I love the princess diaries so when I read the description, I knew I had to give it a try. It really did feel like a princess diaries type tale with the finding out as a teen that your dad is a king of another country, the make over, the prince training lessons, etc. It was a fun and cute novel but at times it could have been better. I enjoyed the growing romance between Erik and Jamie. It was cute but didn't give me the deep tummy butterflies. But again still very cute and just because I didn't get the butterflies doesn't mean it didn't hit me in the feels. The book has a lot of fluff and I'm glad that it didn't have a lot of paparazzi scandal stuff happening with Jamie being an outsider and with Jamie and Erik dating in secret. That could have had a lot of scandal, but it was very nice to not have that dark side. I will say that I didn't like the whole fake dating plot point that was forced on Erik and Sebastian. It barely existed and seemed like we could have done without. That being said, I would be down to read a story about Sebastian. He wasn't there much but I think he would have an interesting romance to read. Overall an enjoyable read and it you love the princess diaries and queer stories then I think you should check this one out.

Audio book specific: I liked both narrators. I think they both did a great job on their respective characters. I thought Erik's narrator did a better job with all the accents than Jamie's did. So having such drastically different sounding accents was a bit weird at times but easy to get past. I also love Erik's narrator because Max Meyers is one of my favorite narrators so I'm a bit biased.

Content warning: death of parent

3.5 stars rounded up. I thought this book was going to be a solid four star read for the first third or so and then it kind of fizzled out for me. I liked the characters and the overall story was likable and pleasant. I appreciated how accepting everyone was and that that wasn't an issue. Unfortunately, the story as a whole ended up being kind of boring. Part of me liked that there wasn't a lot of conflict, but I felt like the book was missing something. The conflict that did pop up didn't really make sense to me. That said, this was a light palate cleanser kind of book and works well in that sense.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This book didn’t work for me only because it wasn’t what I was looking for. This was very cute and pretty darn wholesome but it read as a very YA book and I’m not the target audience for that. The main characters are 17 years old and the plot, while Disney channel TV series-esque, did not resonate with me (a mom of 3 in my 30s). But for a teenager looking to read a sweet YA romance, this would be the perfect book!

I also don’t love books about royalty set in imaginary places (i.e. the name of the kingdom has been invented) but that is just a personal preference and I’m sure will not bother many people.

DNF at 56%. Unfortunately this story did not resonate with me. I was not enjoying it and did not connect with it so instopped.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

First and foremost, I’m a sucker for this type of book: LGBTQ+ romance, royalty, light angst, etc. Naturally, this book is perfect for anyone who enjoys those tropes!

I really enjoyed Jamie and Erik’s story! Overall, the book was a fun and easy read.

(The cover of this book is also really cute!)

The Princess Diaries (gender-swapped) meets Red White and Royal Blue. That's it, that's the book. Everything unspools as expected, the challenges are predictable. Enjoyable for someone who wants that story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Rules of Royalty follows newfound heir to a European throne Jamie as he is introduced to the ins and outs of a royal role by prince Erik.

This was a cute, generally lighthearted read with major rom com movie vibes. Jamie and Erik were perfectly pleasant main characters to hang out with, and their healthy communication style artfully dodged any contrived miscommunication plots, which was such a refreshing aspect of this read. The premise of the plot is a bit absurd, but in a rom com, it's pretty easy to suspend some disbelief about how another country might handle its transition to an American-born monarch. However, because it's a rom com, the romance is almost entirely the sole focus of the novel, which results in other potentially interesting aspects of the plot being underdeveloped or ignored altogether. As much as I definitely picked this book up for romance, it would have been nice to see a more holistic plot that more thoroughly dealt with the newfound-royal side of things.

In all, I thought this was a cute read that will be a hit for romance readers who've been trying for over a decade to recapture the magic of watching The Princess Diaries for the first time.

This is a very cute love story between Jaime, who just found out he is the prince of Mitonaur (side note, I keep thinking Minotaur) and Erik, the prince of a neighboring kingdom.

