This was delightful. It was exactly what I needed when I needed it. I was wanting extremely charming pure fluff and that's 100% what this book is, it's beautiful. I laughed out loud multiple times and I was just so happy during the entire read. I really liked the individual characters and all of their interactions - (just about) everyone is more than their stereotype and I really liked the many layers of each character and their many relationships. idk, this was just a delight. I read it from start to finish with only a break to watch an episode of Brooklyn 99, I didn't wanna put it down and I didn't really want it to end. I would definitely recommend it for fans of Kasie West and anyone looking for a funny, fluffy read.

I didn't think I'd like this book so much, but I ended up loving it. It was a bit predictable, but still very cute. It was a really quick read. Great to read around the holidays. I'll definitely be recommending it to some of my teens. It's already all set to go on my December New Book list and Board. It will probably make it on to my winter reads list as well.

Let's get this out the of way first: OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK IS ADORABLE AND I JUST WANT TO SMOOSH DYLAN AND JAIME'S FACES.

Right then, moving on. Down to the serious stuff, sort of. What I couldn't get over was just how genuine the characters were. They seemed like real people who end up in situations no one could ever anticipate. The sheer amount of awkwardness radiating from them all was wonderful. Even Dusty the beauty queen had a nice edge with a side of awkwardness.

SPOILER ALERT. I really enjoyed how Storhm dealt with the long lost father situation. We got to see three very different relationships with a rather sleazy character: Dusty, Dylan, and their mother. It was nice to not be pigeon holed into the main character finally meeting her father and thinking it was the best thing in the world. It is so much more complex than that. Through this we also saw that Dylan's mother is just as tough as Ronan's. Just because they don't live in a castle and oversee an obnoxious amount of land does not mean they will take anything laying down.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this book and look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Prince in Disguise centers around tomboy Dylan who is whisked away to Scotland to attend her beautiful older sister's wedding which is being televised on reality tv. 

This is a hard review for me to write because I'm not sure how I feel about the book. On one hand, the book is funny and charming. There are loads of crazy characters and heartwarming moments. I loved the setting (a castle in Scotland!) and while the plot plays out expectantly, there's enough fun dialog and teen romance (and some angst) to keep me interested. I think fans who love real life fairy tale romances, reality tv with a lot of drama and some crazy over the top characters will really love this book. 

But on the other hand, maybe it wasn't for me. While I enjoyed everything I listed above, something felt a little flat. All of the characters were too contrived, dramatic, characterized. Tomboy Dylan was downright annoying and negative, complaining for most of the first quarter of the book. I wanted to slap her. (Oh, you're being whisked away to Scotland. For free. For something happy like your sister's wedding to a Scottish Lord! Boohoo.) Jamie, the cute British boy, was trying too hard. He was too clever, too well read, with obscure literary references that somehow, magically, Dylan got. (Some she didn't, but it was too unbelieveable for me) Even her best friend, her southern belle sister, her mother were too. Too much. Too dramatic. Too stylized and unreal. 

So while I read fast, I didn't have any deep emotional reaction or investment in the characters. And I wanted to.

That said, it might have been me. While I was in the mood for a romance, I was more interested in maybe something of a deeper, contemporary YA and perhaps this one just had a little too much fluffy. 

I will recommend it though to people who I think would enjoy it. It's a great read for traveling with or reading with your girlfriends. And I'm sure Jamie is swoon worthy. Just didn't hold my attention.

Hoo boy. For a good three quarters of this book I was dead-set on giving it a one star rating and never looking at it again. But that last 1/4 brought some redeeming qualities.

Prince in Disguise oddly read like a cross between Austenland and The Selection, but in a younger YA kind of way. It was... cute, I guess, and I rather enjoyed all the Disney and musical references, but there were also two main problems for me: I did not like the main character and there was a lot of girl hate going on.

First, the main character, Dylan. I hate using the word unlikable to describe female characters because I feel like the word unlikable is used as a crutch by a lot of reviewers to describe flawed female protagonists (a really good essay on likability in YA written by Courtney Summers can be found in Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World; it's worth a read), but I don't know. Dylan was just really annoying and kind of dumb and really hateful for a good portion of the book and that was not... fun to read. At all. She had the whole "I'm not like other girls" mentality and I was just kind of annoyed with her for the entire book.

