This was a cute romance. I enjoyed reading about the multi cultures of Emma & Michel who were both very tight with their respective families and didn’t want to hurt anyone with their relationship. Emma was just a fun character. She was so loyal to her family and put them above herself at times. I’m happy that her character evolved throughout the book and eventually stood up for herself. I also enjoyed how Michel was genuinely a good person and so what on the shy side even though he would eventually be running a country one day. Their relationship was fun to watch evolve as was their personalities. There was definitely a lot of growth from both characters in this book from beginning to end.


***Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

That Prince is Mine is a cute story with a little bit of spice. I could definitely see this as a Hallmark movie. Emma wants to open her own cooking school and offers to help her aunt's matchmaking service until she meets Michel, a handsome man at the cafe. After her parent's divorce she believes that feelings fade and compatibility is the only thing that matters. Michel is the crown prince of Rouleme working as a visiting professor at the university, hoping he can find love in LA because once he goes home he will wed his childhood friend.

It was fun to read about the different Korean foods and culture. I usually dont like love at first sight books, but the characters actually got to know each other to see if it was more than lust. Overall, good story and I look forward to reading other books by Jayci Lee.

Rarely does one read an undercover royal story with a plot that seems actually plausible, but this one was! Emma's culinary goals were deliciously aspirational, and Michel's bodyguard was one of my favorite parts of the whole story. I enjoyed watching Michel and Emma find love and trust with each other.

I really enjoyed this quirky rom com and had a great time reading it. There was good banter and I thought the characters were good together. A great pallet cleanser book.

“That Prince is Mine” is the spicier version of a “Christmas Prince” with some cross-culture plot. I received this as a Netgalley arc, but unfortunately this was not a love for me. I felt like the instant-infatuation was a bit too far fetch and so was Emma and Michel’s expectations on love and relationships. While the discussion of food was really appetizing and interesting I felt like the discussion of race and discrimination was just glossed over. Like the author was scared to upset the perfect mold of their relationship by having real conversations. Also having a fake country being progressive and white seems a little toooooo far fetch like Genovia or Aldovia. And let’s not forget did Emma just not get to start her culinary school at all? Or did I miss that? Any way if I watched this in a movie I probs would have loved it but reading it made me want to cry for all the romantics who are bullied for being represented by books like this. Sorry, Jayci Lee better luck next time.

Jayci Lee has written another adorable romance with lovable characters and a fun, interesting story. That Prince is Mine has an imaginative, wishful plot which will keep you smiling, anticipating what will happen next.

Emma Yoon's only ambition in life is to open her own culinary school. She is Korean and realizes there is definitely a market for this type of cuisine. If only her godmother, Auntie Soo felt the same way. You see Emma is coming upon her thirtieth birthday, one which her godmother feels Emma will be considered too old to marry.

Because Aunt Soo is a matchmaker, she decides she needs to intervene in Emma's life and get her married. Emma is horrified, but of course can't go against her godmother's wishes. So, as she begins to "date" Autie's good on paper men, Emma always seems to find something about them she does not like. Then one day while on one of these "dates" she looks up and sees an amazing site.

Enter Michel Chevalier, who not only immediately catches Emma's eye, but he sets his sights on wooing her. But of course, there are problems. He is from another country and is only in the United States for a few months as a professor and oh by the way, he is the Prince of the small country he comes from and has escaped because he is supposed to marry a girl which had already been arranged when he was born.

But, they do begin to fall in love and Michel tries to keep the "baggage" he has brought to the states a secret, but of course, that is difficult when you are trying to run a country in secret. Plus, there is the fact that he will soon be leaving.

Through the course of their dating though, he realizes he wants Emma to come back with him. But how can he intrude on her own dreams and whisk her away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Plus, there is still the problem of his upcoming nuptials.

Meanwhile, as Emma begins to fall in love, she herself has reservations. How does she explain to Auntie Soo that this is the man she wants to be with knowing he will be leaving soon.

