Of Kings and Queens is the fourth novel(la) in the City Entanglements series by Tara Kennedy, though it can be read as a stand-alone.
Finished on: 27.7.2023
[I won this book in a LibraryThing Early Reviewer give-away.]

Plot:
King Kamehameha Day in DC has always been a family day for Jia, though with her divorced parents competing against each other with their restaurants, this has become a little more tedious for her, especially since she is trying to stay out of her parents’ business and make her own career. Ken, on the other hand, has never even heard of King Kamehameha, but helping out at his aunt’s flower shop brings him to the celebration with leis in his hands, and stars in his eyes about Jia.

Of Kings and Queens is a quick, sweet read that might be a bit more concerned with imparting knowledge about Hawaiian culture than about its romance. While I’m here for some good representation, I felt that it overwhelmed the other things a bit. But it was cute.

I often complain about romances taking things a bit fast – if that is not something that you usually worry about, it’s probably not going to bother you here. But I did feel that the romance was too quick and a tad contrived. And while so many romances are just that that it’s almost a hallmark of the genre, it usually doesn’t make itself felt that much. Maybe if the book had been a little longer, less novella-sized, it wouldn’t have felt so rushed, but I wanted a bit more breathing space.

That being said, the short length and the fast pacing do make for a nice snack-sized read that will quickly fill your craving for a sweet romance, so there is certainly that. And I loved how earnest Kennedy was about sharing Hawaiian culture with her readers and explaining some of the customs. Ken was a good character to get things explained to as he knows nothing (and neither did I, going on). I did wonder about why it felt necessary for the story that he was just helping out at the flower shop instead of just being a florist, but maybe that’s explained with the larger connection this book has to the series at large. I haven’t read it, so I don’t know.

So, Of Kings and Queens is definitly a nice read and makes me curious to check out the other books in the series, but it doesn’t have me running to get them. But maybe, when I’m in a romance mood again, I’ll give them a go.

Summarizing: sweet enough.