That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee
Overall Rating: 3/5 ⭐
Publishing Date: July 30 2024

This was a really cute read. It took me a bit to get into it but it is a very classic royal romance.

I did find that sometimes the story was a bit hard to stay invested in and that some parts were a bit too cringey for me. It was a decent book and if you are looking for a sweet royal romance this would be a great book for you.

I loved the descriptions of food and cooking and thought there were a lot of cute moments between the main characters.

3⭐️

File this under the category 'had so much promise'. Unfortunately this just wasn't for me. Sometimes insta-love works and sometimes it doesn't- here, it doesn't. Michel literally said 'you're not like anyone I've ever met' the SECOND time him and Emma talk. Like they've met twice and he says this.

I also think I need to stop reading royal romances, because the inaccuracies bother me too much. Like it's the authors world and Michel's royal title and country are made up, but at least make it more believable? The crown prince of a European kingdom, teaching at a university in California? And no one knows? Like maybe if he were flying under the radar as a student, keeping his head down. But a professor? In a lecture hall of 200+ students? And you're telling me, not ONE of those students googled the country their new, attractive, accented professor hails from? His secret would've been out of the bag within the first week of class.

This was cute and fluffy and if you want a sweet, angst-free story than this is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a royal romance! This book about a culinary instructor who unknowingly falls for a crown prince was super sweet,

Emma teaches royal cuisine to young ladies and the food descriptions in the book are so good. I was hungry the entire time I was reading lol This was one of my favorite parts of the book.

*He falls first- which is always a favorite of mine! *

I enjoyed the story overall. It was a fun easy to read romance that I consumed quickly. I would have liked was a little bit more conflict. This book just felt easy and I like a little bit of drama, angst etc. with my romance. Although, I did like the characters I felt I wanted more to them. I wanted to feel more connected to them and I didn't have that.

If insta-love isn't your thing. This may not be the book for you.

I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a light fluffy romance!

"That Prince is Mine" has some cute elements that make this book quite enjoyable! Emma is a California-born culinary instructor whose overbearing Korean godmother is continuously setting her up on disastrous dates, all in the attempt to find her perfect match. On one such disastrous date, Emma's eye is caught by an attractive, confident man across the room: Michel. Emma takes her dating life into her own hands, and asks Michel out on a date. The two quickly hit it off and are very happy together. But Michel is hiding a pretty big secret: he's the prince of a not-well-known European country, and his devotion to his country must always come first. What will happen when Emma discovers his secret?

I thought this was a cute, if predictable, novel. It was a quick read and the characters were easy to root for. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffith for this advanced copy! You can pick up That Prince is Mine on July 30, 2024.

I really thought this would be the book to pull me out of my reading slump, but I'm afraid it didn't work. While the premise sounds enjoyable, the writing really pulled me out of the story and made it difficult to connect to the characters. We were told so much information right in the first 5% of the book, and I wish we could've been shown these scenes to feel more immersed in the story.

There's definitely an audience for this story, though! This is literally like that 2000s movie The Prince and Me, but with a Korean culinary chef and professor/prince in disguise. If that's the vibe you're looking for, this is def for you!

3.5 stars
quick cute easy HEA

Harry x Megan story line
Meet cute
Prince


The crowned prince falls head over heels with Emma an Asian American chef. He's a guest professor for 3 months before he goes back to rule this country. Will Emma give everything up to Michel?
Also loved the sub plot of the body guard and cousin. Double HEA

I really wanted to love this book, I was so disappointed that I struggled to get through it. I found that the idea of royal love story mixed with cuisine was intriguing and I had been looking for a book that revolved around cooking and while this book did hit some marks in that area the romance just really let me down. I did not root for the love story and felt really bored at a lot of moments.

If there is one trope in romance books that I enjoy more than any other, it’s a good royal romance. When I first read the description of “That Prince is Mine”, I was intrigued. I’d never encountered a royal romcom with an Asian American lead character. I’m happy to say that Jayci Lee does not disappoint.

“That Prince is Mine” contains all the typical romance moments from the meet cute to the third act breakup, however it is the way the story is told that sets it apart.

Some of my particular favorite moments were watching Emma’s relationship with her Auntie Soo develop and learning more about Korean food and culture. Every time Emma was in the kitchen, she made me hungry and want to run out to pick up an order of Korean BBQ.

Michel too was also a well-rounded character. I enjoyed seeing him as a professor and seeing him come into his own as the future king of Rouleme.

For me, however the standout characters are Sophie and Gabriel and I hope Jayci will consider writing a future novel featuring them.

Overall, this was a refreshing story. There were a few areas toward the end where the pacing felt slow or too fast, but in my opinion it didn’t detract from the story. I just wish the epilogue had been a tad bit longer.


“That Prince is Mine” is the perfect Royal romcom for any fan looking for a fresh take on an old classic trope. This is an open door romance with some steam.

Rating: 8/10.

All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s press for allowing me to enjoy and ARC copy of this book!

Emma has dreams of opening her out cooking school or studio but along the way she runs into some bumps in the road.Her family tries to help save her Grandmother's reputation by finding Emma a perfect on paper husband. She is faced with many obstacles along the way and finds our her date is also a prince.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

That Prince is Mine follows Emma, a Korean-American chef who longs to teach and share her love of cooking with the world. However, that is the only love that she believes in, as she finds the idea of letting love direct her choices unrealistic. So, in an attempt to her secure her Auntie Soo's matchmaking business, as well as her own, she allows her godmother to set her up on matseons, or blind dates with people who, on paper, seem like the perfect match. However, when Emma meets Michel, an hottie with an accent and eyes she wants to get lost in, she has a hard time telling her heart 'no'.
Oh, and Michel is a freaking PRINCE. So, that's cool.

