This was my least favorite of the series. I found Nya to be an unbelievable character the way she was written. I found it too hard to believe that she avoided talking to him all those years but was fine being so forward in the bedroom, especially after it was mentioned that she’d only ever kissed one person before.
I also didn’t enjoy the app game aspect of it, as that just felt like it was contrived as a way to set up a later plot point that was necessary for conflict. I found myself rolling my eyes every time it was me
I loved Lukas’ character and their relationship with Johan, but that came in after almost half the book. It felt like two separate stories - like it could have ended after they left Thesolo.
I enjoyed seeing the characters from the other books, especially Ledi and Thabiso.
I still enjoy this series, but Nya is my least favorite character.

A Prince On Paper
By Alyssa Cole

This adorable romance has 2 of my favorite tropes... Bad boy with a heart of gold loves the soft girl gaining her indepence, and FAKE DATING!!! Was this book written just for me?

Nya is on her way back to her home country for a royal wedding. On her plane home, she finds a passenger that she wasn't informed would be there. Prince Johan is the Bad Boy Prince on the outside, and has his reasons as to why he behaves the way he does.
After an awkward encounter on the plane, they continue to be forced together by fate, as well as friends and family.
Nya has been through the ringer, and is still healing from the manipulation and abuse from her father. She wants nothing more than freedom, and to feel confident and glamorous. She feels awkward around men, and prefers dating sims. She particularly enjoys the game called One True Prince.
Johan has been watching Nya for a long while, and doesn't mind being with her. He feels he can be his normal self with her, and he is a fiercely loyal man. Loyal to his family, his country, and he wants to be there for Nya. After the loss of his mother, he isnt sure he wants commitment to any woman.
THE FRIENDSHIPS!
The depiction of adult friendship within this series has always warmed my heart, and I feel it is more of a focus in this particular novel. The ladies are particularly great for me. They are geeks, and you can tell how much they love each other.
The male trio also care deeply for each other. They do their best to protect their friendship and their women, and I love watching it.
All in all, it was a great book! Thank you to Alyssa Cole for the blessing that is this series.

