“Jeongseong wasn’t a cheeky sentiment like a ‘sprinkle of love.’ It meant working hard with a generous heart”

Emma Yoon is a culinary instructor with dreams of opening her own culinary school, teaching the art of Korean royal court cooking. She is looking for a husband that is perfect on paper and her Korean matchmaker Godmother begins to set her up for an arranged marriage. Michel Chevalier is the crowned Prince of Rouleme, who is in LA for 3 months as a visiting professor. His marriage was arranged at birth and he is desperate to find his love match. With limited time and a world of differences between them, will they both find what they are looking in each other?

This book was very sweet and I enjoyed reading it. I loved that as much as Emma was so determined to see their cultural differences, Michel was so open to learning and experiencing new things and her culture. The chemistry between them was awesome. It was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. You find yourself really rooting for them. I definitely recommend this book.

A charming romance between Emma -- an American-Korean chef and commoner in L.A. -- and Michel, a visiting USC prof who hides his true royal heritage. Enchanting!

I found Jayci Lee's novel to be quite enjoyable. It had a fluffy, bubbly vibe, overall quite cute! It evoked the feel of Hallmark Christmas movies, which I adore. While the concept was fun, the plot could use a bit more refinement. Many thanks to NetGalley and Jayci Lee for providing me with this ARC copy!
Finished on 01-29-2024

This is an enjoyable read. Michel is a Prince in disguise as a visiting professor at USC. Emma is Culinary instructor with dreams of expanding to teach more than 1 person at a time. She's also a little broken from her parents' divorce. Her godmother is a matchmaker and guilts her into looking for a relationship. While going on these dates, she meets Prince Michel. He's handsome and when they finally meet and talk, he's nervous and bumbling and endearing. When he finally gets the courage to ask her out and she says yes, he doesn't get her number. They coincidentally meet not long after that and she gives him her number. She's convinced this is temporary and they have nothing in common. She's hell bent on finding someone she has lots in common with, since she believed her parents only had love and no common interests. He is looking for love and doesn’t want the arranged marriage waiting for him at home. They fall in love pretty easily. They both are scared by it, but are also a little accepting of it. He finally tells her that he's a prince and she takes it better than he expected it to since she uses it as another reason they can't stay together. He realizes that she's it for him and proposes. She freaks and runs off. They agree to talk about it later but that is when the arranged marriage back at home comes to light and she freaks again. She's devastated and realizes that she does want him forever. Her dad reveals that her mom left because they were always second to her career, nothing else that Emma had previously believed. Michel is willing to abdicate the throne for Emma and she, with the help of his cousin Gabriel and bodyguard Sophie(who's story I need to read ASAP) stops him on time to accept his proposal and get back together. It's an endearing story, frustrating at times with the lack of communication between the two, but enjoyable none the less. This isn't my first read from this author and I don't think it will be my last.

Food — the preparation, presentation, and enjoyment of — is central to this book about a Asian American woman, Emma, who falls for Michel Chevalier, the prince of a small nation masquerading as a university professor.

Here’s what worked for me:
•The food is a highlight — the descriptions of and way it is significant in the relationships Emma has with everyone in her life.
•It’s a sweet enough romance with a little spice mixed in.

Here’s what didn’t work for me:
•There’s no depth. Everything is surface level instead of really digging into the problems the characters face.
•It’s a mess of characters who all have something going on, but it’s not written with the intent of being an ensemble book. Again, see: depth.
•A character comes out and it’s used simply as a device to solve a problem for Emma. Don’t do that. Don’t use a coming out as a throw away event. I get what the author was going for but it doesn’t work.
•Licking, as used here, is not sexy.

Emma Yoon runs a culinary class out of the kitchen in the house she shares with her father. It’s her dream to rent a commercial kitchen space to run larger classes. Cooking brings her joy, after all. However, she’s approaching 30 and should be married. Enter her Aunt Soo, a Korean matchmaker and her de facto mother.

In the middle of one of the arranged dates, Emma notices an attractive man in the cafe. When her date ends abruptly, he makes his way nervously to her table, pays for her drink, and introduces himself. Seems he’s noticed her, too.

That would be Michel, the crown prince of Rouleme, who has asked his father for three months of anonymity in Los Angeles to try to find true love. If he can’t find it, he’s bound to a loveless arranged marriage when he returns. Emma seems to be his way out.

Add to this his cousin/best friend Gabriel, his security detail and Gabriel’s long lost love Sophia, Emma’s cousin/de facto brother Jeremy, and honestly a bunch of other characters who are introduced and seem like they’ll be important, but aren’t. It’s a lot.

I love a sweet romance as much as the next person and I so wanted to love my first ARC, but I didn’t. It’s not terrible, but it’s not on par with those I love.

This is a NetGalley ARC that I was given the opportunity to read and review. Releases July 2024.

I love a good royalty rom com and this is no exception!

Emma is such a wonderful female lead and I really enjoyed the male lead Michel as well. Their romance is sweet and there are definitely some swoon worthy moments.

To me, the best part of this book was that each character stands out alone, and they don't need each other to complete one another. They exist as two wholes who comes together and support each other.

Such a sweet read with the perfect balance of romance, spice and laughter, Thank you for the advanced read!

I adored this book. It was exactly what a romance book should be. The characters were lovable, the pacing was great, the writing flowed well, and the story was sweet. You can feel like author’s love of her culture in every aspect of the book and I found myself craving Korean food, which I’ve never even had! I’ll remedy that before I buy this book. I take small issue with how it ended, I was hoping for Emma’s work to continue but otherwise this was thoroughly enjoyable!

