This book was so fun - it gave me Princess Diary vibes and a new found understanding and appreciating for Korean royal court food. Emma and Michel are so lovable, and despite the odds stacked against them of time and royal obligation, they managed to find such a sweet love. If you are looking for a fun read with the following themes/tropes, this book is for you:
- a fling to prove a point
- she’s a commoner, he’s royalty
- friends to lovers
- family duty and respect
- finding your own path to love and happiness

I had a really hard time connecting with this book. I primarily listened to the audiobook of this and really liked this narrator for other books, but I don't think she was right for this one.

I have read Jayci Lee's books before and I always have a great time. This one had a wonderfully unique premise and was tons of fun!

✨ Publication date: July 30, 2024✨

That Prince is Mine is a multicultural steamy rom-com by Jayci Lee.

Emma is a middle class Korean-American cooking instructor focused on her career and opening her own cooking school. Emma’s godmother is a traditional Korean match maker and has put together a list of perfect on paper men for Emma to date on an effort to find a husband.

After several disastrous dates, Emma meets Michel a visiting international professor at USC. Knowing that he’s only here a couple of months, she takes a break from her matchmaking dates to have a steamy fling with the professor- no strings attached!

Michel is hiding a secret though, he’s only in America for a short time because he is next in line to be King of his small country and in search of his forever after and future queen.

Michel only has a limited amount of time to convince Emma they are compatible and that perfect on paper isn’t happily ever after. Will Emma’s stubborn attitude about romance keep her from finding true love and happiness with Michel?

This was a cute book. It was a little long with a few too many “I have to tell you somethings”. The steamy scenes were good and their chemistry fit, but it dragged a bit for me. This is a 3 star read!

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

#NetGalley #Jaycilee #thatprinceismine

I've said it before and it still stands, I'm a sucker for royal romances and That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee is one I thoroughly enjoyed. The story follows Emma Yoon, a Korean royal court cooking instructor, and Michel Chevalier, the crown prince of Rouleme who is pretending to be a USC professor to go undetected in the United States for three months while he looks for real love to avoid a prearranged marriage. The two of them have amazing chemistry, but many reasons neither can leave their home country for the other. The story flows nicely and has a lively cast of supporting characters.

Simply put, this book was "cute" if you didn't look too much into it. Emma, our Korean-American FMC and aspiring culinary teacher meets and falls into insta love with Michel, a prince from a small European country. Prince Michel had decided to give himself 3 months to move to the US (and have a gig as a visiting professor at USC), meet his perfect girl, fall in love, and then bring her back to his country to be married. Happily ever after. Like I said... its cute.

But what bothered me the most is how Emma has her own dreams and aspirations of owning her own commercial cooking space and being a Royal Korean Court Cuisine culinary teacher. Her dream wasn't to move to a foreign country and become a princess (and later Queen). I also didn't appreciate how she meddled in Sophie and Gabriel's love life. Those two had known each other their whole lives, but Emma, the girl who knew them all of a month, thought she knew what was best for them both?

This was a little bit of a swing and a miss for me so I rated this three stars. For me, a three star review means I acknowledge this book is capable of being a four or five star review for someone else!

In That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee, Prince Michel travels to California to escape his royal duties and an arranged marriage. While there, he meets Emma, a culinary teacher specializing in Korean Royal Court cuisine. Michel hides his true identity, and as he and Emma spend time together, they form a connection that challenges Emma’s ideas about love and the "perfect" partner.

I felt the connection was a little too quick and didn't fully connect with the characters.

I still recommend reading this if you haven't already done so! Jayci Lee has other books I've absolutely loved!

That Prince is Mine
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Jayci Lee

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Emma Yoon runs a small business as a culinary instructor in Los Angeles teaching Korean royal court cuisine to young ladies striving to marry into the exclusive upper crust Korean families. She has built her business alongside her renowned Korean matchmaker godmother, which brings her one step closer to her dream of opening up a culinary school on her own. But when her godmother’s fellow matchmakers decide to meddle in Emma’s love life in a bid to sabotage her godmother, and indirectly push Emma's dream out of her reach, she must go on a series of arranged first dates and find herself the perfect-on-paper husband to help save both, her godmother's reputation and her dream--even if she's not ready for love. But when she meets Michel Aubert, a professor at USC, after a series of disastrous first dates, she wonders if she might reevaluate her position on love.