*May Contain Spoilers*A Prince on Paper is the third full-length installment in the Reluctant Royals series and I am not sure if this author plans on more books in this series, but if not I have adored every moment in reading these books and I love the humor and endearing qualities that we have seen in this series. I always get a kick out of a well written royal romance, and man no one does it better than Alyssa Cole. Ever since Duke By Default, I have been so stoked for this story, I loved seeing these two characters in the previous books and I had a delightful time seeing them find their own happily ever after.A Prince on Paper begins with our heroine, Nya Jerami, who once fled Thesolo, wanting to be free and find herself in the glamour of New York City. But it just didn't work out that way for her. New York City wasn't quite the experience that she was hoping for and now with her cousin and friend having their wedding in Thesolo, she will be going back home and back to the painful memories. But on the plane ride home, she finds herself in a bed with the bad boy prince....Johan von Braustein. There has always been a bit of chemistry between Nya and Johan but with the distance between them, nothing has really cemented between them until they come to close quarters with each other and for the first time Nya is beginning to find herself and see beneath the bad boy exterior that Johan hides behind. Johan and Nya are both hiding from their pasts. Johan hides from emotion, ever since his mother died he has never been able to open himself up. He hides behind the man the paparazzi knows and to protect his younger brother who is the heir to Liechtienbourg. But secretly he supports multiple charities with his own funds, in a way to honor his mother. But he can't let anyone know the truth, its something he wants to do on his own without any recognition so he can help others without it being tainted by his bad reputation. But Johan has secretly had a love for Nya but hides it until the wedding in Thesolo and he sees a woman of courage and strength that he wants to bring out in the light, a woman who hides a big part of herself. But when they go on a journey together, from the wilds of Thesolo to the city of Liechtienbourg, their love for each other will be revealed and a passion neither of them realized until now...A Prince on Paper is a beautiful romance that delivers in every way possible. I had such a blast with this book and still debating which book in the series is my favorite but honestly....a Prince on Paper is a good match for the previous two books. I loved it just as much as the previous books and I just devoured this story. There is something that Alyssa Cole does with these books that are so amazing and I can't ever get enough of her writing especially in her contemporary love stories. There is quite a bit that we see happen in this story and boy all the diverse themes that we get introduced to including a surprising character that is a transgender but not quite in the way I have ever seen in a romance gave me all the delightful feels. The romance between Johan and Nya has a mix of unrequited love, royalty mix, road trip adventure, and fake relationship. We first get to see their interaction when they find themselves in the same bed and boy do sparks fly between these two here. Then we skip to when Nya arrives in Thesolo and all of her friends are there including the couple from "Once Ghosted Twice Shy" so it was fun seeing them again for a brief moment. Then we have Nya having to face up to some painful memories and how her father is still trying to torment her. We get a more in-depth look on the crimes that her father committed against Nya. It's so heartbreaking to see her face up to these memories but also how the people in Thesolo treat her, always talking behind her back as if she committed the crimes too. But we see that Nya was a victim and a survivor. But she is still learning about her own strengths and capabilities and trying to find herself. We see how the bantering that happens between Johan and Nya is what they both really need. You see them both come out of their shells and the covers they hide behind and love seeing this unveiling.But when Nya agrees to act as the fake fiancee for Johan, they go on an adventure together. I enjoyed seeing Nya and Johan explore their sexuality with each other while trying to act like what they have is just a temporary situation. But both their hearts are becoming involved with the act that they are trying to play and trying to solve the mystery of who is sabotaging the royal family.  There was a couple that we did meet that are having marriage problems....would love to see their story for sure!! There is so much unexpected emotion that I didn't expect and I swear that Alyssa Cole does this on PURPOSE!! I swear she breaks my heart each and every time I pick up one of her books, but in a positive way. I love how much these two are in tune with each other, the ways they bring out the best in each other and always help each other become better. There is so much intimate growth in their relationship that we see happen and this is a delightful development that we see happen between Johan and Nya. I adored every single moment of this novel and was so sad to see it end because I fell head over heels in love with Johan and Nya. Overall I found A Prince on Paper a delightful fairy tale of true love in the least expected moments, a story of hidden emotion, secret courage and plenty of amusing antics to delight you from head to toe!! A SPARKLING GEM!

A bit of a unique way of updating an old tale of love. I found the characters thought out and enjoyable to watch as they waded through the many faucets of romance.

So, I read the first two in the Reluctant Royal's series and had major problems with each, but thought maybe it was just those specific titles. I thought to give the series one more chance, and unfortunately, I just do not think this series is for me.
I find the premises always interesting and exciting, and the main female characters feminist and unique, but I cannot get over my major qualms with the pace and plotting that come up in every book. There's always way too much going on, and a ton of plot points get introduced but don't get proper attention.
DNF at about 50%.

What a fun read! I was obsessed with the first two in the series and I am so excited that Alyssa Cole continued the series with these two characters! Such a fun story...

This is the perfect conclusion to a beautiful trilogy of romances. Alyssa Cole's ability to delve into the complex and realistic emotions of her characters is extraordinary - the romance between the protagonists was messy and wonderful. I loved this book, especially the inclusion of a non-binary character. Would absolutely recommend this to everyone I know.

4.5 Stars

A Prince on Paper is my favorite from the Reluctant Royals series and I can easily see myself rereading this one in the near future. From earlier books, Nya came off as innocent and a bit mousy. She lived under her father's thumb and she spent most of her time playing online games, specifically of the romantic variety. Johan was introduced as her complete opposite. He was shameless and the tabloids loved covering his exploits. Each had a wall up that they may have not had realized that started to come down as their fake/political engagement became more and more complicated. I adored Nya and Johan individually and how they tried to deal with their problems only to realize that they needed the other. While Johan came off as a playboy, he was deep down a soft cinnamon roll and I wanted nothing more than to protect him. I was more invested with his family than I had anticipated and I loved Johan's younger sibling, Lukas. This was the perfect ending to this series and I can't wait to learn more about the spin-off series, Runaway Royals. I'm not sure, but I think there was a backdoor introduction to an upcoming couple. All of that rambling was to say READ THIS. I CRIED. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?

