A cute nod to Princess Diaries 1&2. If you don’t imagine Queen Maria (Grandmama) as Julie Andrews, you’re missing out! TBD if I'll check back in on the rest of the series, it was an easy read but I found myself dragging to finish.

“I never dreamt I would fall in love with such a worthy man. But now that I’ve found him, and he’s moved Heaven and Earth to be with me, I know one thing for absolute certainty. I will never let go.”
-Maddie

From hate to love and a “meet ugly” instead of a “meet cute” a romance blossomed between Princess Madeline and Prince Alex.
When you read this book you will travel from Texas to a beautiful country named Malveaux.
Where Madeleine takes the title of Princess and learns about her mother’s heritage and country. While she’s getting to know her grandparents (the king and queen of Malveaux). She meets Prince Alexander from Ledonia. Her adventure begins and she takes her new role with bundles of nerves.
This book was so beautiful and so funny! I loved the warm fuzzy feelings I felt while reading Madeline’s story! It’s was such an enjoyable romcom!

I love a good prince/princess/royalty romance, and this book did not disappoint. Maddie was such a fun character, and I really loved interacting with her chapters. The book itself gave me Princess Diary vibes, which I absolutely love.

Thank you NetGalley and Wild Lime Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is definitely a fun read for any Princess Diaries fans. It was a cute and easy read but lacked a bit more of depth or conflict for my liking. Overall, I enjoyed it and am excited that other royal siblings will be getting their own stories as well!

I really really wanted to love this book. I have been waiting for this book to release since I saw the cover reveal. Sadly this book was not for me. I know others who have loved it and I definitely think if the topic is of interest to you, you should give it a try.

I had a hard time relating to the characters and never felt like I built a connection with them. I felt like there were lots of events in the book, but just never really felt like anything was happening. I have read others by this author that I loved, but I struggled with the writing style of this one for some reason.

I am not one to DNF a book and I am glad I didn’t because the last 10-15% of the book was my favorite part. I kinda wish this section had happened earlier and the angst of it could have been carried out longer with more detail.

"The Backup Princess" by Kate O'Keeffe is a delightful rom-com that puts a modern twist on the classic royal fairy tale.

From the moment Texas girl turned princess, Riley, accidentally decks Europe's most eligible bachelor, Prince Alexander, instead of curtsying, you know you're in for a wild ride. The dynamic between Riley and Alexander crackles with tension and humor, making their journey from enemies to lovers all the more satisfying to watch unfold.

O'Keeffe's writing is witty and engaging, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and swoon-worthy romance. The story is filled with charming characters, from the spunky Riley to the charmingly infuriating Alexander, and the chemistry between them is electric.

While the premise may seem familiar, O'Keeffe puts her own spin on it, infusing the story with humor, heart, and a healthy dose of royal drama. The pacing is brisk, keeping the story moving at a lively pace while still allowing for moments of emotional depth and reflection.

Overall, "The Backup Princess" is a charming and feel-good read that's perfect for fans of royal romances and enemies-to-lovers tropes. With its irresistible blend of humor, romance, and fairy tale magic, it's sure to leave readers smiling and swooning until the very end.

I really wanted to love this, based on the blurb. However, it failed to deliver. The claim that it was like The Princess Diaries was a bit of a reach, the only thing in common was that both main characters were from the USA.

The pacing was a struggle, the plot disjointed, and there was no character growth or development. Whole paragraphs felt repetitive, and the writing was rather simplistic and full of cliches.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in return for my honest review.

I have a feeling Maddie was sitting there thinking "Me? A Princess? Shut up!" when she was uprooted from her normal life in Texas to be next in line for the throne in Malveaux. This was such a sweet & funny story about finding your true purpose and realizing it is not too late to grow into the person you truly are. Maddie and Alex gave us a little bit of everything! I recommend for anyone who loves a closed door romance, modern royality, and humor.
-Clean Romance
-Enemies/Dislikes to Lovers
-Banter
-Hallmark movie vibes
-Cheesy American/Texas Slang
-Reformed Bad Boy
-Slow Burn
*While I do not typically choose/read closed door romances, this did not impact my overall review.

