Small-town girl, Katie O’Connor has always dreamed of seeing her name in lights. Check the box for fame, a movie deal, the perfect leading role that comes with a gorgeous leading man! Katie moved to Hollywood, elbows her way into auditions, lives on a shoestring budget—whatever is required to land a deal, she throws her heart into… until she’s involved in a royal kidnapping. As the future king, … future king, Prince Alexander refuses to rule from an ivory tower. Duty-bound, he intends to relate to his future subjects, regardless of their walk of life. Before his coronation, he needs a foolproof plan to outrun his security team and go temporarily AWOL. While visiting L.A., all it takes is a soundstage collision and Alex is blindsided by a headstrong woman who is simply irresistible. So much so, he calls in a favor in order to secure her help … as his pretend girlfriend.
Their worlds are oceans apart, but their immediate attraction is impossible to put aside, especially their nonstop banter. Miffed at being wrangled into a situation that might blow up in her face, Katie comes up with her own plan. If The Prince is serious about walking the walk of the common folk, she’s only too happy to oblige as his pretend girlfriend. Through an ice storm, a road trip, kitchen duty, and a Texas pig race, Alex captures the hearts of the locals as well as Ms. O’Connor’s.
What starts out as a deal Katie can’t refuse becomes the acting role of a lifetime… letting Prince Alexander go without a fight.
A delightfully funny retelling of The Prince and The Pauper that romance readers of all ages will enjoy. On a two-week 1,500-mile road trip, Katie and Alex discover the end of the road might just be the beginning of their ‘Happy Ever After’ together.
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Dating the Prince (2018) by Alina Snow is the first novel in her What If series. This book was recently released on May 8, 2018 by Petal Pot and Pink Ink Press, and can be purchased wherever books are sold. This novel comes in eBook form, and is 326 pages in length. With a full-time job and a very lively six-year old, this book took me two days to read. I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher via Kathy at I Am a Reader. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give Dating the Prince 4 STARS. This novel is a Contemporary Clean Romance.
Fans of Hallmark romances will love this book for sure. I have never heard of Alina Snow before, but after having read Dating the Prince I look forward to more from this author.
Who expects to bump into royalty while at work? But that is exactly what Katie does in this story, which leads her into the adventure of a lifetime. Katie is a fun heroine. She is strong and focused. She knows who she is and what she wants. I appreciate her self confidence and her resourcefulness. Thanks to her father’s influence — he’s a sheriff — Katie is no dummy, too. She can immediately tell when someone’s playing a fast one over on her. So, she is able to see right through Alex when he begins to act like the prince who has always gotten his way. In fact, there are several moments in this novel that had me laughing a little because Katie wasn’t impressed by Alex’s royal pedigree. It is fun to imagine the shocked face Alex must have had by some of the things Katie says and does in this story.
Alex is quite the hero. Yes, he fits all of the swoon-worthy requirements: he’s handsome, commanding, and highly intelligent. But he is a lot more than that. Alex is the second son who is thrust into the role of soon-to-be King when his mother and oldest brother die tragically. He meets Katie in LA where he is filming a documentary about his beloved mother and brother. If I had to boil down to one word what I love about Alex the most it would be loyalty. Alex is incredibly loyal to his best friend, to Katie, and to Katie’s family. This one quality alone is the most endearing about Alex. I like when the good guy stands up to the bully, which Alex does. I like when the hero stands up for the woman he loves, which Alex does in a seriously BIG way several times. And, I really love when family is protected at all costs, which Alex does when he helps Katie’s family through a tumultuous time. It is this constant character trait that definitely left me loving Alex’s character the most by the end of this story.
One aspect I really appreciated about this story is the way Katie and Alex’s relationship blossomed over time. Katie isn’t impressed with Alex just because he is a prince. Sure, he’s cute, but anyone can be cute. For Katie, if she is going to have a relationship with a man then that man has to have a real depth of character. Bottom line, Alex has to earn Katie’s respect. Slowly over the course of the novel, Alex does successfully befriend Katie. After the two realize that they can trust one another, they then get to know one another better and that is when romantic feelings develop. The romantic tension between the two characters as their love for one another grows is pretty intense at certain points, but not overly so. Overall, this may be one of the most respectful couples I’ve seen in a clean-read romance, and I absolutely love that about this book. The relationship between Alex and Katie feels very real, and when they finally admit to their feelings for one another I admit to having a smile a mile wide. This is definitely a sweet and satisfying read.
Dating the Prince is a really fun novel to get lost into on a hot summer day when all you want to do is hide from the heat and relax. The characters are well written, the plot is engaging, and the romance is sweet. This book definitely left me smiling…and wishing it were a Hallmark movie I could watch! If you are in the need of an engaging novel to get lost in, then I recommend Dating the Prince by Alina Snow. Check it out today!
HRH & A small town girl
Katie always wanted to be an actress, studied in college and moved to LA. She got a gig that was a model on a game show and worked as a waitress. Alex was working on and finishing a documentary on his mother’s good works. They run into each other in the studio. He needs time away before being crowned he ask for help. They end up in her small town and a lot happens.
A cute, clean, mildly amusing and entertaining romance that didn’t meet its potential
My first book by this author, the series (What If) is aptly named, as this is a slightly altered version of reality. I liked Katie, who had plenty of spirit and drive, and wasn’t afraid of stand up for what she wanted. I had a harder time warming up to Alex but I did get there eventually.
