From acclaimed author Alyssa Cole comes the tale of a city Cinderella and her Prince Charming in disguise . . .Between grad school and multiple jobs, Naledi Smith doesn’t have time for fairy tales…or patience for the constant e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Sure. Right. Delete! As a former foster kid, she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and the … she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and the scientific method, and a silly e-mail won’t convince her otherwise.
Prince Thabiso is the sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, shouldering the hopes of his parents and his people. At the top of their list? His marriage. Ever dutiful, he tracks down his missing betrothed. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can’t resist the chance to experience life—and love—without the burden of his crown.
The chemistry between them is instant and irresistible, and flirty friendship quickly evolves into passionate nights. But when the truth is revealed, can a princess in theory become a princess ever after?
Selected as one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2018!
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A fun story for the most part. The main character leads a complex, achievement-driven life and has to work hard to reach her dreams. The science aspects were quite interesting but were dropped later on to bring the story to a quick finish. Fun and entertaining with a quick pace – even though parts explored characters introspection.
Alyssa Cole’s A Princess in Theory is everything everyone said it would be, and more. This charming romance has humor, engaging characters and a fairy tale plot. I know this one will remain on my “reread shelf” for a long time to come.
I enjoyed this quick easy read. The female character is strong/smart/independent and shows a true look at a today’s woman.
The visit to this African nation was fun and descriptive.
Enjoy this read!!
I’m not normally a contemporary romance reader, but I enjoyed this one. I appreciated seeing a cast of characters of color, and I also appreciated a heroine who did actual plot-relevant science on camera, even if it was mostly just part of the background action.
The best “mass paperback” I’ve read in two or three years. FANTASTIC. Funny, sweet…you are rooting for both of the characters the whole time.
I also love how the author weaves in “lessons” and “information”, but they are just part of the story.
It’s a hard book to put down! Have fun!
This book and the 2nd one are great! The plots are great! The characters are wonderful. Can’t wait for #3!
*****5 Phosolipid BiLayers, Velcro, Bones Stars*****
Loved it! Loved it! I FLOVED IT! Such an awesome story! Naledi is a bright, intelligent woman and an Epidemiologist to boot! I loved that the author portrayed this beautiful woman as smart, funny and not too much of a pushover. Thabiso, Prince of Thesolo really put his foot in his mouth the first time they met and poor thing couldn’t seem to remove it, until it was too late. I do have to admit that he did try very hard to tell her the truth but alas, he fell short. Lol. Poor Jamal, oops, I mean Thabiso, Lol. This story moved me and had me emotional for both Naledi and Thabiso. I won’t expound too much without giving away the story, except to say that it was what every little girl, who dreamed about fairytales for themselves, could expect! Beautiful detailed description of Thesolo and it’s people make for a vivid imagery, very well written and characterization of the characters kept me up well past midnight!
5 beautiful and lovely stars!!!
An absolute gem of a story. Can’t recommend this book (and fabulous author) enough!
This was the first of Alyssa Cole’s books that I read and I loved it! Strong, smart heroine who knows what she wants, and I love how the real life “sciencey” stuff is blended in with the fairy tale of modern day princess… Fun, sweet with sexy bits too, and a great read.
Alyssa Cole did not disappoint with A Princess in Theory. A STEM heroine, an actual royal hero, and a series of delightful clashes (their meet cute was laugh-out-loud hilarious) as the two come to terms with the fact that there’s something brilliant generating between them. I loved this read.
An African prince email scam that isn’t a scam after all whisks this guarded New Yorker straight to princess status.
Adorable and endearing from start to finish!
Actual Rating 3.70
I had high hopes for this book and was very excited to read about a Prince of color. I did enjoy this book, just as much as I thought I would.
Naledi was a very smart character who was hard working with drive and motivation. She had a hard upbringing when her parents died and she ended up in the foster care system. But unknown to her she is supposed to marry the Prince of Thesolo. But, I didn’t like that she acted like a pushover, especially when it came to her terrible fake ass best friend Porscha. She ended up holding a grudge against the Prince Thabiso for something he did for far too long and it made the book less romantic to me.