Of course, when the situation slowly becomes exposed it leaves both of them trying to figure out where to go next. Especially as Michel's time is coming to an end in the States.

How on earth can these two make this relationship work? Humorously, of course and with some friends who themselves are having relationship issues and perfect sidekicks.

The Prince is Mine is absolutely delightful, and royal!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin'sGriffin #JayciLee #ThatPrinceisMine for the advanced copy.

That Prince is Mine is a cute rom-com, I guess this is in the royalty-commoner trope. Emma is a Korean-American woman living in LA, taking care of her dad and starting a culinary school business. She agrees to go out on arranged matchmaking dates through her godmother but then meets Michel in a cafe, and then quickly fall for each other. Michel is a prince from a small European country, but she doesn't know this, and apparently his students at USC aren't very sophisticated at the Internet so they don't find this out either! Emma and Michel have an adorable relationship and I was rooting for them and all the other couples in this book.

That Prince is Mine was my first book by Jayci Lee, and while I thought it was cute, I was slightly disappointed. I thought this was a cute, quick read, but ultimately forgettable. While this is an adult romance with adult themes, much of thoughts and dialogue read more as YA to me. I thought the Korean food aspects and descriptions were well done.

3.5 Stars. I'm not going to lie, I struggled a bit with this book. I thought the idea of the book was fun and unique, but I unfortunately found the execution to not be what I hoped. I struggled with the insta-love and also didn't really love the ending. My absolute favorite thing was all the Korean food. Reading this book made me very very hungry. The book was steamier than I was expecting based on the cover, which was a pleasant surprise.

She believes in arranged marriage, he doesn't. Can he convince her that love can last?

I loved this swoony royal romance right from the start. Likeable characters and a believable premise. I ate it up (pun intended, since our FMC is a culinary instructor) in one sitting. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of real Korean culture with the MMC's fictional European country. It felt just fairy tale enough.

Looking forward to more by Jayci Lee!

“That Prince is Mine” is another fun contemporary romance from Jayci Lee. I received an ARC of the book, which was released on July 30, 2024.

Emma Yoon teaches Korean royal court cuisine to hopeful brides of upper-crust Korean families in LA. She is going on a series of matchmaking dates at the same posh hotel café frequented by Michel Chevalier, the visiting professor. A couple of madeleines later, and Michel is determined to prove there is more to a successful relationship then diagnostic checklists of a business transaction.

Jayci Lee always does a wonderful job of focusing on the love of food and supportive family in her books.

I enjoyed the ways in which Lee had Emma and Michel acknowledge the potential racism of a Korean-American becoming Rouleme royalty. I also liked how there was not a lot of handwriting by Emma thinking of moving her life and family to Europe but rather a thoughtful consideration of what makes a person happy and fulfilled.

This was a fun, entertaining book. If you like contemporary romance, romantic comedies, stories with royalty, good food and good sex, try this book.

This was a very cute book. I liked the character and how they felt kind of real. This book had me smiling through the whole book. Loved it so much

I always love Jayci's books, and love that this is a royalty romance. Enjoyed the read and can't wait to devour her next one.

Emma Yoon, a culinary expert in Korean royal court cuisine, doesn't believe love is the key to a successful marriage. In Emma's eyes, you have to be perfect on paper, aka have compatibility, or bust. Prince Michel Aubert is a visiting professor who's trying to experience the normal side of life away from his home country. When Michel watches one of Emma's arranged dates go array, he swoops in to cover her bill but fails to ask her for her number. Somehow their paths keep crossing.

That Prince is Mine leans on the romance without a lot of substance. That isn't bad, it was just a little too fluffy for my taste. As a lighter read this is perfect. With the amount of talk focused around food it's easy to get distracted by hunger, and it did make me want to explore Korean food more in my real life. There are a lot of side characters and the most common side plot is also romance---so a lot of romance on top of a lot of romance.

