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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This has every trope you could possible want in a romance, We got bodyguard/princess, fake dating, only one bed, truly top tier. On top of that Bez is one of the most unique and interesting love interests I have ever seen and I am in love with her. I was so curious how they would wrap up the plot, but it was so much fun and perfect for each of them. Loved it!
Alyssa Cole described How to Find a Princess, the second Runaway Royals book, as a sapphic Anastasia retelling. And that cover is so much wow!
We first met Beznaria in How to Catch a Queen. This time, she's looking for the lost heir of Ibarania, partially because it's her job as an investigator for the World Federation of Monarchists. But mainly because she views it as restoring her family's honor.
Bez thinks she's found the missing princess in New Jersey. Makeda's just lost her job and her girlfriend. She discovers that her Grandmore's B&B is in peril because a different ex is defaulting on a loan that Makeda cosigned. Makeda is adamant about not being a princess but agrees to go to Ibarania with Bez because she needs the cash.
In order to get to Ibarania and running low on funds, Bez hires onto a cargo ship which allows spouses to travel for free. Not that she mentions this to Makeda ahead of time, who thinks they'll be flying. So surprise! Pretend wife and a cabin with only one bed.
How to Find a Princess is a fast-paced book with engaging and likable characters, lots of strong and competent women.
This book has all of the delicious tropes:
*A lost princess
*Competence porn
* Fake marriage
*Forced proximity
*Only one bed
*Big surprise reveal of an ending
We get a dual POV with peeks into Bez and Makeda's heads. So it's even more frustrating when they don't share things with each other. But it's lovely to watch that slow burn attraction ignite.
The ending felt a bit rushed but I definitely enjoyed the big twist.
If you enjoy witty banter, strong competent women, slow burn, fake marriage, oops there's only one bed romances, How to Find a Princess is for you.
We first met Beznaria in How to Catch a Queen. This time, she's looking for the lost heir of Ibarania, partially because it's her job as an investigator for the World Federation of Monarchists. But mainly because she views it as restoring her family's honor.
Bez thinks she's found the missing princess in New Jersey. Makeda's just lost her job and her girlfriend. She discovers that her Grandmore's B&B is in peril because a different ex is defaulting on a loan that Makeda cosigned. Makeda is adamant about not being a princess but agrees to go to Ibarania with Bez because she needs the cash.
In order to get to Ibarania and running low on funds, Bez hires onto a cargo ship which allows spouses to travel for free. Not that she mentions this to Makeda ahead of time, who thinks they'll be flying. So surprise! Pretend wife and a cabin with only one bed.
How to Find a Princess is a fast-paced book with engaging and likable characters, lots of strong and competent women.
This book has all of the delicious tropes:
*A lost princess
*Competence porn
* Fake marriage
*Forced proximity
*Only one bed
*Big surprise reveal of an ending
We get a dual POV with peeks into Bez and Makeda's heads. So it's even more frustrating when they don't share things with each other. But it's lovely to watch that slow burn attraction ignite.
The ending felt a bit rushed but I definitely enjoyed the big twist.
If you enjoy witty banter, strong competent women, slow burn, fake marriage, oops there's only one bed romances, How to Find a Princess is for you.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It pains me to give a sapphic royalty romance a two star rating — especially one written by Alyssa Cole. It pains me. But this just wasn’t good.
There’s a lot I wanted to like about this. The lost princess x the person sworn to protect her trope, for one. And I did genuinely like Makeda and Bez as individual characters. Makeda had some relatable moments, and Bez? She’s my type, straight-up. The beginning had a lot of promise, especially with how resistant Makeda was to being a princess.
But this book was just all over the place. There was simultaneously too much happening, and absolutely nothing happening. The pacing is incredibly slow — which I didn’t mind in the beginning, due to how much Makeda was resisting the thought of being a princess — but once we got to the boat and the traveling, it just dragged.
There’s also the fact that this isn’t my type of romance. For one, it’s a lot wackier than usual, more over-the-top, and that was a strike against it from the beginning. But it was also missing something critical that I usually like in Alyssa Cole’s romances, and that is the blend of romance and politics. The politics never overshadows the romance, but I do like seeing the fun Alyssa Cole has developing her fictional countries. There was a little bit of that here, too — I mean, the history about Ibarania being founded by a freaking pirate queen? Um, yes please! But we never got to see the current state of the country. We don’t get there until the last 90%. This book barely explores it at all, and instead we got a fake dating subplot in the second half?? Listen, this could be that I’m just done with fake dating books, that I’m tired of the trope. But it still felt weird and unnecessary.
