There was so much I enjoyed about this book! Shanti was an ~incredible~ heroine, and Sanyu was such a compelling & unique hero😊 It was fascinating to watch him unlearn some really toxic masculinity & do the work to become a better ruler🙏🏻 and Alyssa Cole’s writing is EXQUISITE as per usual, what a powerhouse!!

Tbh Shanti was probably my favorite part of How To Catch A Queen, bc she was just so badass! Shanti is decisive, driven, and compassionate. I loved that she saw the needs of the people of Njaza and worked by whatever means she could to advocate for their needs 👏🏼 Shanti made me think of so many women in politics who work hard to advocate & give voice to those who have been ignored (AOC, Stacey Abrams, Ilhan Oman & Elizabeth Warren to name a few!)

I will say that the severe dysfunction of the Njazan political structure was hard to swallow, considering the state of American politics rn— Sometimes the ineptitude of the council & the disenfranchisement of the people felt a little too close to home. But I don’t think I’d have the same issues in a year or so *shrug*

Regardless, its a stunning book!! Really enjoyed it

4.5 Stars ~ Top Pick

The first in Cole’s Runaway Royals series is a winner!

I loved the Reluctant Royals series, but Cole just keeps getting better and better. From the moment I met Shanti and Sanyu in A Prince On Paper last year, I couldn’t wait for their story to come out. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since then. But the wait was well worth it.

There is a whole new kingdom to explore in this story. The kingdom of Njaza, with its war-torn past, and fifty years of freedom from colonizers. Shanti comes to the kingdom and marries the new king, Sanyu. An arranged marriage that helps fulfill her dream of becoming a queen, one she’s trained for since she was a child. Except, Njaza’s queens don’t stay and marriage to the king always ends after the four-month trial.

With exactly one-month left is where our story begins, and I immediately fell head over heels for both Sanyu and Shanti as they tried to surmount the expectations they held for themselves, and the ones excepted of them by others. This story became so much more than a simple love story, with cultural implications and showcasing how love is essential not only for the success of individual people, but an entire country. But, I might be getting ahead of myself.

I mentioned in another review this month how the author excelled at characterization, and Cole is quickly becoming a master. Not only at building heroines and heroes to swoon for, but for creating secondary characters and villains who relatable and recognizable in the lives around us. Every villain is a hero in their own story, and so much of this rings true in Musoke, Sanyu’s uncle, who plays a major role in the book. I could wax poetic all day on these elements.

Another element that shines, is Cole’s love for what she’s writing and how she blends in so many nerdy girl elements to these stories. Including references to emojis, politics, and pop culture. If anyone can catch the Coming To America easter egg, you are my kind of people.

There is not a wasted word in this story with poignant encounters, mysteries to be solved, and the unraveling of Sanyu and Shanti as they begin to learn about each other strengths. Shanti is so strong and inspiring. I found inspiration from her and her Field Guide to Queendom. Honestly, if Cole published a separate little guide with all her quotes and inspiring bits, I’d buy it.

Overall, this book isn’t one to miss. The conclusion is satisfying, the story relatable and invigorating. There are elements for everyone to enjoy, including a fabulous love story of how a queen protects a king in ways he’d never expect. That’s really my only hiccup, is that the title of the book didn’t end up matching its contents. Shanti never needed catching. It’s Sanyu who needs rescuing.

For readers who love anything to do with Royals. If you’re a royal watcher than this book is for you.

~ Landra

I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did. Alyssa Cole is an excellent author and a super smart person that I love following on social media. But I continue to struggle to connect to the romance in her books. It feels often that the romantic bits are an afterthought thrown in after all the hard work she does in ensuring these books are filled with multi-nuanced characters that struggle through real world issues. Frankly, if you are looking for romance books that do the hard work you can't go wrong with Cole's body of work. I think I just need her to do the romantic work just as faithfully as she's doing everything else.

How to Catch a Queen is another wonderful book about royals from Alyssa Cole. The premise of the book that Prince Sanyu needs to find a wife and Shanti has always wanted to be a queen is quite intriguing. The book invites you into a male dominated monarchy and then peels away layers to show what is really important to those in the story. As the layers are peeled away you come to see the importance of allowing all citizens to participate fully in the running of a country.
If you love stories about royals with some romance thrown in then this is the book for you. It will keep you guessing and mesmerized until the end.

