"In the Goldenbough's only-child lineage, that type of strong defiance at the age of ten had always endured."
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My Australian Prince by Elmie Yan Trafford Publishing
book review by RJM Terrado
There are no secrets that time does not reveal, but there are also no pains that time does not heal. This is precisely the theme of My Australian Prince. The book provides a lively reminder of the danger of manipulation and betrayal, as well as the redeeming power of love and forgiveness. It offers a glimmer of hope that perhaps meaningful memories are not lost after deception and dirty linens are discovered after another. As such, My Australian Prince is more of an intrigue novel mixed with romance and historical and cultural interplay between French, Aussie, and Filipino.
The flip side of this is that characters Alain, Elizabeth, William, and Anthony resort to deception in the name of love. Two opposing elements (love and deception) are entangled to protect all the characters' interests. While the novel in any way did not intend to justify deception, it reminds readers how most people now expect deception as the rule, rather than the exception and the line that separates true and false perceptions are now muddled.
Despite the prevailing atmosphere of deception and betrayal, Yan was able to make the novel's setting relatable. In the end, husband and wife Alain and Elizabeth were reunited by their love. Alain, who holds the Australian Prince and Prince of Montagne titles, has also broken the ceiling: He did not exhaust his family's wealth, as expected of an only-child grandson like him. Rather, he increased them three quarters up. The resulting picture, therefore, is extremely fantasy-like ending proclaiming, once again, the saving power of love.