Alyssa Cole did such an incredible job with book three in her Reluctant Royals series. I must admit- while I had not read the first two books in the series, I have sense purchased them and cannot wait to sink my teeth into them.
Briefest of summaries: Girl travels to friends wedding- ends up in fake engagement with famous playboy- hi jinks ensue.
This book had AMAZING representation. You go into this book knowing you are about to meet a lot of privileged characters. The opening scene takes place on a private plane. For some reason, I expected that would also mean a lot of flat 1 dimensional characters, rather than exposure to people of many cultures and backgrounds. Without giving too much away, there is a character with unexpected Otherness, and Cole did a BEAUTIFUL job telling their story.
In addition to having well rounded incredible characters, Cole wrote SUCH a funny book. You guys. There is a sex goat. WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR!?
I feel like this is the perfect book (and likely series) for people who want to give romance a try but believe it to be formulaic. Yes, this fun novel DOES fit the criteria for being a capital R Romance. There IS a happily ever after. There are humans who develop feelings for each other, face conflict, and then work things out in the end. HOWEVER – this book is so much more than that simple formula. There were strong female friendships – I feel like so much of the time, heroines in romance novels are completely isolated and cut off from the world. In this book you see Nya’s relationships with her two close friends (the stars of books one and two). Her friends are such an important part of her development as a person, and I love that the author doesn’t do Nya the disservice of isolating her. The word choice – oh man. Alyssa Cole never once assumes that her readers are stupid. Nya is so nerdy, in such a fun way without trying to justify or apologize for who she is. Due to her nerdiness, there are words that the reader may need to look up. There is even an entire non-english language scattered throughout the novel… Alyssa Cole never tries to explain any of this- she has an understanding that her readers are smart enough to look up any words, English or otherwise, that they may not understand. Last but not least, most formulaic romance includes a magical reformation in which the heroine helps the hero to find his truer kinder self. That does not happen in this book. The hero in this book is a playboy jerk on the surface, but there is never any doubt as to whether or not he is a good person. He is. Just not publicly. She does not need to “fix” him. Each character works through their issues supporting one another, but neither of them is out to fix the other.


TL;DR: Great romance for folks that are looking for something different. Hits great tropes: forced proximity, fake engagement, not exactly enemies to lovers but somewhere in that realm. Loved it.

Pretty Good Book :)
I am not usually into this type of book, however, the description got me curious. Overall the book was good, not my favorite as I felt like I really couldn't get into the characters heads, which I like doing. But was fun to read none the less. I liked how the Prince was always pretending to be something he is not and that his girl saw through all that to the nice guy underneath. Which she finally got out into the light at the end :) I definitely would recommend putting this in your TBR pile.
I volunteered to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.

This was, hands down, my favorite book in the Reluctant Royals series so far. The first two books in the series (A Princess in Theory and A Duke by Default) were definitely cute, smart, well-written books with awesome female protagonists, but I really didn't love the actual central romances in either one, which isn't really what you want in a romance novel. A Prince on Paper had all of the awesomeness from the first two books in the series--extremely supportive female friendships, political drama and intrigue, imaginary countries, etc--with the addition of a central romance that had, in my opinion, much more chemistry than the previous two books combined.

