A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals

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 compelling to read. Ledi's parents were killed in an accident when she was too young to remember much of them. She was orphaned and turned over to the state and spent her entire childhood moving from one home to the next. Because of her childhood spent being shuttled from foster family to foster family, Ledi (understandably) does not let people in easily and never asks for help because she has always had only herself to rely on. Even her friendships are arms length, relationships she understands are conditional - if she pushes too hard or asks for too much or stops "being useful," Ledi knows how easily people have always walked away from her. Ledi has had a life of never being chosen, of people constantly leaving her or sending her away so she never allows connections that "stick." Until Jamal. Something about him feels familiar to Ledi from the moment she meets him - he feels safe and profoundly dangerous to her all at once because she knows he could be the one who might actually stay. Which is where my problems start.Thabiso (aka "Jamal") is a liar. He meets Ledi and through a misunderstanding, takes the place of Jamal as a new hire at Ledi's second job as a waitress. Cute shenanigans ensue wherein this spoiled prince actually has to do manual labor for the first time in his life and he starts to realize how self-centered and pampered he's been. Of course, the night ends in literal flames (he's a TERRIBLE waiter) and Thabiso demeans both Ledi and her job out of a bruised ego. From there, instead of telling Ledi who he actually is (and who SHE is), the prince buys out her neighbor's apartment so he can move in across the hall from her, and spends the next 100 or so pages lying, stalking, taking advantage of this woman. At every turn, his assistant and best friend Likotsi tells Thabiso that what he's doing is reprehensible but he doesn't listen. Even when the grandparents that Ledi does't know exist fall ill back home, Thabiso STILL can't manage to tell Ledi the truth. We're meant to see that he WANTS to tell Ledi but he can't because he likes her so much and he's afraid he'll scare her away - well, tough! He sleeps with her under false pretenses while lying about his identity. That's about as scummy as it gets. The courtship between "Jamal" and Naledi would be cute and romantic (Ledi opens up bit by bit and slowly starts to trust her feelings for Jamal) if it weren't for all the lying. At one point, Thabiso and Likotsi refer to both their love interests in the States as their "American conquests" and that about sums up my feelings about the American portion of this book. Prince Thabiso cares more about getting what he wants than he does about telling Naledi the truth about who she is, where she came from, and the country and family she lost. Ledi is an orphan who cannot remember the only home or family she ever had because she was so young when she lost them and has spent her entire life facing rejection after rejection from families who couldn't manage to want her. Thabiso, upon finding out about the painful past lived by the woman he supposedly cares for, continues to withhold Ledi's true identity from her for the sake of "getting to know her" while making it impossible for her to know him. And, ya know, gets her into bed along the way. Everything finally comes to a head when Naledi finds out for herself who "Jamal" really is and is rightfully hurt and humiliated. Which leads us to the After.After Naledi finds out she's a princess, she and Thabiso come to an agreement about faking their engagement for the sake of Thesolo and Ledi's career (and her finally being able to meet what's left of her family) and the whole book changes. Everything is finally out in the open, Ledi knows who Prince Thabiso is, and more importantly she knows who she is. She travels to Thesolo to try and help fight the pandemic that has swept through her grandparents' village and try and save her grandparents in the process. I'm not a huge fan of the fake relationship trope, but seeing as how royals have arranged (loveless) engagements all the time, this one wasn't really all that fake. Naledi and Thabiso are truly engaged and have to deal with the realities of their engagement. I LOVED Ledi meeting her cousin Nya - finally seeing your face reflected in the face of a blood relative after years of being an orphan? Someone pass the tissues, please! Ledi learning all about her parents' homeland after a life spent as an American? PUT IT DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS. The kingdom of Thesolo is a magical, technologically advanced paradise and I WANT TO GO TO THERE. Everything wrong with Thabiso in the first half of the book is immediately fixed in the second half - he's remorseful and communicative, giving Ledi everything she needs including space. He doesn't make excuses for his bad behavior and repeats his apologies and reassurances to Ledi as many times as she needs in order to finally believe him and start to trust him again. He prioritizes LEDI'S wants and needs instead of his own and THAT is the Thabiso I wish we had met earlier in the book.Everything in the second half of the book moves a little too fast - big things are brought up so late in the game that I had to double check how many pages were left. Issues that get brought up are resolved pretty abruptly, almost like Alyssa Cole was in a rush to make a deadline and I found myself looking for missing chapters or an epilogue that wasn't there.Aside from my issues with the love interest in the first half of the book and my wish that the ending had been a bit more fleshed out, my love for the main character really made this book an enjoyable read. Ledi's journey from closed-off orphan to recovered princess, her reacquainting herself with her lost country and people, and her realization that she doesn't have to make herself small and useful in order to keep people from rejecting her kept me engaged the whole book even through my issues with the love interest and the rushed ending. I look forward to seeing more of Ledi (and her bestie) in the next book in the series.

