This was a very sweet book and a quick read. Quite enjoyable and I think people will really enjoy this book quite a bit if you're looking for a fluffy romance.

This one ended well, but I had a hard time getting into it.  I would say my interest caught about half way though.  After that I couldn't put it down!  I think I had a hard time getting to know our heroine, Eliza, but once I did, with her family and her pets, I was hooked!  Sebastian was an average hero, but again, about half way through I could see him and Eliza connecting, and that is where the story improved for me.  

What made the story for me was the supporting characters, they were funny and really added to the story. The story line was predictable but in the end there was a happily ever after! 

Thanks to Net Galley for the Advanced Copy!

RATING: 4 STARS
2019; Harlequin

"Princes have pomp and glory—not crushes on commoners."

The Princess Plan is definitely a fun read! Not only is there witty humour and a steamy romance, but there is a murder mystery!

After her first heartbreak, Eliza has decided she doesn't mind her "spinster" life. This includes living with her father (who is a judge and blind), and hanging out with her widowed sister, Hollis and their best friend, Caroline. The trio is also behind a gossip gazette where Caroline is the main contributor. They are invited to a party where the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is hunting for a wife. When the two meet there are sparks but both try to avoid one another to squelch any feelings. Then Sebastian's personal secretary is murdered, with an anonymous tip on the suspect, being published in the gossip gazette. Sebastian comes to find the person behind the gazette and soon finds himself falling for the odd commoner.

I needed a light fluffy read, and this novel definitely hit the spot. I wasn't expecting the murder mystery, which added more to the plot than just the hero and heroine falling in love. In saying that, this is undoubtedly a historical romance with some sexy scenes. I liked Eliza and Sebastian, but I did find their chemistry was just okay. The story, secondary characters and humour made up for any lack of romantic chemistry. I am looking forward to Caroline and Hollis's story, but also hope Becks and Sebastian's brother (ugh brain freeze on the name) get some romance. I am not sure who is the next book but I cannot wait!

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

The chemistry jumps off the page!  
The Princess Plan is a definite must read for anyone who loves Victorian fairy-tales!

I loved the mix of romance and mystery combined with a Prince that falls in love with a woman that has embraced being a spinster.  I enjoyed the fairytale ending and a Prince who defied convection.  

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Cute, romantic, light! Nice and fun if you like royal themed books. I didn't love it but it was nice to read and have a light escape!

A delightfully different story.

Crown Prince Sebastian of Alucia has come to England to secure a trade deal, which would include finding an English bride from an influential family. His foreign minister has found him a list of eligible brides and he has resigned himself to a loveless marriage, the plight of royalty. He never suspected that he would fall in love, and with a commoner, spinster, or that one of his entourage would be murdered. Was it at the hands of his countries enemies, or part of his own court?

Miss Eliza Tricklebank is the eldest daughter of the honorable Justice William Tricklebank. Her innocent was taken away from her by a cad, who promised to offer for her and then offered for another woman instead. Since then, Eliza does not trust love or men, and has chosen to remain single. At 28, she still lives at home with her blind father and their madcap household. She also helps her sister Hollis, aka, the Widow Honeycutt, who turned her husband's gazette into a publication for women, Honeycutt's Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies.

Their friend Lady Caroline Hawk gets them all invitations to a Masquerade Ball at Kensington Palace. Eliza finds herself in a servant's passageway, where she has a little too much rum spiked punch and meets the prince. That night, Matous, the prince's private secretary and friend is murdered. A anonymous tip is sent to the Judge, but his daughters publish it in the Gazette, which leads Sebastian to their home to find out what they know. Eliza is not too impressed with the prince and his arrogance, but he is intrigue with her when she shows him little regard. At first he uses her as a sounding board, but slowly they realize that they have fallen into an impossible situation. While all looks hopeless, will Sebastian find a way?

I have enjoyed all the Julie London stories that I have previously, but this is now my favorite. Endearing characters, snappy, witty dialogue, a hilarious description of the Tricklebank household in addition to court intrigue, made this a delightful read.

