Thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for review.

I loved the representation of a Korean woman working in the culinary arts and looking for their person but sticking true to themsleves. Everything was sweet and wholesome...until about 70% of the book when the truth comes out from Prince Michel. The premise of the story would have been a home run but without any of the cute parts, there wasnt really much to the plot. The book hinged on the one critical plot point and to have gone through the entire book to reach to this point i had wished for me. Maybe adding side characters to follow as well or finding out about the conflict earlier and having a continuation to the story would have allowed for a bigger picture to learn about.

I am a sucker for stories about falling in love with a secret prince. It’s a tale as old as time. However, I found myself really enjoying this book in particular because the female main character is Korean-American. As someone who is half-Korean, there were so many things that made me giggle, like the details that we are all too familiar with explaining to people when we are introducing them to Korean food and culture. And if the love interest doesn’t ask you to start calling him oppa out of jealousy, is it really a love story? All in all, this was a wonderful, refreshing book to read and it healed a part of me that was yearning for my own relatable princess story.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.**

Firstly, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for sending me this free ARC in return for an honest review.

This is your typical light and fluffy romance read. I landed on a 2.5 stars for many reasons. This wasn’t particularly a “bad” read, but there were a few things that I didn’t love about it. Unfortunately I almost DNF’d this in the first 50%.

Here are my problems:

⭐️ First and foremost, there were many times that I got the ick from the FMC and occasionally the MMC. Particularly, the FMC is 28 (or 29; I can’t remember exactly) and reacts as a 13 year old would in her first adolescent romantic relationship. There is one scene that exemplifies this most accurately. The FMC & MMC are speaking about ✨serious matters ✨ during which the MMC asks a question to the FMC, who proceeds to blankly stare, stand up, and lock herself in the bathroom, cry, and demand he not speak to her. She then wants to speak to her “friend” (who she has known for a very short time) for girl advice. I just don’t know why they could not speak maturely as adults in serious relationships do.

⭐️ His obsession with her shoulders.. ????

⭐️ all of the characters had little to no depth

⭐️ instalove

⭐️ borderline incestuous relationship with godbrother. I can’t count the number of times he called her “brat”


Now I will say, there a few things I did enjoy. One of which was the representation of Korean culture. I loved the vivid food descriptions as well.


Overall, this was just average. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t an enjoyable read for me.


Read if you love instalove, Korean culture/representation, light/fluffy romances.

This was an cute and which read - it’s definitely is a original idea and i enjoyed the prince and me (movie) like moments - but the ending felt a bit rushed to me, which ruined the overall arc for me.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable light read for me. I liked the relationship between Emma and Michel, and I felt like their romance was believable from the beginning. There were some awkward moments throughout and some cringey things (mostly surrounding things Michel said), but it was overall sweet. I loved how Emma was so passionate about food, her family, and her culture, but I wish that there had been more mention of that in her debate over whether to leave LA. I thought that the third act breakup reason was very stupid and I’m glad that Emma came to her senses on her own instead of the love interest convincing her. The side characters I also felt were very developed and felt like a part of the world rather than just there to further the plot. Jeremy’s relationship as well as Sophie and Gabriel’s felt like they should’ve been their own books (interconnected stand-alone type). Overall, I enjoyed the book and the romance, but it didn’t leave a significant impact on me.
ARC provided by netgalley

This book was such a cute and lighthearted read! I read this in only a couple of sittings, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The tension in the book was decadent and the spicy scenes were well-written. I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to get over a slump and just have a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC of That Prince Is Mind in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐💫

As a fan of Jayci Lee's A Sweet Mess series, I was ecstatic when I learned that she was writing a royal romance novel! I absolutely love all books and movies that involve a king/prince who is hiding his royal identity in order to find his one true love, and this book is an excellent contribution to the genre.

Prince Michel is taking a three month sabbatical in America before he takes over as King of Rouleme. He is enjoying some time away from the spotlight as a professor at USC, but he is also hoping to find his future queen. A beautiful woman, Emma, catches his eye in the hotel cafe, but she is on a date with a different man every time he sees her. When he works up the courage to ask her out, he discovers that she is going on dates arranged by her matchmaker aunt in hopes of finding her future husband. She believes compatibility trumps attraction and only agrees to go out with Prince Michel for one date. But as one date turns into two and then three, will Emma change her view of relationships?

