Cardinia's Royalty Books in Order

Cardinia's Royalty is a compact, two-book series set around a fictional Eastern European kingdom where royal duty meets stubborn, independent-minded heroines. The stories mix court politics, hidden identities, and the kind of clashes you get when a crown meets someone who has no interest in being tamed.

In Once a Princess, a young woman growing up in a rough American tavern has no idea she was born Tatiana Janacek, a lost princess of Cardinia. She dances for coins, dodges unwanted advances, and trusts no one. Then a brooding foreign prince strides in from across the ocean, determined to claim the bride promised to him in childhood. He finds a furious, suspicious tavern girl instead of the polished royal he expected.

Their journey back to Cardinia is full of arguments, chemistry, and danger as enemies of the crown use Tatiana’s murky origins to challenge her place. The prince must decide whether he wants a compliant consort or the wild-hearted woman he’s actually fallen for.

The second book, You Belong to Me, shifts to a new couple tied to the Cardinian court. Alexandra Rubliov is a fiery Russian noblewoman whose father is desperate to see her safely married. To force the issue, he resurrects an old marriage agreement with Cardinia and sends her off to wed Count Vasili Petroff. Alexandra is furious at being bartered away and vows to make herself as impossible a bride as she can.

Vasili, in turn, plans to behave like the worst sort of rake to drive her off, not realizing that she’s playing the same game. Their attempts to outdo each other in bad behavior quickly backfire, revealing how much they have in common beneath the posturing. Palace intrigues, jealous rivals, and the weight of royal expectations keep the pressure on as they decide whether this marriage will remain a farce or become something real.

Throughout the Cardinia books, Lindsey uses the invented kingdom to heighten the stakes. Reputation isn’t just gossip; it’s national stability. But within that frame, the stories are very much about two people learning to see past rank and pretense to the partner who might actually suit them.