Emily Albright’s ‘Heir and the Spare’ is a modern-day fairy tale

“THE HEIR AND THE SPARE,” by Emily Albright, Merit Press, Jan. 1, 2016, Hardcover, $17.99 (young adult)

Ever since the time of her mother’s death, Evie has received a letter from her late mother on each birthday. Evie looks forward to those letters and the bit of familiarity they bring. But when one of those letters challenges her to got to Oxford for college, everything changes.

Upon arriving in England, Evie receives another unexpected letter from her mother. Evie finds herself on a quest to discover her mother’s past and her own roots. All this would be overwhelming by itself, but add to that a romantic relationship with a real prince — one second in line to the throne of England — and things are bound to get a little crazy.

“The Heir and the Spare” reads like a lifetime movie — it’s a somewhat predictable love story that for some inexplicable reason keeps you rooted to your spot until it’s done.

There’s nothing overly spectacular about “The Heir and the Spare,” yet I found myself enjoying it more than I probably should. There’s just something about a love story between and underdog and a prince. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it works, but it does.

Author Emily Albright’s prose is easy and comfortable, as is the overall flow of her book. There’s nothing overly complicated, and all the expected players make an appearance.

“The Heir and the Spare” is and entertaining escape to what maybe, could, but probably won’t ever happen.

Sensitivity note: While mostly clean, there are a few instances in “The Heir and the Spare” where I stumbled over curse words that I wasn’t expecting. Also, there are a few steamy scenes, although they are for the most part pretty tame.