The story itself is really cute. I gave the book a 3 star rating because of character development. Only Jaime and Erik get any type of character development. Not even that, every other character is a flat character. You don't get the feeling that you know the characters. It just isn't there. The potential was for a five star book was there. I thought about saying that that because it is a young adult book, tons of teens will enjoy it more than I did, but I am not sure that is necessarily even the case. You can't give a pass to a book just because it falls in the YA category.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free kindle book. My review is voluntarily given and my opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for a copy of this book!

This is my second book from Cale Dietrich and it was such a DELIGHT! And I really mean a delight. Cale was a co writer on one of my all time favorites, If This Gets Out so I knew that I already enjoyed his writing style.

Jamie turns 17 and learns that he is heir to the throne in a European country called Mitanor. I love how his family was open to him about his birth mother and then when learning of this news also learns about his father. I was waiting for Jamie to be upset or to have such a negative reaction but that was not the case. When he does meet his father King Alexander, it was nothing but opened arms and warm welcomes. So who is the lucky fellow who wins over Jamie's heart? None other than Prince Erik of Sunstad.

See King Alexander thought that Jamie needed someone his own age to help guide Jamie on how to be a royal. But Jamie also wonders if his father paired them together because they both are openly gay so there was that extra comfort. Their relationship was just the cutest and I love seeing their friendship blossom! It was really obvious that their feelings for each other was more than just friendship. There were a bunch of obstacles that was getting in the way of them having an actual relationship. I am glad they were able to work through those challenges to be able to give us that HEA.

There was a side storyline involving Jamie and his American friends and their journey with learning of his new life. As the reader, you could see the walls starting to crumble in the relationship between Jamie and his best friend Max. Things were changing rapidly and neither knew how to navigate this new world. I was glad to see that they were able to resolve their issues by having a conversation.

This book just really made me smile and was just so darn enjoyable!

If you are a fan of The Princess Diaries meets Red, White & Royal Blue, definitely give this one a read!

4.5

This book was requested by a previous Lesbrary reviewer who did not finish or review it. In order to keep my Netgalley feedback up to date, I am submitting this review marking it as a DNF, though it was another reviewer who requested this.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I can't resist a good royalty romance and this one immediately brought to mind Red White and Royal Blue along with a few others. The book was enjoyable enough but some things bothered me. This storyline felt too much like a jumble of the other books I've read mixed with the Young Royals tv show. Jaimie, who finds out suddenly that he is a member of a royal family, just kind of jumps into in a way that felt wholly unrealistic. He has no problems bonding with amazing father, a King who seems perfect. It can't be this easy for him. In fact, his main struggle seems to be only with his romantic relationship with another royal, Prince Erik. There is a mini plot about Jamie's best friend getting mad at him which literally had no point to it at all. There could have been something there. There could have been something more with Jaimie and his relationship with his non-biological mother as well. But they just fizzled into nothing. Prince Erik didn't have a lot of personality either. Also the narrator for Prince Erik has an amazing voice for book narration but he sounds thirty years old. When I listened to this book (I went between reading and listening), he pulled me out from the story every time. Jaimie's narrator was fantastic and well suited to the role of the chill young Jamie. Still based on entertainment alone, this one was worth reading.

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would but it wasn't overly exciting or captivating. I liked the characters and the loved the royalty aspect. This is basically a gay princess diaries and I was here for it. Overall I really liked how everything played out. I just didn't think it was very exciting getting there. I think this could have used a little something to make it more dynamic. Sam was a good character but I felt like she wasn't used to her full potential a better, more central plot line could have been created for her. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Contemporary queer royal romances will always have a very special place in my heart. I really love the Princess Diaries, so was incredibly excited to read this queer retelling. I adored Dietrich’s book If This Gets Out, which is up there with my favourite books of all time.

