A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals

Shockingly, Alyssa Cole is a new-to-me author, but now that I've read this book I can assure you that she's been bumped to the top of my auto-buy list. I already know I'll devour anything she writes. As for "A Princess in Theory"? I'm not even sure I have the words to list all of the things I adored about this story, but I'll try. First, I loved Ledi's irresistible combination of genius and cool. Ms. Cole never minimizes how smart this woman is, but instead of taking the easy and common route of making that a negative, Cole deftly turns it into one of Ledi's many admirable qualities. What's more, she allows Ledi to own it. This character knows her worth. She has doubts and uncertainties by the boxload, but she also has boundaries, and she sticks to them. I loved her wryness, and her bravery, and her loyalty, and her vulnerability. I *died* of happiness every time she muttered, "This motherf*cker" under her breath. lol Next, I especially loved that Ms. Cole gave this character a hero that was worthy of her. Thabiso is spoiled, yes - but he's not rotten. He appreciates the things that make Ledi unique, and time and time again he stands up and fights for her right to be herself. He also fights for *his* right to be himself, and the ways he does that take him far afield of a cookie-cutter prince and directly into the territory of a swoon-worthy man who might just save the world. These two are perfect for each other, and their chemistry is delectable. Speaking of which, one…

This is a story told in two parts - there's the Before and there's the After. Epidemiology-student-by-day waitress-by-night Naledi meets a gorgeous man who is the worst waiter she's ever had to train and who incidentally moves in across the hall from her. She's drawn to him in ways she doesn't fully understand and he gets past her defenses in ways she's never allowed with anyone else. Their courtship feels like a dream and Jamal seems too good to be true... So of course he is. Jamal turns out to be Thabiso, Prince of Thesolo and her long lost betrothed. He's traveled all the way to the States to find the girl chosen for him when they were children and taken from him by her traitorous parents not long after their childhood betrothal. The first half of the book is a boy-meets-girl "Coming to America"-esque romcom while the second half is a "Black Panther" meets "Princess Diaries" second chance romance. Personally, I much preferred the second half. I have such mixed feelings about this book. I love Ledi! She's brilliant and driven and has a love for science that consumes her. Being a woman in STEM, especially a Black woman, she has to work 10 times as hard as her white male colleagues to get half the respect and has to deal with constant microaggressions from her supervisor. She's out to save the world because of a drive inside her to do good and because it's what she believes is right. Ledi is a gem of a human being, but she's far from perfect, which makes her all the more…

Ah, this was thoroughly entertaining. Light on the science which is nice because it meant I didn't have as much to nitpick, but still enough to establish Naledi's STEM creds. Characterisation was fun, pacing was decent, overall plot was well-paced and just silly enough to work. I did have some issues with dialogue. It's a bit inconsistent as to whether Thabiso sounds like Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther or Anthony Mackie in CA: TWS. Sometimes he was quite formal in that way non-native English speakers often are, other times he slipped into clear Americanisms. I'd have forgiven it as him being immersed in New York life, but four days are not enough to change speaking patterns. I also find the outbreak rather unrealistic from a sociological standpoint. Most people won't notice or care; it just happens to be an area I have knowledge in. Those are nitpicks though and in general it was a solid 3/5. Not good enough to bump up a star, but above the mediocrity of 2 stars. I'll definitely be picking up the second book.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the gorgeous cover! A close second was the title. This is my first Alyssa Cole book, and let me just say wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this story. In this Cinderella-story, a case of mistaken identity thrusts a prince in a situation where he gets to live as a commoner while wooing the woman he’s destined (by royal and religious decree) to marry. This is a good thing because said woman, Naledi, has no knowledge of this betrothal. Though naturally caged, Naledi finds herself opening up to Thabiso and their attraction soon leads to some very steamy encounters. The romance between them is sweet and they each learn to step outside their comfort zones. From their affair in New York, the story takes us to Thesolo where we get to see Naledi as the princess she was always meant to be. I’ve always thought, of all the fairytales, Cinderella is the one you can’t really do a whole lot with. Ms Cole shakes this position with her story. I really liked the strong female characters and the general celebration of femininity in the story – particularly when they arrive in Thesolo. The secondary characters were well-rounded and added flavor to the story. I am thrilled to know that all those who made an impression on me get their own stories too! All of that said, I should mention that Thabiso’s cluelessness in some parts was a little odd for me especially since 1) he was already exposed to world outside the continent and 2) his country wasn’t…

I enjoyed this book. It's a classic enemies to lovers, fake fiance romance story, but the premise and setting were unlike any I had ever read before. Synopsis: Prince Thabiso, from the African nation of Thesolo, searches for his long-lost betrothed and finds her in NYC, but doesn't tell her right away who he is and who she is. Hilarity ensues when he attempts to present himself as an average man, but knows nothing of how to do for himself or how to function in NYC. Yet he is eager to learn to impress Ledi. Ledi is a fiercely self-sufficient woman scientist with a tragic past that tore her away from Thesolo as a very young child and she remembers nothing of it. She also has put up walls to protect herself emotionally. She and Thabiso are falling for each other in NYC but she rejects him after discovering that he lied to her about his identity. Yet she goes to Thesolo to investigate a mysterious illness that is afflicting the people there. Now we see the comedy flip side, Ledi knows nothing of how to function in Thesolo. There are two mysteries to be solved in the story 1) why did Ledi's family so suddenly flee Thesolo and leave everyone and everything behind? 2) what is the cause of Thesolo's epidemic? In the end of course their romantic conflict is resolved and there is a HFN ending. I liked these characters. They both felt really authentic to me. I could believe everything about them, why they thought what they thought and did what they did. That's a credit to the…