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 author's ability to define her characters. The settings were well described too. Even though Thesolo was an African nation it's clear to see that it is progressive and recognizes both ancient and modern traditions. The NYC setting was painted well also.The plot was interesting but the ending almost had a bit of a cliff-hanger feel to it, not 100% HEA yet. But I think we will see that pinned down in subsequent books in the series. Also there are a number of interesting secondary characters in the story who can be featured later in the series.Favorite scene: The betrothal dance. I'm not sure how I could get chills reading about a dance but I did. It was so intimate and meaningful. I really loved it.So bottom line, yes, I recommend this book for a sweet, classic romance read with a unique setting and premise and likable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading more books by this author.

Naledi Smith is a New Yorker who was raised in the foster system and is currently working her butt off to make ends meet so she can have a career in epidemiology. Lately, though, she's been receiving incredibly annoying scam emails claiming she's betrothed to the prince of the African country of Thesolo.What Naledi doesn't realise is that the emails aren't a scam, and when Prince Thabiso and his assistant, Likotsi, arrive in New York, an opportunity arises in which he can get to know Naledi while pretending to be a normal guy.I sped through the first half of this novel, but from around the mid-point onwards it started to drag and I was surprised that it ended up taking me around three days to finish - three days isn't a huge amount of time by any means, but if a romance novel has me hooked I can usually power through it in a day and come out of it craving more.There were plenty of things I enjoyed about A Princess in Theory. I loved reading a romance novel in which pretty much every lead character was a person of colour, it was so refreshing in a genre that I've found to be very white so far, and while the romance is, of course, the main focus, there's other stuff going on in this novel that's just as interesting. Personally I loved basically every scene Likotsi, who I met in Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, was in, and she's still my favourite. Especially because she still calls Thabiso out when he acts like a prat, despite the fact that he's her employer and the future king of her country.You see, Thabiso was my biggest problem with this novel. If there's one thing I've discovered during my journey so far through the romance genre, it's that I really don't like the hidden identity trope. Get ready kids - it's time for another chat about consent!So Thabiso poses as Jamal, a man who isn't a prince and doesn't have the weight of an entire country's future on his shoulders, and I can completely understand why he wants to see what Naledi thinks of him as a person, and not as the celebrity he is back home. As he starts to develop feelings for Naledi, he tries a few times to tell her who he really is. The problem is he doesn't try hard enough, because the first time he and Naledi have sex she still thinks he's a man called Jamal and she also doesn't know that he knows things about her past and her childhood that she's long forgotten.I know some people probably don't find this a problem, and there are readers out there who will forgive Thabiso for how regretful he is (which is their right to do), but as far as I'm concerned, if you don't really know who you're having sex with, if you think they're someone else, then you haven't actually consented to have sex. You've consented to have sex with the person you think they are, and that's not the same thing at all. I'm sorry, but that really squicks me out and I think it's very poor behaviour on Thabiso's part that I can't look past. Especially when he knows that, because of her background in foster care, she already has trust issues.I was pleased to see that the sex they had was always safe sex, though. It seems like a silly thing to be pleased about, but seeing someone using a condom in a romance novel just makes the safe and consensual sex advocate in me happy.As well as that squicky consent issue, I did also feel like the novel as a whole wrapped up far too quickly and the 'villain' felt a little too over the top. Also, I don't know why Thabiso's mother was written in such a stereotypical horrible mother-in-law way. Can we just not with that trope? I'm so bored of it.All that aside, this is a very fun book and I'm definitely interested in reading more from this series - if Likotsi's anything to go by, then I think this is the kind of series where I find the many side characters and couples who populate the following books are a lot more up my street than the princess and the prat.

