This story took me on a thrilling ride of romance! I couldn't put it down and read it in 1 day. It was a great read after a long month of back-to-back internship interviews. I truly needed this book!
The chemistry between Emma and Michel was undeniable! Michel's open adoration for Emma was incredibly endearing, though Emma's guarded affection kept their moments of intimacy constantly interrupted by darn meddling friends. It was frustrating, to say the least!
Emma's search for love, influenced by her parents' failed relationship( the trauma :( ), led her through a string of dull first dates arranged by her godmother. Little did she know she'd find herself drawn to Michel, a charming USC professor. Despite doubts about their compatibility and Michel's impending return to Rouleme, their attraction was undeniable.
While Emma's hesitance grated on my nerves, Michel's unwavering devotion and Emma's eventual surrender to their connection had me rooting for them. And those steamy scenes? OOOOH MAN. They were written with such passion, perfectly capturing Emma and Michel's intense love.

I truly loved this story. It made my heart so happy. <3

Overall this was an enjoyable read. The plot was fun and lighthearted, but when it came down to a strong foundation for it and its characters it fell flat and left me craving more. Which is upsetting because the book started strong and somewhere along the way I don't know what happened. It started moving too quickly and when it came to developing the characters it seemed like an uneven playing field. We knew so much about Emma and her family, but Michel was swept under the rug and I just didn't connect with him.

It was a cute book and it had its sweet moments. It was just missing something in their connection and relationship. The secrecy, jealousy, miscommunication didn't do it for me. And the resolution of their issues was just not realistic, felt like just a means to an end to get the story moving along. And I can't believe this but their relationship was sometimes purely physical. And smut without real plot is not my thing. Yet it frustrates me because it had so much potential and I did enjoy the Korean culture and how it all revolved around food. I actually ended up craving more insight and scenes of the side characters stories than them.

Needless to say, just because it wasn't the book for me doesn't mean it may not be the book for someone else!

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee has a promising premise but didn't quite deliver. I have loved her past books but this one just didn't provide the plot momentum.

a book hasn't taken me this long to read since i read people we meet on vacation. I really wanted to like this book, and the premise had potential. The cover is cute! I am not a fan, at all, of the insta love trope.

I LOVED this book! Emma and Michel were perfect together. Emma’s love for people and food with her culture shone through every line. Michel’s good heart and kindness made me smile all the way through.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The synopsis interested me but the story itself didn’t. While I enjoyed the food aspect, the characters were so flat and one dimensional and the storyline lacked the depth I was hoping for.

Other readers may love this one, but I wasn’t the right reader for this and struggled to finish it.



Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

What a cute read. I felt like I learned so much about Korean culture. I really enjoyed that Emma was a culinary instructor.

“Emma dreams of opening her very own culinary school in Los Angeles and to save her/godmother’s reputations, she goes on many arranged dates to find the perfect-on-paper husband (even though she’s not ready for love) but after several disastrous first dates, she meets the gorgeous and irresistible Michel Aubert, a professor at USC and most definitely not her ideal match.

Prince Michel Aubert is bound by duty and responsibility to his country, but he refuses to marry a woman handpicked by his elders. If he must spend the rest of his life in service of his people, he wants to do it with someone he loves and trusts by his side. He only has one chance of evading the arranged marriage—by finding a bride he does love in a few short weeks before the engagement is formally announced. Michel escapes to Los Angeles and assumes the role of an ordinary professor to find the love of his life, someone who loves him for himself rather than his crown. And chance leads him right to Emma, who might just be the woman of his dreams!”

Summarized version of plot: such a good hallmark feel type of read!! If you want to cozy up with a good book on your day off, this is the one!

This sweet romance was a great read. It is a story of a prince (Michael) who is in LA looking to find his true love. He meets a chef (Emma) wanting to be true to her Korean heritage through her dream of a cooking school and in the Marriage mart. He falls first. Both are trying to discover what marriage and love means to them and how to balance it with their dreams and duty. It is an easy fun read with some great side characters - some fun relatives and a badass female body guard. Overall enjoyable and charming.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I really wanted to like this book, and the premise had potential. The cover is cute!

The instant-love was a bit of a let down for me. There wasn’t much differentiation between the two main characters voices - many many many paragraphs of reiterating their goals to the reader (these were covered in chapter 1, no need to keep rehashing it) and wondering what the other was thinking.