The writing and pacing is solid, and overall it was a sweet and fast read.

Thank you SMP for the gifted ARC.

I just finished That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee and Narrated by Olivia Song and here are my thoughts on it.

Emma wants to open a culinary school and while she works towards that, she teaches brides-to-be how to create Korean dishes. When her godmother catches trouble in her matchmaking business because Emma isn’t married, Emma decides to allow her godmother to make her a match but when she sees Michel in the coffee place where she has all her first dates, something sparks between them but little does she know that Michel is a Prince and he has 3 months to find a bride for love or end up in an arranged marriage he really does not want.


I really enjoyed this audio. It was a bit slow to start but I was highly entertained all the way through. The narrator was amazing and did a great job!

Emma comes across a bit snobby and I did not enjoy that. I feel like she should have been more down to earth being that she should have been the balance to a prince falling for her and Michel literally was the sweetest man. It seemed a bit weird to have such an unusual dynamic but as it went on, it worked so who cares!

I thought it was a super sweet romance with some lovely dialogue and I loved all the foodie parts. I really enjoyed all the Korean food references and found it really gave the book some much appreciated dimension. I think the only thing missing was that she didn’t stand behind him and guide the knife through some vegetable items and they got down and dirty on the floor…. Would have made my day haha. (FYI that didn’t happen just in case I am not clear haha)

All in all it was a highly enjoyable book and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a multicultural romance.

4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ALC and ARC copies. OUT NOWWWWW

I was excited to read this book and enjoyed it in many ways. It’s a sweet story where the main characters and their friends and family are highly supportive of one another. The connections to Korean-American culture was really interesting as well.

I didn’t love the insta-love between the main characters, but that’s more of a personal preference than the book itself. The characters also felt younger than their ages to me.

It’s quite spicy and reminded me a lot of the Prince and Me movies, so that was fun!

Overall I would recommend it!

This one was a cute insta-love, royalty/commoner story! It had “The Prince & Me” vibes, maybe because of the University setting, so if you liked that movie I think you’ll like this one!
I understood the reasoning behind the Prince’s secret— he wanted to make sure that she loved him for him and not just his title. Though they went into it like a fling, that was never really their intention. She knew he would be leaving in a few months, but she was going to enjoy it while it lasted even if she is not the fling type. After all, once he left, she would have to marry a man who is “perfect on paper”, that way her godmother keeps her pristine matchmaking reputation. He would have to marry his arranged fiancee before he takes up his mantle as the King.
They both have their duties— her to her family, and he to his country. But they find the pull to each other is stronger, and that when you’ll do anything for your love, you can’t go on without it.
He is literally and figuratively a prince to her in his actions and I loved him. I very much enjoyed their chemistry and interactions, and the spice was unexpected but welcomed.

Thank you St Martins and NetGalley for the eARC!

Emma and Michael's romance was an absolute joy and utter perfection. These characters and their story captured my attention and stole my heart. A skillful and smart blend of genuineness and swoon creates a fun yet emotional romance that has that magical feel to it that truly sweeps you away and makes falling head over heels extra sweet.

This book was very cute! It was a comfort read for those of us who like royalty-themed tropes, so would recommend if those are your cup of tea.

3.5⭐️

Emma and Michel were so, so cute, and this was the fluffiest of romances.

Side note; I loved all of the food references! It helped to show Emma’s passion for good cuisine, and it was cute to see the passion for food parallel wanting to (eventually) love completely and wholly.

I also loved seeing Sophie and Gabriel as a parallel to Emma and Michel, I think their own story would have been amazing and angsty as well.

I think one of my only critiques for this book as a romance was the insta-love, it isn’t my personal favourite and this book had one of the biggest cases of it I’ve seen. This also caused the characters to fall a bit flatter than they could have been. I felt bad for the matseons as well, and almost wished some of them received more time and more of a chance from Emma!

Overall a cute and fluffy read, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!