She was also kind of an idiot. I'm going to set up a scene for you (no spoilers, don't worry): you are a teenage girl in a country you have never been to before and aren't familiar with. You are stranded at a train station in the middle of the woods and you are the only person there. A male stranger comes up to you (at a train station in the middle of the woods) and says, yeah, he knows why you're here, and he's sorry your ride abandoned you. He says he knows the guy whose house you are trying to get to. He is acting very friendly. What do you do?

a) Use some of your roaming minutes to call your sister and ask her to find out where your ride is
b) Pretend you have a phone call and do that thing where you make sure you tell the person on the other line that you will "be there soon" to show this male stranger that if he tries to kidnap you people will know you're gone and come looking.
c) IMMEDIATELY TRUST THE MALE STRANGER AND ASK HIM FOR A RIDE. IN HIS CAR. WHEN YOU ARE STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. WHERE NO ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM.

Can you guess which one Dylan chose?
"'Assuming you're not a murderer, and since you seem to know who Ronan is, do you mind giving me a ride to his estate? Where's your car?'"

Have you..... How do.... What... Why...... I don't understand how any teenage girl would realistically ask that of a man she had literally just met two seconds ago. Has her mother taught her nothing. Has she not learned anything at school. Has she never had any interaction with any women in her life. How did no red flags go off in her mind. I can't even say anything about it specifically because it just blows my mind that this is a real thing that I read. Ugh.

Second, there was a lot of girl hate going on in this book. As I said before, Dylan was one of those "I'm not like other girls" characters that drive me up the metaphorical wall. Throughout the book she does go through a lot of character growth, I'll give her that, but for a good chunk of it I was really annoyed with her because she was just plain mean. It went past normal sibling rivalry to just general rudeness.
"'What do you want from me, Dyl?' Dusty jammed the lid on the back of the box with more force than was necessary, then rose to face me, eyes flashing. 'I'm stupid if I go along with the show, now you're givin' me grief for goin' against it. Which is it? Y'all can't have it both ways.'

'I was just -- Gosh, Dusty, it was just a joke.' Was she going to cry? [sic]

She tapped her fingers briskly beneath her eyes, swiping away any eyeliner smudges. God forbid she look less than perfect for one single second."

It was just crap like that that really made me dislike Dylan. Sure, at the end of the book she grows to love her sister and her mother for who they were, but underneath that there was still a lot of hate for feminine girls. It felt more like that she now thought her sister and mom were exceptions to the rule, the rule being that tomboys are inherently better than femme girls.

I also didn't feel as though the romance between Dylan and Jamie was built up enough. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if there had been more buildup to their first case.

Also wish there had been more diversity, and less tokenism. Just because the book acknowledges that it's tokenism doesn't make it anymore okay. I know that they're in Scotland, but, like, come on. It's not that hard to include more than one poc side character, especially when half of the cast comes from the United States.

Another weird thing about Prince in Disguise was the language. It's not that I wanted more swearing, I just thought it was weird that the language was SUPER clean (I'm talking gosh darn it, shiz, and the like), but then in like the last five chapters there were five or six swear words spoken. It was a weird enough shift that I noticed it, and I wish there had been more continuity in that regard.

(view spoiler)

What saved this book from a one star rating were two things: Dylan's character arc and the humor.

First I'll talk about Dylan's arc. Though I talked about my issues with it above, I will give the book this: She really did change for the better as a sister and a friend. She went from selfish and disliking the people around her to a loving sister and daughter who stood up for her family's wants and needs, and it made the last part of the book relatively enjoyable.

But the thing I liked most about Prince in Disguise was the humor. There were so many funny Disney references and just witty jokes that it made reading to the end of the book worth it. I don't usually laugh out loud when reading, but this book made me giggle so often that I'm pretty sure I got an ache in my side.

To conclude, there was some good but a lot of bad in Prince in Disguise. It was probably something I would have enjoyed a lot more when I was twelve, but my tastes have changed. If you're looking for something that will solely make you laugh, then I guess you can read it, but if you're looking for literally anything else in addition to that then I would pass on it.