How to Catch a Queen was an excellent book and I enjoyed the story! It is, however, a bit harder to read than your typical romance novel. One of the key elements of the book is the disregarding of women in the Kingdom of Njaza, and while it is masterfully done in context, it’s not exactly a blissful escape from reality. The heroine Shanti combines the princess fantasy of a lot of little girls and with the unrelenting drive of a boss chick and she is truly a sight to behold (imagine? you know what I mean). King Sanyu II suffers from “not fear”, and Cole’s writing of him is brilliant in that we can clearly see how his condition affects him without it defining him as a character, which is impressive since the “not fear” is also a big plot point.
The highlight of the book was the setting, the fictional country of Njaza. Even though the book is set within the same universe as her other Royals titles, the mythology and history that she built around this fictional country are fascinating, especially considering how short the book is. I ended the book wanting to know more about the country itself, something that didn’t occur with the other fictional countries in this literary universe.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the mystery of Njaza, cheering at Shanti’s fierceness, and reveling in Cole’s masterful treatment of mental health issues. Another excellent read by Alyssa Cole!
I received this book for free from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely adored Shanti and Sanyu! I did find this to be a bit of a slow burn which I normally don't like. But I think it really worked for this story given the political nature of the marriage.

Shanti was so smart and witty. And I think she handled things with so much grace.

The only thing I didn't like was how the antagonist was forgiven in the end, with absolutely no character growth and reason for redemption.

But I still highly recommend this one and am looking forward to the next book in the series!

The Story in 4 Sentences or Less: Sanyu is the reluctant king who enters into a marriage of convenience in order to fulfill his father's dying wish and to give his country the kingly image they need. He weds Shanti, whose dream it is to be queen so that she can have the ability to help people, only once she does become queen, no one will listen to her.





Like It? Hate it? Love it? Why? I was excited about this spin off series by Alyssa Cole, this year has been a complete crap show of a dumpster fire of a stupidpocalypse so having a good book is essential as many of us try to remain sane. How to Catch a Queen has been one of the few good things about this year.


What I've quickly noticed and come to love about Alyssa's romance heroines (I say this as I binge read the Reluctant Royals series) is that they are completely free of the over the top drama attached to a lot of contemporary heroines. They're not ridiculous or easily written off.


Shanti was a tad naive in her idea that being a queen would bring to life her dream of helping people and she learned that really quick. She had a good heart but she needed the experience of being rejected and ignored by her new country in order to learn and grow to become a powerful queen. I loved that she was the one with the ideas on how to move Njaza forward making her the heroine of the story in my eyes.


Sanyu and Shanti's marriage of convenience had more than it's fair share of obstacles yet the relationship felt real and fleshed out. Sanyu and Shanti had to get to know each other as quickly as possible but at the same time they had a kingdom to rule. The author was able to balance out the growing romance with the heavy responsibility of being rulers. I loved the growth of them as individuals, as a couple, and as rulers.


Click It or Skip It? Click It. How to Catch a Queen is a wonderful contemporary royal romance that I couldn't put down!

"EVERY bit as delicious as you'd hope & expect from all of her other Reluctant Royals novels! A total treat." - from Twitter

"I'm generally not a fan of royal romances, but Alyssa Cole's are all just wonderfully, frothily fun, written from different angles that I love, and this new series-starter is delicious. A total treat!" - on Goodreads

I can't believe it, but this was my first book by this author, and I LOVED it so much! Also, the arranged marriage trope always does it for me.

Shanti Mohapti has always dreamed of being a queen, which as a commoner was quite the farfetched goal. But she never wavered from her course, and her parents helped her all they could, and now all her hard work has paid off. She's been chosen for an arranged (and QUICK!) marriage to the king of Njaza. But she didn't imagine her dream would become a nightmare of boredom and monotony, where she gets to contribute nothing, and everyone, including her new husband, basically ignores her existence. She needs to figure out a plan to change things fast, before her 4 month "trial marriage" is over.

King Sanyu II of Njaza has just become king, with the death of his father, and he's taken a bride, not of his own choosing, in accordance with the traditions of his country, all in the same night. Afterward, he's in a fog of grief and fear for quite a while, before he realizes that he must step up into the role he's been born into, regardless of the fact that he's never actually wanted it. When he discovers that his wife is brilliant, and strategic, and could help him become a better king, he starts visiting her for her counsel. But, he has no interest in getting close to yet another queen who will leave him, just like the countless wives of his father throughout his childhood, including his own mother.

