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cm87's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
chandlerainsley's review
2.0
despite my rating, this was not awful.
it was just... very very lackluster. i think a lot of romance can fall victim to, like, a select handful of bad plot issues and this definitely did.
sex does not make a relationship. sorry. you can have the longest slow burn in the history of slow burns but if the characters are pretty flat, fall in insta love, and then once they do bang that's ALL they do.... yeah it's just a no. and this happens SO often it's kind of embarrassing.
getting it on does not solve problems, it doesn't grow your interpersonal relationship, and it definitely doesn't overcome cultural differences. the couple of main conflicts in this book are solved with a brief 5 second conversation and then the characters fall in to bed together. meh.
and in general, the characters were nothing special for me. the only thing i'll probably remember is viktor's gross swedish dirty talk.
anyway i'm going to go promptly forget this book now, BYE!
it was just... very very lackluster. i think a lot of romance can fall victim to, like, a select handful of bad plot issues and this definitely did.
sex does not make a relationship. sorry. you can have the longest slow burn in the history of slow burns but if the characters are pretty flat, fall in insta love, and then once they do bang that's ALL they do.... yeah it's just a no. and this happens SO often it's kind of embarrassing.
getting it on does not solve problems, it doesn't grow your interpersonal relationship, and it definitely doesn't overcome cultural differences. the couple of main conflicts in this book are solved with a brief 5 second conversation and then the characters fall in to bed together. meh.
and in general, the characters were nothing special for me. the only thing i'll probably remember is viktor's gross swedish dirty talk.
anyway i'm going to go promptly forget this book now, BYE!
chlob93's review against another edition
I’m not sure why, I feel like it’s dragging on quite a bit, 50% in and it’s only been a week??
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a cute fun read. It has more depth in it's romance characters which is something I've come to expect from this author. If you like Roman Holiday then you'll love this flip and twist on that story. 5 out of 5 stars.
shannonldonahueart's review against another edition
5.0
I have never been someone who loved the books about Royals. I love a good fantasy, but a Royal just always seemed way too far to reach for even in reading. Of course Harry and Meghan have changed that. Just like I was totally enamored with the Royal Wedding I was enamored with the characters in this book.
The hero Viktor is complex and flawed, like all the best heroes are. It would be easy to fall back on the fact that he is royal, rich, good looking and make those his most compelling personality traits. I have certainly read my share of those books. But our Prince here is so much more than all of those things. Karina Hale does an amazing job of humanizing this royal and making you understand the life he is living and what makes it so hard. In this trope (royals) I often find myself mumbling "pooor little rich boy", But that wasnt the case here at all. I really enjoyed getting to know him and rooting for him.
Maggie is wonderful. She is strong and scared and doing the best that she can in a completely shit situation. I really really loved her and rooted for her from the very first page. I wont spoil things here but the beginning of the book starts with you getting to know her just a little, then something happens and she is thrown into a completely different situation. In doing that you learn so much about her as a character. As you move through her life with her it becomes 100% easy to see how Viktor can fall in love with her.
If you enjoyed the movie The Prince and Me but wanted a bit more from it then you will ADORE this book! I did!
The hero Viktor is complex and flawed, like all the best heroes are. It would be easy to fall back on the fact that he is royal, rich, good looking and make those his most compelling personality traits. I have certainly read my share of those books. But our Prince here is so much more than all of those things. Karina Hale does an amazing job of humanizing this royal and making you understand the life he is living and what makes it so hard. In this trope (royals) I often find myself mumbling "pooor little rich boy", But that wasnt the case here at all. I really enjoyed getting to know him and rooting for him.
Maggie is wonderful. She is strong and scared and doing the best that she can in a completely shit situation. I really really loved her and rooted for her from the very first page. I wont spoil things here but the beginning of the book starts with you getting to know her just a little, then something happens and she is thrown into a completely different situation. In doing that you learn so much about her as a character. As you move through her life with her it becomes 100% easy to see how Viktor can fall in love with her.
If you enjoyed the movie The Prince and Me but wanted a bit more from it then you will ADORE this book! I did!
adifferentreadingview's review against another edition
3.0
Very steamy, cute story. It’s supposed to be kinda like Roman holiday but I like the different issues explored within the story like mental health. I also like that they didn’t start their relationship on a “lie”- having them be honest and not building something on top of a lie was nice and made the love story feel stronger.
erinremen's review against another edition
5.0
Without a doubt this is some of her best work
This book might have a lot of really serious issues that are seamlessly woven into its characters lives, but it does not define it. It is lighthearted and funny at times. Serious and heartbreaking the next. Yet overall is a tale of people , like most of us , who have suffered something that they struggle to deal with , to grow with and to ultimately accept and move on from. These two characters bring so much joy to each other's lives that it leaps of the pages. Their suffering when apart is felt in our own hearts and when that HEA comes, the real life fairytale, we all tremble with joy right along with them. Well done Miss Sweden!
This book might have a lot of really serious issues that are seamlessly woven into its characters lives, but it does not define it. It is lighthearted and funny at times. Serious and heartbreaking the next. Yet overall is a tale of people , like most of us , who have suffered something that they struggle to deal with , to grow with and to ultimately accept and move on from. These two characters bring so much joy to each other's lives that it leaps of the pages. Their suffering when apart is felt in our own hearts and when that HEA comes, the real life fairytale, we all tremble with joy right along with them. Well done Miss Sweden!
littlesnelson's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the overall story but for whatever reason found the dirty talk weird, it just didn't fit the characters imo. I still liked the book enough to continue with the series.
nevclue's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this more than I was expecting. The premise is naturally absurd, but really well executed. Halle nails the emotional nuances and differing reactions to grief. The story is a gender flipped, expanded retelling of Roman Holiday with Maggie as the down on her luck reporter (here a former journalism school student who dropped out to care for her younger siblings in small prison-town California) and Viktor the crown prince of Sweden as Audrey Hepburn.
stumpfed's review against another edition
5.0
What the Halle?!?! This isn't anything like what I expected Karina's next (or next or next or next or any) book to be like. But, it was amazing! Bork Bork!