This book was a very enjoyable light read. The characters could be shallow at times and the plot was somewhat predictable. However, the overall charm of the book made up for these faults. This is definitely a feel good story, and I found myself wanting more closure at the end. I felt like the story ended somewhat abruptly, and I wish it had explored the characters lives a little more once the plot was resolved.

Written by Stephanie Kate Strohm, this novel follows Dylan, the sister to a reality TV star and Miss Mississippi. Who is getting, very publicly, married to a Scottish Lord. And of course there is a young gentleman for Dylan as well.

This was a sweet story that was a pleasure to read. The characters were odd and mostly shallow, so this isn’t the next great novel, but it was so enjoyable. Very pleasant to read a light-hearted story. A love story appropriate for all ages, I would happily give this to a younger cousin and tell them to look for someone like Jamie, Dylan’s love interest. He is odd, and sweet, and not a jerk.

So, those are my short thoughts and who would like this – an all ages love story.

Prince in Disguise is a light romance that takes place in a romantic location: Scotland. Simple Dylan has always grown up hearing "You're Dusty's Sister?" and just once, Dylan wants to be separated from her beauty pageant sister, Dusty. When Dusty announces that the reality show that introduced her to her husband is going to film the entire wedding for a new show, Dylan wonders if she can dodge the cameras, even if she is the maid of honor. When Dylan meets Jamie, a groomsman with a knack for pulling literary references out of thin air, she starts to think that maybe the camera's aren't that big of a deal. With some unexpected twists, the story has just enough to not feel too cliche, but some of the plot is very much predictable and can turn experienced readers away.

Dylan is the younger, gawkier sister of the beautiful Dusty, a former Miss Missouri. Dusty competes in a reality show and wins the heart of Ronan, a titled Scottish man. Dylan is not thrilled with living her life in the camera’s eye.

The wedding of Dusty and Ronan is another season of the show and they are all in Scottland where Dylan meets Jamie, one of Ronan’s good friends who will stand up for him. This is just the cutest story about how Dylan ends up with Jamie, who turns out to be an actual prince and how they will all live happily ever after.

I'll admit that when the story started with an awkward brunette who didn't appreciate the artificial beauty of her mom and sister, I sighed and rolled my eyes a little bit. But eventually, as most of the characters were fleshed out beyond their tropes and developed along with the plot, I grew to like this book more than I thought I would. I give it four hearts-eyes emojis!

I tried y'all. I really wanted to enjoy this book, the premise sounded so fun, a girl goes to Scotland to be a part of her sister's wedding, and be a part of a reality tv show. How fun would that be?! Right from the beginning I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the book, I couldn't really relate to any of the characters, so I didn't really care what happened to them. From what I read, I don't think there's anything wrong with this book, it just wasn't for me. I hope anyone else that's into this type of book enjoys it!

Dylan, the girl who avoids being seen. Dylan, who does not quite feel comfortable in her own skin yet. Dylan, the girl who is flown to Scotland to be a part of her older sister's reality television wedding... wait--what?

When Dylan's older sister, Dusty, gets engaged to a nobleman from Scotland (related to the television show "Prince in Disguise"--- we know, we know, he isn't really a prince... it wouldn't have been as catchy to call it "Nobility in Disguise", now would it?) she is coerced into travelling to be a part of this wedding spectacle (who even gets married around Christmas?) because it is the wedding of her sister... and the production team demands it--and mostly because of that.

While Dylan's plans revolve around avoiding the camera crew as much as possible for the few weeks they are there.... fate has another plan and a friendship with a sweet, attractive boy named Jamie begins. But does Jamie have some secrets of his own?

This really was a quick, easy and fun read. If you pick this title up and expect a lot of depth... you might be disappointed BUT if you are expecting the funny, quirkiness of a Disney teen drama... or even Hallmark-esque movie... you might really enjoy this title. I know that I did.

I received a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was my first book by Stephanie Kate Strohm and I have to say I am very pleasantly happy I read this book. It is the story of Dylan a Mississipi girl who gets tangled in her sisters reality show wedding. Dylan has to put up with not only pressure from her sister who is extremely beautiful and vindictive, from her mother who is quite but fierce and from Pamela the shows producer who is not afraid of extortion in order to get the right drama filmed. Enters handsome Jamie who seems to good to be true. He is just your normal kissable guy, who falls or so he says for dorky Dylan. The connection between all the characters is genome all, from Heaven the quirky friend to Ronnan the strong yet sensible groom, to the intimidating future mother in law. You will fall in love with all of them.