Our heroine, Nya, is dealing with the aftermath of emotional abuse by her father, but she's also on a journey to figure out her own brand of self-confidence and path to happiness. She's always been intrigued by Johan, the bad-boy tabloid prince of what is basically Luxembourg but isn't, and the two of them begin to grow closer at their best friends' wedding, which leads to a fake engagement to help with various political things. It's cute, it's sexy, it's a super fun read about two people struggling with their own issues and coming together to support each other. Highly recommend!

This series is good for romance fans who like a finding-yourself story free from mixed-in other-genres. The main characters in this series installment are solid and likable. Both characters are, if not particularly grounded in realism, then at least realistically flawed based on their unrealistic histories.

The only difficulty is that the timeline felt a bit off. Having skipped the novella that fits between books 2 and 3 (this one), I can't say if the larger story is super dependent on what happens in the novella, or if it somehow fell out of whack. Definitely to be read in order.

I wanted to read this book because I’d read the other two that came before it, but I was somewhat disappointed. The first section of the book drags quite a bit and there is absolutely no chemistry between the two main characters until we get to know them better. I probably would’ve DNF’d it in the first few chapters if I wasn’t already invested in the world that had been built in the previous two books. I was glad to see familiar characters again, but they couldn’t carry the awkwardness and stilted dialogue that was throughout the first 25% (ish).

However. However. It definitely got better. When the characters started opening up to each other and we got to know them a little bit better, their care for each other was more plausible. BUT—and I know that this review might create whiplash with how many caveats I’ve included—the writing was still stilted. I’d noticed it in the previous two books but it bothered me more in this one.

There were definitely some redeeming qualities—great LGBTQIA rep and a great character growth arc for Nya, but those things don’t change my opinion. It was good and I do still like the series, but this one is probably my least favorite.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. Johan and Nya are excellent characters and the fake-relationship trope is one of my favorites. It was nice to see the various kingdoms in Africa and then in Europe. Cole is really able to bring you into the setting for each scene. I read this book in one sitting and was completely immersed. I also loved the added touch of the online romance game. I'm not saying I've gotten caught up in those but I totally have.

It's not a surprise that A PRINCE ON PAPER is another fantastic entry in Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series. I'm a particular sucker for a fake dating romance and this fauxmance between paparazzi-baiting the red-headed step-prince of Liechtienbourg Johan and Thesolo-expat game designer Nya is an absolute delight.

I had been waiting so long to read this book, and I was definitely not disappointed. Alyssa Cole is an incredibly talented writer and I applaud her decision to write diverse and inclusive romance novels. A Prince on Paper is the third in Cole's Reluctant Royals series, and just might be might favorite of them. Nya and Johan were both introduced in previous books and I was already invested in their characters. Nya is the daughter of a super controlling and emotionally abusive father who is currently in prison for trying to overthrow the royal family in their small kingdom of Thesolo. Johan, known as the bad boy prince of Liechtienbourg, hides his good heart and uses his bad boy persona to shield his little brother, the actual heir to the throne. Nya must return home for her cousin's wedding to the prince of Thesolo, who happens to be Johan's best friend. They begin a fake relationship to help them both out of an awkward situation, but their fake relationship quickly becomes something more.

Both Nya and Johan are misunderstood characters who struggle with the image the rest of the world sees of them, as opposed to how they see themselves and each other. As always by Cole, the book was extremely well written. While I found that A Prince on Paper wasn't as humorous as the previous books, I don't think that was a problem at all, as this book dealt with lots of serious subject matter. I was emotionally invested in the lives and relationships of all of the characters. Of course Nya and Johan's relationship was the star of the show, but Nya's relationship with her father and Johan's relationship with Lukas were just as interesting. I think that is a testament to Cole's ability to write strong multidimensional characters.Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I didn't want to put it down. I loved the development of the relationship between Nya and Johan. I really enjoyed watching Nya break out of her shell. She really grew throughout the book and I was rooting for her the whole way. Alyssa Cole writes great love scenes and I thought the way she eased them into a physical relationship was very true to the characters and added to the story. I loved that there was also an bit of mystery and intrigue in the book, I would definitely say this was a five star read for me, and I look forward to reading much more from this author.