I read an ARC from NetGalley.com and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, much more than I expected to. The set-up was a bit unique, the characters were really fun, and the romance was totally swoon-worthy. I enjoyed the inter-cultural component of it which made it feel a bit different from other historical romances. Will definitely continue with the series and am dying to read the next already.

This blurb was interesting and the cover pretty. While I found this slow to start and the shifting PoVs confusing at first I got into it eventually.The writing wasn't as easy for me, it didn't have that flowing feel to it. To be honest I wasn't at all impressed by Prince Sebastian. He's pretty typical womanizing and self absorbed it seems.Glad he got it together though at the end and proved himself. He needs an English wife as per his father's conditions for a trade agreement. I had to fast forward cause all the talks of the fashion and what not was boring me somewhat. I'm sure for some it's fine but I was more intrigued by the mystery part. The ladies did seem a bit frivolous but that's important in that time.

I'm glad it finally moved along. I didn't really care for Eliza at first she's a bit eccentric. I'm still curious where this will go because it didn't seem like there was any connection yet. Eliza was gutsy and didn't shy away from him though, not a pushover which was nice. She's exuberant and Sebastian was charmed. However her sister and friend was boring to me. The whole gazetter idea was a bit bland. I felt the chemistry was late and needed more in some degree. What a dilemma for Sebastian he fell in love with Eliza knowing he needs to marry for country.

It's quite nice how they found a friendship before anything else. The romance I didn't feel though. You could despite all Eliza's assurances she can handle the prince marrying someone else she's heartbroken. I had to feel for her she's a dreamer and hoped after being betrayed in the past. The whole mystery I have an idea the clues are slow to come out at first. The conclusion was a but rushed as everything came out. That ending needed a bit more when Eliza has her happy ending. But interesting concept and possible follow ups with the other characters.

Crown Prince Sebastian of Alucia has arrived in London to much fanfare. He's come to negotiate a trade agreement and to find an English bride to marry for her political connections. I was fascinated. It gave me a different view of royal responsibility. He may be a dashing Prince but he has no opportunity to find a love match. Eliza Tricklebank is the spinster daughter of a Judge. She is invisible to some and notorious to others. I found people aren't treated fairly. She was seduced by a man who promised marriage but left her for another with a larger dowry. He received no censor for his behavior. However, Eliza did. So unfair! When the Prince and Eliza meet at a ball, sparks fly. Their relationship was interesting. Watch them grow from adversaries to lovers was romantic. Eliza is a strong, intelligent woman who speaks her mind. The Prince isn't use to such forthright talk. I laughed at his shock. Their romance was complicated. Sebastian approaches Eliza when a close friend is murdered. Who killed Matous?Sebastian is determined to find answers. I liked that he trusted Eliza. They make such a powerful couple. Even though they love each other marriage isn't a possibility. I so wanted them together. I cheered at the ending. Julia London had me reading late into the night. I couldn't stop until I know the final outcome. The Princess Plan is romantic, witty and very emotional. This is such a great story!
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.

This is the story of a Prince and a commoner with a side of mystery. I will admit at first I was sort of ho hum. But once it got past the masquerade ball scene it got much more interesting. Eliza is a lively character, very outspoken for a female in those times.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This one is my first review on NetGalley, and it’s a tough one to rate! I absolutely love and devour historical romance, and consider it as one of my favorite and most-read genres. Princess Plan was historical romance for sure, but was less smutty (sorry mom!) than I usually expect from this genre.

