Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC!

Ahhhh I am so excited to have gotten my hands on this ARC!!! As an Asian American girl who grew up in Los Angeles (in Koreatown, no less), I c ould not have imagined a more fun premise -- it gave me so much nostalgia for all the major touristy spots and all the food in the city I called home.

Now, I have a sense of what initial criticism or hesitation might be, given recent backlash I've been hearing about for other Asian-authored female protagonist books. Our male love interest is white and a royal - colonialism comes back to haunt us again. But, can I just put this out there: as a little Asian girl growing up in America, why can't I have the dream of marrying Prince Harry that all my other classmates had? I think time and time again, representation needs diversity - and that means diversity of a mixed cast too! Just like I could never imagine myself a singer or politician, I also could never have imagined myself a princess. This book brings the same fairytale to life! I'll add in the caveat that we are always excited about half-Asian/half-white female protagonists (looking at To All The Boy's I've Loved Before or The Summer I Turned Pretty), despite the fact that their cultures are often not featured prominently.

Because of our main character's career, the emphasis on details surrounding food felt very natural, in a way that can be difficult to capture in an Asian romance, where authors feel pressured to represent culture through food. I also felt that the chemistry between our love interests, while being somewhat fast, was genuine chemistry that took me along for the ride. I understood, too, the main plight of our prince's secret identity; why Emma might be incredibly resistant to moving to a completely different country. And, as a child of divorce, I understood the representation of her hesitation about a love based solely on passion -- though I would've appreciated a more thoughtful exploration, given the amount of times the same few words and sentiments are repeated over and over.

One of the few weaknesses to me was the writing of dialogue. This stood out to me at the start of the novel, when it felt like every single sentence of dialogue needed to be followed by a long phrase of physical gesture (nodding, sighing, etc.) and was so chock-full of "descriptive verbs" that the words simply weren't flowing. And I appreciate the time and effort it took to choose these verbs; someone once told me that verbs comprise of a large percentage of meaning in the English language; but sometimes you want dialogue to blend in to the page, for it to have a natural rhythm and sound similar to an actual conversation. Similarly, the banter between Emma and our Prince often fell a little flat. There is one moment when the two are joking about learning each others' "favorites", like a favorite song, and they are playful flirting and punching one another. I fully did not grasp the chemistry or the laughter here. Maybe I'm just dense, but their conversations didn't have the wittiness or reflect their natural chemistry in a way that made sense to me. Finally, the amount of times that we hear about Emma's sultry voice or our Prince's "husky" voice is just 100 times too many. Way, way too much of the same adjective. It's time for us to focus on different attributes, please!

All in all, I absolutely loved and speed-read through this entire book. It just hit all those right pieces for me, and I do always love a good he-falls-first trope. 4.5 stars with a 2.5 for spice (a lot of horniness that resulted in mostly kissing, in fairness.) I loved the way the author has paced this book, what details she's chosen to include from peeing to avoid a UTI to the acknowledgment of the slight insanity of the third act fight.I wish there was a future book with Sophie and Gabriel - just imagine the possible yearning ahh!!

This was a super cute premise and the writing was strong. I enjoyed the escapism of the plot and thought the characters were well developed, even if I didn’t like them very much. The story stays at the surface level and because of that there is repetition in the themes and plot points. I thought this could have been shorter and still achieved the story arc and HEA. If you enjoy suspending belief and getting wrapped up in a bit of a fairytale, this is for you!

Emma Yoon, a Korean Royal Food Culinary teacher, begins going on ‘matseons’ (blind dates) to find a marriage partner she will be compatible with. Enter Michel Chevalier, a charming, USC professor who is also secretly Prince Michel of Rouleme. Emma’s tries to convince herself they are incompatible but their magnetic attraction and ease together say otherwise.

This was a cute read. I really would have liked to see Michel and Emma’s relationship more detailed. There was a lot of focus on side characters that could have easily been fleshed out in its own book rather than being as detailed in this one. I think the racial differences and racism concerns could have been more meaningful if it wasn’t just thrown in towards the end.

