Charming Queer Royalty Romance
“Rules of Royalty” by Cale Dietrich offers a delightful premise with its queer representation, something I deeply appreciated and wished I had access to in my younger years. The story revolves around Jamie, an American teen who discovers he's the heir to the throne of Mitanor, and Erik, a prince from a neighboring country who becomes his royal tutor. The burgeoning romance between the two princes is charming and engaging.

While the book draws comparisons to The Princess Diaries, the similarities are limited to Jamie's sudden discovery of his royal lineage and his struggle to adapt to princely etiquette. Those expecting a storyline closely mirroring The Princess Diaries might find the comparison a bit of a stretch.

Despite enjoying the overall read and valuing it as a significant addition to YA queer literature, I found the timeline within the story somewhat disjointed. The rapid progression of events over what felt like just a few weeks didn't quite align with the depth of the characters' experiences and development.

In conclusion, Rules of Royalty is a delightful read with valuable queer representation, though its timeline might feel rushed to some readers.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Cale Dietrich for this eARC!

When American born Jamie turns 17 his mom decides it’s time to reveal a big secret. He’s always know he’s adopted and his birth mom was his mother’s best friend. She didn’t tell him at the request of his birth mom that his dad is a prince in Europe and he is a prince. Erik is a prince from a neighboring country who is tasked with helping Jamie aclimate to his new life. This was a cute relatively drama free rom com. For royalty who still try to chose the significant others of their children they all seemed pretty okay and accepting of a child out of wedlock during break but I’lljust have to suspend belief and move on. This was a fun read that kept the teen angst to a minimum and should be enjoyable to YA readers and those who just need a little royalty themed read.

All of my favorite parts of my favorite books combined into one. This was so cute and I loved it so much.

Super cute take on the Princess Diaries! A few parts were predictable and the writing was okay, but overall a lighthearted and well-paced romance.

1 Sentence Summary: Jamie Johnson lived a totally normal American life until he turns seventeen and learns that he’s actually the prince of Mitanor, a sunny European country, and when his father—the king!—invites him to spend the summer at the palace, Jamie agrees; however, he doesn’t know anything about royal etiquette, so it’s a good thing Erik, a prince from a nearby kingdom, agrees to tutor Jamie in the rules of royalty.

My Thoughts: This was essentially a gay Princess Diaries, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The romance was super cute, and the story had an overall light, happy, and positive tone.

I loved how supportive all of Jamie and Erik’s family and friends were. And yes, maybe the story was cheesy at times and unrealistic, but the world is already dark enough as is. Let me read my happy feel-good love-conquers-all fictional romance novel in peace.

The characters could have had more depth and the writing could have been more developed, but overall it was a fun YA romance—a lighthearted and quick read, perfect to get out of a reading slump.

Recommend to: Fans of YA romance and stories about royalty.

(Warnings: swearing)

I had to DNF this one, unfortunately. I usually love this author but there was way too much telling and not showing. It read like a Disney Channel TV show.

Firstly, I would like to say thank you to NetGalley And Cale for allowing me the opportunity to read an arc of your upcoming book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like the story was well thought out. I felt the characters had a great connection and you can just kind of feel that through the writing. I would’ve really liked more in the beginning. I felt like the beginning didn’t have as much details as I feel like it could’ve, I also feel like the ending was a little bit more rushed but overall the book was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt like it’s such a great book to have especially as a book for the YA audience. As well as the LGBTQ+ members. As somebody from the LGBTQ plus community myself, I felt like this book was just really important especially for kids or teenagers who do fill out of place, who do feel like the society norms and having to do what your parents want is more important.
Overall, 4.25 ✨
Would definitely read again and recommend ❤️

Cute take on the Princess Diaries theme, but everything was a little too easy. The main drama was whether or not Erik would stand up for his autonomy, but the ease in which Jamie settled in to royal life without any hiccups and was accepted by his bio family seemed too fluffy and trouble-free.