Let’s talk about the pros first:
-	I loved the female companionship represented in this book. Eliza and her motley crew really kept my interest throughout the book.
-	Sebastian fulfills my love of a crown prince in disguise – a trope I deeply love, and this book did not disappoint in that regard.
-	It had a robust and complicated plot, some romance and a lot of mystery combined, – a mix of mystery/romance was overall a good thing, but see cons for more thoughts on this

Some cons – 
-	The start is so glacially slow; it took almost a week for me to get through the first chapter – if I wasn’t reading this to review, I might have DNF’d it. Thankfully after the first 20% or so, the plot and story picked up, and as we were introduced to Sebastian and when he and Eliza first met at an interesting masquerade ball. This slow beginning is definitely because of the snippets of the ladies’ magazine, which are interesting as the story goes on, but very confusing at the start/without context.
-	The ending wasn’t satisfying to me, and felt rushed. We finally get romance after the mystery is “solved” but the mystery wasn’t super intriguing to me – I was expected 90% romance, 10% mystery and I got way more mystery and less romance.

My overall rating is 3 stars – I enjoyed it in the end, but a rough start and a lack of chemistry from the two MCs lowers my rating. The historical romance was somewhat believable, but not totally, and I missed much of the “romance” part of this historical romance. Overall, if less time was spent on the mystery and the gazette articles (which became overbearing after a while) the romance and character chemistry could have been better developed and memorable.

My dear Ms. London, it has been too long.  How could I have neglected reading you for the past few years?  I confess I was enticed away with kinky shenanigans and the drudgery of a day job.  This time away only makes the heart grow fonder.  Starting this new series is a breath of fresh air.  A definite page turner for me, I kept trying to guess the ending.  Fair warning, this ending is a bit of a strength.  Not quite a deus ex machina but a bit close.

Set in the London high society, Eliza Tricklebank is a bit of a bluestocking.  Her father is gainfully employed as a respectable judge.  However, his health is failing as he ages.  Still he does the best he can as a single father of two rather rascally daughters.  Eliza and her sister work on a gossip rag, a precursor to "The Enquirer".  Eliza is completely socially awkward.  Not one to understand nor appreciate the societal niceties, she blunders through parties like a proverbial bull in a China shop.  In one of her adventures, she is able to meet Prince Sebastian of Alucia, not once but twice.  This allows her and her sister to provide some tasty morsels for their newsletter.  

Sebastian is a man with many responsibilities.  He's trying to save his kingdom and bring it into the current times with advantageous trade agreements.  Coming to London to find a wife as his father presses is the last thing he is interested in.  I like Sebastian even if he sometimes expected to be treated with more reverence.  This is expected, because he is heir apparent.  When he encounters the completely irreverent Eliza, he is shocked and doesn't know how to respond.  In fact, his responses and interactions with Eliza are humourous and balance the seriousness of his murdered friend and confidante. 

Eliza is best described as quirky.  She is logical and does not care about too much of the niceties for proper social interaction.  At times it is cringing to witness because as an adult, she should know better.  And yet at the same time, it feels liberating because she's only saying and doing what the rest of the sheeple want to say and do.  This does cause for a lack of suitability to be part of royalty.  Basically, she comes across uncouth even if she is educated and sharp of wit.  Luckily, she hits it off with Sebastian.

This story is more than just a princess romance.  There is a bit of a whodunnit feel as Eliza feels she can be an amateur sleuth.  Her delusions make me feel sympathy for her father as it is amazing she isn't dead yet.  The fact that she accidentally uncovers information and is able to assist Sebastian requires a suspense of disbelief.  She's cute.  The mystery/suspense of this tale helps makes this story more interesting.  

This historical romance is recommended to readers who love happily ever afters.

What a lovely surprise this book was for me, I was reading this book leading up to New Year's Eve. I was too tired from my retail job but this book had my interest to the very last word. I loved the free spirit of Eliza, Caro and her sister Hollis and even Penny are all entertaining for a woman of this era. The story was a fun mystery in a Cinderella styled romance that at times was a bit full of information I didn't quite think I need to know. It slowed down the read for me as I was more interested in learning more about our main characters.

Eliza Tricklebank has made her mistakes and has found happiness as a spinster helping her blind father with his work and the work her sister does with the Honeycutt's Gazette of FAshion and Comisticity for Ladies. Eliza lives in the Victorian era that has a young lady of 28 years a spinster with no real connections or a great dowry to her name. But Eliza has made her peace with the situation and has found the freedom to do as she pleases and not care what others feel about her or her family.

