I LOVED a royal romance and this one did not disappoint. It was light and fluffy and everything you could want in a cozy romance.

I wanted to love this one, but it just wasn’t for me. It felt forced and one I don’t think I’d recommend.

A royal cooking romance is the trope fusion I didn't know I needed in my life. Emma, a culinary instructor specializing in Korean royal court cuisine, meets a local professor who is a prince in disguise. Both are on a timeline to find love before they are stuck in an arranged marriage, and luckily they find each other just in time.
This book was a bit slow-paced, but I loved all the food references and learning more about Korean culture. I enjoyed Olivia Song’s narration of the audiobook, although I would have preferred a second narrator to give Michel’s point of view. Overall, this was a cute, fun read with good chemistry.
Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

This wasn’t my favorite romance. I’ve read a book by this author before and it didn’t hit for me either so I think this is just a me thing!

Covert royalty in a romance can be hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit. It was cute and nothing exceedingly deep or complicated, but it was more than many of this type of book I have read. Jayci Lee does a great job of creating characters that I cared about and wanted to root for. There was enough drama without it being a bunch of non-issues blown up into something more. The characters actually had to think about what they wanted and work through their own troubles as well as figure out how they fit together. I actually cried a little bit in this book. It was exactly what I needed out of it, and I will definitely be looking for more from this author. I loved the non-white representation and everything that Emma's Korean heritage added to this story. I would definitely recommend this for anyone wanting a fun romance that is just a little bit more.

First I would like to thank St. Martin's Press for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A love-averse Korean royal court cuisine instructor in search of a perfect-on-paper husband is waylaid from her practical, heartbreak-proof plan when she meets a gorgeous professor—and prince in disguise—who will do anything to prove to her that love and happily ever after can be theirs.

What I Loved:
- Food, I was very hungry reading this book cause all of the food sounded amazing
- Prince and Me Vibes, I'm a huge fan of the Prince and Me movie and this book gave me those same feelings
- Families, both Emma and Michel are close to members of their families and play a major part of their love story and I just LOVED all of the family members nosing their way into their business
- L.A., I haven't spent a lot of time in LA but I feel like this was a bit of a love letter to the city as well

This was such a sweet romance where at points I wanted to shake Michel for hiding anything from Emma and Emma for being so stuck in her 'plan' but in the end I was always rooting for these two to be together. If you are looking for a book with a secret identify, an amazing cast of characters, set in LA with major Prince and Me vibes then this is the book for you.

Michel Chevalier is a prince running against the clock to find the love of his life before he's forced to marry for duty. Emma Yoon is a Korean-American cooking instructor who's looking for a perfect husband despite not being ready for marriage and not believing in love. A random encounter in a coffee shop in LA has Michel convinced he's found love and Emma doubting her sanity for accepting to date someone who isn't perfect on paper. But there's no denying the heat and connection between them and they're both going to have to make some big decisions.

It's a perfectly enchanting romance starring two lonely souls that takes readers on a romantic ride. Michel is way too good to be true, but it's part of the story's charm to imagine that a humble and perfectly sane prince is a thing that can exist. But Emma is incredibly relatable and you can feel every bit of her doubts to understand her hesitation. Both have a strong sense of duty that leads them when making decisions, but it's great to read a story where people actually communicate with their loved ones in order to make informed decisions. It's what turned this into a 5-star read for me, the fact that characters have actual conversations to help them make proper decisions.

I'm also obsessed with the side romance and need to read their story ASAP, please.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the lovely read!

This book was well-plotted, but I found the dialogue almost sickeningly sweet to the point where it distracted me from the plot. The character were all perfectly likable and I wanted to keep reading, but I found the ending to be very rushed, especially given the size of the book.

A prince in disguise. A woman looking for her perfect-on-paper match, but not necessarily love. A crush of familial expectations.

✨ Book Review: THAT PRINCE IS MINE by Jayci Lee

I have a soft spot for royal romances, but felt this book wasn’t quite balanced. The nuances of Emma’s life were so believable and her cooking was described in mouth watering detail, but there wasn’t much information provided about Prince Michel’s home country and culture. The romance also surprised me by being both overly sweet at times but also surprisingly spicy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5 stars)

😘 Thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the gifted eARC and to my library for the audio copy of this royal read. All opinions are mine alone.