While I liked the premise here, and some parts of the writing were good (the dialogue sounded realistic, for example), I had problems with the story itself. It seemed a bit uneven; I would have liked more on the developing relationship between Alex and Katie and less on her father’s election, for instance. Alex’s motivation for the first part of the book seemed a bit vague to me. Given his background with his mother and brother, slipping his security detail wasn’t an insignificant act, and I would have liked something a little stronger driving him, maybe an incident that sent him done this particular path. Plus it seemed to me there were missed opportunities to advance and explain Alex’s motivation to blend in with the common people. For example, the average person wouldn’t be able to afford all those truck breakdown repairs (how much cash is he carrying, anyway?) but that’s not even mentioned as a factor. Without a more defined goal, and without the possibility of discovery (something that could have been hyped by news about the early search for the wayward prince), there wasn’t a lot driving the story forward in the middle, and it dragged for me. There was also a mistake about sunset times in Texas that derailed me for a bit–relatively minor, but the kind of factual error that’s a pet peeve for me.
Also, like other reviewers, I think this would have worked better split into multiple books. With the abrupt shift to England, the added viewpoint, plus the change in plot lines and character shifts, the last section really felt like a separate story.
A cute, clean, mildly amusing and entertaining romance, this story just didn’t live up to its potential for me. As this looks to be a debut work by a team of authors, I’d expect some of the kinks here may be worked out in future books. 3 stars
B2B Kelly
3.5 Stars
Dating the Prince is cute, sweet and fun, light-hearted read. Featuring a hard-working leading female with great personality, shows us that we have to work hard in order to achieve our dreams!
Katie wants to become a Hollywood star, and does everything she can in order to succeed; works a waitress job to pay the bills and audition whenever she has the chance. Alex is a soon-to-be King. While preparing for his role, he visits foreign countries. Fulfilling his purpose is important for him but he still wants a life outside all of this. Katie is his chance in that life. While being his guide, he gives him a new family and a new secret life. Alex is a regular down-to-earth kind of guy. Even though he’s going to become a King, he wants a simple life. Katie can give him that and even though that their relationship starts out fake becomes so much more!
This was a really good light read, suitable for an easy afternoon reading!
Katie O’Connor has been studying drama and theater most of her life. Now she’s in Hollywood doing whatever she can to both pay the bills and get that long elusive role in a feature film. Then, one day, she literally runs into the chest of a man who is all too royal for her. He can only be a distraction that she doesn’t have time for.
Prince Alexander of England is in Hollywood filming a documentary on his mother when the most intriguing woman barrels into him. Yet, when she realizes who he is, she doesn’t act like all the other women. In fact, she’s the perfect one for him to hire so that he can ditch his security detail and live life for a few days as a commoner.
What follows is a sweet romance where each find the other attractive, but Katie recognizes the difference in their life status. He’s royal and she’s …… not. Can Alex convince her to see him as a regular guy?
On the one hand I liked the book. I found Alex’s character well developed and thought he behaved consistent throughout. I also tend to like Cinderella theme books. I also liked Katie’s parents and Jeffrey, Alex’s personal secretary.
However, there were frequent editing mistakes – did the author want the name Winsor or Windsor? Both were used. Next, I never quite figured out what the Queen was trying to do. Everyone was reacting to her and trying to stop her, but it was never quite defined. And, I couldn’t understand why she would apologize when she seemed to be getting her way.
But, the biggest inconsistency was Katie. For the first 2/3 of the book she’s strong and confident. Then, suddenly she loses all her confidence and believes the worst. It was too much of a flip flop in character.
Finally, this book was long enough already, what’s a few more pages to add an epilogue?
There are other issues that other reviewers cover. But, I’m convinced that given a bit more editing, this can be a great book.
Romance – PG, kissing
Language – PG
My rating – 3.5 stars
Have you ever wanted something so badly you would do just about anything to get it? Katie wanted to be a movie actress so much she faked her way into an audition. That determination came through strong and clear in this story, and yet Katie was also a loyal daughter and helped her parents however she could.
Prince Alexander is the Crown Prince, but craves freedom, at least for a short time before his coronation. He ends up being a pretty nice guy for the most part, though Katie wasn’t sure if she could trust him.
Overall, the story is good and was a fun read. There were a number of continuity issues with the story and some things that just didn’t make sense. For example, when Alex has Katie drive him away from the studio so he could escape his security team, after shopping for a disguise for him, they spend the afternoon at her apartment along with her parents who are visiting. In addition, the security team, who knew he left with Katie, never once tried to find him at her place. Seems to me it would have been the first place they would have looked. Alex also planned this escape ahead of time, apparently knowing her driving skills and other talents, yet he picked her mostly at random because he liked the fact she didn’t fawn over him – so he wouldn’t have known that about her yet.
There was also the thing about her ex-boyfriend (i.e. the guy she dated a small number of times), Roger. Not only did her parents know him well enough that her dad hired him on as his deputy, but apparently he was able to bypass going to any training for that job. I never did understand what his angle was in going to Texas for this position.
Despite these things, I am not sorry I read the book. If you are looking for a fun read and like books about royalty, you might enjoy this one.
This review was originally posted at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank I Am A Reader for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.