This. Is . What. I'm Talking. About. When. I. Say. We. Need. More. Diverse. stories. I ate this up. Give me more more more more more more more.

Prince of the Palisades by Julian Winters

Prince Jadon of the Iles de la Reverie is banished to California until he can get his act together, per order of his father, the king. He goes to American high school, falls for a pinkhaired dude obsessed with filmmaking, and has self realizations about things I won't spoil.

I'm not sure you can tell from my summary. This was fine. This was epically fine. If I read this 15 years ago, I probably would have liked it a lot more. I like a lot of things that it does more than I like the product, if that makes any sense. There's a number of things in here where yes, we need more books that do these things, and for that I applaud this book. Let's normalize having a "let's talk about sex before we have sex" talk - for adults, teenagers, everyone, I don't care who you are, everyone should do this. Let's admit that sometimes adults are wrong and that teenagers are owed apologies, because teens are not less worthy of respect just because they're young.

Like I said, there's a number of things in here that just come down to the fact that this is how we should treat people. So in that sense, I just think this wasn't the book for me. But if you like YA about royalty, teens coming into their own, teens fighting for causes they believe in, this is one heck of a book for that.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I separated them out into pros and cons:

Pros:
The description of the book is “Young Royals meets Red, White and Royal Blue”; I enjoyed both of these, and I liked the aspects that “Prince of the Palisades” had in common with these two. It was nice to see the Prince and his lover overcome their challenges, and the supporting cast was well described.

Cons:
I felt that something was not quite right about the plot; I didn’t really believe it. The Prince seemed a bit too traumatized by his upbringing, and I found his father’s behavior odd, switching from totally disapproving to 100% supportive, which didn’t really make sense.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC version.

This was very sweet, but also very predictable and read on the younger side for YA. Teen readers looking for escapist, fluffy royal romance in a contemporary setting, especially featuring Black and LGBTQIA characters, should enjoy this. Those looking for emotional depth and swoony romance might enjoy it a bit less.

thank u to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of prince of the palisades in exchange for my honest review :)

this was such a joy to read! i was absolutely sold by the cover alone, but after realizing that the story revolves around a young black royal trying to figure out his place in the world, i knew this would be good one. it's not everyday we get 2 queer characters of color, and i was so, so happy to see that.

the secondary characters were written beautifully, and i loved seeing how they played a role in jadon's life. i need to know more about both annika and ajani PLEASE. the moments of self-reflection that jadon experienced were very relatable to my teen self, and honestly, at times, my adult self as well. the emotion in the writing felt so real that i sometimes felt like reverie was a real place and that jadon + fam were real royals lol. and of course, seeing jadon's struggles with his father hit close to home (as it always does).

this was such a wonderful book with tons of queer and black joy, and i felt honored to read it. more books like this, please.

'Prince of the Palisades' does an effective job showcasing the complexities of being a black teen royal and how all of those issues combine until Jadon reaches his breaking point of self reflection. The diverse cast of characters bodes really well for representation in a lot of areas, but I do wish that there was more development with and resolution of the secondary characters who shape so much of Jadon's time in LA. The overall story is enjoyable, if a bit predictable, but Reiss and Jadon really shine in all of their scenes together. Annika is also a standout in every scene she's in. One of the best parts of the narrative are the conversations revolving consent intersecting with communication. Overall, a light teen read with some serious topics effectively explored.

Thank you so much, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Jadon is the prince of Îles de la Rêverie and when someone recorded an outbrust against the Prime Minister, he's "exiled" to America with his sister Annika, in order to clean up his image. But comforming to his parents' idea of "perfect" is hard and Jadon struggles to maintain a careful crafted image of himself, without opening himself up to anyone, in his new high school, with new people to impress.
Except meeating a cute pink haired boy changes everything, pushing him to struggles between a careful image of himself and what his parents expect from him...or being himself and falling in love.

