How to Date a Prince by Hayden Stone sounded totally up my alley, but unfortunately fell a little bit short of the mark for me. I did really like a few things about it such as the approachable writing style, and Auggie as a character - his struggles despite being a prince were super relatable, between his eating disorder-adjacent struggles, coming to terms with his sexuality, the loss of a parent, general loneliness, and more. However, the relationship development between him and Thomas was so rushed - they went from 0-100 out of completely nowhere. Also, their constant back and forth of not communicating was really grating on me by the end. However, this was still a solid read and I overall enjoyed my time reading it, and I think there is a lot to like for a variety of readers.

The problem with this book is that the premises were amazing, really funny and trash but in a good way. The execution? Not so much. The characters lack in deep and are really flat and childish. The writing is flat. I don’t dismiss it totally because there are moments that are really funny, but I can’t totally promote it completely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! All thoughts are my own.

Imagine Red White & Royal Blue meets Reality TV.
This was so much fun. I enjoyed the first half more than the second half though. The second half had me anxious and I just wanted them to communicate with each other properly. But overall this was an extremely fun read and I cannot wait to see what Hayden Stone publishes next.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 15, 2025

I’m usually a sucker for a queer royal romance but unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. The characters are immature and underdeveloped, and the MCs mood swings were exhausting and gave me whiplash. Very insta-love so I struggled to take their attraction or relationship seriously. Zero royal vibes, lots of hot mess 20-something’s vibes.

I also struggled with the reality tv aspect because it came across so predatory and abusive…showing them the footage of their relationship gave me the ick, but also…how did they not know they were filming? Then they seemingly threaten to forcibly out the heir to the throne and he’s just like oh ok, whatever? Umm. No.

The multiple casual mentions of his eating habits or lack thereof also gave me the ick. Does he have an eating disorder? What is the messaging behind that, because he kept commenting about how he didn’t eat but there were never any consequences besides headaches. Absolutely unnecessary subplot if it isn’t actually going to be explored and is just portrayed as normal behavior.

Honestly, at times this sounded like it was written by AI because characters just didn’t seem to act like humans act…even unpredictable ones. They made choices that conflicted with the characters they were built as.

This is in need of more beta readers and revisions. There’s a good premise, but it reads more like a chaotic brain dump of ideas than a fully realized book.

First of all i want to thank the author and netgalley for this ARC!!

This book was such a fun and easy read—I honestly flew through it. I could totally see myself picking it up again in the future just to revisit some of the moments that made me smile. That’s always a sign of a good book for me: when I finish it and immediately think, “Yeah, I’ll read this again someday.”
The story follows two characters with very different worlds colliding in the best way. There’s tension, banter, sweet moments, and just the right amount of drama to keep things moving. The chemistry between the leads is adorable, and I found myself rooting for them from the beginning.
There were a few parts where the pacing felt a little rushed or the romance leaned a bit on clichés. Overall, a perfect feel-good romance when you need something light and fun.

Going into this book, I thought it was going to give Red, White and Royal Blue vibes but with its own unique reality TV twist to it. And to give credit where credit is due, I did enjoy the set up of the story. However, I was severely disappointed with the execution as the plot progressed. Not only was it trying too hard to lean into a kind of not so meet cute romantic banter, but the story as a whole was just very messy. It seemed to me like all the characters couldn't decide on how to act and just kept switching personality traits throughout the chapters. I genuinely didn't get attached to a singular character in this book because of the way they chose to do a complete 180 for funsies. And I'm not sure if this was just because it was written in a weird narrative structure but there were parts of the story that felt like chunks of information were cut out entirely as relationship progression and depth were alluded to but never shown. It seemed to me like the two main characters had fallen in love about 32% in and the rest of the story was centered around character created conflict and a half baked competition ( that frankly also didn't quite make sense). I really wanted to like this book but I genuinely found myself dragging myself through it and it just wasn't for me.

3.25/5 Stars

How to Date a Prince is a royalty romance novel filled with interesting characters, yearning, challenges, and a happy ever after.

We meet Prince Auggie after a wild night on the town, where he makes some very big mistakes/errors/poor decisions... and to help him seem more related and accessible to people, his father, the king, signs him up for a reality TV show. A reality TV show where he will be face to face with the man he both finds attractive and maddening. Thomas Golden, is an heir to a hotel fortune, and his father and him are both very anti-royalty. But he also finds himself drawn to the prince. With two very different paths and expectations we see if they can overcome their differences.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I think it portrayed how fickle human emotions can be as well as the push and pull of what we desire with what we are expected to do/be. I liked the exploration of this topic. I did find myself wishing for more exploration on Auggie's eating habits, they are put out there with no real comment or flushing out. I also think the push pull went on too long. That being said if you are looking for a romcom to enjoy this is worth a read! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the writing style of this book, but I have to admit that Auggie was an insufferable main character. For me, he just wasn't very likable and was super annoying at times.