Eliza gets a chance to attend the masquerade ball at Kensington Palace in honour of the Aluician court where she meets the one person the whole of London is talking about. She has no beliefs in meeting her prince charming but just to meet a real-life prince once in her life would be a high light.

The Crown Prince Sebastian of Alucia is in England for two things one to finalize a trade treaty with England and two to find a wife/ queen for himself. He is very happy to be here for the first event but he is in no hurry to find himself a wife of any kind.

I would have prefered the ending to be written a little bit differently as I felt it was skimmed over to quickly to cover everything to my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this ARC and this is my honest and voluntary opinion in this review.

The Princess Plan by Julia London is one of the most intriguing historical romances I have read. Her book starts off with ladies who own and work a lady's gazette. One of them is excited and nervous in meeting a prince. Her goal was to meet at least one at the up coming ball. Low and behold she meet one alright. 

He was every bit as demanding, arrogant, and royal as one would expect. However, he thinks the world especially all the ladies should bow to him. All but the heroine. She does not bow to any man including a crowned prince. The foreign prince made me laugh so much. He was speechless that she would treat him like an ordinary man. One of the ton to be exact. I loved how Eliza put Sebastian in his place more than once. I was proud of her. And I enjoyed watching her kick his princely butt on occasion. 

Julia London's novel is a breath of fresh air. It's different in some ways but similar in other ways. The mystery around the death of a close friend to the crown prince was interesting. Then the mystery brought on another round of mystery, causing the whole thing to become a deeper and more satisfying read. The growing tensions between the characters was fun to follow. A prince having to do well, always in the spotlight, and having to find himself a bride is not exactly what Sebastian wanted. But he is expected to do certain things and he tries. 

Overall, The Princess Plan, is by far a great book. I loved the humor, the high tensions, and the romance.

This book was meh. It was ok. Didn't loved it but didn't hated it either. I may read some of Julia London's backlist.

Another solid romance from Julia London. I really thought the romance sizzled, and the intrigue surrounding the murder kept the plot moving along.

Prince Sebastian is in town to work out an agreement between his country and England. He's also looking for a bride. 
Lady Eliza Tricklebank is a self avowed spinster, firmly on the shelf. She's not looking for a groom and she's certainly not looking for a prince. However, they cross paths at a ball. Prince Sebastian is not used to a woman who doesn't fawn over him but that's not Eliza's way. Sebastian grows to love her sassy attitude and found that he wasn't interested in any if the women being placed before him to consider as a bride. 
Sebastian and Eliza are destined for heartbreak until the prince conceives The Princess Plan. 
I loved this book. I found myself losing sleep so I could read just one more chapter, just another chapter and another.

Royal life can be really difficult and here is a flirty and happy novel that also has a dash of mystery. Eliza meets Sebastian, the prince and the first in line for the throne. Sebastian is to sign a treaty and deal the deal with marriage, But sparks start to fly when he encounters the smart and sassy Eliza.
Sebastian was such an adorable character, very prince-ly and mysterious. Eliza grew on me over time and their connection was so honest and strong, especially combined with the aura of being complete misfits and out of place. I enjoyed reading about them, the context and all the rules they followed and broke.

Julia Londen delivers an impressive romance, that is steamy but also decent and adorable.

I’ve read and enjoyed a number of Julia London’s books in the past, so I thought I’d give her latest title a try.  The Princess Plan is billed as a mixture of mystery and romance, in which a visiting prince teams up with a lively spinster to solve a murder and falls in love along the way.  It seemed as though it might be an enjoyable romp, but sadly wasn’t.  The mystery wasn’t mysterious, the romantic development was non-existent, it wasn’t fun and it wasn’t a romp.  Unless you define a romp as pages of inane chatter and un-funny attempts at banter that seem to exist only as a way of padding out the page count.

