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zayah_wrights's review against another edition
3.0
We open up the story to our main Character, Makeda, losing her job (apparently because she's too obedient and a less suitable candidate for the promotion she was gunning for). As if the day can't get any worse, she gets home to find her girlfriend all packed and ready to leave her. Steph claims that Makeda is suffocating, always wanting to lend a helping hand.
Her grandmother offers her a job at her family's guesthouse, which she accepts and says she'll move back in to help run the business. Then, gran touches on a subject Makeda is reluctant to discuss, her so-called royal lineage. She hates talking about it because of how crazy it drove her mother, leading to her being bullied and teased about it at school. So, growing up, it became something she started to resent. Yet gran won't let it go, at least not without Makeda reaching out to the royal house, claiming she has nothing to lose at this point.
She won't have any of it and this pushes gran to be more determined, saying that the kingdom of Ibarania is looking for its long-lost heir and that there's a cash lumpsum offered to whoever the royal house finds to be the true heir. And our girl could use the cash injection as she's stuck paying off a loan she was basically sweet talked into taking out but then left to handle it all alone.
The, we meet Beznaria, who's working hard to find a way to restore honour to her family's name due to an incident that took place years ago. Her grandmother, the royal guard at the time, lost the land's queen on a bustling dock in Sicily. And her reputation has never recovered. Bez, being the person she is, vows to clear her grandmother's name by finding the lost heir. And what do you know, the searching committee is soon inundated with tons of claims that she's tasked with following up on and they lead her to the U.S.
These two meet and, though they're not the best of friends from the get-go, they do try to treat each other with some respect. Makeda is none too happy about any of this, which poses a threat to the next phase of Bez's investigation: to take Makeda back to Ibarania.
The one thing that ends up convincing Makeda to finally agree to going with Makeda is the fact that the loan she's taken out is posing threats to her grandmother's business. And to get that lump sum offered by the royal family would be the push out of the forest she needs desperately.
We spend a lot of time on the cargo ship Bez was able to get them onto, by lying and saying they're a newly-wed couple. And by the time they get to Ibarania, I was starting to lose all the focus and all the fun had been drained out of the story.
Even the ending was a bit confusing to me - all along, Bez is the actual long-lost heir, and we never really get the answer about whether Makeda is also related to the royal family or not. I did love the chemistry these two had as well as the longing they tried so hard to hide from each other. I just wish we had more time with them once they got to Ibarania.
Her grandmother offers her a job at her family's guesthouse, which she accepts and says she'll move back in to help run the business. Then, gran touches on a subject Makeda is reluctant to discuss, her so-called royal lineage. She hates talking about it because of how crazy it drove her mother, leading to her being bullied and teased about it at school. So, growing up, it became something she started to resent. Yet gran won't let it go, at least not without Makeda reaching out to the royal house, claiming she has nothing to lose at this point.
She won't have any of it and this pushes gran to be more determined, saying that the kingdom of Ibarania is looking for its long-lost heir and that there's a cash lumpsum offered to whoever the royal house finds to be the true heir. And our girl could use the cash injection as she's stuck paying off a loan she was basically sweet talked into taking out but then left to handle it all alone.
The, we meet Beznaria, who's working hard to find a way to restore honour to her family's name due to an incident that took place years ago. Her grandmother, the royal guard at the time, lost the land's queen on a bustling dock in Sicily. And her reputation has never recovered. Bez, being the person she is, vows to clear her grandmother's name by finding the lost heir. And what do you know, the searching committee is soon inundated with tons of claims that she's tasked with following up on and they lead her to the U.S.
These two meet and, though they're not the best of friends from the get-go, they do try to treat each other with some respect. Makeda is none too happy about any of this, which poses a threat to the next phase of Bez's investigation: to take Makeda back to Ibarania.
The one thing that ends up convincing Makeda to finally agree to going with Makeda is the fact that the loan she's taken out is posing threats to her grandmother's business. And to get that lump sum offered by the royal family would be the push out of the forest she needs desperately.
We spend a lot of time on the cargo ship Bez was able to get them onto, by lying and saying they're a newly-wed couple. And by the time they get to Ibarania, I was starting to lose all the focus and all the fun had been drained out of the story.
