Heir Apparently by Kara McDowell

The Prince and the Apocalypse was a fantastic road trip romance that had a unique premise, a genuine sense of suspense, and a couple worth rooting for, but its follow-up, Heir, Apparently, has a little less spirit, zip and originality on tap. It’s still a fun ride.

When last we saw Wren Wheeler, she’d just survived an apocalypse which fizzled out. She’d successfully made it home to her American family, and now, nine months later, she’s off to Northwestern for her freshman year. The problem is that she can’t settle in, can’t forget Prince Theo, to whom she may have been married to in a Greek ceremony that totally wasn’t legal. Right?

Wren keeps tabs on Prince Theodore Geoffrey Edward George because she tells herself she wants to keep abreast of how Comet – the dog they mutually rescued during their journey, and which Theo has custody of – is doing. She learns that Theo’s mother has died of cancer, making him the heir apparent to the British throne, and he and his younger siblings Henry and Victoria are in town. Wren, with the encouragement of her best friend Naomi, decides to dognap Comet from Theo right on the tarmac. It goes predictably poorly, attracting paparazzi attention, and leads to the discovery of their marriage certificate.

Theo is less than happy to give back the dog, and also to be confronted by Wren and his own unresolved feelings during this crucial juncture in his life – just barely two weeks out from his coronation. Ordered to fly to London so the palace’s PR people can mop up the resulting scandal, Theo, Henry, Victoria, Naomi, Wren and Wren’s sister, Brooke, pile onto a private jet with a bodyguard and a pilot – and Comet.

And because the universe hates Wren in particular, the plane crashes on a deserted island.

Everyone lives, though there are injuries. Wren and Theo are forced to deal with their broken relationship, the wilds, Theo’s jealousy of Henry, and the possibility they might never be found again. This little adventure might make the apocalypse look like a walk in the park.

I had some mixed feelings about Heir, Apparently, mainly because a lot of what I found charming in the previous book was how Wren and Theo’s gambolings throughout Europe didn’t bring them into contact with too many people along the way, so they were able to really get to know each other. Here, the number of people they have to interact with is larger (six people plus a dog!) so the space for Wren and Theo’s relationship is more constricted. Whereas book one is about banding together against the outside world and healing old hurts this one is more about finding adventure in the great wide somewhere. Though the connections they have to deal with are more personal, which adds a new wrinkle to the adventure.

It’s satisfying to watch Theo and Wren find an accord, and the general aura of suspense and romantic tension works. But I missed that sense of journeyman spirit the first book had. Heir, Apparently is still a great story, still well worth reading, but it strikes just below a DIK for me.

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