I thought this was a voicey romance that's an easy read and very reminiscent of a 90s romcom, where there's the threat of paparazzi and scandal at every turn - not to mention a bit of a swashbuckling feel to the lead! I really enjoyed this one

Had to dnf this book 30 pages in. The British crown prince’s behavior in chapter 2/3 wasn’t cool with me.
He kissed his friend (a girl) in front of paparazzi while picturing this hot guy who’s an American celebrity instead of her but then he went into the limo and continued making out with her and it evolved into him spending the night with her ?!? Like please no.
I just couldn’t continue I’m sorry. His behavior didn’t sit right with me.

Maybe it will get better. But sadly this book is not for me. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy it tho

Thank you to NetGalley for this Audiobook ARC.

This follows Prince Augustus 'Auggie' and Thomas Golden.

Prince Auggie , is next in line to the throne and his rule as King may begin a lot sooner than he thought, as his Father is sick unbeknowst to the public.

Thomas Golden is an American influencer, and his family is famously for the abolishment of the monarchy.

Prince Auggie , is also secretly gay , and struggling with all the added responsibilities on his shoulders and keeping his true self hidden.

After a night out , Auggie has made the tabloids for the wrong reason and his Father has decided to secretly sign him up for a new reality TV show , so the British public gets to know him better. Another contestant is Thomas Golden.

There is a lot of sexual chemistry and tension between the MMC's and this grows as they continue to compete on this show.

I enjoyed this, but I did feel that I was missing a backstory between Auggie and Gav and Anna, and the MMCs were very hot and cold.

Auggie, the closeted crown prince of the UK, has been ordered by his father to compete on a reality tv show. Auggie falls for his fellow competitor, Thomas, who wants to abolish the monarchy.

The premise is obviously ridiculous, so you gotta go into this not expecting anything to be realistic in any way. However, the premise is also very fun because it combines two types of stories that people (read: me) love: stories about royals and stories about celebrities. Also the subgenre of reality tv. The parts of the story set during the filming of the show are very fun. There's competition, sneaking around, sabotage, and villains. Then there was the big left turn that the plot took, which I think added a lot to the story. It went somewhere I was not expecting and really elevated the stakes in a good way.

However, I did find that the back and forth of “I really care about you, but I’m a prince” got repetitive and frustrating because it seemed like it took a long time to move forward. Additionally, I think there were several relationships/issues that needed to be addressed or explored more thoroughly than they were - Anne, Auggie's father, gender identity, and views on monarchy.

Overall, I had fun and enjoyed the characters, so I'll give 3.5 stars, rounded up.

How to Date a Prince is a Royal romance similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue. Prince Augustus is next in line to the British throne and, in order to make the monarchy seem more approachable, his father, the king, signs him up for a reality tv show. One of the other contestants is Thomas Golden, an attractive British-American influencer, who also happens to be anti-monarchist.

I generally enjoy a royal-themed romance, but I had a harder time liking this particular story. There was something about the pacing that didn’t work for me, especially the on again/off again nature of Auggie and Thomas’ relationship. Instead of a 3rd act breakup, it felt like they were breaking up during every act. I also really didn’t like Auggie’s actions toward his best friend, Katie, at the start of the book and there were a few things, like his disordered eating that were hinted at, but not really addressed. Overall, I liked the premise of the story, but I feel like the plot and character development could have been better executed.

I loved this book from start to finish and read it in one sitting. It combines everything I love in a romance book from celebrity, royalty to enemies to lovers as well as one of my guilty pleasures: reality TV :)

Prince Augustus (Auggie) is the heir to the British throne. He’s not exactly excited at that thought for one main reason: he’s gay and trying to hide it. Cue one crazy night out in disguise where he meets Thomas Golden, the heir to a successful hotel chain and self confessed anti monarchist. Not only does this lead to an unpleasant and awkward encounter, but he manages to get himself caught in a few not so flattering photos which eventually cause hurt between him and his best friend Katie.

