This book started off slow, but before I knew it I was extremely invested in this sweet coming of age story. With great characters and an interesting royal plot, this book felt like a twist on Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston for young adults. The audio narration was well done and the writing was pretty good!

⭐️ 3.5 / 5 for the slow start and the quick resolve of the main conflict that I would have liked to have seen flushed out a bit more

The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich is the Princess Diaries retelling I didn’t know I needed, and I was here for every second of it! I devoured this book in a single day—it’s such a light-hearted, feel-good YA romance with a royal twist that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Jamie is our “Mia,” and when he turns 17, he discovers that he’s actually a prince of a European country. The plot kicks off with Jamie’s journey to meet his royal family, and that’s when we meet Erik, who is tasked with teaching Jamie the ins and outs of royal etiquette. Their chemistry is instant, and I loved watching their relationship evolve as they navigate lessons in royalty, social events, glamorous balls, and plenty of dancing.

And of course—there’s lots of kissing! The romance is sweet, fun, and full of swoon-worthy moments. If you’re looking for a delightful YA rom-com with all the royal vibes!!

When I read that this book was like a gay mashup of "The Princess Diaries" and "Red, White and Royal Blue," I decided to give it a try. I remember seeing "The Princess Diaries" in the theatre back in 2001 and loved it; the same goes for the book version of "Red, White and Royal Blue". And while I liked this book well enough, I almost felt that it was too similar to the sources that it was inspired by.

The book focuses on two young men: Jamie Johnson - a high school student who lives a pretty basic life, and Erik Lindstrom - the prince of a European country. Jamie has lived his entire life with a friend of his dead mother and was told that his father was a one-night stand, but what Jamie will soon learn is that his father is actually the king of a southern European country. The press has discovered this and is about to announce it to the public, so Jamie's adoptive mom has no choice but to tell him the truth. Suddenly, Jamie is off to spend the summer overseas and meet his birth father for the first time. Jamie's father reaches out to Erik and asks if he would be willing to come to stay with them and help Jamie adjust to the news that he is actually a prince. Erik agrees, and not surprisingly, a friendship blossoms - one that quickly turns into a romance. But will it last?

Overall, I found the book to be cute. It's sweet, innocent, and fun, but as I mentioned, it held very few surprises. I think fans of the work this was inspired by might feel the same level of disappointment in that they'll feel like the story lacks originality and plays out exactly as one would expect.

The writing is smooth and engaging, with a steady pace that fits the story. The dialogue also feels true to each character, which is always nice. The relationship between Jamie and Erik is sweet, and their chemistry is palpable. You can't help but feel invested in their journey as they navigate the pressures of royalty and their growing feelings for each other. I just wished that the stakes were higher. Jamie's adjustment to meeting his new father and settling into the royal life seemed way too easy. The only obstacle for either Jamie or Erik was Erik's fear that his grandmother wouldn't allow him to be with Jamie since she had her eye on another guy for him. While I appreciated the progressive views and grandma's acceptance of Erik's sexuality - even going so far as to find a suitable man for him - the whole "that other boy is a commoner and not good enough for you" trope is way too overdone, and was, again, expected.

While I did receive a physical ARC from the publisher, I also received an ALC and mostly listened to this one. The narrator who voiced Jamie did a great job and perfectly captured his character, but I wasn't a fan of the way the narrator who voiced Erik chose to interpret him. The accent wasn't great, and he made him sound very stuffy and overdramatic. Most of his dialogue was delivered as if he was about to have a breakdown, and it got to be too much. Initially, I thought that maybe this was just the narrator's style, but when he voiced other characters, they were fine. I wish he had made a different choice for Erik. My other complaint is a pet peeve that I have when multiple narrators are involved. I wish they would decide on an accent and tone for the characters ahead of time so that there is consistency when each narrator portrays a specific character. I understand they'll never be able to voice them exactly the same, but some similarities would be nice. That did not happen here.

Overall, I felt this was a cute book, but the author didn't take the work it was inspired by and make it their own. This book is intended for a young adult audience, and I feel like anyone who enjoys a cozy, YA rom-com will enjoy this one, even if it holds very few surprises. If you like a light, predictable, low-stakes read, this is the book for you.

This was a cute cozy kind of book. I loved the princess diaries vibe throughout the novel but with two princes. I think the characters were well written, but I feel like the novel needed more depth. I would recommend it to others, and I will be looking for more books from this author. The audio book had great narration. I look forward to more.

This was fun! The Rules of Royalty is a gay retelling of The Princess Diaries and is perfect if you want a light-hearted YA romance with fairly low stakes.

Jaime grew up as a normal American kid and works a part-time, low-paying job. But on his 17th birthday he finds out that his father is the king of a small European country! In order to help him cope with his new reality, his father recruits Prince Erik (a gay younger son from another country, with a kind of controlling family) to talk him through it. And then give him lessons on things like etiquette.

Sparks of course fly between the two, but Erik's grandmother the queen has told him to keep things with Jaimie platonic. Will love win between these royals?...

