•eARC Review•
That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This is my first Jayci Lee read and I enjoyed it so much! I can’t wait to dive into more of her books! If you’re a lover of all things Korean food, he falls first, rom com, matchmaking, insta-love then this is the one for you!

Thank you Jayci Lee, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC read!

This was such a cute book! I really liked Emma and Michel. They were so cute together and I loved watching their interactions. Emma had a unique perspective on life that I loved reading. And Michel was very swoony.

I’ve learned I’m not the biggest fan of the matchmaker trope—so much time is spent going on about the “perfect match” and all that it entails. I found this book to be the same. Emma’s thoughts on finding the perfect-on-paper husband and how she had to be compatible with her future husband dragged on and on, which I don’t love. I did find it ironic, however, that the little forgotten bit of info at the end ended up being such a big deal to her. Ultimately, though, I did enjoy the book and the characters and how everyone came together at the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma catches the eye of a European prince!

Emma Yoon is on track saving for opening a culinary school on the art of Korean royal court cuisine for people that want to marry in the upper crust of Korean families. Her success has a little help from her aunt who is a matchmaker for Korean families so to help her aunt out she volunteered for ten arranged dates to hopefully find her match. But halfway through the ten dates she met Dr. Michel Chevalier a visiting expert on international relations.

Little did Emma know that Dr. Michel Chevalier was Crown Prince Michel of Rouleme who was teaching in Los Angeles for three months to hopefully find love before his arranged marriage could take place?

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee is a fun and entertaining romance where a Korean-American commoner catches the eye of a European prince and they fall in love!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much to Jayci Lee and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book to review. This book was written perfectly and has just the right amount of spice. Looking forward to reading more from Jayci.

Jayci Lee is one of my most favorite authors and I was excited to see her come out with a new book. She met my expectations and more. This is an adorable nomnom romcom. Korean cuisine, royalty, opposites attract… so many of my favorite things.


WHAT I LOVED MOST:
He falls first. Michel is such an adorably hopeless romantic. He has the perfect balance of swoon and squishy.
Chemistry. Emma and Michel’s sizzly slow burn was palpable. Each moment between them had me squeeing.
Banter. The witty and flirty banter between Emma and Michel was *chef’s kiss* but I also really enjoyed the banter between friends and family. Jayci Lee is a banter queen.
OMG The Last Bookstore Scene. IYKYK. PS-You’ll want to know.


FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Jeongseong wasn’t a cheeky sentiment like a “sprinkle of love.” It meant working hard with a generous heart. It was a pure and true intent to do your very best— to imbue the best of yourself into something.”

“Android Hyun Bin chastised me for having a caffeinated drink late in the afternoon,” Emma said the first thing that popped into her head to fill the silence.”

“Why not?” His eyebrows drew together. Oh no. His earnest, perplexed face was one of her favorite Michel faces.”

“His voice and accent remained exquisite but it no longer reminded her of sugar and butter. Now it sounded like ice cream that was too frozen to dig a spoon into.”

This is a 100000% recommended read. It’s cozy, steamy, and might make you hungry. Thank you to Netgalley and Jayci Lee for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this one. I'm not usually a huge fan or royal romances or hidden lives, but the story made sense to me. I liked Emma and Michel and their friends and family members. The romance was sweet, and I liked the piece about Emma's job and how it fit into the story.

I can't help it - I couldn't finish this one. I rarely do not finish books. The instant love was off. The dynamic between them was forced. The dialogue and writing was so formal. I did not like this one.

I went in with high expectations from having read Jayci’s previous books and this one unfortunately fell flat. Didn’t have the same depth and awesomeness as her previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

I went in anticipating a lot more depth from a Jayci Lee novel. The last few I have read were well developed characters and a more established plot. Unfortunately with this story, the ultimate concern is Emma finding out who Michel really is. You wait a long time for that moment and then you’re anticipating some climactic issue, but it fell flat. The stress is he wants marriage right then and she does not. It’s a cute story, like something to fill the time. But it’s not a “last with you a long time” story.

Much longer than it needed to be... Not enough depth, didn't really care about the characters and the plot was dull. The romance had potential but unfortunately fell short.

I'm giving this a 3 star review because I've loved Jayci's books in the past.

This was not it for me. I loved the idea of a prince in disguise (Hello, The Prince and Me). There are so many ways this book could have gone and it just... didn't go anywhere. The multicultural aspect is great, however. The dialogue was just... not great. It felt forced & unnatural.