Well, I absolutely loved this book. Johan and Nya make an unlikely but ultimately heart-warming pair. I've been dying to read Johan's book ever since he was introduced in book two as a "f*ckboy with a heart of gold" and I must say that his romance did not disappoint. He is absolutely dreamy.

The basic plot of A Prince on Paper is that Nya has been a wallflower most of her life, kept from doing what she wants by an abusive father. Johan has spent his life acting like a jet setting playboy to keep attention off his younger sibling. Johan has always felt drawn to Nya but he hasn't wanted to act on it because he's afraid of falling in love. But he just can't seem to stay away from Nya. MEANWHILE, in his home country, there's referendum approaching about whether to dissolve the monarchy, which will put Johan's stepfather out of a job and leave the future fate of his sibling very much up in the air. Johan's stepfather suggest that Johan dating Nya might help their cause. Johan hates the idea but he finds himself going along with it because he finds Nya irresistible.

I loved the honesty that Johan and Nya share in this book. There were so many opportunities where Alyssa Cole could have gone the easy route for conflict and had things blow up because of a big misunderstanding, but instead she always, always pivots away from that and has Nya and Johan talk honestly with each other. It was so refreshing, and it definitely gave me a firm belief in their happily ever after because they were so willing to communicate honestly with each other.

I also loved the friendship that develops between them in the beginning of the book. They both want more from each other and are disappointed when (they wrongly believe) the other one doesn't, but instead of pouting about "the friendzone" both of them shake themselves off and decide that just friendship can be pretty wonderful too. This creates a strong foundation for their relationship, and when things started to get more steamy I loved how much trust and intimacy they had already built with each other.

All in all, a wonderful modern romance and a very satisfying read. I highly recommend this book.

NOTE: A free copy of this book was provided to me on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read A Princess in Theory during a really difficult time in my life and I now associate this author and this series with comfort. I went into A Prince on Paper with very little expectations and lots of excitement for finally getting Johan's book.

I'll bet this is advertised as a standalone but you really get a lot more out of it if you have read at least the first book in the series. That book introduces Nya, a cousin to the Thesolo royal family and a new friend to Ledi. Nya has been diminished her entire life by her father (on purpose), her grandparents (lovingly and not on purpose) and the entire nation. They think she is weak and fragile and, now that her father is in prison, sullied. She finds some freedom in going to grad school in New York but returns home for Thabiso and Ledi's wedding.

Johan is the stepbrother to a prince and the proverbial "red headed step child" to a king. His mother died shortly after becoming queen. Johan has spent his life being a tabloid prince so the public eye stays away from his sibling Lukas. I have loved watching Johan in the previous books and he did not disappoint again. He strikes a deal with Nya to help his family with a referendum to abolish the monarchy and give her time to decide where she wants to take her life.

I loved the two of them together. Both had major life trauma and were sensitive, emotional, and empathetic. Johan hid his hurt by acting out and Nya embraced her hurt by learning how to love freely. Their slow fall into love was beautiful and I really enjoyed Nya's willingness to meet Johan and his sibling Lukas at their level. This book also handled LGBTQIA so, so well.

I'm not sure if there will be more books in this series but I would read the phone book if Alyssa Cole wrote it. This book did not disappoint and I'm ending my night with a big, happy grin after finishing this book.

My favorite of the series! Johan is such an enigma through much of the series and delving into his character is quite fun. I read this one after A Princess in Theory so Nya’s father’s actions are still fresh in my mind. What he did was so awful but I’m so happy Nya was able to gain her HEA.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC!

Not my favorite in this series, but a strong entry from Alyssa Cole. Nya's urge to get out from under her past made me root for her but she was a little too fragile at times and Johan, while adorable got a touch grating with all his secret goodness. Overall a good story about two people who have experienced a great deal of pain and are judged unfairly.