Super cute and entertaining, though I kind of wanted more drama. There were points at which things felt a little too easy. Like a fake royal boyfriend who is super chill about everything, but could have been more interesting? Overall though, I enjoyed this and would recommend it. The audio narration is pretty good, though the accent for Erik feels a tad forced. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This was adorable! I got all the Princess Diaries vibes mixed with a bit of Red, White, and Royal Blue. The narration was great and felt appropriate for the storyline.

I thought the MC's were well developed, the romance was just the right amount and enjoyed the friendships too. I definitely recommend!

Juvenile – dual narrative, queer reimagined The Princess Diaries.

Jamie Johnson, on his 17th birthday he finds out that he is heir to the throne of Mitanor. He has a passion for helping others and uses his newly found influence to do just that. His best friend Max is an aspiring star/musician.

Erik Lindstrom, self-described as a spare heir, is asked by the king to help Jamie acclimate to this new royal world. The two quickly fall in love but family tries to keep them apart.

The love story and fast developing and immature, as expected for any teenage relationship. The book is fun and lighthearted.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC.

Sometimes, I just need an easy and captivating read. A book that won’t reach deep into my feelings, a story I smile at, main characters I swoon about. A comfort read to sink in and daydream about. A Hallmark-like story. The Rules of Royalty did deliver all of these things.

Fluffy, that’s what I’d call this story. Jamie and Erik are lovable main characters, even though Erik could be a little icy at times. Probably because he came from Northern Europe, synonymous with cold. But northern Europe is also beautiful with the northern lights, lakes, mountains, and, of course, those endless long days in the summer. Think of a ray of sunshine poking through the clouds, warming your face. That’s how I see Erik. A bit like Wilhelm from Young Royals.

What I didn’t like was Erik’s Royal family forcing him to date another boy because he needed to have a steady relationship? At seventeen??? I didn’t buy it. And said fake dating was nonsense because Sebastian and Erik only met once for a long time. And I hated the third-act breakup. Like always.

Anyway, even with the things I mentioned above, I enjoyed myself. And I think Cale thought of the Dutch Royalty while writing this story: King Alexander and Princess Amalia. For that, I rounded my 3.5 rating up instead of down.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A super cute new book from one of the authors of "If This Gets Out" (a personal favorite of mine in recent years), crossing "The Princess Diaries" and "Red White & Royal Blue."

Introverted high schooler Jamie Johnson has been trying to make the most of his last summer before graduation, hanging with his friends, working part-time at the local Cinnabon, and absolutely NOT talking to the hot guys he sees out and about. But then, on his birthday, his adoptive mother drops a bomb on him: he's the son of the king of Mitanor, a beautiful sunny country in the south of Europe, and the king wants him to visit and discover his place. In order to prepare him for his new role, the king hires the second son from the cold northern country of Sunstad, Erik Lindstrom. With the upcoming marriage of his older brother (and the heir to the Sunstad throne), this is Erik's chance to get out from under his grandmother's controlling thumb for a summer as he teaches Jamie how to be a royal.

This was adorable. I wouldn't say it was anything remarkable or unpredictable, but it was a lot of fun and I can see my students devouring it. Jamie is precious and naive and it's so much fun watching him develop into a proper royal throughout the course of the story. But Erik just had my heart from the get-go as the tightly-wound young man just trying to find some freedom in the face of his overly-controlling family. While their relationship felt a little insta-love-y, it was still fun to watch develop over the course of the story as both boys grew into their own.

The narrators were a mixed bag for me, honestly. I had to listen to the entire thing at 2.5x because they were both just so... slow... Which was still tolerable, but sadly something about the voice actor for Jamie didn't sell me whenever he was reading another characters' lines (especially Erik's), and I found myself cringing. Erik's actor, on the other hand, was amazing!

The Rules of Royalty gave me gay Princess Diary vibes, and I was absolutely here for it. This was just so lighthearted and fun, and both Jamie and Erik were adorable.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the arc!

THE RULES OF ROYALTY by Cale Dietrich is a perfect storyline for me. It's pretty much a queer PRINCESS DIAIRIES, and I adore it! What I do not adore is this audiobook. Ohmigoodness, it does not make you sound British, royal, and rich if you talk slow, take long pauses, and literally sound like you are speaking with your nose in the air. I wanted to throw my phone every time Prince Erik Lindstrom spoke. I made it 15% before DNFing it because I couldn't handle it, especially not with how excellent the new Prince Jamie Johnson's narration was. This isn't a story I'm giving up on. I'm too intrigued and enjoying it too much just to fully DNF. I will read it because I need to know what happens and I was almost at the meet-cute!

Storyline so far: 5 stars
Royal cuteness: 4 stars (I think this will rise when I read it)
Audiobook: 2 stars (so much lost potential)
Current rating: 3 stars

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
I listened to more than half of the book because I wanted to give it its chance but was ultimately letdown. I was not connecting with the story ether because the writing was a little basic, just telling us what was going on, or because the characters felt a little 2 dimensional, there was no personality to ether of them.

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
I enjoyed this book! I thought it was sweet and cute and hopeful. This was Red, White, & Royal Blue meets The Princess Diaries and I ate it up! It really captured all the first love insecurity and excitement and I was kicking my feet. I loved the royals aspect of this!
3.75⭐️