Prince Michel Aubert is bound by duty and responsibility to his country, but an arranged marriage is the last thing he wants. If he is going to spend the rest of his life in service of his people, then he at least wants someone he loves and trusts by his side while doing it. He needs to find a woman who loves him for who he is before his engagement to his handpicked bride is announced. Emma Yoon might be just the woman he is looking for.

My Thoughts: This was a cute story. I have been a fan of Lee’s works for a while and personally love them. Emma Yoon runs a small business as a culinary instructor teaching royal cuisine. She wants to open her own culinary school. She has a close relationship with her godmother, a matchmaker, and would do anything to make her godmother happy. Her godmother has a series of dates set up for Emma to find a husband, not necessarily love at first. Most end in disaster. Prince Michel Aubert is bound by royal responsibility, including an arranged marriage. However, if he finds love first, he can escape the arrange marriage aspect of the responsibility. Emma might just be the woman he is looking for, however, Emma is re-evaluating how she feels about “love.” This follows the tropes of royal romance, opposite attract, arranged marriage aspect, and food incorporation.

Emma believes that marriage will only work between two people if they are compatible, as she feels two people will eventually fall out of love and if they are not compatible, they is nothing to fall back on and the relationship will end in divorce. Michel is a prince under the guise of a professor at USC. He is in America searching for his soulmate, as he believes in true love. There was an immediate attraction between Emma and Michel. They started dating for different reasons, he believed she was his soulmate and she wanted to prove that they were not compatible. This even carried an insta-love aspect. The characters were well developed, likable, were witty, had chemistry, and were intriguing. I did love the supporting characters and the side romance that developed there. I would have liked to see a little more backstory built up, even saying that, the characters were well thought out. The author’s writing style was complex, funny, passionate, and creative. I do think the third act breakup could have gone a tad differently, or not at all.

Even with the plot shortcomings, overall, I really did enjoy this story and thought it was a cute read. Again, I love Lee, so I will always pick up the next novel of hers. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys an adorable love story.

The cover of this book caught my eye at first. I was also drown to the Korean theme. While reading, I enjoyed the nods to Korean culture and the food I have grown to love. The fact that Emma was royal court cuisine instructor sounded fun to read as well.

The supporting cast of characters were great. Auntie Sue was hilarious and Jeremy was the perfect protective Oppa. Emma's dad was also wonderful. Supportive and kind. On Michel’s side, Sophie was my favorite.

There were funny moments in the book. However, I did have to skip quite a few parts, I don’t read open door, and there was a lot of language as well. I still wanted to review the book, because I did like the story.

Thank you to the publisher for the NetGalley approval. I definitely need to do more research on my end before I request based on my love for Korean food and the culture, so I am aware of sexual content and language.

Another homeless romance read from Jayci Lee, i swear she doesn't miss. I'm wasn't too fond of the cover but the book made up for it. This book was hands down a page turner!

Normally, I like her sweet romances but I just couldn’t get into it and found myself cringing a few too many times. I finished a 1/3 of the book and then called it quits.

This is a solid 3.5 stars. The concept is fun and gave me Prince Harry/Meghan Markle vibes but some of the execution was a little lacking - namely the dialogue. A lot of the conversations and language used just didn’t feel natural which took away from the story. There was also a lot of internal feelings shared with the reader but not each other which made it feel like their amazing connection was really not quite so strong. The third act breakup/makeup felt very rushed and again largely figured out through internal dialogue or supporting character conversations instead of each other.

Very very cute, but not my favorite romance. I think it was almost too cute for my liking. But I did have a nice time reading this.

A love-averse Korean royal court cuisine instructor is waylaid by a gorgeous professor—and prince in disguise—who will do anything to prove to her that love and happily ever after can be theirs.

Emma Yoon dreams of opening a culinary school in Los Angeles.
Prince Michel Aubert is bound by duty and responsibility to his country, but an arranged marriage is the last thing he wants.

