We caught up with Sophie Pembroke to chat about why her new book, The Princess and the Rebel Billionaire was such a joy to write and what readers can expect.

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Some books are just more fun to write than others. The Princess and the Rebel Billionaire was even more fun than most of those. (Shh! Don’t tell the other books, they’ll only get cross.) 

From the moment I first talked with my editor about Isabella and Matteo’s story, I knew I was going to have a ball writing it. It’s as if someone compiled a list of all the fun things I’d like to include in a story, and then just told me to write it! 

Here’s my Fun List:  

1. Royalty! Can you believe I’ve never written a princess heroine before? What was I thinking?! All that royal duty and obligation, that buttoned up restraint and the need to appear a good girl to the people of her country… Isabella was such a great character to bring to life, especially when she got to meet Matteo! 

1. Bad boy hero! Except, not really. Matteo’s a wild child, risk taking, formula one racing billionaire, but underneath all that rebel bravado he’s got his own reasons for living life to the fullest.  

1. One week fling! I love romances where the characters go into things honestly believing they can just enjoy a time-limited fling, only to discover that the heart doesn’t always cooperate with the calendar. And even if it does, there are sometimes other consequences to all that time spent hitting the sheets… The set up of the M agency – an exclusive dating agency specialising in secluded set ups for one week of romance – was perfect for this! 

1. Steamy scenes! One of the requests for this book was that I up the heat levels and make it a properly steamy romance… and I was more than happy to oblige! It’s been a while since I wrote a really hot book, so it was nice to realise that I hadn’t lost my touch. Although there was a certain balcony scene that had to be toned down after I got a little bit carried away… 

1. Location, Location, Location! One of the things I love about writing for True Love is all the places I get to visit – on paper, if not in reality. Writing Isabella and Matteo’s story took me from the tranquil seclusion of a private villa on Lake Geneva, to the palace in Augusta, and then to Rome – where I actually spent my honeymoon, so that was a treat to revisit.  

1. Finding themselves. Beneath all the banter and the sex, the exotic locations and the tropes, all my romances are about the same thing. Two people finding themselves, accepting themselves – flaws, past, mistakes and all – and realising that love can help them become the person they were always meant to be. All they need to do is be willing to let the person they love into their heart, and to love them in return. I’ll be honest – Matteo and Isabella both had a long way to go to reach that point. But it was so much fun writing their shared journey to a happy every after! 

If you’d like to read the first chapter of The Princess and the Revel Billionaire, it’s available free on my website right now at www.SophiePembroke.com.  

And now for the really great news! There’s another three books in the Billion Dollar Matches series coming this summer, from three of my very favourite authors: Rachel Stewart, Andrea Bolter and Jessica Gilmore. I just can’t wait to read them all!  

Sophie x

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We’re delighted to announce that all four authors of the Billion Dollar Matches series will be joining us for a Facebook Live Q&A and ‘Friday Night Drinks’ on Friday 21st May at 5:30pm BST. Follow us on Facebook to to receive the latest updates.

Buy The Princess and the Rebel Billionaire  by Sophie Pembroke now!

By Lauren Gardiner