Also, the way the food was described was.. off-putting. For every dish, the descriptions followed the exact same formula.

I didn’t care for these characters, and for how long this book was the ending seemed very rushed and frivolous.

Not my cup of tea, but I’ll read Jayci Lee’s other works - maybe it was just this one that left me disappointed and bored.

Thank you to NetGalley & Jayci for an ARC of this book!

Im literally always obsessed with Jayci Lee!! This was a heartwarming tale about an undercover prince looking for love, and a nearly ‘spinster’ chef who’s looking for perfect-on-paper. My mixed-race heart was entirely so full reading this love story, and yours will be too!!

This book has:
🖤 a secret foreign prince MMC moonlighting as a prof
🖤 an asian chef FMC (way to represent, Emma!!)
🖤 a badass royal bodyguard (we love you Sophie)
🖤 escaping an arranged marriage
🖤 learning to love & be loved
🖤 a side character second chance romance 👀
🖤 all the asian and mixed couple representation I could possibly ask for (I love you for this Jayci 🫶🏼)

Do yourself a favour and put this one on your TBR for release day!! 🤩

I enjoyed this book so much!! I really enjoyed learning some Korean culture and language, and the author made it easy and interesting. I did Google up some translations and pronunciations, but that part was educational as well.

I liked the way that both MCs had a future in mind, but were open to different outcomes. The relationship almost felt like a fake-date trope at first, but the two of them were incandescent! Sexy scenes were top-notch.
The way their family's were involved in their lives was heartwarming.

The conflict was believable, and the reactions were also believable. Loved it, I'll look for more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.

I love a book with any royal elements, so this was right up my alley! Emma and Michel are complete opposites, both with arranged marriages in the works. When they fall in love, Emma tries to resist giving in through the very end. However, Prince Michel will literally give up EVERYTHING for her. This is a super sweet romance with lots of characters you’re rooting for!

That Prince is Mine, by Jayci Lee: This was a fun, sweet read, but didn’t have the depth that I loved in Jayci Lee’s other novels. Emma is a Korean-American culinary instructor, who’s reluctantly relying on her godmother the matchmaker to find her a husband. She has a meet cute in a coffee shop with Michel Aubert, a visiting professor at USC… but what she doesn’t know is he’s actually a foreign prince, who’s trying to find the woman of his dreams before he has to do his duty for his country and have an arranged marriage. The premise is VERY fairy tale-like and sappy, but if you can get past that, it’s a cute story and the characters are reasonably realistic.

This book was so cute. The instant chemistry between the to main characters was sizzling. I loved how they both felt tied down by the traditions of their culture and expectations around them, but worked hard to make their lives work for them so they could be happy. The only thing that would make this book better is Emma’s recipes in the back of the book. Such a great read!

•eARC Review•
That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This is my first Jayci Lee read and I enjoyed it so much! I can’t wait to dive into more of her books! If you’re a lover of all things Korean food, he falls first, rom com, matchmaking, insta-love then this is the one for you!

Thank you Jayci Lee, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC read!

This was such a cute book! I really liked Emma and Michel. They were so cute together and I loved watching their interactions. Emma had a unique perspective on life that I loved reading. And Michel was very swoony.

I’ve learned I’m not the biggest fan of the matchmaker trope—so much time is spent going on about the “perfect match” and all that it entails. I found this book to be the same. Emma’s thoughts on finding the perfect-on-paper husband and how she had to be compatible with her future husband dragged on and on, which I don’t love. I did find it ironic, however, that the little forgotten bit of info at the end ended up being such a big deal to her. Ultimately, though, I did enjoy the book and the characters and how everyone came together at the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma catches the eye of a European prince!

Emma Yoon is on track saving for opening a culinary school on the art of Korean royal court cuisine for people that want to marry in the upper crust of Korean families. Her success has a little help from her aunt who is a matchmaker for Korean families so to help her aunt out she volunteered for ten arranged dates to hopefully find her match. But halfway through the ten dates she met Dr. Michel Chevalier a visiting expert on international relations.

Little did Emma know that Dr. Michel Chevalier was Crown Prince Michel of Rouleme who was teaching in Los Angeles for three months to hopefully find love before his arranged marriage could take place?

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee is a fun and entertaining romance where a Korean-American commoner catches the eye of a European prince and they fall in love!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much to Jayci Lee and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book to review. This book was written perfectly and has just the right amount of spice. Looking forward to reading more from Jayci.