Fun! I've recommended it to several students and purchased it for the library. I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-21 from my title feedback view!

The concept of this book is super fun and I was so excited to read it! I couldn't root for the characters and it felt really slow. I had to DNF.

Unfortunately this one did not work for me. It felt kinda boring after awhile and was too insta-love for me.

I totally loved it. The romance between the characters was done well and realistic. It was a fun and heartwarming read. I do recommend it.

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick which released in early summer is destined to be the romantic favorite of the year. Carter Ogden, an event planner, is done with love after having his heart broken by a cheating ex. But could Prince Edgar, the openly gay Crown Prince of England, reignite the flame of love in Carter’s crippled heart? The chemistry between them is explosive. This unlikely pair is soon creating a media frenzy on both sides of the Atlantic. The pressure of being constantly in the spotlight is intense, but Carter is also faced with the strong and unwavering disapproval of the Queen of England. Can these two lovers overcome the media backlash, a domineering Royal Family, social class differences and a sabotaging ex in order to win a chance at love and happiness?⠀
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This feel good romantic comedy is certain to become the benchmark by which all other stories in this genre will be measured. Paul Rudnick is the master of humorous prose and witty dialogue, and I cannot imagine that anyone could have created two more unique and lovable character as Carter and Edgar. The story may have taken some liberties with palace protocol but who cares once caught up in this hilarious adventure of the heart. Keep a hanky close by because I guarantee you will cry from laughing so hard. My one fear is that someone will attempt to adapt this into a film and destroy this gem of a love story.⠀

A super cute romcom, but it doesn't really match up to everything else out there. I wanted the butterflies, the excitement of a new relationship, The character's didn't really seem to have a relationship that worked, you couldn't really see it happening. I had high hopes, but this one fell flat.

Love, Love, Love this book!! Such a great love story! If you like Red, White & Royal Blue I would absolutely recommend this book! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!!

This is the first book I've read by Paul Rudnick. It was full of colorful description and a great romance. The book was good, but sometimes it felt a little long-winded. The characters were fun and kept me entertained, and the writing was good. Overall, I'd give this book 3.5 stars.

I was really looking forward to this one. But i think i hyped it up way to much for myself. I liked Carter and Price Edgar but I just kept comparing it to Red, White, and Royal Blue.

You know a book is going to be good when your first impression of it is, "Oh this is so funny!" Playing the Palace is hilarious and everything I thought it would be. Paul Rudnick is a fantastic story teller. It really felt like the book was a movie in word form.

I couldn't help but love Carter. He's the female equivalent of Bridget Jones if you will, who I absolutely love and adore. I see myself in Carter's insecurities and neuroses. Also in the making things worse while trying to make them better. Prince Edward is adorable, and watching him realize what he needed to be happy was wonderful.

Carter and Edward have chemistry in spades and I loved seeing them with each other. I can't help but wish that chemistry had translated onto the page when things got steamy. It's the only thing I didn't enjoy about the book.

I'm happy to report the humor remained through out the book and amongst my favorite things about the book are the Queen who stands guard outside Carter's room to prevent shenanigans of the intimate variety and Carter's idol and the voice inside his head, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (may she rest is peace). Paul Rudnick has arrived in a big way, and I can't wait to see what other stories he has to share!

A complimentary ebook was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I borrowed the audio from my local library.

I was pretty excited to read this since I do love a good prince/commoner story, but this didn't work for me. I thought it would be something like [book:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487], but it was not.

Carter is a party planner and Edgar is the Prince of England. Carter is rather ridiculous in every way and Edgar is reserved, sheltered and someone completely clueless as to how the world works. I found most of this story very implausible and the characters were written very much over the top. I'm not sure if that was on purpose for comedy, or an accident that nobody thought to correct during editing.

I started the ebook and made it about half way before I had to stop because I couldn't take it anymore, then listened to the audio which helped because then the ridiculousness was tempered by a well done narration.

I didn't like Edgar much because he came across as a weak person who couldn't stand up and tell everyone in his life that he was an adult and could date whoever he wanted. And what was up with him going weeks without contacting Carter? That's stupid. If he liked him so much, he could have found ways to speak to him. Carter is ridiculous and he was more tolerable, but still he took the relationship Edgar was willing to dish out. Just because he's the Prince of England doesn't mean the relationship has to be only on his terms.