Overall it was a quick, fun read. As a Korean American myself, it was enjoyable to read about a Korean, female protagonist be the lead in her own ‘fairytale’.

I love a great royal story. I enjoyed reading Michel and Emma’s story from beginning to end. From revealing that he is a prince to everything that entails, it made the story simply adorable.

This was a good book and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a lighthearted read.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot, in terms of a royal romance. The book focuses on Emma, a Korean Royal Court cuisine instructor, and Michel, a visiting professor at USC who happens to be the crown prince of a European nation. Emma is also looking for a husband to help her business and that of her professional matchmaking godmother. Taking a break from dating men that are "compatible" with her on paper, Emma dates Michel to get him out of her system. But Michel is also looking for someone to marry for love otherwise he will have an arranged marriage.

I enjoyed the story overall, and I thought each of the characters had an interesting backstory. Since there was so much information on Emma, I would have appreciated a bit more insight into Michel's story than just his basic background. The characters were definitely unique though, and I enjoyed reading about a different side of them.

For a book that was clearly intended for a mature audience, I felt like the writing didn't reflect it. The writing felt too juvenile for the plot it was telling. The characters seemed only to have basic thoughts, and I was confused how Michel believed Emma was the one for him after just one date. However, when I put that aside, I really did enjoy the book. One of my favorite parts was definitely reading about Korean food and culture, as well as Emma's passion for it. It was just so obvious how important that was to her character, and it really seemed genuine.

This was a good book, and I would rate it 4/5 stars, just because I wanted a little more from the characters. I would probably recommend if you're just looking for a light read though.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review. Emma a korean culinary teacher and Michel a visiting professor/ secret prince. Emma is also looking for a husband to appease her Matchmaking godmother. But michel and Emma and up having instant love and connection so they decide to date while michel is in town for two months. My favorite parts of the book was reading all about Korean food and Emma’s passion for it. I also loved Sophie and Gabriel’s side story. What annoyed me is that Michel just needs to tell Emma the truth, especially because she is honest with everything up front, but that’s how all romcoms work. All in all it was a fun read.

Although this was a nice fluffy palate cleanser after reading some heavy books, it was just ok. It’s not something I’m going to remember or go out of my way to recommend when someone is asking for book ideas

Such a cute book by Jayce Lee. I absolutely love all of her books, they are just the perfect feel good romance!

This story took me on a thrilling ride of romance! I couldn't put it down and read it in 1 day. It was a great read after a long month of back-to-back internship interviews. I truly needed this book!
The chemistry between Emma and Michel was undeniable! Michel's open adoration for Emma was incredibly endearing, though Emma's guarded affection kept their moments of intimacy constantly interrupted by darn meddling friends. It was frustrating, to say the least!
Emma's search for love, influenced by her parents' failed relationship( the trauma :( ), led her through a string of dull first dates arranged by her godmother. Little did she know she'd find herself drawn to Michel, a charming USC professor. Despite doubts about their compatibility and Michel's impending return to Rouleme, their attraction was undeniable.
While Emma's hesitance grated on my nerves, Michel's unwavering devotion and Emma's eventual surrender to their connection had me rooting for them. And those steamy scenes? OOOOH MAN. They were written with such passion, perfectly capturing Emma and Michel's intense love.

I truly loved this story. It made my heart so happy. <3

Overall this was an enjoyable read. The plot was fun and lighthearted, but when it came down to a strong foundation for it and its characters it fell flat and left me craving more. Which is upsetting because the book started strong and somewhere along the way I don't know what happened. It started moving too quickly and when it came to developing the characters it seemed like an uneven playing field. We knew so much about Emma and her family, but Michel was swept under the rug and I just didn't connect with him.

It was a cute book and it had its sweet moments. It was just missing something in their connection and relationship. The secrecy, jealousy, miscommunication didn't do it for me. And the resolution of their issues was just not realistic, felt like just a means to an end to get the story moving along. And I can't believe this but their relationship was sometimes purely physical. And smut without real plot is not my thing. Yet it frustrates me because it had so much potential and I did enjoy the Korean culture and how it all revolved around food. I actually ended up craving more insight and scenes of the side characters stories than them.