The prince comes to America to find a wife who will love him for himself, and not his title. I loved watching Michel and Emma fall for each other while navigating their families’ expectations. I also loved the incorporation of Korean cuisine throughout the book, and how well Emma’s passion for her culture, cooking, and helping others was conveyed.

How on earth can these two make this relationship work? There is humor to go along with the romance as the characters can laugh at themselves, and with some friends who themselves are having relationship issues and perfect sidekicks.

Great Fun Read!! Definitely would recommend it.

A light hearted, adorable romcom where the food is the highlight and the love interests have great chemistry. All the delicious sounding Korean dishes mentioned had me starving! I haven’t read very many romances where the royalty/commoner is a main trope, but I think the author did a great job with it. I was worried either Emma or Michel would have to make major sacrifices or compromises to be together, but the ending worked out great for both of them. I hate when women in romances give up so much in order to have love, so seeing Michel be more than willing to lose so much for Emma was refreshing. I enjoyed the side characters and their stories were so good. I found Emma and Michel to be a little cheesy at times, but it’s a rom com, so I wasn’t really bothered by it. The story was wholesome, and the Korean representation was my favourite part.

This is a cute spicy read that is exactly what I expect when I read Jayci Lee. I could not put this book down it was very intriguing read.

This book was just as enjoyable as I've come to expect Jayci Lee's books to be, and I'm a sucker for any storyline that could be a Hallmark movie. I always love her characters and how she weaves their heritage into the book. Be prepared to be hungry with all the talk to food and cooking!

Such a cute cover and premise, but the execution was meh! So slow and no tension really so unfortunately I dnf'd this one around 40%.

Emma Yoon has a plan: take her culinary instruction to the next level by opening a cooking school and find a husband she is compatible with. Her parents had a love marriage that ended when Emma was young, and she is determined to get her own right, even if it means keeping love out of the equation. With the help of her godmother and other matchmakers, Emma goes on a series of dates to find her prince.

Michel Aubert is a professor at USC and he is harboring a secret. His time in America means freedom for him to be a normal man. But he is anything but that - he is a prince and he hopes his time in the US will bring him the true love he desperately wants. An arranged marriage is in his future should he not find a bride. After Michel witnesses one of Emma's blind dates go badly, he asks her out himself, and realizes very quickly that she might be the one. But is Emma willing to follow her heart or her head when it comes to that happily ever after?

Charming, royal, and delicious! This light hearted romance checks all the boxes for a delightful summer read. One of my favorite tropes is "he falls first", and this was well executed by the author. The spice level is just right for the story and the characters, and the dishes talked about in the book? I doubt you will get through the story without googling how to make them (or in my case how to have them delivered). I received this book from Macmillan Audio and the narrator was fantastic. She brought voice to all the characters and did a great job with all the witty banter. This royal romance hits shelves on July 30, 2o24 just in time for that late summer vacay!

That Prince is Mine was a read I was excited about but overall it just fell flat for me. I don't mind insta-like/love, but it felt almost too unrealistic and the writing felt like it was going to be light and fluffy and then BAM out of nowhere they were thinking thoughts that felt like whiplash to how sweet the story was feeling. It was just hard to get over for me.

Then the Jeremy big brother being protective and overall a jerk was confusing... wasn't he just saying he wanted to meet the guy? Aren't they adults?? Do people act like this and I am just not aware of it?

Also the inner monologues of both Emma and Michel were not making me feel like I could relate to them. I guess I just don't understand the motivation for Emma feeling like she needed to "save" her godmothers match making business reputation when it just felt like petty gossip? Maybe its just a cultural thing I didn't understand, but then Jeremy also was telling Emma the same thing I was thinking so I don't think it was. And Michel being so taken with Emma was endearing and I actually loved the fact that Michel could kiss her in public and do things with her he couldn't do back in his own country, but then the whole thinking you are in love with someone after 3 dates and they don't even know you are a prince yet was weird. I don't know... I'm not royalty so I guess I will never understand.

I definitely want to give Jayci Lee another try in the future. Honestly Sophie and Gabriel had banter that I would love to read about, but alas this story wasn't about them.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.