Their relationship, ignoring the times they didn't speak to each other, went very quick. Seriously, they fell in love that quick? They knew nothing about each other! Carter's family was hilarious though, and took it in stride when the Prince of England came to their daughter's wedding!

Overall this was okay, not something I will read again and I would not read a sequel if one was written. The audio was better than just reading.

Based on GR rating, 2 stars = it was okay, which is how I feel - this is just an okay story, nothing spectacular.

I was very intrigued by this book when I saw it being compared to "Red, White, and Royal Blue." I only got partway through before the overly anxious mc and the overly cool and composed prince dynamic got to be too formulaic for me. It felt like I'd read this book before, and I lost interest.

At the start of this wickedly funny and witty LGBTQ romance, Carter Ogden is still getting over a bad breakup with his cheating boyfriend. Depressed that he is nearing 30 and still single and underemployed — though he loves his job staging events — he goes to his favorite spot in New York. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral he can talk to God about what is deep in his heart, even though he is a Jewish boy from New Jersey.

His heart unburdened, he heads to the United Nations, where his company is setting up an event for the Royal Clean Water Initiative, headed by international dreamboat Prince Edgar of Britain.

Before the event, Carter shares a moment of connection with the openly gay crown prince before the prince’s staff arrive and whisk him away. Carter is surprised when days later he gets a phone call from Edgar’s aide, who says the prince is inviting him to dinner.

A picnic lunch follows, and then Carter invites Edgar to his sister’s wedding, where the royal makes a big stir at Temple Beth Israel in Piscataway. But the next day a hacked photo of them topless and sitting on a bed goes viral.

Carter is invited to England, where he has to deal with an intrusive press, scheming royals, and a delightfully formidable Queen Catherine.

Playing the Palace is a bit light on the actual romance — we don’t really get to understand why Edgar falls for Carter so fast — but it’s a breezy and snarky comedy. The book also touches on some deep subjects, including class separation, the burdens of royalty, and homophobia.

Can this relationship endure? We root for the two men to find their happily ever after.

This book receives a lot of criticism and harsher reviews due to it's comparison to Red, White, & Royal Blue. First, this book is so funny! Carter's inner monologue and the Queen were the highlights of the book for me. You can either write "insta-love" really well or really poorly and I think the author did a great job and made me believe that these two really hit it off immediately. Overall, I enjoyed this read. It was light, fun, and super cute!

Oh my goodness! If you want to read a super cute, make you laugh, make you cry, and make you swoon, romance, have I got the book for you! It is called PLAYING THE PALACE, by ( @paulrudnick ), and I just finished it in less than 24 hours because I did not want to put it down, I loved it so much!

First we have Carter Ogden, a sweet gay Jewish guy from a delightful family in New Jersey. His sister Abby and great-aunt Miriam are my favorites!

Second we have Prince Edgar, the Crown Prince of England, yep, that Prince, next in line to the throne, his conniving younger brother Gerald and his wife Maureen, his fabulous right hand man, James, his stealth but hilarious security team, and of course, his indomitable, but down right hilarious, grandmother, Queen Catherine.

Carter is an associate event architect and happens to meet openly gay, Prince Edgar, while putting on the finishing touches at an event the Prince will be speaking at. They click right away. But it will be two weeks before their first date.

Many PR disasters ensue, on both sides of the Atlantic, some that make you double over laughing and some you are not sure they can ever recover from.

Between Carter’s issues with not believing he deserves love and Prince Edgar’s trust issues, you start to wonder if or how this couple is ever going to make it. Will love be enough?

This is the type of love story that just makes you want to hug it while you are reading it! I can’t recommend it enough.

I liked this one enough to finish it but sadly I didn’t love it.
I wasn’t a fan of the insta love. Also the royal stuff, It didn’t feel real to me. Everything happened so fast.

It was a quick read though and I found myself laughing out loud at times.

Thank you Berkley for the ARC.

Thank you @berkleyromance for a copy of this book. This was a fun M/M romance with British royalty. The connection between Carter and Edgar was amazing and I love their fun dates. I really love how cute they made the queen and really stole the show in this story. Overall a fun read.

I loved this book so much! I loved that there was a Jewish love interest and I loved that we got to know Edgar on a personal level! I really like that we get to know the rest of Carter's family. This was fun and a quick read!

This was a good fun read that definitely had me laughing out loud. Reminded me of red white and royal blue.

it was a cute and fun read but the writing wasn't for me.I did enjoy the representation but I feel like you really had to let go of reality because the royal romance of it all missed the mark,