Sanyu and Shanti had HOT chemistry from the first moment of their meeting, but with Sanyu in mourning, nothing came of it for a while after. They each had a lot going on, stepping into their roles, and I loved the way they helped each other. Sanyu had SO MUCH BAGGAGE to unpack from his childhood, and the way he was treated by his father, and the royal advisor, Musoke, who was his father's best friend. He was really damaged from parts of his upbringing. Shanti tried all she could to help him but ultimately he had to decide the man he would be, and how he would allow his kingdom to be run.

These characters were so well drawn, and I really felt like I knew them, and wanted the best for them. There were a few side characters who were a delight, and I especially loved the group text message exchanges that both Shanti and Sanyu were part of. It added levity in a several great moments, amongst the serious subjects that were also being tackled. Also, the investigator, Beznaria Chetchevaliere, was the BEST, and I am beyond excited that she's getting her own book next!

This book handled so many hard issues, including childhood emotional abuse and trauma, but it managed to never feel too heavy or serious. I loved the feelings and true care between Shanti and Sanyu, even before they really fell for each other completely. This story was just so lovely and unexpected for me, and I absolutely adored it! Can't wait for what's next!

My review of How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

How to Catch a Queen is the first book in a new series, the Runaway Royals. For those of you who’ve read the Reluctant Royals series, they are connected, but can be read as standalones. This is my first book by Alyssa, although I have been wanting to read one of her books for years! I’m glad I took this opportunity to dive into her royal world.

Sanyu is the prince and heir to the Njazan throne. His own ideas and differences have been quelled by his stern father and authoritarian advisor. Sanyu has been left to constantly question is own strength and ability to contribute meaningfully in any situation. It’s obvious from the start that he suffers from anxiety.

Shanti is a commoner from Thesalo, a country that does not see eye-to-eye with Njaza. Unlike Sanyu, who dreads the idea of being king, Shanti has always dreamt of being queen. Not for the title, but for the power. She wants to make change. Unfortunately, the powers that lead Njaza are not receptive to a Queen’s ideas.

I loved Shanti’s character right away. Her dialogue with Sanyu was engaging. These two complement each other in the best ways. The evolution of Sanyu’s character was believable and easy to relate to.

Alyssa Cole crafts the kingdom and government expertly, and I felt that each page was imbued with such wisdom that I could not help but take note of. Unfortunately, I got a little lost in the politics and slow pace of it all. This book focuses less on the romance and more on leadership and the meaning of strength. Thus, my rating relates to no real criticism of the book itself — but rather my level of personal enjoyment. I would still recommend this to fans of realistic royal romance.

I am honored to have received an ARC of this book to read and voluntarily leave an honest review.

DNF at 50%

I love Alyssa Cole and I will read anything she puts out there, this was just not the year for me to read this book. The king, Sanyu, is an inept, cowardly man who lives in the shadow of his late father and under the thumb of his father's advisor. The queen, Shanti, is basically doing his homework for him. I knew I had to dnf when they are alone together and I was like NOOO SHANTI don't do it. The only happy parts were the texts from characters of past books. Bad leaders just represent too much baggage for me in 2020, I can't do it.

If you haven't yet read Alyssa Cole you're missing out on some of the best writing in romance fiction. I loved her Reluctant Royals series and was excited when I learned she would be expanding that world into her new series of Runaway Royals. How to Catch a Queen launches that new series and is everything I could have hoped for.

Shanti was the star of this book for me. Here is a woman who identified her life goal at an early age and since then has diligently prepared herself for the role of her dreams: to be a queen. Not for the crown or the jewels or the pampered lifestyle. No, Shanti has no intention of being any handsome man's arm candy. A brilliant strategist, she is prepped, polished, and ready to stand next to her King and, together, lead their country - and citizens - into a prosperous future. Unfortunately, her new husband doesn't want to be a king, or a husband, her new country is falling apart, progress is being undermined at every turn, the royal council ignores her and her ideas, and if she doesn't turn it all around within four months, she's out the door with several new queen applicants on RoyalMatch.com waiting to take her place.