I had a lot of fun with this read! It felt like a fairytale, and though I haven't read many books with this theme, I really liked it! I particularly loved all of the descriptions of the Korean dishes. I love love love Korean food, so I was definitely salivating while reading. It was really beautiful to be so immersed in that part of the culture, and I really enjoyed learning more about the customs and practices! I am married to a chef, and I know what it means to watch him cook a dish with passion and love, and that feeling came through so adamantly in the moments that Emma is cooking, either alone or with a student.

Emma is a character that comes from a split household, and as someone who knows what that means, I could understand the internal struggle that Emma faced when deciding to let love lead. When you are shown that vulnerability and giving your heart to another can backfire, you don't always have the desire to do so yourself. However, I think the author did a really beautiful job showing the growth and development that Emma went through so that she could let herself love. It is a journey that I know deeply, and it was captured in a relatable way. Also, the relationships that Emma has with the family around her- her dad, her godmother, and her god brother- were so precious. I loved all of the interactions between them, and their unit truly felt so supportive and accepting, no matter what. And truly, what more could you want from the people you call family?

There were a few aspects of the book that kept this from a 5 star, the first being a feeling of insta-love, which I am just personally not a fan of. Specifically for the MMC, it seemed like the attraction was so sudden- he was already picturing marrying her and making her the queen after like three dates- but also, when you know, you know. His character did, at times, seem to lack a little depth, like his main trait was being obsessed with Emma, but seeing as he was only in the States to find true love, I can see why he would be all in so quickly. Miscommunication was also a big part of their relationship, and again, that just happens to be another trope that I am not particularly fond of. That being said, I did still have a lot of fun with these two characters!

Also, Jayci knows how to write some spice. I loved seeing Michel, who is supposed to be so prim and proper, absolutely lose his mind over Emma. We love a man who is just head over heels and he certainly had his heels over his head if you know what I'm saying. Every single time her called her 'darling Emma' in what I could only imagine was a horribly attractive accent I could understand why they wanted to jump each other's bones so often.

And lastly, the side characters, specifically Sophie and Gabriel. I loved them. SO MUCH. I wish that they had their own book with their love story because oh my gods the pining between them! From just the small glimpses we get, I want more. I loved seeing Sophie, the badass bodyguard, let her walls down just a little, and the budding friendship between her and Emma was so cute.

Overall, I really had a good time with this book and I cannot wait to read more from this author. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something that will make you hungry, make you laugh, make you swoon, and make you want to go to the nearest cafe and find an undercover Prince.

I have thoroughly enjoyed each of Jayci Lee's books and That Prince is Mine might be my favorite yet. It's so fun and I loved the characters. Lee writes great dialogue and banter! Loved it!

This book is absolutely frivolous, in the most delightful way. It is a delicious fairytale - literally. The food scenes made me want to go get some Korean food immediately, every time.

I did get annoyed with Emma's steadfast seriously bad take on love and marriage. And the entire book is a constant miscommunication trope, which is not a favourite of mine by any means. But I appreciated the alternating POV, so you fully know how much both of them are making assumptions and being daft. And while I would definitely classify this as a romcom with a dash of spice, as opposed to a straight up spicy book, that dash is HOT.

Would definitely recommend if you enjoy the "royalty falls in love with commoner who doesn't know they are royalty" fairytale trope, and well described food scenes. It does kind of border on "insta-love", which I can only take so much of. I did find some bits frustrating, but any time there was a blow up there was a pretty quick turn around... so we never wallow in major misunderstanding for long. So, more of a 4 star than a 5 star for me largely due to personal preferences... but I will continue to check out Jayci Lee's work, and I did very much enjoy this.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

Michel is looking for a woman to be not only his queen, but the love of his life. Emma is going to let her Aunt match her up with the right guy, until she sets eyes on Michel. Now only one problem he’s a prince and she’d have to give everything she dreamed of up. Big thanks to NetGalley !

I'm not normally a fan of royal romances. As I don't like the whole normal wants to be a princess trope. However this one was the complete opposite. We get a prince who's determined to marry for love and ends up falling for the one girl who wants nothing to do with a prince or being a princess. So needless to say I loved this one more than I thought I would.

⭐⭐⭐.5/5 - I've been loving all of the royal romances lately!! And I'm loving that this wasn't a prince of England but rather another country that would be flexible with a mixed heritage marriage. (There are very few of those going around in today's day and age, really!)

THOUGHTS:
- Made me want to learn traditional Korean cuisine because my mouth watered the entire time I was reading!
- I had no idea until recently that in some cultures - arranged marriages were still a thing? So as I was reading - it was fun to immerse myself again in a culture I'm not intimately familiar with.

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

i am so thankful that i got to read this book early! thank you so much to the publishers and to netgalley. what a lovely story this was!! it was fantastic and sweet and precious and lovely in every single way!!!

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for access to this E-ARC! This was really cute. I enjoyed the characters & the pacing. Will definitely read more from this author.

I am sure some people are going to love this book, but I just could not get through it. I found the two main characters lackluster and was just not interested in their story. I really liked the incorporation of Korean culture into the book, and felt like I learned a lot from it. Unfortunately, I could not finish it.