This book took me a while to get through, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because well... you know...In fact I think it is testament to just how much I was enjoying this book that I never even considered DNF-ing despite how long it took me to read.This book was very well written. I enjoyed all the characters although it took me a while to warm up to Thabiso, both the leads had great character development and grew as people in their relationship. I found myself quickly becoming invested in the romantic relationship despite knowing full well how it was going to end.In addition I thought some of the worldbuilding was really cool. Part of this novel takes place in the fictional country of Thesolo. I thought the religious and technological aspects of Thesolon culture really interesting to read about.And since this is a romance novel I think I'd be wrong not to mention the sex scenes. I'm not heterosexual so M/F sex scenes aren't usually my thing but these were extremely good and I found myself getting hot and bothered a few times while reading.My only criticism of this book is that the ending felt rushed. I understand that the romance plot is the main focus but it felt like very little time was given to resolving the plot points of Ledi's parents and the epidemic. I think this book would have benefited from giving a little more time to the resolution of these plots.Overall this was a fun and well written romance novel which I would certainly recommend.Content Warnings: Parental death, misogyny, serious illness, abuse (of a secondary character)

So Ledi is in grad school, studying to become a badass scientist whilst working multiple jobs. She's been getting these weird emails saying she's the long lost betrothed of some African prince and her neighbour across the hall has gone on holiday and some guy who worked with her for a day, terribly, is doing some sort of AirBnB with the neighbour. And things just go from weird to weirder.I really loved Ledi, she was such a fantastic MC. She's whip smart and doesn't take any nonsense. I'm so here for any book that has women in STEM, and that is intensified if it is a romance book or a POC lady and this is a black romance novel, so yes lot's of excitement about the representation.The relationship between the two MCS both romantic and non romantic was really sweet and playful. They were always ribbing each other and even when they were upset with each other you could still tell they had feelings.If you're worried about this being an arranged marriage, do not worry because like most arranged marriages there is no force involved and they are super sweet with each other.Thabiso's assistant, whose name escapes me was a force of nature as well. She definitely made the book even more enjoyable. She wasn't just an assistant who would roll over and do whatever her boss said without argument. And she wasn't afraid to tell him he was being an idiot. She was also a lesbian and it was just casually mentioned without being made a big thing and I love that.I really liked Cole's writing. It flowed really well and I didn't have any bored patches. I loved that she took the characters to Africa as well instead of just staying in New York. It would be so easy to just have it set in the US.I cannot wait for the sequel but I'm also hesitant because the love interest is Scottish and we all know how I feel about inaccurate Scottish depictions, but I feel like she can do it.

My reviewJust look at that amazing cover! The first time I saw it I admired the book. Then I read the blurb and I was panting with need. And then I read it and what started out as infatuation turned into love. I wish Thesolo was a real place in Africa because Ms. Cole made it so appealing that I’m sure I’d book a ticket for a visit. The details of the environments, characters, and even scientific work Naledi did were vivid and thorough, but not overwhelming. Perfect is how I’d describe it.Naledi has pulled herself through a rough life to make a success of it. Her childhood in foster care has shaped her in a way that she is both determined to get and do what she needs for her career, yet hesitant to stand up for herself when it’s clear that she really needs to.Prince Thabiso has a huge responsibility as the future king of Thesolo. He has pressure coming at him from every direction, but he’s been groomed for the role so he handles it well. I like that Nadeli teaches him with their experiences and that he’s willing to learn and grow through knowing her. His deception when he first meets her doesn’t sit well (with me or Naledi), but things had to happen the way they did to get the outcome. At least they both knew for certain that Naledi appreciated his true self rather than his princely title.The chemistry between the two was incredibly beautiful. So were the relationships with the other characters in the story. I’m so glad that I read this book and look forward to reading book two and hopefully more, as soon as Ms. Cole releases them.

I'd heard so much about this in advance and ended up impulse buying this to cheer myself up after a weekend at work because it was on offer on Kindle and I absolutely gobbled it up.Ledi is a great heroine - feisty, smart and independent. She isn't taking any nonsense from anyone, and she isn't letting her childhood in foster care hold her back. It has left its mark though - she's been let down so many times, she can't let defences down again. Thabiso is a nice foil to this - he doesn't realise how privileged and sheltered he is until he comes to find Ledi. And as the two of them get to know each other it's great to see him maturing and changing. The conflict is good and the resolution sees both characters made stronger by being together rather than weakened or diminished. My first Alyssa Cole, but I've already preordered the next in the series.