While Shanti had me cheering all her boss queen moves, Sanyu tugged on all my nurturing heartstrings. I ached for the absence of emotional nurturing in his life and was ready to exact justice for a lifetime of emotional abuse. He has a significant growth arc that Cole slowly and realistically navigates with sensitivity and care. But he isn't the only one who grows. Shanti also has lessons to learn. I enjoyed watching the two of them ease into friendship, "teamship," and more. But I also enjoyed watching each of them individually open themselves up to the possibility of new friendships with others. The group texts with familiar characters from the previous series were wonderfully fresh, funny, and eye-opening for both Sanyu and Shanti. I loved them!

Cole brings the kingdom of Njaza to life, including it's history, traditions, challenges, geographic landscape, and, of course, it's citizens. She explores many relevant topics including colonialism, patriarchy, social justice, mental health, and the difficulty of balancing necessary progress with historical tradition. The secondary characters are rich, relevant, and necessary to both the progression of the story as well as the growth of the hero and heroine. No wallpaper here. There are several secondary characters who elicited strong emotions (both positive and negative) in this reader. I would have liked a more detailed reckoning for one of them but I'm willing to believe that a lot of discussion, accountability, apologizing, and healing occurred in the five years prior to the epilogue. There's also another character who, though she had a small role, leaped from the page and stole every scene she was in. I'm so excited that Cole's 2021 release, How to Find a Princess will be her story!

There's so much more I could say about this book but that would be giving away details readers should have the pleasure of discovering themselves. If you haven't read Alyssa Cole yet, How to Catch a Queen is a great place to begin.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

I enjoyed this book. It tickled me pink. I found myself giggling at small comedic relief (that damn Sexy Pikachu line) and the fact that royals find their spouses through dating apps. I never would expect that's how arranged marriages work in modern times. It tripped me out a bit. But I also like the fact that Cole kept me guessing with the direction of her writing. You know how, when reading something, you can figure out where the story is going? Cole introduced dirt roads off the beaten path before coming back to the wild ride of the plot. It was an unexpected special surprise gifted to readers. I appreciated it.

I do believe the ending was rushed a bit. I like a story with turmoil initially, and then it all works out in the end, but it didn't seem natural for this particular story. Where I'd believe everything in the story would have happened, I think the timeline was accelerated to appease the readers. I have some questions regarding the sudden appearance of former Queens and the story's villain accepting defeat quickly. Still, hopefully, those topics are delved into the next book in the Runaway Royal series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title before its publication date.

As someone who has read several Alyssa Cole romances I was very excited for this first in a new royalty romance series. I think this one didn't work for me for one reason: the ratio of political content to romantic content was too great. There is A LOT of political content - and I don't mean that I didn't want it to have a political slant at all, I just meant that there was a lot of inter-workings of a monarchy that I found particularly boring. I also didn't feel a lot of chemistry between the characters of Sanyu and Shanti.

I'm not sure if I'll continue with this royalty series but I still really enjoyed her Reluctant Royals series and would read from her again.

I love being back in the world of the reluctant royals. Sanyu II is a complex and interesting hero and it’s good to see Shanti again. This book was fantastic, the world building and character development were very well done. Highly recommended.

How to Catch a Queen is a spinoff of Cole's Reluctant Royals series. Shanti and Sanyu have an arranged marriage (through a royal matchmaking app! Love it!) and three months in, they've hardly spoken. Which is kind of important, because it's at the four month mark that Sanyu decides if she will remain queen or they'll divorce. There is a lot to unpack here with the legacies of colonialism, a country that's in economic, social, and political turmoil, and the misogyny that rules everything. It's really striking how isolated Shanti and Sanyu are and how they work at breaking that. The gap in the book for me was I wish readers actually got to see them building their new future together, it would have filled out how it is going to work for both them in a relationship and for how they are going to rebuild the country. We had so much build up to them getting to the point where things could change, and acknowledging they could do the work, that things moved very quickly and it felt uneven.

Okay this book is totally different (which makes sense it's a new series) from the Reluctant Royals. This book focus is on the history Njaza tradition and why Shanti and Sanyu are navigating it. This is a marriage of convenience slow burn romance. Shanti is an ambitious commoner with a goal to be a queen anywhere. Her Thelosian roots make her a viable (but still not acceptable) candidate for the new King Sunya II. Their struggle to be who they are vs who they ought to be is the crux of the book. We are getting to read about Shanti's singular mission to be a queen for the people to soften to be a better partner and Sanyu grappling with anxiety, grief, and toxic masculinity learning how to ask for help. Sanyu was beautifully written, complex, and lovable. I loved that we get to see him struggle inwardly and outwardly and that anger was not his only defense mechanism. Shanti prickliness is so relatable that I don't know what else to say other than 'Yes Queen!'.