This was definitely a fun read with lots of sweet moments. The plot was interesting and different, and both the main characters and supporting were pleasant and didn’t get on my nerves (which is rare for me!). It was a little frustrating that it seemed like there was always something new that was being hidden by the MMC. He would reveal one secret and then there would just be another that he was worried about. But overall, very enjoyable and easy read!

That Prince Is Mine is the upcoming novel by Jayci Lee. This sweet and hilarious romcom is filled with heartfelt moments that will have you swooning and cheering for the charismatic prince!

Emma and Michel meet by chance but the more time they spend together the more it becomes apart that fate knew they needed each other! Both aren’t expecting the other but find just what they need!

The story is longer than I thought but the relationship between Michel and Emma is handled with such beautiful care. Lee really took her time addressing everything and making sure when it all came together it was perfect! I fell for these two right away and was so happy they found each other! I love the cultural lessons and I now want to taste Korean cuisine! A very poignant and interesting read! Also love the dash of royal romance that we get!

A very cute and fun twist! This book had heat and heart and a cute love story to boot! I really like the infusion of Korean culture and royal aspect!! This was my first book by this author and the writing was good and easy to read! X

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was a nice, light-hearted read about a professional cooking instructor and a prince falling in love with each other. The premise sounded really promising, and I was super interested! Unfortunately, it did not meet many of my expectations. While I did love most of the main characters, Michel (our prince) was not a very iconic character. We learn nearly nothing about him in the book. Emma has important relationships with her family, she has a love of cooking, she takes pride in what she does and she has clear goals for what she wants in her life. Michel's personality is... Prince. (She's Barbie, and he's just Ken!). Overall, I do think the other characters are well written!

The beginning felt rushed, and I wished I could have gotten a chance to really learn more about the main characters before they were thrown together.

One big issue with the plot was: Michel's main motivation for finding love in the US was that he wanted someone to love him for him, not because of his crown. Totally valid! However, for his and Emma's first date, he invited her to have dinner with him at his resort penthouse suite (so I guess he can find someone who loves him for his money, instead!). The whole thing was kind of breezed over, which was bizarre!

Anyway, I wish I had liked this a lot more than I did. Oh well!

Their romance just gives me so much buzz. It conveys the feeling of the intimacy that comes with someone who engages with what you’re saying no matter how little they understand what you’re talking about simply because they find it; you interesting. It conveys the feeling of letting someone into your space, and allow them to get to know you, not the façade you might put up, but the real and the messy, even if it’s done inadvertently because they see you, see through you. ‘That Prince is mine’ is one of the best romcom I’ve read in a long time and I will continue to think about it for a long time.

Such a sweet, heartwarming read! Think hallmark movie with a twist? And a little spice

Big fan of the Korean-American twist on a royal romance and loved all the Los Angeles landmarks and mentions throughout the story

Emma and Michel’s chemistry was well-written and I found myself rooting for them early on (but who doesn’t love a prince in disguise)

And speaking of chemistry… Gabriel and Sophie spin off when??

Overall a quick, light-hearted read with cultural significance and heart

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

this was absolutely delightful. what a beautiful and charming read .Jayci Lee never disappoints. It was exactly what I needed right now. cute,fun and easy read. definitely recommend!

Disappointed in myself because I truly forgot how good of an author Jayci Lee is 🥹

That Prince is Mine was such an enjoyable easy read. I felt like I was transported into a Hallmark Christmas movie minus the Christmas. The chemistry between Emma and Michel sparked off the page. And we love a man that falls first and falls HARD. Another area of storytelling that Lee excels in is introducing supporting characters through friends and family who just naturally fit into the story and add value to Emma and Michel’s happily ever after.

Emma is a Korean royal court cusine instructor. Her renowned Korean matchmaker godmother's enemies meddle in her love life to sabotage her godmother. She's forced to go on a sieres of arranged first dates and find a husband to save them both. She meets Michael, a professor at USC, after a series of disastrous dates. He's actually a prince in disguise...

Love Michael and Emma. Both are nice people.... too nice in fact. I like their chemistry and how they are good for each other. Such a nice change to see nice and kind characters in romance. :)

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I LOVED this book!

The writing style look a little while for me to adjust to, but i ended up loving how Jayci Lee shared the characters with us. The story was so sweet and I loved how understanding/ communicative the characters were together. It was interesting to see what they were thinking on their own, and how they got each other to open up about who they are.

As an Asian-American woman, there were so many points in this read that were SO special. The moments were see of Emma and her family (specifically with her dad) were HEART-WARMING. Food is such a huge part in Asian culture and to see it take such a prominent role in this book was incredibly special.

This scene was SO sweet & special to me:
"And what will you be having?"
"Everything," Emma said, coming to the oly possible decision, She placed the covers on all the dishes and gave Michel a cheeky grin. "So are you."

This book touched on so many points for me: family responsibility, friendship, love, and what the obligations that we (as the children of Asian parents) feel toward taking care of our family. Emma was fierce in her love of her dad, and she let her love of her family drive every single decision she made.

A very sweet and funny read by Jayci Lee!

A sweet, fluffy story about a Prince and a "commoner". I've read a few books from this author before and liked them all, though this one didn't do it for me. I think I'm not a fan of the royalty trope/fantasy - but I don't want to take away from the depth this book had.

Emma and Michel both suffer the loss of a parent and it affects their outlook on love on very different ways. Emma has to work through her trauma, and in doing so, has to decide to follow her heart.

I wish Emma was given a solid friend to lean on rather than side characters who weren't fully immersed in her experience. I loved Gabriel and Sophie, and their loyalty to Michel both as a prince and as a friend.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

loved this romance between a prince and cook. Loved his guard and cousin. Loved that they tried to work it out and that she helped him. Loved the hearing about the different foods being cooked. this author has become an autoread for me. Loved the romance and that they started slowly.