I did definitely like Prince Thabiso. He was a bit knaive about life in America and couldn’t do anything for himself causing Naledi to have to educate him, but he took it all in stride and learned from those experiences. He really cared for Naledi and did everything in his power to show her much. Of course he’s a guy, hes going to mess up along the way.
There were things about the story I liked and other things I didn’t. I felt it dragged on a little too long and I felt like I didn’t get enough closure when the book ended. This one was promising, but I ended up finding it to be ok.
Naledi is a self-made graduate student. Having grown up in the foster system, the lessons of self-reliance has stuck with her. So, imagine her surprise when she learns that she is betrothed to Prince Thabiso from Thesolo. Given the blurb, I expected this to be a remake of the movie, Coming to America and the first part of the book is a familiar storyline. The prince masquerades as a regular guy who sublets the apartment across from hers. She helps him because he is a fish out of water. It is charming, but quite frankly, predictable.
What really makes this story is the second half of the book when they are in Thesolo. This visit is unexpected and a nice role reversal. Now Naledi is the fish out of water, but watching her learn about her history and her home country, is really beautiful. I felt her joy in connecting with her past, finding her roots, and knowing she belong somewhere. It is an empowering story of claiming identity. And the love story is good too.
All in all, the second half saved the story for me and I loved it that much more.
OMG, this was my first introduction to Alyssa Cole and I gotta go back and grab her whole backlist. This book was delightfully funny and relatable, with a brilliantly academic shero and an incredibly appealing prince. Two thumbs up and I can’t wait for book 2!
This was a really good story, well written, and had great characters. But I think it could have been a bit better.
I love princess stories, especially accidental/lost princess stories. And Ms. Cole set up a great mystery to go along with Naledi and her long lost ancestry. Unfortunately, I felt like the reveal and conclusion of the story was very rushed. She spent a lot of time on setting up the story, who Ledi and Thabiso are and that they have been betrothed since they were toddlers. And she spent a lot of time on Thabiso’s deception. Naledi believed him to be a trust fund baby named Jamal for half the book.
When I got down to the last three chapters, I was surprised that nothing had been revealed yet, nor had they established a real relationship outside of sexual activity. Even in the very last chapter SPOILER ALERT they’re still in their fake engagement, but he doesn’t ask her to marry him for real. She tells him she’s in love with him and he never says it back! After all that happened! They do make plans for him to come be in NY with her, but I didn’t feel like any real commitment was made.
Things I did like:
I loved the diversity and that African cultural was so prominent. And that Ledi’s science background was obviously thoroughly researched. Thabiso was great once he humbled himself. The mystery of her and why her parents left kept me engaged and gave me a desire to keep reading so I could find out what happened. The sex scenes were steamy but not too much and there was a lot of emotion involved, which I liked.
So it was good, still 4 stars. But could have been a little bit better. I would have liked more of a hunt to answer the mystery of her parents. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series about Naledi’s best friend Portia. Hopefully it has a better ending!
There’s three sex scenes (one hand job and the other two made it all the way to home). There are many uses of the F word. This kind of took away from the story for me. I didn’t like how crass Naledi was.
I loved this book. The nerd girl aspect. The flawed but trying hero. The multi dimensional hero. I loved it despite figuring out “the mystery” in advance and yelling “come on people!” The ending left me a little meh but oh the story and the couple. From the buildup in the beginning to the reveal you know will happen and then that twist. You should definitely read!
4.5 stars
Attending KissCon in Kansas City, a copy of this book was in my goodie bag. I had heard the title and knew nothing about the author. After Alisha Rai also commented on how much she loved this book, I figured what the heck? And gave it a whirl.
I loved it!
Naledi was a unique and intelligent heroine-hello epidemiology! Prince Thabiso was sweet, even if he told a little lie, it was with good intentions. Then there’s the snappy dialogue and sexy chemistry…so, so good! I gotta admit though, I think my favorite character was the Prince’s assistant, Lokotsi! She was one organized spitfire and had that tongue in cheek humor…I’m still smiling thinking of her no-nonsense advice to the Prince regarding Naledi and he should have listened! It would have made his life so much easier, lol!!
And now I have to wait for the next book about Naledi’s friend, Portia. And a grumpy Scotsman. A Duke by Default can’t come out soon enough!