This book is like cotton candy - fun, quick, and a little too sweet.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book follows Jamie, who discovers he’s actually a prince of a foreign country on his 17th birthday. He is whisked away to spend the summer there and work with Erik, another prince around his age, to learn how to navigate the royal world. All while trying not to fall for each other, as it’s been forbidden by Erik’s family.

Overall, this was a fun and fast read. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters and going on the journey with them of getting to know each other and figure out what rules to follow and what to let go of. However, I just wanted more from this book. A lot of it feels very surface-level and I would have loved to dive deeper into the world, the characters’ struggles, and the conflict, especially the conflict around Jamie and Erik being forbidden from being together. The reasoning behind it didn’t feel solid enough, and the resolution felt way too easy. That said, I do still recommend if you want a quick, easy read with royalty vibes.

Jamie Johnson is an average high school student in Rhode Island. On Jamie's 17th birthday, though, he learns a shocking secret: he is actually the son of the king of Mitanor, a county in Southern Europe. His father, who he has never met, invites Jamie to stay at one of his palaces in Mitanor for the summer so they two can get to know each other. The king also extends an invitation to Erik Lindstrom, a prince in a neighboring country, to spend the summer in Mitanor, so he can tutor Jamie in the ways of royal life. Erik is eager to get out of his home country as it prepares for the marriage of his older brother, the heir to the throne, so he accepts the invitation to spend the summer in Mitanor.

Erik does not know quite what to expect from Jamie, who it turns out is quite unlike anyone else in his life. As Erik spends the summer tutoring Jamie, the two develop a deep connection, and Erik finds himself learning as much from Jamie as he is teaching him. But with all the attention on Erik and Jamie, for different reasons, they must confront whether they are willing to follow their feelings even if it comes at a public cost to them and their families.

This is a touching and engaging story. From a highly implausible premise, the author creates a deeply grounded story about family, expectations, friendship, and identity.

Highly recommended.

This is most definitely a YA fairytale. It is absolute perfect: the characters are perfect, the story is perfect, the writing is perfect, and it all wraps up in a nice little perfect bow at the end. Every good thing that could happen to a group of people happens throughout our story. That being said, it really wasn’t for me. I was just really wanting it to have a little more personality, some grit, some variation, etc. But, I do think perfect stories with perfect endings should never be put down for simply being easy because for some people, especially the young audience this novel is geared to, that is exactly what they want to read. Not to mention that queer representation from queer writers is always important in this day and age, so I will always be supporting stories of this caliber.

Possibly the best gay book I've read so far and it's incredibly heartwarming. While the story doesn't delve into the nuances of coming out as both MCs are already out, there's a lot of the "found family" trope (quite literally) I love that Jamie and Erik's relationship going from strangers to friends to crushes to boyfriends felt so organic and unrushed. Jamie's got an amazing friends' group, and his parents are fab too. I felt on multiple occasions that Erik could do with more friends in his life, but I'm so happy his brother's there for him.

I was just smiling to myself SO MANY times while reading this, I probably looked crazy to anyone looking. Pretty sure I squealed a couple times too, coz the chemistry and scenes are swoon worthy. I see some reviews about people feeling the MCs weren't developed enough, but I don't see that issue at all. I truly admire how both boys put each other over their relationships, and Jamie's interactions with his best friends show his character arc.

There's a tad too many cliches in this book and I see so many repetitions from the small number of royal romances I've read. The classic third act breakup, the somewhat stuck-up nature of some royal members, they're just meh. So yup for everything I love about this book, it isn't perfect but still worth the read.

The Princess Diaries meets the YA version of Red, White and Royal Blue. 🩷

Jamie is just a regular American guy with friends and plans. Until, on his seventeenth birthday, he finds out he’s actually the son of a king. Soon, Jamie’s whole life changes as he’s whisked off to Mitanor to meet the family he never knew he had. He also meets Prince Erik of Sunstad who is everything Jamie ever imagined a Prince would be. The two fall into like and lust quickly, but there’s one big problem. Erik’s family doesn’t approve and want him to be with someone else. Can the two princes fight for love overcome the challenges set before them?