The reason why this book felt different is these two don't do anything remotely close to kissing until 100 pages. The setup is really waiting out the clock to their marriage trial but their first heated seen was pretty tame. Even though both of them said there was pent up energy. Nonetheless I think Sanyu's desire to please Shanti was very tender and how they openly talked through pleasure was so so good. If you want tons of sex this book won't be it. But if you want a sassy female character and male character who is growing on page then this it. Also I loved loved the last 30 pages where Alyssa confronts the pesky custom of erasing women in history. I won't giveaway the surprise. But I picked up what might happen and was screaming when we found out the truth. I will say this pay attention to all the side characters, they have a purpose 🤷🏾😉

Of course I will be continuing the series bc I love this series and we get a pinch of Nya❤, Portia, and Neledi oh and their guys. Btw I kinda digged how community and friendship was talked about to counter the stress of being a royal.

CW: parental death, anxiety, divorce, war, poverty, manipulation, gas lighting

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’m not sure what it is about Alyssa Cole’s contemporaries, but I always finish them with the feeling of “that was nice, but there could’ve been more,” a feeling I never had with her historicals or her recent thriller. And unfortunately, How to Catch a Queen is another case of that.

Don’t get me wrong, this book does a lot well. This new Runaway Royals spinoff builds on the already fabulously diverse Reluctant Royals, with characters of different cultures, sexualities, and even gender identities represented with compassion. And in this book in particularly, the rep has expanded to include mental health, and once again, it’s A+.

With each new country Cole takes us into in the Reluctant/Runaway Royals world, she takes her time building the political power structures, and even if they are based on real life countries, it’s easy to feel immersed in the politics of countries like Thesolo or Njaza, while also not being bogged down by the politics either.

And the characters on their own are compelling. I could relate to Shanti feeling out of her depth in her new role as Queen, especially when she’s not close to her husband and an adviser he trusts actively tries to tear her down. I understood the pressure Sanyu was under as the new king. However, I was never fully sold on them together, and I think, like others, I did want more of the book to be about him “catching” her when she runs away, especially when it’s literally mentioned in the title and blurb. I kept waiting for it to happen, and then when it does, it’s not even until close to the end? Way to misrepresent the book, Avon.

And I couldn’t help feeling like everything was forgiven too quickly at the end? I wanted more from Sanyu when it came to proving his love for Shanti, and it was also super disappointing that, in spite of the adviser being toxic to her, everything is forgiven pretty easily.

So, I guess I liked the book with major caveats. I do think, given my track record with her contemporaries, I’m not surprised, yet I’m always optimistic that the next one could be better (How to Find a Princess sounds like everything I want in a book!) I think if you’ve enjoyed her contemporaries in the past, this one might work out a bit better for you, and even if not, there are plenty of positives to recommend it!

My first experience with Alyssa Cole was When No One is Watching... you could kind of tell she had a talent for writing a love scene amongst all the creepiness of that book. So I was excited to start one of her romance series and this popped up on NetGalley. This book was really 4.5 stars! The hurt and turmoil of Sanyu was believable and you wanted to help him and cry for him. The determination of Shanti and how it was celebrated by her husband, her family, her friends... I just loved. Their love story seemed real. Its course was so natural, which is hard for most romance novels. You tend to feel like... wait, didn’t they just meet and now they are going there 😳. But this happened where you just felt part of the story, on their same journey. And love scenes were super steamy, but appropriate and eventually full of love. Now whether that love was enough to make her the True Queen, you will have to read to find out!

I am a huge fan of Alyssa Cole, especially the Reluctant Royals series, and I am in love with the first of the branch off Runaway Royals.

Sanyu is unsure he's able to be the King his father was, and Shanti only wants the change to be the Queen she knows she was born to be - together they could be unstoppable. Outside influences, and decades old traditions, look to stop them before they even have a chance. Since this is a romance, you know there will be a happily ever after but the roller coaster ride really made you wonder. And the 'twist' at the end - very clever.

If you're a fan of her works, you will definitely enjoy this one and I look forward to the next in the series.