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 quirky, fun read with an intelligent leading lady and the secret prince trying to win her over. Lighthearted rom-com.
This is my favorite of Cole’s excellent series.
This was an absolutely wonderful romance that has taken over as one of my favorites in the genre. As much as I am a sucker for a swoon-worthy, romantic hero, I am even more a sucker for a smart women in STEM who saves the day with science and who is both shamelessly nerdy and also vulnerable and genuine. It’s so rare to see STEM women in romance, and I thought Alyssa Cole did an incredible job bringing Ledi’s passion for her work into her romance with her African prince. I am absolutely going to read more about this author because this book was a joy the whole way through.
I enjoyed this book. It’s a classic enemies to lovers, fake fiance romance story, but the premise and setting were unlike any I had ever read before.
Synopsis: Prince Thabiso, from the African nation of Thesolo, searches for his long-lost betrothed and finds her in NYC, but doesn’t tell her right away who he is and who she is. Hilarity ensues when he attempts to present himself as an average man, but knows nothing of how to do for himself or how to function in NYC. Yet he is eager to learn to impress Ledi. Ledi is a fiercely self-sufficient woman scientist with a tragic past that tore her away from Thesolo as a very young child and she remembers nothing of it. She also has put up walls to protect herself emotionally. She and Thabiso are falling for each other in NYC but she rejects him after discovering that he lied to her about his identity. Yet she goes to Thesolo to investigate a mysterious illness that is afflicting the people there. Now we see the comedy flip side, Ledi knows nothing of how to function in Thesolo. There are two mysteries to be solved in the story 1) why did Ledi’s family so suddenly flee Thesolo and leave everyone and everything behind? 2) what is the cause of Thesolo’s epidemic? In the end of course their romantic conflict is resolved and there is a HFN ending.
I liked these characters. They both felt really authentic to me. I could believe everything about them, why they thought what they thought and did what they did. The settings were well described too. Thesolo was a progressive nation that recognized both ancient and modern traditions. The NYC setting was painted well also.
The plot was interesting but the ending almost had a bit of a cliff-hanger feel to it, not 100% HEA yet. But I think we will see that pinned down in subsequent books in the series. Also there are a number of interesting secondary characters in the story who can be featured later in the series.
Favorite scene: The betrothal dance. I’m not sure how I could get chills reading about a dance but I did. It was so intimate and meaningful. I really loved it.
So bottom line, yes, I recommend this book for a sweet, classic romance read with a unique setting and premise and likable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading more books by this author.
I really enjoyed reading and listening to this book. I thought the narration was very good. I liked both “Jamal” and Ledi’s characters.
I was so amped when learning that Ledi was a scientist working on her master’s. There are not many romances, or other books where a black woman is so firmly entrenched in STEM.
I also thought it was kind of funny and sweet that Thabioso struggled with things like turning on a stove. The scenes with him trying to be a server and his responses were humorous.
Thabioso and Ledi did have great chemistry. I could feel the tension ratcheting up as he tried to tell Ledi the truth. The longer it went on, the worse I knew the outcome would be for them.
I wish that there had been an epilogue. The story just kind of stopped leaving me with a number of questions. I liked that this story had a bit of mystery, but felt like the mystery was not fully explored. As the truth started to unfold, it felt like there was a push to end the story instead of fully detail some of the occurrences that were revealed.
I also felt that two of the biggest questions of all remained unanswered.
Shockingly, Alyssa Cole is a new-to-me author, but now that I’ve read this book I can assure you that she’s been bumped to the top of my auto-buy list. I already know I’ll devour anything she writes.
As for “A Princess in Theory”? I’m not even sure I have the words to list all of the things I adored about this story, but I’ll try.
First, I loved Ledi’s irresistible combination of genius and cool. Ms. Cole never minimizes how smart this woman is, but instead of taking the easy and common route of making that a negative, Cole deftly turns it into one of Ledi’s many admirable qualities. What’s more, she allows Ledi to own it. This character knows her worth. She has doubts and uncertainties by the boxload, but she also has boundaries, and she sticks to them. I loved her wryness, and her bravery, and her loyalty, and her vulnerability. I *died* of happiness every time she muttered, “This motherf*cker” under her breath. lol
Next, I especially loved that Ms. Cole gave this character a hero that was worthy of her. Thabiso is spoiled, yes – but he’s not rotten. He appreciates the things that make Ledi unique, and time and time again he stands up and fights for her right to be herself. He also fights for *his* right to be himself, and the ways he does that take him far afield of a cookie-cutter prince and directly into the territory of a swoon-worthy man who might just save the world. These two are perfect for each other, and their chemistry is delectable.
Speaking of which, one of the things Ms. Cole does so expertly in this story is pace the relationship of Ledi and Biso. Each step they take manages to feel natural and logical – but also deliciously heady – all at the same time. The book is nice and long (and trust me when I say, you won’t want it to end) and never feels too slow or too rushed. You’ll care deeply about the characters, and be very invested in what happens to them. For a little while, you’ll live happily in their world.
That’s the magic this author works, and the thing we all love so much in a great romance. At this point, when I tell you I one-clicked the next book in the series (A Duke by Default) so fast I might’ve broken the sound barrier…you’ll probably believe me. But before you laugh, know that you will definitely be doing the same thing.