This was a quick and light-hearted read - perfect for reading poolside. I particularly loved the side characters, Sophie, Michel's bodyguard, and Gabriel, Michel's cousin. I am hoping that this book becomes a series in which we get to hear Sophie and Gabriel's story!

Read this if you love:
-Secret identity trope
-He falls first
-Strong side character development

A big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for a non-biased review!

This was such a light and cute read! A royal romance where the royal is somewhat in disguise and falls in love with a 'commoner' is definitely my favorite way to go about this trope. That Prince is Mine fits in well with Jayci Lee's catalog of other books. The characters were enjoyable- both main and side. Michel was such a soft boy and loved Emma wholly. Readers never have to question that. Emma being a Korean ROYAL Court chef was funny, though didn't add much to the story- she could have just been described as a chef/culinary instructor and the story would have remained the same. On one hand, I do wish that this book was set up for there to be a second book about Sophie and Gabriel so that we could have a closer look at their second chance romance, however I also did like not having to wait to know they end up together in the end. I will say the plot was rather predictable, but I am a person who likes that! There were very low stakes and plot points weren't anxiety inducing. Overall 4 stars. Thank you NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

Started strong but didn’t deliver in the end.

Emma, our FMC, I found to be brilliant in the beginning. I loved the background on Korean cuisine and the moments where we got to explore her talents as a culinary teacher. Michel, our MMC, was honestly adorable and I didn’t find much fault in him besides that fact that we knew basically nothing from his past. I wanted more there because we knew lots about Emma. But even knowing Emma’s past, her actions in the end just annoyed me. It was hard to sympathize with her.

This story contains insta-love, third act breakup, and miscommunication tropes. That alone may explain my lower rating.

This had great potential, but just wasn’t it for me. However, I appreciate the opportunity to read this. Thanks, NetGalley!

In the kitchen, Emma is a queen—she teaches Korean royal court cuisine, and she has every reason to believe that her business will continue to grow. She doesn't have much dating experience, but she's clear in her expectations: her godmother will arrange a match for her, and she'll end up with a husband who is perfectly suited to her. Someone *compatible*. Not, say, a prince from a small European country who is from a different culture and class and shares almost none of her experiences...

I am a sucker for a royal romance, which is what led me to this book. "That Prince Is Mine" has the added benefit of some cultural diversity that I don't often see in romance novels—I've read books in which the heroine is a cook and the hero a prince, but never one delving into the intricacies of Korean cuisine. (The ARC I had didn't have a final cover, and by the time I picked up the book I'd already forgotten the plot details, so I was a bit disappointed to find that the prince in question is Generic European—one of these days perhaps we'll get a Generic Asian prince!)

The book leans rather fluffier than I expected, a bit like an extended Harlequin or perhaps a soap opera. Partly because so many of the side characters have romantic plots, the plot pretty much all moves quickly to romance, leaving little room for anything else. I'd have loved to see a bit more from the characters, especially things that aren't so hormone-driven. It's the end of the book before we learn that Sophie (Michel's bodyguard and childhood friend) used to paint, for example, and I can't help but think that if she'd not had a romance plot, we could have seen more of her personality (followed by a separate book about her, if the author were so inclined).

Generally speaking, this is not one to pick up if you're looking for more depth in a romance novel, but it would be a good read for those looking for a bit of instant-princess fluff (bonus points if you salivate over Korean food!).

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

First off, thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I received this copy in exchange for an honest review.

It wasn't a terrible story at all, and of course, who doesn't want to suddenly find out the person they are dating is a prince? But I'm sorry to say it would have been a DNF if I hadn't already committed to finishing this ARC. As far as the Korean cultural references and terminology, I started the book excited to learn. I screenshotted the page talking about Jeongseong because the meaning was inspiring and I wanted to remember it. I just found myself skim-reading most of this book, ready for it to be over. Why is that? All I know is it was a sweet story, one we all know because it's been done a thousand times. And that's why most of us love reading the same tropes over, we feel safe with it. And I do love this Cinderella-type story, but I just wasn't feeling it this time.

I was given an advance copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair review. Thank you to St. Martin's press and Netgalley.