I loved reading Prince of the Palisades. Jadon is a complex MC, struggling to be himself, truly being himself and facing his parents' and nation's expectations of what a prince have to be. Being in a new school, missing his home, fighting against people's expectations and his own desires
are the themes of the whole book and Jadon growing up, embracing himself in all his facets, desires, dreams and wants.
I loved the relationship he has with Annika, Reiss and his parents and how strong is his desire to be home and be himself, while also figuring himself out in what and who he wants to be.
The relationship with Reiss is sweet and funny and I loved how the author dealt with Jadon's and Reiss' desires, dreams and futures.
I would have loved a more long ending, but overall it's a very cute and funny book!

Thank you for the opportunity to read Prince of the Palisades e-arc. I really enjoyed it and finished it within a weekend. Though, the ending made me wanting more. There's open plots like not getting to see Reiss's finished film. That played a large part in the book, so to not get to see it feels like it was just forgotten about. I also wish that Reiss was openly autistic instead of quirky with tiks. His animation when talking about his special interests and stimming could have been great autistic rep.

I requested and received an eARC of Prince of the Palisadesby Julian Winters via NetGalley. My last two reads were pretty emotionally heavy, so it was nice to shift my focus to something lighter. I’ve always liked Winters’ YA novels and it’s worth noting that while all of his books have been very enjoyable they seem to get progressively better with each publication! In his latest novel we meet Prince Jadon of Îles de la Rêverie who has been exiled to America following the leak of a video showing him bashing the prime minister of his country.

Jadon’s mission in America is to fit in and do damage control. With his image in need of rehabilitation, he is in constant anxiety over messing up again. This definitely seems to be what is happening when he encounters a pink-haired boy named Reiss, the first boy to capture his attention since his less than savory break up. Although we don’t get many peeks of this on the page, it’s hinted that Reiss is a bit of a social outcast. The closer Jadon gets to Reiss, however, the more he realizes that he doesn’t have to be the perfect prince that the world wants him to be.

Traditionally, Îles de la Rêverie is known for its neutrality. This becomes thematically important to the story as we witness Jadon struggle with the decision to speak out against injustices or the careless words of his acquaintances. While the romance in the novel is heartwarming, I found this layer of the story to be where Winters really shines. The messaging is important and delivered in a way that is both natural to the story and emotionally impactful. Major props for that! This was a fun and light-hearted read, that treaded serious waters carefully without sacrificing any joy. Julian Winters really knows how to do YA stories and Prince of the Palisades is no exception.

I love Julian Winters and am happy to report that I love this book! The representation was amazing, the characters were realistic and funny while also being flawed. The “consent and communication is sexy” was on point and something I love to see, especially in YA novels. Overall a really fun and powerful story about finding and being yourself.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This was a sweet, if predictable, YA read. Seventeen year old Prince Judon (from the fictional country of Rêverie) needs to fix his reputation after a video is leaked of him badmouthing the Prime Minister. So he moves to a swanky place in the Palisades and enrolls in a swanky high school. He doesn't want to care about anyone in America, he just wants to go home. Enter Reiss, a scholarship kid and aspiring filmmaker who doesn't take Jadon's princely shit and sees him for who he really is: a scared teen trying to find himself.
I would have liked this book to go a little deeper... Jadon's teen angst felt shallow, and the opulence of royalty and the class difference between the two main characters was hardly addressed.
Jadon and Reiss had a sweet banter, and some of the sude characters were intriguing. Overall, a fun, quick read.

I received this digital ARC from @netgalley and publisher @penguinbooks in exchange for an honest review.

Prince of the Palisades will be released August 20, 2024

This was a great read! I've read other Julian Winters books in the past and they just keep getting better. I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone. There was great character development and it was great to see Jadon come out of his shell as the book progressed, and the romance was all around adorable and realistic for teenagers. This book is for anyone still stuck on Red, White, and Royal Blue, as well as Young Royals (there's even a RWRB reference in there).

