Authors continues to amaze with how quickly they’ll jump from different topics and subgenres. If you’ve read Nikki Payne’s previous works, then The Princess and the P.I. feels like something different in the best way.

With that being said, it does have me excited about what we’ll see next from Nikki Payne. Her previous titles with Berkley were all Jane Austen-inspired stories with a modern twist. You might recognize Pride and Protest as her most popular title.

Despite going in a slightly new direction, Nikki Payne manages to weave such an intricate web and bring all these different characters together who aren’t alike in the slightest. If that doesn’t interest you, then you need to take one look at the cover and you’ll be sold.

I’d like to thank Berkley for sending me an ARC so I was able to read and review this one ahead of its release date.

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The Princess and the P.I. begins with a mission that seems impossible. Our main character, Fiona is looking to finally get revenge for her brother by stealing his lifelong invention. As you might guess though, things go awry before she can do it at a tech conference.

At the conference, Fiona is on stage when someone turns up dead and she is blamed for it. She is booked and taken to jail where she is bailed out by Maurice, who is a private investigator. The two have some shared history that is intense to say the least.

To try to help them both out, Fiona and Maurice team up to try to find the real killer. It’s a race against the clock though as people keep turning up dead and Fiona has a real chance of being charged. This isn’t even talking about the fact that Fiona’s father is the pastor at a mega-church who has strict rules for his followers and his children. Oh, did I also mention that Maurice previously investigated the church, too?

While there is a lot going on in this book, Nikki Payne does an excellent job of balancing everything. The plot is fast-paced and we get just as many questions as we do answers. The romance between Maurice and Fiona is slow but not without its delicious tension-filled moments. Coupled with the character development for the two, Payne delivers a showstopping story you won’t want to put down.

Whether you’re looking for an excellent fall read or want something compelling to pick up ahead of October, The Princess and the P.I. is a book you don’t want to miss.