I still wanted to give this three stars, but what really sealed the two star rating was the ending. There’s a big reveal that happens, like, in the last five percent of the book. Not only is there no time to explore the ramifications and reactions to that reveal, it also felt completely out of the blue. There was barely any build-up, and it honestly felt a little like a betrayal.
I’m so sad I didn’t like this. I’m so freaking sad. And it probably doesn’t help that it directly follows How to Catch a Queen, either, which is my absolute favorite of Cole’s royalty romances. My expectations had a little bit to do with this. But even putting my expectations aside, I don’t think I can justify giving this more than two stars. It was just really messy. Now I’m going to look for more sapphic princess x bodyguard books, see if another book can give me what I want.
There’s a lot I wanted to like about this. The lost princess x the person sworn to protect her trope, for one. And I did genuinely like Makeda and Bez as individual characters. Makeda had some relatable moments, and Bez? She’s my type, straight-up. The beginning had a lot of promise, especially with how resistant Makeda was to being a princess.
But this book was just all over the place. There was simultaneously too much happening, and absolutely nothing happening. The pacing is incredibly slow — which I didn’t mind in the beginning, due to how much Makeda was resisting the thought of being a princess — but once we got to the boat and the traveling, it just dragged.
There’s also the fact that this isn’t my type of romance. For one, it’s a lot wackier than usual, more over-the-top, and that was a strike against it from the beginning. But it was also missing something critical that I usually like in Alyssa Cole’s romances, and that is the blend of romance and politics. The politics never overshadows the romance, but I do like seeing the fun Alyssa Cole has developing her fictional countries. There was a little bit of that here, too — I mean, the history about Ibarania being founded by a freaking pirate queen? Um, yes please! But we never got to see the current state of the country. We don’t get there until the last 90%. This book barely explores it at all, and instead we got a fake dating subplot in the second half?? Listen, this could be that I’m just done with fake dating books, that I’m tired of the trope. But it still felt weird and unnecessary.
I still wanted to give this three stars, but what really sealed the two star rating was the ending. There’s a big reveal that happens, like, in the last five percent of the book. Not only is there no time to explore the ramifications and reactions to that reveal, it also felt completely out of the blue. There was barely any build-up, and it honestly felt a little like a betrayal.
I’m so sad I didn’t like this. I’m so freaking sad. And it probably doesn’t help that it directly follows How to Catch a Queen, either, which is my absolute favorite of Cole’s royalty romances. My expectations had a little bit to do with this. But even putting my expectations aside, I don’t think I can justify giving this more than two stars. It was just really messy. Now I’m going to look for more sapphic princess x bodyguard books, see if another book can give me what I want.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A long lost princess, a body guard and one adventure that brings them closer then they thought they would have to be.
Makeda’s mom grew up telling her stories of how she was a long lost princess. She thought it was all fairytales. But one day Bez, an investigator from the small country of Ibarania comes to tell Makeda that it might be true.
This was a great love story with banter, forced proximity, fake dating and the bodyguard trope. Plus the slow burn leading up to the spice was 🥵
There was also wonderful rep in this book! Bipoc mc’s, and side characters. A bad ass neurodivergent pansexual investigator, and lesbian rep.
Cw/tw
Toxic parent
Toxic relationship
Ptsd
Bullying
Sexual content
Alcohol
Makeda’s mom grew up telling her stories of how she was a long lost princess. She thought it was all fairytales. But one day Bez, an investigator from the small country of Ibarania comes to tell Makeda that it might be true.
This was a great love story with banter, forced proximity, fake dating and the bodyguard trope. Plus the slow burn leading up to the spice was 🥵
There was also wonderful rep in this book! Bipoc mc’s, and side characters. A bad ass neurodivergent pansexual investigator, and lesbian rep.
Cw/tw
Toxic parent
Toxic relationship
Ptsd
Bullying
Sexual content
Alcohol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alyssa Cole is a master of over the top, slightly ridiculous romcom writing, which always makes for delightfully fun books that hit all the emotional highs and lows of a perfect romance. How to Find a Princess is the second in her Runaway Royals series, although like most good romance series, the books can stand alone as well. The story follows Makeda Hicks, a New Jersey girl who loves to fix things for other people, whether they want her to or not. She has just lost her job and her girlfriend, despite the fact that she’s bent over backwards for both of them, and moves back in to her grandmother’s B&B where she decides she’s going to start being selfish and stop giving herself away. This is when Beznaria Chetchevaliere, royal knight and junior investigator for the World Federation of Monarchists, comes crashing in, determined to prove that Makeda is actually a princess: the long lost heir to the throne of Iberania. But Makeda doesn’t want to be a princess, and is tired of hearing people insist that she is one—so Bez has to convince her to come home.