Ohh nice
This was an interesting twist
My second book by this author. It was really cool what was done with the plot

Such a a clean rom-com that has the fun vibes of The Princess Diaries, but so much more and with an adorable love story. I loved watching the characters grow and develop. It was fun reading a happy book, but I loved that it was not completely predictable. Very cute!

I loved Maddie so much! She's such a relatable character and I loved her POV. I haven't read much of royal romance, but I'm warming up to the trope coz I love the baggage that comes with it (the way it adds on the characters' personality). None of the books I read so far had rules/laws this elaborate or an MC new to being royalty, so I really enjoyed how Maddie handled everything.

The story read like a fated relationship, and as Maddie says, she's finally near the life that's meant for her. Speaking of side characters, Alex's siblings were so much fun! Loved that they're just like regular siblings and Maddie's grandma is a sweetheart <3 She actually tries to learn Maddie's slang/way of speaking to make her more comfortable. I really enjoyed the contrast between Alex's family and Maddie's also with some wholesome scenes like the race.

I don't know if this was just me, but I felt like the MCs behaved like they were much younger-especially Maddie. I felt like they were teenagers, and though I didn't hate it, it definitely confused me. On a side note, I was happy coz the national bird of Maddie's kingdom is the peacock, which IRL is India's national bird. Ok so to conclude this looong review, I do recommend this read, coz it was great.

Now, I really really wanted this book to be for me but unfortunately it wasn't great but it wasn't bad either.

One thing I really enjoyed is that there wasn't a break up in the 3rd act. But... on the other hand... please for the love of everything good, give us some conflict/drama/ ANYTHING in the whole book. Otherwise it just reads bland.

The Backup Princess was attempting to give "The Princess Diaries" vibes, but I was just waiting to feel some form of connection to these characters. This unfortunately never happened. Right off the bat things pick up and you feel like you are left behind because it is written in a way that makes you feel like you should already know this information. I thought I was reading a book that was further into a series and that I was missing something. But I was surprised to see that it was the first book.

It is a very quick read and is the perfect book for a nice afternoon read. But keep in mind it is quite simple.

Also I would not recommend marketing a book as similar to the Princess Diaries when the only similarity is that an American is a European princess. I would just recommend reading the original as it has more creativity.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it! This one is about a girl from Texas who meets a prince and punches him instead of bowing. This is a fun read that has major Princess Diaries vibe. This is a great Royal romance, the characters have great chemistry even when they want to kill each other. Very funny book.

I am a sucker for books about all things Royal. This book is very similar to the Princess Diaries and I enjoyed reading about Maddie learn about her country. BUT, there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. She acted surprised to be told she was a princess but then was like “oh yeah, I guess my mom was a princess” how does one forget that their mom was a princess. I also felt that while Maddie and Alex were very cute together everything was so rushed. They went from hating each other to being in love in a week. I wish there was more of a natural timeline to their relationship. It was a cute and easy read overall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Expresso books for this eARC

The Backup Princess was a very cute princess diaries esque whirlwind of a romance book. We meet Madeline, a regular 24 year old girl whose mom was a princess who abdicated her throne for love. Maddie is whisked away to her mother’s kingdom, Malveaux as a “backup” once her uncle decided to do the same, and thrown into Princess life. It’s there in her new princess life she meets Prince Alexander, the neighboring kingdom’s bad boy and ladies man who’s trying to reform and look for love. The two are thrown together to form political relations and they find they have a lot more in common than they realize.

I loved Maddie, she was extremely kind and thoughtful to all those around her, and funny. I hated that we never got to see more personality explored, like she wore a hoodie about books off the plane and then never touched a book in the novel. Alex was charming, but he felt very one note. He kept trying to convince people he had changed by just telling them but would continue to do the behavior he changed under the pretense that it was fake and didn’t mean anything.

