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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
This was a good read, Princess Ele lives in seclusion basically and very fearful. Tristan is a footballer always in the lime light (he’s Mr congeniality) but he brings Ele out of herself.
The Princess and the Player is one of those books that I thought would be for me, but I found it wasn’t what I was expecting. I was ready for a deeply angsty read, one that had me invested, but I never connected with the characters in this one.
Although there was a lot of potential and the idea of this story was great, my inability to connect to the characters and their relationship made it that I didn’t much care for what was happening. I kept waiting for the connection to hit me hard, for me to fall deep for the characters, but it did not happen. Things were too flat for me and lacked the emotional punch I had hoped for.
I’m clearly in the minority with this one, though. Many seem to have enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for me.
Although there was a lot of potential and the idea of this story was great, my inability to connect to the characters and their relationship made it that I didn’t much care for what was happening. I kept waiting for the connection to hit me hard, for me to fall deep for the characters, but it did not happen. Things were too flat for me and lacked the emotional punch I had hoped for.
I’m clearly in the minority with this one, though. Many seem to have enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for me.
This is the first book in a new series, and it is my first time reading J. Santiago. I think that for this series, the world J. Santiago created is well done and feels organic.
Princess Eleanor has a secret, she sometimes has intense panic attacks. One happens when she is touring a football stadium with rising star, Tristan Davenport. She is shocked at how he's able to ground her and help ease the panic. This starts a complicated, secret, and passionate romance. As they find time to meet around Eleanor's royal duties and Tristan's football tournament in the States, they get closer emotionally and physically. But will Eleanor's royal duty prevent their budding romance from lasting forever?
I liked the mix of sports romance and royal romance. J. Santiago does a good job of getting us to root for Eleanor and Tristan, when all odds are against them. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Overall I'd give it 3.5 stars.
Princess Eleanor has a secret, she sometimes has intense panic attacks. One happens when she is touring a football stadium with rising star, Tristan Davenport. She is shocked at how he's able to ground her and help ease the panic. This starts a complicated, secret, and passionate romance. As they find time to meet around Eleanor's royal duties and Tristan's football tournament in the States, they get closer emotionally and physically. But will Eleanor's royal duty prevent their budding romance from lasting forever?
I liked the mix of sports romance and royal romance. J. Santiago does a good job of getting us to root for Eleanor and Tristan, when all odds are against them. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Overall I'd give it 3.5 stars.
I honestly did like this book. I wish Goodreads let you do half stars, because this was more of a 3 1/2, but whatever. The meat of the story was solid, and I really enjoyed Princess Eleanor. A story of two people from two very different worlds is always intriguing to me, and I really liked that it wasn't a royal and an average Joe, but was instead a royal and a pro athlete. I think the unique twist of both people being celebrities added a level to the story, and it was an interesting approach.
One of the biggest things in this book is the subject of mental health, and I actually really like the way Santiago approached it. Ele suffers from panic attacks, and the way in which they were discussed and her situation was treated is pretty reminiscent of how a lot of people feel they have to approach the subject every day. Ele's panic attacks and anxiety are NOT discussed because it could shine a poor light on the royal family, and there are a lot of people in the world today who actually would agree with that; that mental health is shameful and anxiety is just something you figure out. I don't know if I would totally agree that just one person's presence can instantly calm you down and fix everything, but the sentiment is nice, and I like that Tristan was there for Ele and forced her to think about things and acknowledge what she was carrying.
But let's talk about Tristan, now that I've brought him up. Kind of meh about him, to be honest. He was a fine hero, he was good for Ele in the long run, but like, *shrug*. I don't know. I didn't really feel a pull towards him, and I kind of supremely HATED the social media/caption thing he had going on. That could also be on me, though. I know we're all super addicted to social media these days so the call-out to that hit me right in the chest. It did provide an interesting dichotomy: Tristan so loud and large with how he connects with people and lives his life, while Ele is more of a recluse and wants nothing to do with being in the public eye. That avenue did make things interesting, and I can respect the decision to include that, even if it did make me squirm.
Overall, this book was fun. It was a bit meaty, and definitely a bit lengthier than I think it needed to be (that or it didn't totally keep my focus) but it was fine. I enjoyed the overall story, and I loved the sort of star-crossed thing Ele and Tristan had going on. Ele was great, I loved her, this is definitely a book I'll recommend to people looking for either royalty or sports romance. It's a solid option in either of those categories.
Plus I loved that they were from a foreign nation (think Mia Thermopalis, Princess of Genovia) and so Julie Andrews was the steady constant accent in my head. I supremely loved that.
**Many thanks to the author for a review copy of this book!**
One of the biggest things in this book is the subject of mental health, and I actually really like the way Santiago approached it. Ele suffers from panic attacks, and the way in which they were discussed and her situation was treated is pretty reminiscent of how a lot of people feel they have to approach the subject every day. Ele's panic attacks and anxiety are NOT discussed because it could shine a poor light on the royal family, and there are a lot of people in the world today who actually would agree with that; that mental health is shameful and anxiety is just something you figure out. I don't know if I would totally agree that just one person's presence can instantly calm you down and fix everything, but the sentiment is nice, and I like that Tristan was there for Ele and forced her to think about things and acknowledge what she was carrying.
But let's talk about Tristan, now that I've brought him up. Kind of meh about him, to be honest. He was a fine hero, he was good for Ele in the long run, but like, *shrug*. I don't know. I didn't really feel a pull towards him, and I kind of supremely HATED the social media/caption thing he had going on. That could also be on me, though. I know we're all super addicted to social media these days so the call-out to that hit me right in the chest. It did provide an interesting dichotomy: Tristan so loud and large with how he connects with people and lives his life, while Ele is more of a recluse and wants nothing to do with being in the public eye. That avenue did make things interesting, and I can respect the decision to include that, even if it did make me squirm.
Overall, this book was fun. It was a bit meaty, and definitely a bit lengthier than I think it needed to be (that or it didn't totally keep my focus) but it was fine. I enjoyed the overall story, and I loved the sort of star-crossed thing Ele and Tristan had going on. Ele was great, I loved her, this is definitely a book I'll recommend to people looking for either royalty or sports romance. It's a solid option in either of those categories.
Plus I loved that they were from a foreign nation (think Mia Thermopalis, Princess of Genovia) and so Julie Andrews was the steady constant accent in my head. I supremely loved that.
**Many thanks to the author for a review copy of this book!**