One of the things that I enjoy about Cole’s writing is her endless optimism and creativity for what a small monarchy could look like. The countries she writes about are fictional, but they feel grounded in reality, and her books are filled with little details to reflect that. Iberania is a small island in the Mediterranean, with Italian and North African influences—which you can see in the names (and swears) of all the Iberanian characters. But despite being a royal romance, Cole clearly doesn’t glorify all monarchies. In this example, Iberania is functionally a democracy, and the hunt for their lost princess is more of a tourism act than anything else. Additionally, the WFM (and its leader) are portrayed as ridiculous for trying to maintain that they’re better than other people because of some accident of birth and generational wealth. Her books modernize the royal romance in new ways every time, which is what makes me willing to keep reading them.
However, despite the fun writing style and the great world building, this book really fell flat for me. The first several chapters were extremely interesting and fun, but then the plot stagnated. Bez kept insisting that she was going to convince Makeda to return to Iberania, and then did a bunch of side stuff that was more about flirting with her than actually advancing the plot. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind excessive flirting, but it didn’t really go anywhere. They spent forever dancing circles around each other, and had one failed kiss to show for the majority of the book. Even when Bez finally does convince Makeda to go to Iberania and at least participate in the contest, the next third of the book is focused on their voyage over—and even though there’s only one bed, they still don’t kiss! They also meet AK, who provides some moral support for Makeda and they have…a lot more chemistry than I feel between Makeda and Bez. He is clearly going to be the main character in the next book, but it kind of made me wonder why I had spent 250 pages trying to connect to a relationship that is less interesting than this friendship that formed in just 2 or 3. They finally get to the island and there are two short chapters that are packed with action, as all of the various plot threads get tied up, but they really felt rushed and I had a lot of questions. I feel like the pacing was the downfall of this book, and I would have rather spent less time in New Jersey, the same time on the ship, and then more time actually watching the ending play out. There were some good twists in there, and I didn’t dislike the way it ended, but it felt very abrupt after all the time we spent trying to get there.
Overall it wasn’t a terrible book, but I would rather recommend some of Cole’s other work. The good parts about this book shine through in other ones she’s written, and make for more entertaining stories. I liked the premise of this one a lot, but it really didn’t deliver like I was hoping it would.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING :
I enjoyed (and didn’t predict) the twist that Bez was the real princess after all, although it did open up a lot of new questions. My first one was, so what really happened to Queen Aaza? She lived in Australia, but did she have a son? Where did Makeda get that ring (or I guess, where did the sweet talking man that Grandmore slept with get it)? I guess these didn’t need to be specifically answered, but having the ending be so abrupt made them feel a lot more pressing to me. I also feel like this opened up an issue, specifically what Bez says here: “So you mean, I’m a Chetchevaliere and an al-Hurradassi? I am the product of the two most prestigious families on the island? My belief that I am an above-average human, all of us are, is now backed by evidence?” Like I said earlier, one of the things I like about Cole’s royal books is that she dismantles a lot of royalty tropes. They aren’t any better because they’re royalty, they just have more responsibility. Bez herself hates her employers for thinking that they’re better than her because they have money and think they’re royalty! I know that this was meant as a commentary on how Bez clearly has ADHD and is considered lesser because of it. I related to her concerns of being Too Much a lot, as someone with ADHD myself. But it struck a wrong chord that it was her being royalty that is her ‘evidence’ that she’s above average, not that she was more capable or that she managed to get Makeda to Iberania despite all of the obstacles that the WFM put in her way. She’s saying she isn’t better because she outsmarted the antagonist, she’s better because of her lineage. Again, maybe that wouldn’t have struck me as so weird if we’d had more time to process the events of the last two chapters, rather than getting hit by this revelation and the book ending just a page later. But after a lot of the book spent criticizing and ridiculing people who think so highly of themselves because they’re royalty, this line really got to me.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Abandonment
I had such high hopes for this one but it just didn’t work for me. :(
Very very veryyyy slow burn and a lot of internal thoughts/growth.
Very very veryyyy slow burn and a lot of internal thoughts/growth.