My biggest complaint is that this novel doesn’t feel like the first in a series. The first few chapters were hard because it felt like there were things about the world I should already know, but I didn’t. They’re fast opening chapters that throw you straight into the world without any cushions for your fall.

The book lacks conflict. When Maddie and Alex realize what their relationship means for her title the uneasiness lasts for maybe two chapters before it is solved. There just did not feel like any real stakes in the book, even when it came to her uncle abdicating. Everyone told her she didn’t have to worry that he would sign the papers and they were right!

The characters and world were so beautiful I just left wanting more!

Thanks for the ARC! While I don’t love romance, I am a sucker for anything related to royals and was very excited to read this book. It did give Princess diaries vibes, but I enjoyed many things: I liked both Maddie and Alex, loved Amelia, thought the relationship between Maddie and her grandparents was great. The banter was cute and I liked the problem posed at the end.

A few things I think could have made this more compelling: at times, it felt like it tried too hard. The line No cap to me was such a throw in and indicative of trying to force this generational/American personality of Maddie but everything you read about her shows she’s not that? So I was confused by those forced one liners (also using lit) peppered throughout the book.

The whole Chloe thing felt weird to me. From the crush on Alex to Maddie paying little attention to her while she was visiting - again very PD with the quirky best friend, but she really played no role for me.

Finally, it was too rushed. Alex is going to abdicate after three weeks? We already know this is going to be a series and there was a perfect cliff hanger, but it looks like the story for them has closed and she’s moving onto Sophia.

So a fast cute read, but wish this had had more in common with American Royals/The Royal We in continuing one bigger story around this couple you’re investing in.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This was a dual point of view, sweet romance. While not quite an original premise, (a girl suddenly finds out she is a princess and is whisked away unprepared to take on the life of a royal) it was still a cute, quick read. Both Alex and Maddie were enjoyable characters, but they felt way younger than their true years. I had to keep reminding myself they were not teenagers!

This was a lighthearted, low angst romance that is the start of a new series.

3.5 stars

Gah! I’m a sucker for a fun, sweet story with no third act breakup.

Maddie is a Texas girl not quite sure she’s where she’s supposed to be. She wants to find where she fits when she learns she is a true Princess. I enjoyed watching Maddie come into her own and find what she’s always been looking for.

Alex is a Prince who earned his reputation from past behaviors but is ready to prove he’s more than what people think. He and Maddie have an interesting meeting which reenforce their already preconceived ideas of each other. When they are forced to spend time together they learn who the other person truly is and help each other discover their own strengths.

Maddie is enjoying an ordinary life when she learns she is now next-in-line for the throne of Malveaux. In Malveaux she meets Prince Alex, the crown prince of Ledonia. Though they get off on the wrong foot, as they spend time together, they develop feelings. But there are some laws that may make their HEA a little difficult.
This is my first book by the author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved watching Maddie come to her own as a Princess, her journey has some funny and awkward moments, and some witty banter between Maddie and Alex. And I also loved how supportive Alex was towards Maddie - total swoon worthy.
The backup Princess was such a fun and cute read that I look forward to reading next in the series.

The Backup Princess by Kate O’Keeffe
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @kateokeeffewriter for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

“When a Texas gal punches a prince instead of curtsying, you know this isn’t your grandmother’s fairy tale.”

This book reminded me of the princess diaries 2 with Greys Anatomy sprinkles. New princess with a meet ugly and they use references like Mchottie. Super cute and clean.

I loved getting to know the Texas princess, Maddie, and Mchottie, Alex. They had several cute moments. the author Kate O’Keeffe wrote this story really well so that the reader could see the growth of the characters in such a short time. I loved how it was a quick romance but didn’t feel rushed! And she gave us an epilogue to see the future with this cute couple. Alex is just so freakin sweet to Maddie and takes great care of her…. But he also lets Maddie shine!

The only thing I wish was that Alex was able to resolve some issues with his dad more. Seemed a bit rushed there. But maybe more will come about in the next book in the series.

Great read, highly recommend if you are in the market for a clean rom com.