BOOK REVIEW- ONCE UPON A COWBOY By Lacy Williams

A princess on-the-run finds sanctuary where she least expects it… 

After nearly dying in an assassination attempt, Princess Alessandra of Glorvaird escapes to a place no one would ever think to look for her: small town Oklahoma and a ranch staffed by a herd of wooly, uncouth cowboys. One cowboy in particular gets under her skin, until she sees his softer side. She knows this interlude can’t last forever, but that doesn’t stop her from wishing it might… 
Former Navy SEAL Gideon Hale might’ve rescued the princess from freezing to death, but the soldier doesn’t trust easily—or at all—especially when his gut tells him Alessandra is keeping secrets. But as Alessandra begins to fit into his life, he discovers another side to the princess—one that he can’t help but like. 
When Alessandra’s enemies close in, Gideon must fight to save the woman who has become so much more than a princess… 
Once Upon a Cowboy is a contemporary western retelling of the Snow White fairytale and Book 1 in the Cowboy Fairytales series.   AMAZON  4 STARS

I liked the book, it packed in quite a bit for being a smaller book.  Both of the main characters were well drawn and I liked them.  Gideon might be a former Navy SEAL but his protective drive was still going strong.  Even at times when he didn't really want to go there.  Alessandra fell into that category and he was concerned about any danger she was in.  He was concerned that it could endanger his  loved ones, those that he was responsible for.   That made sense.  You got to see what he had been like before some things in life had stolen his joy.  He was basically putting one foot in front of the other most of the time.  
Alessandra was doing the same thing although her life was different, it had been pretty controlled with a lot of responsibilities too.  Her life lacked the warmth of family though, something that Gideon did have.  
There are some surprises in the story and an opening for more stories.  I say openings because this story did not have what I consider a cliffhanger, many but not all things were concluded.   The Epilogue does show a family secret.  Something to build on in a future story.  
So overall I would say that this is a sweet, clean story with just enough challenges to make it interesting.