I loved the set up of the main relationship. On one side you have Jamie, who recently learned he is the secret prince of Mitanor, and on the other hand you have Eric, the prince of a neighbouring country. An expert on all things royalty, Eric agrees to help tutor newbie Jamie, and I loved the dynamic this created between the two. While Eric helped Jamie learn how to navigate this strange new world, Jamie helped Eric learn to process his own emotions and fight for more personal freedom.

As usual, I adored the media elements and the sensationalism around Jamie being the secret uncovered prince, but wish there was more of those moments. Overall, this is a very fun and lighthearted romance I’d recommend reading when you’re in the mood for feel-good queer royalty.

This was such a cute book. I like how it wasn’t the same plot as every other romance with royalty. It had its own pizzazz and I really enjoyed it overall.

When Jamie discovers he's actually a prince from a distant country, his life changes forever. Whisked away to meet the father he never knew and his family, Jamie is thrown into a world of politics and royalty. When fellow prince, Erik, is tasked with tutoring him on all things princely, the two develop a close friendship and soon deeper feelings emerge. Between Jamie set to return to America and Erik's life being tightly controlled by his family, will they ever actually be able to be together?

I've seen this advertised as The Princess Diaries meets Red White and Royal Blue, and honestly, that is an apt comparison. Overall this was a cute story about two boys adjusting to what life throws at them and learning to stand up and fight for themselves. Both Jamie and Erik are sweet, and I even got a little teary at some points. I also LOVED that all of the adults in Jamie's life were active and supportive and kind. It was refreshing to see in a young adult book.

At the end of the day I think my rating stems from a case of not really being for me. While there is kissing and references to previous hookups (both characters are 17-18), something about the book and writing felt younger. I think a lot of people will enjoy this and connect with the characters, though.

The alternating points of view were not clear and I lost track of the main plot a few times, which is not what I look for in a light read.

In this reimagining of The Princess Diaries, Jamie discovers he's from a royal family. In an attempt to train him to be fit to rule, his family asks Erik, the prince of another small country, to tutor him. Their romance builds slowly, and feels comforting, like being snuggled in a huge blanket on Christmas Eve. A fun read for when you just need to smile.

The Rules of Royalty reminded me a lot of The Princess Diaries vibes but with a prince as well as Red, White, and Royal Blue. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives as I felt that it pushed the story along and helped me understand the characters better. The book started off slow which tends to deter me from finishing a book but because of the alternating perspectives and TPD vibes, I stuck with it - which I'm glad I did. Overall, it's a light, quick YA-read that I would recommend to students and other fans of The Princess Diaries or Red, White, and Royal Blue.

This was a very fun, sweet book. I enjoyed it and I loved the blossoming romance between Jamie and Erik. I loved how supportive and loving Jamie's family was, and the fact that miscommunication was not a plot device used to keep our leads apart, it's a trope I really hate, and this book did not contain it. Overall, I loved how fun and sweet this book was, and how cozy the characters felt while I read. Reading this book felt like calling an old friend and catching back up like no time has passed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for this E-arc. All opinions are my own.

I saw Princess Diaries and Red White Royal Blue in the same sentence and I was automatically sold on this book. Unfortunately I think that may have set my expectations for this book negatively. On Jamie's 17 birthday he finds out he is the son of king and that his mom who raised him kept this from him as to respect his bio-mom's wishes. He heads to Europe for the summer with his family and there meets Prince Erik. Everyone loves Jamie. The end.

I thought this book was very fluffy and a light read and although I enjoyed it it doesn't really stand out to me because of the lack of drama/conflict. Everyone is so friendly and just accepts that Jamie is wonderful and adores him from the get go, I kept expecting for the other shoe to drop but it never did (yes there is one person but the problem they caused is solved so quickly I don't think it counts). Its remarked several times that he's good at everything he does and that he's stepped into the role remarkably well. I expected for there to be more angst and grappling with identity/expectations/life trajectories but maybe he's just way more adjusted than I would ever be in that kind of scenario.

All this to say I did like this book, but I do think this is more of a YA YA book, that is too say the younger high school me would have eaten this up no questions asked. I just think that it was a little to sweet for me and had very thick main character armor for all those involved.