I already know of two high-school aged relatives I am giving this book to for Christmas, and I hope I can see them read it.

This is an utterly charming wish-fulfillment romance, featuring Dylan, eye-rolling younger sister of gorgeous, perfect Dusty, beauty-pageant-winner from Tupelo. Dusty was chosen for a reality show, at which she met Scottish laird Ronan, and fell in love. Now Dylan, to her total disgust, is being whisked off to Scotland for the second series as Dusty and Ronan marry at his vast estate.

Dylan is no Cinderella, in that she is anti-romance. She's no-nonsense, a long distance sprinter, and is totally not ready for a super cold stint in an ancient castle . . . until she meets Jamie, there as a groomsman for Ronan, and he leads her to a secret trapdoor tunnel.

The fun is on as Jamie and Dylan make friends, try to evade the ever-present TV cameras, and surprises occur as they lurch toward the wedding day. Dylan's crackup of a best friend shows up, making the story even more of a crackup.

I loved the evolution of the sisters' relationships, and how Dylan handled the surprises, both those provided by the TV people for maximum drama, and the ones that just happened because life is like that. A couple of twists an older reader can see coming a mile away, but that is perfectly fine as the fun is really in seeing how Strohm would handle them.

A delightful read from first page to last, putting Strohm on my "watch this author" list.

And like I said, three copies already sold. (One of those is MINE.)

This was a sweet, fun romance that teens will adore. Combining reality tv, royalty, secrets, and love, you will not want to put this book down. The setting made the book spectacular. Scotland is the perfect place to fall in love.

Super cute story!

The premise is that Dylan's sister, Dusty, was a contestant on a Bachelor-style reality show called Prince in Disguise. It's now time for Dusty to marry her "prince," which means that the family not only has to travel to Scotland over Christmas break for this televised wedding monstrosity, but now Dylan (awkward, oh, so awkard Dylan) has to deal with the cameras following her every move. Things start looking up when she meets a cute boy named Jamie at the train station, but as with every good reality show, nothing is quite what you expect as they aim to make this season of Prince in Disguise The Most Dramatic Season... Ever.

I absolutely loved this book! The voice was spot-on. The banter fantastic. I felt like Jamie and Dylan had some serious Gilmore Girls-ian banter with books and poems and silliness, and those were all of my favorite parts.

Also a bonus, this was a clean YA read that I would feel comfortable passing along to even young teens--while also managing to have a believable and fun romance. The main character (Dylan) was adorable, and I loved her growth throughout the book. Also the side characters: hilarious. Kit Kirby and Heaven were the best. I definitely recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a great romantic comedy and it is a definite must for fans of reality shows!

Prince in Disguise is a fluffy, light, guilty pleasure kind of read. It felt like a watered down John Hughes movie - 16 Candles but with British royalty instead of high school royalty. You won't believe any of it but you probably won't care, either, that you don't.

Story: Dylan has lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister for most of her life. And now, with the family caught up in a reality TV show featuring her sister and fiance (Scottish nobility), life is even more hectic. For Dylan doesn't want to be a part of the show, Prince in Disguise, but is dragged to Scotland in order to be a part of the castle fairytale wedding.

I was worried that Dylan would come off as selfish and unsympathetic - and honestly she was. That probably bothers me more as an adult than a teen would, though. But I wish Strohm had given Dylan more personality beyond 'chip on her shoulder girl' who is mouthy and rude to most people. I had a hard time liking her and the instaluv with Jaime was unbelievable and kind of creepy as a result (she's only 16 and they are talking of marriage already). But again, suspend disbelief and think fairy tale and everything is fine.

So much of this is 16 Candles - from the self obsessed pretty older sister to the wedding from hell scenario that Dylan has to attend as a bride's maid. In both the movie and this book, we have a love interest that is tired of all the attention he gets for being rich/noble - and he just wants a 'real' girl to see the 'real' him. But again, Jaime felt a lot less real than Jake from 16 Candles.

