First comes baby… then royal marriage!

After a lifetime of rejection, Crown Princess Poppy is determined to choose the right husband. So, she attends a masquerade ball in disguise to spy on a potential groom, playboy King Caius. But all of innocent Poppy’s scruples—and clothes!—fall away in the face of his powerful magnetism…

Caius can’t forget the stranger he shared an incandescent night with, even as the rest of his world implodes. Then one last bombshell detonates… The touch that haunts him was Poppy’s; she’s pregnant, and royal protocol requires a shotgun wedding!

Titles in the Royal House of Sadat duo/series include:  Bodyguard’s Royal Temptation (ARC) ~ Unmasking His Pregnant Queen (ARC) ~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Unmasking His Pregnant Queen
Series:  Royal House of Sadat duo/series #2
Author:  Abby Green
Published:  May 26, 2026
Publisher:  Harlequin Presents
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Unmasking His Pregnant Queen is the second title in the Royal House of Sadat duo.  We first met Caius in his sister Cassie’s romance, Bodyguard’s Royal Temptation, where the first of the knockdown life developments began for Caius as he decided to abdicate his throne due to a lifelong secret that had been kept from him and the citizens of the country he ruled.  In that story, he seemed aloof, preoccupied… and to be fair, life as he knew it had changed drastically, but in the end, he’d done the right thing for his sister.  Now it’s time to see if he’ll set aside his wounded pride and do the right thing for himself, and the woman carrying his child, the woman he loves beyond all reason, the woman he’d walk two steps behind as King consort.

Poppy has gone undercover, so to speak, as she is a Queen in her own right… But in order to actually rule, she must marry.  One of the men set before her as a possible candidate is King Caius, a stern man with a reputation and a scandal brewing.  Attracted to and intrigued by Caius, Poppy will attend a masquerade ball and will get up close and personal with Caius in a way she hadn’t intended, but certainly could not deny the fiery sparks between them.  Soon, Poppy must acknowledge that she’s looking at a certain man as her husband, not only to be allowed to rule, but also as the father of their unborn child.  Now she needs to confess and reveal all to one stubborn man who has already had his world shaken… only this time he has company.

I completely enjoyed Unmasking His Pregnant Queen.  Two very stubborn people are about to embark on a lifetime journey, and it’s going to be a rocky road at first.  Caius can be a difficult man to like, especially at the beginning when his world is tumbling down around him through no fault of his own… then the complication of his desire for Poppy and their baby only adds to the abrupt changes he’s facing.  Frankly, I cut him some slack, but I admit that at times it was very difficult to do so, for his actions weren’t always hero-like.  I adored Poppy and the influence she had on Caius to become the better person, to grow into the man he could become if he’d set aside his pride.  Their romance is well-written, emotional, and passionate.  If there were a few times when I really wanted to reach into the story and smack Caius upside the head… well, I don’t believe I was alone in that desire.  All in all, I enjoyed watching Caius’ journey from an absolute jerk to a man willing to open his heart to a woman who held his future in her small hands.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

 

This title is available at Amazon