Needless to say, just because it wasn't the book for me doesn't mean it may not be the book for someone else!

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee has a promising premise but didn't quite deliver. I have loved her past books but this one just didn't provide the plot momentum.

a book hasn't taken me this long to read since i read people we meet on vacation. I really wanted to like this book, and the premise had potential. The cover is cute! I am not a fan, at all, of the insta love trope.

I LOVED this book! Emma and Michel were perfect together. Emma’s love for people and food with her culture shone through every line. Michel’s good heart and kindness made me smile all the way through.

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

The synopsis interested me but the story itself didn’t. While I enjoyed the food aspect, the characters were so flat and one dimensional and the storyline lacked the depth I was hoping for.

Other readers may love this one, but I wasn’t the right reader for this and struggled to finish it.



Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

What a cute read. I felt like I learned so much about Korean culture. I really enjoyed that Emma was a culinary instructor.

“Emma dreams of opening her very own culinary school in Los Angeles and to save her/godmother’s reputations, she goes on many arranged dates to find the perfect-on-paper husband (even though she’s not ready for love) but after several disastrous first dates, she meets the gorgeous and irresistible Michel Aubert, a professor at USC and most definitely not her ideal match.

Prince Michel Aubert is bound by duty and responsibility to his country, but he refuses to marry a woman handpicked by his elders. If he must spend the rest of his life in service of his people, he wants to do it with someone he loves and trusts by his side. He only has one chance of evading the arranged marriage—by finding a bride he does love in a few short weeks before the engagement is formally announced. Michel escapes to Los Angeles and assumes the role of an ordinary professor to find the love of his life, someone who loves him for himself rather than his crown. And chance leads him right to Emma, who might just be the woman of his dreams!”

Summarized version of plot: such a good hallmark feel type of read!! If you want to cozy up with a good book on your day off, this is the one!

This sweet romance was a great read. It is a story of a prince (Michael) who is in LA looking to find his true love. He meets a chef (Emma) wanting to be true to her Korean heritage through her dream of a cooking school and in the Marriage mart. He falls first. Both are trying to discover what marriage and love means to them and how to balance it with their dreams and duty. It is an easy fun read with some great side characters - some fun relatives and a badass female body guard. Overall enjoyable and charming.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I really wanted to like this book, and the premise had potential. The cover is cute!

The instant-love was a bit of a let down for me. There wasn’t much differentiation between the two main characters voices - many many many paragraphs of reiterating their goals to the reader (these were covered in chapter 1, no need to keep rehashing it) and wondering what the other was thinking.

Also, the way the food was described was.. off-putting. For every dish, the descriptions followed the exact same formula.

I didn’t care for these characters, and for how long this book was the ending seemed very rushed and frivolous.

Not my cup of tea, but I’ll read Jayci Lee’s other works - maybe it was just this one that left me disappointed and bored.

Thank you to NetGalley & Jayci for an ARC of this book!

Im literally always obsessed with Jayci Lee!! This was a heartwarming tale about an undercover prince looking for love, and a nearly ‘spinster’ chef who’s looking for perfect-on-paper. My mixed-race heart was entirely so full reading this love story, and yours will be too!!

This book has:
🖤 a secret foreign prince MMC moonlighting as a prof
🖤 an asian chef FMC (way to represent, Emma!!)
🖤 a badass royal bodyguard (we love you Sophie)
🖤 escaping an arranged marriage
🖤 learning to love & be loved
🖤 a side character second chance romance 👀
🖤 all the asian and mixed couple representation I could possibly ask for (I love you for this Jayci 🫶🏼)

Do yourself a favour and put this one on your TBR for release day!! 🤩

I enjoyed this book so much!! I really enjoyed learning some Korean culture and language, and the author made it easy and interesting. I did Google up some translations and pronunciations, but that part was educational as well.

I liked the way that both MCs had a future in mind, but were open to different outcomes. The relationship almost felt like a fake-date trope at first, but the two of them were incandescent! Sexy scenes were top-notch.
The way their family's were involved in their lives was heartwarming.

The conflict was believable, and the reactions were also believable. Loved it, I'll look for more from this author.