Miss Eliza Tricklebank is twenty-eight years of age, and a spinster who keeps house for her father, a Justice of the Queen’s Bench (who has recently lost his sight) and mends clocks to earn a little something on the side.  Her sister Hollis is a widow who inherited a publishing business from her late husband and now publishes Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies, and her best friend Lady Caroline Hawke is a debutante (well, she’s described as such, but if she’s the same age as Hollis or Eliza then she’s quite an elderly debutante!), and together the three of them spend lots of time chattering about nothing in particular while also deciding what to put in the next edition of the Gazette.  Under discussion when the book opens, is the visit to London by a delegation from the small (fictional) country of Alucia, in London in order to negotiate a new trade agreement at the behest of its crown prince, who is rumoured to be in search of a bride.

Caroline – who, we’re told, knows everybody in London – is able to secure invitations to the masked ball held in honour of the visit for herself and her friends, and it’s here that Eliza, quietly getting tipsy on the rum punch, makes the acquaintance of a gentleman she later realises is none other than Crown Prince Sebastian.

You’re shocked, I can tell.

Flirting and silliness ensure until Sebastian has to go to put in an appearance at the meet and greet portion of the evening, after which he finds himself a woman for the night.  This means Sebastian never does go to meet with his secretary and dear friend Matous, who had told him he needed to see him as a matter of urgency.

And who turns up dead the next morning, his throat cut.

Of course the proper authorities are informed, but Sebastian isn’t impressed with the way they seem to be handling things and decides to investigate the matter himself, much to the displeasure of his brother and the rest of his staff.  And when, a day or so later, an accusation is levelled against a member of the delegation – printed in a lady’s gazette – Sebastian is furious and demands to speak with the author of such unsubstantiated rubbish.

Thus do Eliza and Sebastian find themselves investigating the murder, but the mystery – and I use the term very loosely – is so incredibly weak that it’s impossible to invest in, and the identity of the villain(s) is telegraphed early on, so it’s obvious to everyone – except Sebastian it seems, who thus comes across as really dim.  And when the mystery is solved, the reader is not present when the full extent of the plot is revealed and is merely told about it afterwards.

The romantic relationship is equally lacklustre.  There’s no emotional connection between Sebastian and Eliza, no build-up to their first kiss and absolutely no chemistry between them.  The conflict in their romance is, of course, that Sebastian is royalty and Eliza is a commoner and thus ineligible to become his wife; plus he needs to marry a woman with pedigree and connections – and Eliza has neither.  The solution to this dilemma is ridiculously convoluted and, unless corrections have been made to the ARC I read, doesn’t work.  Sebastian’s solution is to find a way to make Eliza’s father a Baron, which will make her a Lady and thus an eligible bride.  Er… no. The daughter of a Baron is not a Lady, she’s still a Miss (a Right Honourable). To be a Lady, Eliza’s father would have had to have been made an Earl at least.  Seriously, this information is available widely on the internet and it took me ten seconds to find it.

Eliza is obviously meant to be one of those ‘breath of fresh air’, quirky heroines who doesn’t abide by the rules.  She points out, for instance, that while other young ladies must be accompanied by a maid when they go out, she goes wherever she likes on her own; she stood in the middle of London without fanfare all the time. Conversely, Sebastian is hemmed in by all sorts of rules and restrictions that accompany his position – he frequently bemoans the fact that he cannot go out alone, that he has very little privacy and so on and so on… so I had to wonder why free-spirited Eliza – who sees first hand just how restricted Sebastian’s life is – would want to subject herself to the same constraints.  And Sebastian is… well, I finished the book less than an hour ago, and I can’t remember much about him at all.

The Princess Plan doesn’t work as a mystery or a romance, and the plot –such as it is – is not substantial enough to fill a full-length novel.  The characters are unmemorable, the pacing is sluggish and quite honestly, I was bored.  As an alternative to The Princess Plan, might I suggest The Watching Paint Dry Plan, or The Watching Grass Grow Plan, either of which might afford a similar level of entertainment.