e-Audio, 10:55:40
Narrated by: Major Curda & Max Meyers
Release Date: December 10, 2024
Published by: Macmillan Audio
Read from: December 9-11, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this e-ALC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Homophobia, Death of a parent, Outing
For Readers Interested In: 2sLGBTQIA+, Audio, Contemp Romance, Royals, YATwo princes from neighboring countries fall into a whirlwind royal romance in this sparkling spin on The Princess Diaries by Cale Dietrich.
Jamie Johnson has never been the centre of attention, and he’s perfectly okay with that. His entire world unravels as a hidden truth emerges: he’s the heir to the throne of Mitanor, a sun-drenched southern European country, and the press is ready to expose this secret to the world. An invitation to spend the summer in his father’s palace arrives, giving Jamie a chance to get to know the man he never thought he’d meet.
Meanwhile, in a northern European kingdom known for its cold climate and stoic royals, Erik Von Rosenborg, the spare prince, grapples with the upcoming marriage of his golden-boy elder brother. With the country’s spotlight trained on his family more than ever, Erik feels sidelined and tightly controlled. So when he receives an offer to tutor the newly found American prince in the ways of royalty, he accepts without hesitation.
At a magnificent summer palace, Erik guides Jamie through the intricacies of royal etiquette, politics, and history. What neither prince anticipates is the connection that sparks between them—one that challenges both of their futures. Now each must make a choice: follow their hearts, or the time-honored royal path where crown and country reigns supreme, no matter the personal cost.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This everything that I thought it might be. I heard it was going to be like The Princess Diary and although I wasn’t sure this was going to be as good, it definitely was. It was basic, but also had some LGBTQ+ characters and royals, which of course I loved so much. Definitely made this a little more less basic lol
So the characters were one of the reasons I said this was basic. They didn’t exactly have anything that made them different than any other royal. The best part was Jaime finding out that he was a Royal. There wasn’t a lot of back story on them, so I just had to judge them on what they were finding out about each other in the book. I think it was ok since this was more like a new beginning, but I didn’t really FEEL anything for them. And then there was Erik who was just ok. I felt sad for him, but I was not happy with any of his family. They were terrible. Why is every adult in YA books such horrible people lol But they were too sneaky for me. But I didn’t feel any real empathy to them because we don’t really know much about why she was so extra.
The romance was cute. I like forbidden romance and even more so when it’s royals lol It was interesting trying to see how they were sneaking around and trying to find different ways to be by themselves. Their flirting?! Top tier! They didn’t exactly have “banter” but their flirting was very sweet. I wouldn’t call it elite, but…. Well you get the idea. I didn’t like that they brought someone else into this whole thing tho. Even if he did seem like he didn’t want to be there. I don’t think they should have kept that one person there. But here we are.
The writing style was the best part of this tho. I think if there was more like descriptors and some more in-depth information about the characters or something I would have given them 5 stars. But this was ok. I still love Dietrich and will read what they have. This was good, make sure you pick it up and let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
