Despite her name, Aurora couldn’t be more different from a princess. She is tall, albino, with a plump body and clumsy ways, she catches everyone’s eye wherever she goes. She pours her exciting life all over Madonna, her bullet journal. Madonna is a planner, a diary, a checklist, and a confidant. In its pages, there are newspaper clippings about feminist debates and parades, activities taking place at the animal shelter Aurora works at, pictures of motorcycles, Formula 1 races, and her five dogs. Without a doubt, she doesn’t have time for love. And, even if she had it, her four elder brothers wouldn’t let her, as they are used to protecting her from everyone and everything since their parents died.
BUT EVERYTHING
-ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING-
GOES WRONG.
Aurora accidentally breaks Shawn Mendes (her cellphone), loses the train, arrives late to work, gets knocked down by a group of journalists, and is left sprawled at the feet of the sexiest Italian she has ever seen. And, although she would’ve loved to know everything about that squarejawed guy with the sea eyes, she rushes off to start her working day. It only takes her a few minutes dealing with some customers to ruin everything by speaking ill of Tiziano, Gelsomini’s prince and one of the drivers of the Fangio homage. When she hears her own voice coming out of every phone in the place saying “Royalty is overrated. I find princes boring, useless, weak, dull, like puppets… Did I say boring yet?”, she knows she’s been recorded and her video has become viral. It’s more than likely that she won’t ever be able to work on the racetrack again. On top of that, she finds out that she has lost her journal at some point on that chaotic day and is convinced that things can’t get worse than that. But she’s wrong.
While Aurora deals with her bad luck, Tiziano argues with his father, the king of the principality of Gelsomini. After landing the seventh position in his first F1 race, the king is blaming him for making a fool of himself. The video of the albino girl badmouthing royalty on the racetrack doesn’t help at all: the king feels completely humiliated. And that is why he demands his son to stop racing, get married, and behave like the prince he is, instead of making such a fuss. He’s nothing without a crown, after all. But Tiziano is sick of that life full of duties and formality, a life he never asked for. The argument comes to an end with an unintended bet: Tiziano must live in Buenos Aires for a week, keeping his anonymity, and with just a hundred euros in his pocket. If he succeeds, he will be able to keep racing in Formula 1 and break off the engagement with Alessia, the bride chosen for him.
Tiziano could be worrying about the days ahead, but something else is on his mind. That same day earlier, he bumped into the albino girl from the video while he was running away from the press. Her unparalleled beauty had captivated him. And when, several hours later, he found a lost journal and realized it belonged to the girl he had met in the hotel lobby, the one from the video, he had an idea: get close to her. That is how Tiziano gets into Aurora’s secrets and becomes Madonna’s Thief, the mysterious Italian that will enter Aurora’s life as a kind of secretary at first, calling to remind her of every pending task, and, at last, in person. Tiziano passes himself off as Adriano, the prince’s standin that, tired of living a life that is not his own, has just resigned from his post. The only person that knows Tiziano’s true identity is Pietro, his best friend. When the bet’s game clock finally starts, Tiziano is ready to live a free life and try to seduce that beautiful albino girl that left him breathless. How hard could it be?
But Tiziano (also known as Nano, as he now calls himself) has no idea what the week holds.
The moment he arrives at Madonna’s owner’s house to return the journal, he finds her fist fighting against two stocky men: hired killers that wanted to attack Aurora because of her brother’s debts.
Tiziano doesn’t hesitate to help her and, together, they both defeat the criminals. What they can’t stop from happening is getting involved in a love story that will change them forever, including illegal poker hands, graduation parties, a flash road trip to the sea, and the best sex of their lives, of course.
When the future seems promising and Tiziano is about to win the bet and be free at last, an intended murder puts everyone in danger and forces the game of charades to end. And not in the best way. Finding out that Nano is in fact a prince and not his sit-in makes Aurora’s world crumble down. And, to top it all, she is accused of kidnapping him!
Nano will have to work hard to gain her forgiveness: he will have to face the king, break off with Alessia, and spend a week in Paris showing the commoner girl of his dream that he, Tiziano Bembo dei Gelsomini, is worth the while. Because he’s convinced: he wants to spend the rest of his life with Aurora.
A love story that could be beautiful and perfect… like a fairytale. But it isn’t. Because fairies don’t exist, because tragedy can disguise itself as an accident, because a bride can be left standing at the altar, because an escape can end up in death, and because it’s impossible for a girl who doesn’t want to be a princess to have a happy ending.