A breathe of fresh air to the romance books. A strong female with her own mind and i loved the fact that the leading female role was a POC. The story flowed well and the chemistry between Thabiso and Naledi was hot from the get go. I loved how Thabiso learnt to adapt and respect Naledi and give her the space she needed to adapt, also standing upto his parents and their preconceived ideas about Naledi.
Absolutely adored this story and these characters! I usually avoid books about royals, but I’m so glad I gave this one a try. The meet-cute cracked me up (she thinks she’s dodging scam emails about being betrothed to a prince), and then she thinks he’s a new food server at the restaurant where she works.
The book changed for me at about the midpoint when the setting changes (I’m being purposefully vague to avoid spoilers), but I was still delighted by the narrative and I will definitely be picking up more books in this series!
This is my first Alyssa Cole novel. I will be reading more of this author. This is the first book in the Reluctant Royals series. It follows the reunion of two toddlers who were betrothed. Find out what happens when a Prince assumes someone else’s identity to get a peek at the one woman who won’t be charmed by his title. The one woman who is so determined not to be hurt again that she’ll allow her barriers to cloud her feelings.
This is the first book I have read by author Alyssa Cole, but it is not the last one for sure. As soon as I started reading this book I knew this was an author that i would be one clinking for years to come. Her gift of storytelling had pulled me in and had me looking to see if the country of Thesolo was a real place in Africa. The characters Naledi & Thabiso are so real it is almost like they themselves are plucked out of the city and right into this pages of this book. The story line is believable and the romance is there. The side character of Portia is someone I wanted to shake to wake her up and then by the end of the book I am so searching for her book to read. I am so happy I found this author in the middle of Romancelandia on twitter.
I loved the characters – both main and supporting. The trajectory of the story had twists and turns, and the emotions expressed by the characters rang true. I was very happy with my purchase!
Well this was fun, and cute and exciting, and a rollercoaster ride and intriguing, and nail biting and so much worth ALL my time .
Ledi & Thebosi are so meant for each other and I stan This book is a true fairytale & by the goddess I want one .
The supporting characters are so well done and Alyssa Cole has seamlessly made their transition into their own a flawless fete, well done #AlyssaCole .
loved it!!
Alyssa writes such wonderful characters. This is really a fantastic book and should be on everyone’s reading list!
I love an intelligent heroine. Smart girls deserves heroes too.
This was a fun Cinderella story, with a smart relatable heroine and a truly charming prince. As much as I enjoyed the central romance, I think my favorite part of the story was the close but complicated relationship between Naledi and her best friend Portia.
After loving Alyssa Cole’s Civil War-set historical romances, I branched out into her contemporary novels, and the Reluctant Royals series is a winner. Cole has a gift for incorporating serious issues (e.g. the foster care system, exploitation of natural resources) into her work without compromising or distracting from the fizzy chemistry and undeniable attraction that drives the plot. Compulsively readable.
This book had be at Chapter One. I mean just look at the title: “A Princess in Theory.” With a title like that it had to be good. And you know what, it was that and more. The characters were complex and imperfect, and I loved them for that. Every scene, every moment held be enthralled, and when they found their HEA? I died.
The Princess Theory is the first book in Alyssa Coles “Reluctant Royals” series. Naledi or Ledi as she is called is getting these strange emails telling her that she is betrothed to the Prince of Thesolo. There is also a suggestion that her parents ( who died when she was a baby in a car accident) are in the hot seat with the King and Queen of this African country. But the royal family are willing to put their feelings aside and continue with the betrothal.
At first Ledi finds the emails amusing, but as time goes by and continue to harass her with emails she starts getting annoyed and thinks its some scammer that is harassing her. After a particularly bad night she finally responds, she hasn’t been replying back to them previously. She basically tells the person to bleep off.
I think you can use your imagination on what she might have said. Her responding to the email ironically leads Prince Thabiso to finding her. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. But in order to get to know Naledi better, Thabiso decides to hide his own identity for a minute and uses the alias of Jamal. This both brings them closer and tears them apart at the same time.
I really loved this story. By the time I was finished with this story I was questioning myself, why I had not picked this up sooner? I thought that the writing in this story was very good. I liked how Thabiso in the guise of Jamal was able to experience her world (Which was different from his – due to him being a Prince) and she later on when she goes to Thesolo.
I also liked how realistic this book was. I admit had some reservations about the whole “Princess” off the street plot. Plus, I like how Alyssa Cole portrays the duties of the Prince in this. He is not just being served by servants, but actual duties that will help him later on when he becomes King. Like him meeting with energy executives who are willing to give him a lot of money so they can frack on the land in Thesolo. Thabiso is against this of course, but I like how Alyssa Cole is bringing an awareness of this in her book.
I love the pairing of Ledi and Thabiso. I thought they had chem from the first moment they met. One of my favorite scenes was when Ledi had showed “Jamal” how to ride the subway. The sex scenes in this story was very steamy. I thought I was going to drop the book because of how hot it was.
Aside from the main characters, this book showcased a variety of characters. I like the drama going on between Ledi and her best friend Portia, who has problems of her own, which are not reveal yet ( Portia has her own story coming out in this series and that is the reason why). Portia has drinking problem in this story, and she often take advantage of Ledi friendship. I love how towards the end that Ledi set boundaries and starts to see her own self- worth.
Overall, loved this book. I highly recommend it if your looking to start a new series.
This was a great book. There is part that involved lunch meat and the subway that made me laugh out loud!