Susan's Review of Her Royal Payne by Shana Galen--Survivors Series -- 10

He’s a pain...literally.

Rowden Payne, known as The Royal Payne, makes his living in the high stakes world of bareknuckle boxing. The disavowed son of a duke likes the focus boxing requires. It keeps his mind off the tragedies in his past. But just as he’s poised to knock out his biggest rival, he’s mesmerized by a pair of exotic hazel eyes in the crowd. He finds himself flat on his back and short fifty pounds.

She’s a prude with a problem.

Modesty Brown’s father has vanished. Modesty’s only way of finding her is by asking the only man she knows of that class—Rowden Payne. Unfortunately, she’s the one responsible for the Royal Payne losing his crucial fight.

Sometimes the hardest hit is the one to the heart.

Rowden doesn’t want to care for anyone or anything, but if he can just help Modesty find her father, he can be rid of her. Soon the revelation of her father’s secrets and lies puts Modesty, Rowden, and their friends in danger.....

Danger . . .
Adventure . . .
Heartwarming Romances....

Shana Galen combines these story elements perfectly in the latest installment of The Survivor series-Her Royal Payne.

I enjoyed this well-paced, character driven novel. Shana Galen’s descriptive prose transports the reader into the boxing ring with Rowden. I could imagine Rowden dodging punches, evading his opponent and could sense the excitement of the crowd. I loved Rowden – his caring and protective nature appealed to me. The attraction between Rowden and Modesty is apparent from their first meeting and I loved how their feelings deepened. Modesty reaches out to Rowden for help after her Father disappears. Rowden arranges for Modesty to stay with Ewan Mostyn and Lady Lorraine and it was great fun to visit with one of my favorite couples!

Rowden’s manager Chibale Okoro is featured in this novel. Loved the relationship between Rowden and his boxing manager. Rowden trusted Chibale and took his advice on improving his boxing skills without hesitation. The author showed that even though Chibale was confident in giving orders to Rowden, he was hesitant in pursuing his relationship with modiste Therese Renauld. I rooted for this romance and enjoyed every word of their story.

Her Royal Payne has the perfect amount of passion, intrigue and danger. Shana Galen blends two romances with the excitement and danger of the boxing world. I enjoyed reading this novel because the author gave each couple time for their relationship to evolve. Rowden’s soft spot for Trogdon, Modesty’s desire to find her father, Chibale’s love for his family and Therese’s colorful bird Bluette enabled me to relate to each of the main characters. Loved the elements of danger that was threaded throughout the storyline.

I loved the characters and their stories in this fast paced novel and highly reccomend it.

Reviewed by

Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the author