That Prince is Mine is an excellent romance novel between Emma Yoon, a cooking instructor who believes the importance of on paper compatibility is more important than love, and Michel Chevalier, the crown Prince of Rouleme who has come to America to find his true love. I found that the romance was done well and the two had incredible chemistry, and was rooting for them throughout the book. I also really liked the side characters and Jayci Lee did a great job making them feel like real people.

I also learned a ton about Korean and Royal Court Cuisine while reading this!

I'm definitely going to pick up the author's other titles, and I hope other people enjoy reading this as much as I did!

I think this book is an easy romance read, but it just fell kind of flat for me personally. The premise was cute but I felt like the execution didn’t work. The slow pacing made the story feel more drawn out than it should have been. I also wanted more depth to the characters. It all felt very surface level, which made it hard for me to keep rooting for the relationship, especially since they fall in love within a month. I think Emma and the prince both had the potential to be super interesting if they were a little more developed. The prince felt almost too perfect the entire story, and Emma spent too much time stuck on the idea of a perfect on paper romance. However, I loved the idea of Emma’s career and the way she spoke about food as a connection to people. Since this was the most interest part to me, I struggled with her willingness to give it up for love considering how important it was to her. I know that it was inevitable given this is a romance story that needed the happy ending.

It was overly narrative for me, but it reads well. I stopped after chapter 2 (4%). Three to four stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publishing.

I am a secret sucker for romances like the synopsis given for this one. Even more when it sounds like a K-Drama! So, reading this book was fun. The book was sweet. When I mean sweet, the male falls first and then girl falls shortly after. For 60% of the book they are absolutely sweet with one another. What is there to hate?

Well, I didn't hate it. ... I had some meh feelings that.. there was no real conflict outside of him not wanting to tell her who he really was. So, the book literally hinged on her accepting or not accepting who he was. But at 60% into the book, she finds out. Then, you're wondering what is the issue that will pop up to bring them conflict.

It was weak - he wanted marriage, she didn't. This is after knowing one another for three months. He was on a crunch time, he had to find a romance or else return back home and marry the girl his parents indicated he was arranged to marry. Oh. He never told his parents about this.

So, if you read the reviews on this book, most of the readers had the same issues. It was cute. But take away the cute bits, there is nothing else here. It's upsetting because I really liked them together, but hinging the entire book on this weak, crucial moment? Not good.

I enjoyed this story, the peak into Korean cuisine, and Michel's and Emma's romance. The royalty hiding among the commoners idea has been done in books and movies before, but the Korean component made it fresh. I thought it was really neat to learn about Korean royal cuisine, but did it really have to be couched in the idea that women were learning this to find a match? The supporting characters were kinda awesome though. I'd love to see Gabriel's and Sophie's story played out.

This is a beautifully written story that gave me some “The Prince & Me” vibes. Being a romance, of course one knows the FMC and MMC will end up together, but the question of HOW was intriguing enough to make the book worth the read.

I also enjoyed reading the descriptions of the different Korean dishes mentioned throughout. That’s a type of cuisine I haven’t ventured into trying too much of (yet!).

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

This book was the most wonderful combination of Crazy Rich Asians x Princess Diaries x The Princess Switch. Absolutely addicting and such a precious story!

Fingers crossed that Sophie + Gabriel’s book is next in the series … already can’t wait.

Thank you NetGalley + the publishing team for the ARC!

This had everything! Like a Hallmark movie, but better (because multi-cultural and spicy)!

Secret prince with chiseled jawline- yup.
Nuanced backstories- everywhere.
Emotional rollercoaster- all aboard!
Meddlesome aunties- sign me up.

Consider this my official request for more Adventures with The Crones! 😈

This is a royal romance between our two leads Emma and Michel. Emma dreams of running a Korean royal court cuisine school. She is also looking for love and decides to enlist help from her matchmaker godmother. While she is on one of the arranged dates she meets Michel, a visiting professor at USC. We come to find out thought that Michel is not just a professor, he’s actually the crown prince of Rouleme.

Firstly, I loved the ties to USC, as that is my alma mater. The concept of this one was really interesting and there were definitely some parts I liked, but as a whole though, it felt like the story dragged a bit.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.