USD | 352 pages | Victorian Romance  Blurb  Born to an Indian maharaja and a British noblewoman, Princess Sarani Rao has it all: beauty, riches, and a crown. But when Sarani’s father is murdered, her only hope is the next ship out—captained…
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Courtney Reads Romance
Howard, Amalie. The Princess Stakes. New York: Forever, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-1728243412 | $8.99 USD | 352 pages | Victorian Romance

Blurb

Born to an Indian maharaja and a British noblewoman, Princess Sarani Rao has it all: beauty, riches, and a crown. But when Sarani’s father is murdered, her only hope is the next ship out—captained by the boy she once loved…and spurned.

Captain Rhystan Huntley, the reluctant Duke of Embry, is loath to give up his life at sea. But duty is calling him home, and this is his final voyage. Leave it to fate that the one woman he’s ever loved must escape to England on his ship.

“The PRINCESS STAKES came along just when I needed it most. There’s star-crossed, swoony, steamy love, true to the genre — but there’s also a subtle, searing focus on racism, colorism, and what it means to belong that is rare for a historical romance, which elevates it to a unique and truly resonant read.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author

Review

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Princess Stakes (previously called The Duke’s Princess Bride) is releasing after it faced a pre-release controversy last year, and I applaud Amalie Howard for being so gracious in taking the critiques, especially when others who rushed to her defense weren’t as tactful (to put it mildly). And upon actually reading the new ARC copy, I can appreciate the effort she did to try to mitigate harm.

The most important part for me was addressing Rhystan’s role in colonialism. As for myself, I was satisfied with the revisions. In this version, the first thing he did upon inheriting the title was hand over ownership of the ducal plantations in the Caribbean to the locals, while acknowledging this as only a start of the work that needs to be done to atone for the past. He also shows a sense of self-awareness that what is going on in India at the hand of the British is exploitation of a “lesser” civilization by the technologically advanced British, something which Sarani calls out and critiques, questioning the logic and citing India’s wealth, art, and history as immeasurable, incomparable to that of the British.

I cannot speak too much on the cultural nuances of being biracial, or the lives of those of South Asian backgrounds. But I did feel Sarani’s struggle of being between the two worlds of India and Britain, and finding herself having to assimilate to British society was conveyed beautifully, and the notes at the end from the author confirm her good intent, with further clarifications of the additional work she did exploring the varied perspectives of BIPOC readers from different backgrounds in regards to this portrayal, demonstrating how messy the issue of “good” representation and ownvoices is.

But under all the controversy, I don’t know how I feel about it. The characters were conveyed strongly, but I felt very “meh” about the romance. Despite all the additional nuance, Rhystan is still an aloof, broody Duke who isn’t that endearing, only really showing emotion at the end, and it made the attempts to “develop” things between them along the way super awkward. As mentioned before, I did like that Sarani had the spine to challenge him, so the banter definitely helped to keep things from getting stale as well as to avoid the power imbalance being too creepy, but I just never fully warmed up to him and their relationship.

Given the baggage this title dealt with, it’s perfectly understandable that there’s skepticism, and there are those that don’t want to read it, even with the revisions. But for those who are choosing to be cautiously optimistic, I would encourage looking at varied opinions before making the decision.

Author Bio

AMALIE HOWARD is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, most notably of The Beast of Beswick, “a smart, sexy, deliciously feminist romance,” and one of O-The Oprah Magazine’s Top 24 Best Historicals to Read. She is the co-author of the #1 bestsellers in regency romance and Scottish historical romance, My Rogue, My Ruin and What A Scot Wants, and has also penned several young adult novels, critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, School Library Journal, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Kid’s INDIE NEXT selection. Of Indo-Caribbean descent, she has written articles on multicultural fiction for The Portland Book Review and Ravishly magazine. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children. Visit her at amaliehoward.com.

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