Emma Yoon is a culinary instructor specializing in Korean royal cuisine and she has dreams of opening up a big cooking school. She isn’t really looking for love, even if the arranged dates she’s being going on seem to say otherwise, until Michel comes into the picture. Michel is a visiting professor at USC, but he’s also the Prince of Rouleme. The connection between Michel and Emma is instant and undeniable, but will they be able to make a relationship work when their lives are in two different counties going two different directions.

When I picked this book up I was in the need of a sweet romance that pulled me in and this book did just that. I fell in love town Emma and Michel instant and couldn’t wait to see how their story played out. The romance was cute and the supporting characters were great for this story. At points the story was a little slow, but I did enjoy it from start to finished nonetheless. The characters made this book for me and it was the perfect amount of sweet. I wish the lead up to the ending was handled a little differently, but it still worked the way it was. I needed a sweet romance and this book gave me exactly that.

This was such a cute and entertaining read! I love royalty in my romcoms and this book did not disappoint. I will absolutely be adding this to my trophy shelf in the near future.

This was a bit to long for me but the story was cute and I did want o DNF but I pushed through and finished. Not to many prince's looking for their soulmates in Los Angeles California. Not every book is going to be for everyone I recommend you try it for yourself.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was a sweet romance that’ll sweep you off your feet if you let yourself sit back and enjoy the whimsy.
I enjoyed Michel as a good male lead and his cousin Gabriel added some delightful comic relief. I respected Emma and her sense of determination and life goals in the beginning, but as the story moved along, her refusal to just let love happen started to irritate me.
The main characters are both swept off their feet nearly from the beginning and it worked for the story. The chemistry between the characters was enough; there were a few good swoon worthy moments.
A very important part of the story, to me, was the sense of responsibility one feels with respect to family or even, in this case, a people. There is a very strong sense of culture and family. I did enjoy learning about Korean culture.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to get swept up in a fast-paced romance or those looking for a book with strong family ties.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honestly and my own.

I'm a sucker for royal romances and culinary characters, so this was one I definitely wanted to read. Emma doesn't believe in love and focuses her entire life on her goal of opening a Korean culinary school. Prince Michel, on the other hand, is desperate to avoid the arranged marriage his family has planned for him. When he meets Emma, he falls head over heels and has his work cut out for him to win her over. His exuberance was a little far-fetched and it gave the book a cheesy feel. But it was a fun read overall and perfect as a little escape.

3.5. While I appreciated the lack of drama within the various revelations and communication issues of this book, the insta-love and Michel's lack of depth ("I'm going to go to America to eat, sleep, teach, and find a wife...in a few months) bothered me. Nonetheless, this cute royal love story was a fun read--and now I want to learn more about Korean court cuisine.

DNF. this was too childish for me. I have tried to read this but it is just not working out. The main characters were not likeable and moments that should have been funny were pretty corny. I let this go around the 30% mark.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book; all opinions are my own.

Everything about this felt stilted and uncomfortable. Almost every interaction between Michel and Emma had me cringing or rolling my eyes, and I’m honestly having a hard time figuring out how Emma agreed to their first date considering their texts back and forth about it.

Unfortunately another miss for me.

Another adorable read from Jayci Lee. Just when Emma decides to let her godmother take over her love life and allow her to play matchmaker she Michel, a professor at USC. Since she had just agreed to her godmothers matchmaking she tries to push away the connection she feels to Michel but is unsuccessful especially after a series of bad first dates. The only catch is Michel, who is secretly a prince, is only in LA for a few months before returning to his country to marry and continue his royal responsibilities. I love seeing the connection between Emma and Michel grow throughout the book. There was something about the way their connection and interest progressed that felt really natural which I liked. I'm not usually one who's okay with lying (even by omission) but in the case of Michel keeping his true identity a secret for a while I didn't mind too much. I think he could've told Emma a little bit sooner as the ending felt a little bit rushed but it definitely could've been worse. Overall I thought this was a super cute and fairly lighthearted read, especially with all the great cooking Emma did involved.

Emma and Michael were good together. The way they slowly went from strangers to friends to lovers was written really well.

Emma’s family at times were overbearing but only because they loved her. Prince Michael was just enjoying being just Michel for once.

Jayci Lee did a really good job with writing That Prince is Mine. I really enjoyed the story from beginning to end.

I am a big fan of Jayci and normally I love her stories but this one wasn't for me. Her writing was great per usual but I had trouble connecting with the characters