I couldn't personally connect with the characters either.

This romance is so sweet you'll get a toothache. Instalove is not for me!

I'll still ready Jayci Lee in the future!

Not my favorite book. It had cute parts but the cute parts aren’t enough for me to truly like the book.

That Prince is Mine

Publish date: July 30 2024

This is my second ARC book from @authorjaycilee and I really love the Korean characters and references of her books, especially the foods and culture about Korea

I rarely highlight books nowadays because I'm always changing my e-readers, but I can't resist annotating this book! As someone who loves Bridgerton and likes rewatching Princess Diaries thank you for writing this book

I feel so giddy and was smiling ear to ear while reading Michel just raised my standards about men. He literally proved to Emma that she deserves the best and he will stop at nothing to give it to her. The attraction turned to love scenes are so satisfying I finished half the book in one sitting. I love the second lead characters too hoping for a side story for Sophie and Gabriel!

Thank you @stmartinspress and @authorjaycilee for the ARC copy it's a great read and I can't wait for it to be released so that it can receive the recognition and hype this book deserves.

Reviewed for Net Galley:

In had a hard time getting into this one, unfortunately. The undercover prince story line had the makings of a great idea, but fell flat for me.

2.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for reaching out to me to exchange an honest review for an ARC of this book!

I have absolutely adored Jayci’s books in the past so it is really disheartening to say that I am slightly disappointed by the outcome of this book. I adore the premise of it- it’s just the fairytale story that the average Asian American fascinated with western culture would dream of- having royalty swoop in, willing to risk everything for them. I was expecting Crazy Rich Asians but I was rather annoyed at the final 30% of the book. It felt lacklustre… especially the ending/resolution of conflict. I’m also just unsure how I feel about the character’s decisions. All of that… after how many MONTHS of dating? I’m just not sure. There were a lot of cute moments and I thoroughly enjoyed the first portion of it…. but it just lost me the deeper I got into it.

This has a very interesting premise, and I really wanted to love the multiculturalism of this story. But it ended up just not being my cup of tea. My main issue with this book was the dialogue. It felt unnatural to me and took me out of the story too often. But the story setup was interesting enough and I’d still check out other books from this author in the future.

I hate to say this, but this was not it for me. I usually love Jayci Lee. The way she incorporates food into her contemporary romances has my mouth watering. The one thing I enjoyed about this book was learning more about Korean culture, but that's about it.

The romance fell flat for me. I was just bored, and it left me skimming through some of the lengthy paragraphs because I was so uninterested. It bordered on insta-love. It was definitely love at first sight for the MMC, while the FMC was not interested in a love match at all. I felt little to no attachment to the main characters which put a damper on the entire book. I had a few laughs, and I really can’t say anything bad about Jayci’s writing.

It honestly could’ve been the mood I was in reading it. It was a sugary sweet romance. Kind of like a hallmark movie and maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to read a softer romance. The spice was a bit unexciting that I even skimmed over that. Since I wasn’t invested in the romance, the tension wasn’t there for me.

4.5 Stars That Prince is Mine is a delightful opposites-attract, hidden identity, royal romance. The main characters were so sweet together and I really enjoyed their banter. I always appreciate when a book has dual POV so you can read how each character falls in love with the other. Though somewhat predictable, especially when it came to the main conflict and third act breakup, this was a great easy read.

I'll start by saying, while my rating might be lower, I believe a lot of people are going to love this book. That Prince is Mine is cute, cozy, and reads like an easy, silly rom-com.

The representation of Korean culture and food was so refreshing (and mouthwatering!) to see. I loved reading about the complex social dynamics between Emma and her family, and later Michel and his family. Sophie is also the coolest character and I loved her so much.

I think I was lost somewhere in the insta-love moments. The timeline moved so jerkily that it was taking me out of the story a bit. Michel and Emma also, despite being well-educated adults, communicated in a way that didn't feel realistic to me. There was so much miscommunication and so many moments where it felt very juvenile between the two of them. Their immaturity made it hard to root for them at times, and there were some scenes I was just skipping through because I knew it would be resolved in a handful of pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the ARC for That Prince is Mine. I look forward to seeing the great things others will have to say when this book hits stores!

Sadly, I had to DNF. I just can’t bring myself to read a book that is written in third person. This makes me really sad because I was so excited to read it.☹️