After the scandal has hit the media, His Father King James signs him up to be on the Reality TV show Renaissance Man, to help show a different side to the monarchy and seem more approachable. When Auggie and Thomas end up on the show together, their previous dislike of each other continues. However the more time they are forced to spend together, they start to realise their feelings and the problems they could create for both their futures

I loved the characters in this book a lot and I think they were made relatable by the issues they faced (depression, family issues, loneliness, coming out). The relationship between Auggie and Thomas was brilliant and their banter back and forth had me laughing at times. I loved that Auggie’s backstory had so much detail and it made me just want to see him succeed so much. Thomas was such a sweet heart too but his outbursts made me want to shake him for being so stupid! The only thing I would have loved to have seen more off was more romantic scenes between the two of them and maybe a little more spice.

All in all I thought this book was great. I feel like it’s very much a story for those who are fans of Red, white and Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material as it was giving similar
Vibes. I was delighted to get to the end of the book and realise there was a second book in the works and I can’t wait to read and review it too!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review

What happens when the British Crown Prince is signed up for a reality tv show opposite the Amerixan abolitionist? Sparks fly when they fall for each other instead!

I really wanted to love this one. I think it had the potential for some funny moments but honestly it fell pretty flat for me. There were some fun banter-filled moments but we are kind of limited by Auggie’s POV, especially since he is an introvert with serious depression and grief issues. He seemed a littlw bit unsure of himself the entire book, which had the potential for some great character growth but he mostly talked himself out of everything that would make him happy.

The romance was fun at first but the constant “we can’t be together/break up/we can’t keep apart/break up again” cycle was too repetitive. Then there’s the believability that the crown wouldnt be all over footage recorded for the show and destroy anything incriminating against a prince and his reputation. I think there was some really good potential for enemies-to-lovers here but clearly Thomas fell first (if not very hard since he moved on so quickly despite saying he wanted a relationship).

Overall not a bad read. It had its moments.

I was all set to love this, but it didn't live up to its promise. Starting with the meet-not-so-cute, it seemed as if the author was setting out to hit a number of trope-y points/beats but not doing the work to make them land. Time after time throughout the book, the MCs seesaw back and forth between being lovey-dovey and furious with/running away from each other. In the end, I didn't find either of them particularly believable, which meant I didn't care much about them.

Also, minor quibble, but the book's title doesn't seem to fit when the prince is the sole POV character. (He's not dating himself.)

All in all, this was a disappointment.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Hayden Stone for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I love a good royal rom com!! Prince Augustus “Auggie” spends most of his days dreading anything happening to his father because then he’d be the next King of England. He also spends his days working really hard on not having anyone find out he’s gay. When he meets Thomas Golden, a rich hotelier who’s half British and an anti-monarchist, he feels an an instant attraction. Which is why he must deflect and treats Thomas rudely. He also overcompensates and creates a bit of a scandal. To his dismay his father demands that he takes part in a new reality tv show, Renaissance Man, to repair his image. To make things worse Thomas Golden is also on the show. Now he’ll compete to be the ultimate man while also fighting his growing feels for a man who hates everything he is. Can Auggie win it all? Can he stop himself from falling for the wrong guy? Or will their love be his downfall? Sweet and charming! I enjoyed the connection between Auggie and Thomas and the complications of who their families are! Witty and will have you feeling all the feels!! A lovely read!!!

This was a pretty fun book. It did the job.
How to Date a Prince is a romcom about a prince and an heir to an empire of hotels who is also an anti monarchist competing together in a reality show. It's a rivals to lovers kinda story, lighthearted and funny.
However there were some contradictions. The characters made decisions that were very uncharacteristic seemingly out of nowhere. I just can't understand that many 180 for no reason. It's also a little too long. The smut bothered me because I couldn't tell what it wanted to be, it isn't closed door but it's not full on smut either, it's strange.
At the end, it was an entertaining book.

Thank you Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC.

Yay! When I requested this book on NetGalley, I was hoping it would give Red, White and Royal Blue vibes. I wanted it to satisfy that craving I have for another story like that and it did!

This was so much fun and I cam definitely see myself rereading it in the future. And I think that's the testament to a good book if right after reading it, I know I will want to again.

This follows the British crown prince and an American influencer. There is family drama and politics, royalty and reality tv. This was so much fun. A perfect, quick little romance.

Sometimes, the romance felt a little forced and I could tell it was to move the story along and relying a lot on the reader to figure out clues that weren't really given. But it didn't really pull me out of the story at all, so I was fine with it. I can ignore little boo-boos if it doesn't distract me from the actual book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I enjoyed this novel. It was nice and entertaining, but I think it needs some more editing work and re-shaping.