Most of the book is amusing quips and bon mots. Everyone is smart and well read and can mete out sassy rejoinders effortlessly. Our love interest Jaime is a book nerd and supposedly his literary quotes (which Dylan always knows somehow despite not being well read) are offset by her knowledge gleamed from TV/Animal Planet. The reality show theme unfolded as predicted but is certainly a sign of our current times. Most of the fun is on the culture clash that Strohm plays with throughout - American versus Scottish/British. Yes, there will be the haggis moment but it will be juxtaposed with fried Snickers bars.

The romance progressed VERY fast - Strohm decided to keep the book light and an easy read so certain themes never grow organically. Again, I don't think most teens will mind and just enjoy this as a light fluff piece. But I wish the story had bookended with meeting and then a first kiss rather than meeting and then marriage talks.

In all, perhaps a guilty pleasure or a silly fun John Hughes inspired YA romance. I'd expect to see this as a little throwaway movie on the Disney Channel. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Clearly, I am on a reality show kick. First I fell in love with NICE TRY, JANE SINNER and now I’m in love with PRINCE IN DISGUISE.

Here’s a secret I’ve never shared before- I am a sucker for Christmas based romance stories and I am SO in love with all those cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. The Nine Live of Christmas (also a book!)? Yes. A Royal Christmas? Uh huh. The Christmas Ornament? I cry every time. When I saw PRINCE IN DISGUISE on NetGalley and realized it was set during Christmas, I knew this book was for me. What I didn’t know until I read it was that this book REALLY needs to be turned into a Hallmark Christmas movie. I would watch the shit out of it.

Our story starts in Tupelo, Mississippi, where Dylan has been sucked into her sister’s wedding preparations and the subsequent reality TV show that has followed (the channel’s clever name in the book is TRC, haha). When Dylan is swept off to Scotland for the wedding, she finds herself falling for one of the groomsmen and fighting for her privacy as TRC catches wind of this new romance… this time with an actual prince.

I think it was terribly clever to show how reality TV warps what is real. The title of the show is ‘Prince in Disguise’ but we find out pretty early on that Ronan is a Lord, not a prince. And while TRC goes to great lengths to make his castle seem very glamorous, the estate is actually kind of falling apart and Dusty even admits that all of Ronan’s money is tied up in the estate. There were also times when they would force Dylan to tape confessionals, but she would have to repeat certain lines over and over until they sounded just right for the camera.

Dylan is a super likable character. She’s been thrust into this peculiar place and because she’s a minor, she wasn’t given the option to opt out of being on the show. I totally related to her need for privacy and why she was so irritated with her mom and sister for getting her involved in something she wanted no part of. Dylan is also “not like other girls” but it wasn’t in the typical YA fashion- instead of berating other girls for liking makeup and fashion, Dylan admits that she just doesn’t understand it and isn’t bothered by not knowing how to do hair and typical “girly” things. The only time she ever comments on her sisters routine is a quick jab at her sister getting carried away with the fake tan. Dylan even comments on how beautiful Dusty is several times in the book and it’s never in a way that degrades Dusty. While Dylan and Dusty do have a very tension filled relationship (most of it stemming from Dylan’s non-compliance with the shows rules), it’s very obvious that the sisters love each other. When Dylan finds out Dusty’s secret, she offers to let the show focus more on her budding romance in hopes that the eagle-eyed producer won’t find out what’s going on with Dusty.

Then there’s Jamie. Sweet, awkward, poetry reciting Jamie. Yes, he is TOTALLY unreal and perfect but that just adds to my desire to see this made into a Hallmark movie. From the trapdoors he finds, to the the over the top date he plans, Jamie is a swoon worthy love interest and a very princely fellow.

Of course, every good Christmas romance needs its comedic relief and that’s where Kit Kirby comes in. Kit is short and full of life but I think this line sums him up the best.. and I’ll leave it at that.

This book was really cute and kind of gave me Princess Diary feels (the movie not the books). The relationship between Dylan and Jamie was super adorable and they had this really nerdy thing going on which I was all for. It was super cheesy and predictable but I couldn’t help but smiling.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Will update with links to where I posted my review online closer to the release date. (Final review might change slightly but will have the same basic message).

A perfect pick for YA readers w/ a preference for royal weddings, fun banter, and strong, witty females!