P.S., and slight spoiler: I NEED a spin off that follows Annika and a certain bodyguard.

Do you guys even understand how much I adore Julian Winters? He is one of the best writers in YA, and I will die on this hill. His stories always make me smile so hard, and I always love seeing the character growth throughout. I loved the twist of one of the boys being actual royalty this time, which made it a fun little change from his regular contemporaries. His writing, as always, is flawless and gorgeous, and I can never get enough of the style. Though I am not part of the LGBTQ or Black communities, I still found several things to relate to in this novel, especially Jadon's struggles to be who he wants to be. If you've never read Winters before, don't make this your last!

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. 

Prince Jadon of Îles de la Rêverie, a fictional island country with a heavy French influence, is exiled to Los Angeles, California after a scandal. His only goal is to rehab his image and bolster his credibility as crown prince with the public. At every turn, he can’t stop putting his foot in his mouth and undoing all progress he has made. That, coupled with his talent of pushing people away after being burned one too many times, causes deeper strife with his country and more importantly, his parents. With the help of his entourage, his older sister (the future queen) and Reiss, the main love interest, he learns that maybe he doesn’t have to change for the public— the public needs to change for him. 

As my second book by Julian Winters, I’m happy to see the progress he has made in his writing. The angst was real with this one but simultaneously cathartic. The feeling that the world is against you is a familiar teen experience but when the world, or at least the media, is actually against you, the struggle of growing up and striving for acceptance is crushing. 

This was a sweet story about reconnecting with one’s self and creating the world you want to live in no matter who is there to judge you. No matter if you are a prince(ss) or a regular person, finding out who you are and accepting and loving that part of you is a difficult journey. It won’t always wrap up in a nice bow at the end of a book like this one, but it is better to live an authentic life instead of a life for others. That is what the heart of this book is about, so I highly recommend any age to read this book.

This is for the fans of the show Young Royals.

Prince Jadon gets sent to America to go to school after a scandal involving him saying some pretty terrible things about his countries prime minster. He meets Reiss, a fellow student, who's the opposite of him. But along the way they fall in love. Of course there's the usual teenage drama but there is a HEA.

I loved this book because 1) Julian is an amazing writer and 2) who doesn't love a royal romance? Also look out for some easter eggs of certain other YA authors and even some LGBTQ+ ships. (hint hint)

I cannot overstate HOW FREAKING CUTE THIS IS. It's like if you swallowed a whole bag of your favorite candy, whole, with the promise that you wouldn't get a stomach ache afterwards. It is so focused on joy, on the love between families and friends and boyfriends, that it made me want to scream with how much it made my heart squeal. But it also focuses on the messy parts of life, the imperfect ones, and how they are just as important, just as valid, and just as needed. Because teens are teens, and they will make mistakes, but they are still so, so deserving of the whole world.

This book is like if Young Royals and Red White and Royal Blue had a baby - sweet, dramatic, and with more mature themes scattered throughout. It's fluffy, yet heavily relatable.

I binged this book, and woah.. did it make an impact. I loved the character development of Ajani(and a few other characters), while trying to find himself and where he fits in, he also has the pressures of being the prince on top of that. I loved the lgbtqiap representation. Ajani was my favorite character. Lol hopefully we get a book for Annika*fingers crossed*! Thank you penguin teen for the arc!

Actually STUNNING!! Literally read it in the span of a day cause I was so invested. That's only happened with other book, Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar, which is one of my favorites. This book is definitely up there now.

First of all the growth Jadon has throughout the book is so beautiful. He truly grows into himself and learns its okay to not always be perfect. Not only does Jadon have beautiful character development so does like every character, especially Queen Ava and King Simon. All the friends Jadon meets are so loveable.

The conflicts were done so well and didn't feel forced. Truly this book is a beautiful dive into the world of being different. Wanting different, knowing how to get it. Building courage and strength, and bonding with those like you along the way.

Again STUNNING!!!