Even the ending was a bit confusing to me - all along, Bez is the actual long-lost heir, and we never really get the answer about whether Makeda is also related to the royal family or not. I did love the chemistry these two had as well as the longing they tried so hard to hide from each other. I just wish we had more time with them once they got to Ibarania.
clownwitch's review against another edition
4.0
wow this book was a delight i just finished with happy tears in my eyes and already miss makeda and bez. atlantic city, the high seas, queerness, neurodivergence, a search for a royal heir, a hilarious bad guy, a huge cast of wonderful and supportive characters, and two protagonists learning how to communicate, navigate conflict, love, and heal all while finding delight, laughter, and joy. wow still crying. what a gift!
ofquill's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.25
lilcaracol17's review against another edition
She’s just so pitiful it’s uncomfortable to read about
aclancy974's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I thought this book would be pretty straight forward. The twist was unexpected for me. Not sure how I felt about the ending but enjoyed the journey!
karingforbooks's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It’s cute and fluffy and I liked the ending but the relationship felt not fully fleshed out at the end. It should have been a trilogy rather than standalone. Not a lot of smut. Fun characters. The mental stuff seemed to take precedence though over the romance.
else's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
love this book. So many things I want in a romance.
nmcannon's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Alyssa Cole is a legend in the modern romance genre for good reason. Once Ghosted, Twice Shy is a stellar dapper butch/high femme novella, and I was very eager to see Cole’s second sapphic foray. How to Find a Princess is in a newer, sister series to the Relectuant Royals one, and can be read without knowledge of the Relectuant Royals or Runaway Royals book preceding it.
Makeda Hicks lives with both feet squarely on the ground and a minimum of two back up plans on how to pull herself up if she falls down. She doesn’t believe any hogwash touted by her grandmother and mother about being a lost princess from Ibarania. She especially doesn’t believe it when a (sexy) World Federation of Monarchies investigator shows up. With her tantalizing, helpful chaos, Beznaria Chetchevaliere encourages Makeda to shoot her shot on a television show centering the search for the country’s lost royal family. Makeda’s grandmother’s bank account finally convinces Makeda to attend, but the real journey is arriving to Ibarania…on a cargo ship…as Bez’s wife???
According to what I’ve seen in other reviews, How to Find a Princess is loosely based, or was marketed as based, on the 1997 animated Anastasia film. After reading the book, my thoughts are “sort of kind of not really.” Rasputin is nonexistent, Makeda is hardly an orphan without a past, and Bez isn’t a con artist. We do have a search for royal family members and the bulk of the story is spent on the journey to Ibarania, especially Makeda’s beachy hometown and the cargo ship. Where the story really shines is the take down of the “helpful caretaker” trope. Both Bez and Mekeda struggle to not help others. Their problem-solving abilities get stuck in thinking that they know best, that they can do things on their own, and that they must orient their identity around being “helpful.” Again and again, other characters don’t ask for help, our duo bulldoze their way into others’ problems, and the results are mixed at best. Their caretaking is more about them feeling needed and taking control in a chaotic world. Needless to say, I felt called out, haha. I try not to anymore, but I’m human and backslide. Everyone deserves the freedom to try, and the freedom to fail. Including Makeda and Bez!
Another interesting note is how Cole may be totally done with the very concept of monarchy. Granted, my Cole TBR remains long–I’ve only read A Princess in Theory and Once Ghosted–but How to Find a Princess’s tone seemed much more cynical, with a side-order of wacky hijinks. Sure, rulers Naledi and Thabiso acknowledged that monarchy, as an institution, is an easily corruptible waste of money, but that novel focused on how modern monarchs can be a force for good and encourage a democratic replacement. Ibarania overthrew its monarchy two generations ago, and there aren’t major grievances mentioned in the text. The TV show is a big PR stunt to boost the tourism industry. Yet from the narration to the characters, everyone seems totally exasperated and super done with the whole kit and kaboodle. The book’s villain is a ‘tache-twirling monarchist. I don’t want to live under a monarchy in real life, but something about the negativity seemed extreme to me. After seven books, perhaps Cole no longer finds the royal trope as compelling and is ready to move on to other ideas.
Overall, How to Find a Princess reminded me why I love Alyssa Cole’s work. If you’re in the mood for sapphic romance and a superb caretaker trope study, pick up a copy!
My review of Once Ghosted, Twice Shy: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/eab8d4cd-5916-4960-9d99-720407948255
the_wanlorn's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-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
3.0
Why am I so meh about this book :(
thiccadonna's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
2.5