This was so fun and adorable! I ate up every word! I loved Jamie and Erik and their romantic story! I enjoyed following Jamie on his journey of becoming a prince and realizing all that he can do with that title. This felt like a real storybook romance and I was elated on how it all turned out.

I highly recommend this read!

The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich is described as a modern-day take on the cult classic movie The Princess Diaries.

When Jamie, someone who has only ever lived a ‘normal’ life, finds out his father is the king of the small European country Mitanor, his life is turned upside down in ways he never expected or could have even dreamed of. Meanwhile, Erik, the prince of neighboring country Sunstad, has only ever known what it’s like to be royalty. He’s grown up with it. Lived with the knowledge that one day he’d be king and never able to lead a life like so many others have.

When the two are brought together in a sort of peer support role, neither can deny the interest the other sparks, even if it isn’t quite approved of.

This book has to be one of my favorites of 2024 so far. It’s wholesome, fun, and quite frankly just a good time. The character development was strong and really worked with the plot, especially given how fast the story moved. Highly recommend!

First off, I want to say that I almost DNF'ed this book. I knew nothing about this book going into it other than it was a royalty book a la princess diaries and that it was written by an author I've read before. I truly thought that the main characters were going to be step brothers or cousins. It would be nice if there was like some sort of map or something at the beginning—or possibly like a family tree. There are a lot of characters and it's hard to keep track especially since there are two POVs.

The second reason I almost put the book down is the comment that Erik made about his future-sister-in-law working to prevent type one diabetes. Type one cannot be prevented, that's type two that can be prevented. The only thing you can prevent about type one is some of the damage it can cause to other organs. This is an easily researchable fact and as someone who has family members with type one, it made me slightly uncomfortable to see that kind of misinformation.

I ended up putting those two things aside and ended up finishing the book—and I did not hate it, but I also wasn't a huge fan of it either. It was cute, but nothing more than that. A lot of it felt very shallow a lot of the conflict was resolved very quickly at the end. There was a lot of showing rather than telling, which I'm not opposed to, but that added to the shallowness. Ultimately, I feel like this book was mid. If someone wants a quick and simple read, I might recommend it, but I think it's pretty forgettable overall.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

This book has a cute premise but felt pretty cliche to me. There was very little real conflict and all of the characters were unrealistically kind and understanding, in my view. I've heard it described as Princess Diaries meet Young Royals but Young Royals has a lot more realistic conflict than this book. Also, "dry humidity"? What does that mean? I would not recommend this as I think there are better examples of the genre.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

I feel bad that I've been in such a reading slump because I haven't been able to care about a lot of these anticipated releases like this one. I really wanted this one to be the one to break the slump, but unfortunately, this wasn't it for me.

Very much princess diaries vibe. American boy finds out he’s actually a European prince. It’s very YA, not in the feelings/actions of the actual teenagers, but in the complete disregard of reason or logistical foresight by everyone, including the adults. His father was ok not knowing his son for 17 years, just so the son could have a normal life? Really? Most of the decisions made by the adults in the room were not realistic. I still enjoyed the book, mostly the whole Jamie/Erik relationship, but I do feel like my temporal lobe is too developed to be the target audience. 3.5⭐️ rounded up for Goodreads

Princess fantasies!*

Jamie has every expectation of a normal life, until his mother drops a bombshell: his father is king of the small European country Mitanor, making Jamie a prince—and his life will never be the same. Meanwhile, as the second prince of Sunstad, Erik has never had or expected a normal life—but things get a lot more interesting when the king of Mitanor asks him to provide some informal support to Europe's newest prince. They'd both young, gay, single (more or less), and pretty...and even if getting together is risky,** neither of them can help the mutual interest.

This is described as a modern (gay) take on "The Princess Diaries", which in a lot of ways feels about right. It's wish fulfillment: Jamie suddenly has everything under the sun(stad) that he could dream of, including the full support of both his families and an apartment suited for, well, a prince. There are very few expectations placed on him—while in "The Princess Diaries" Mia groans over her princess lessons (and, frankly, has a lot fewer eyes on her, growing up before the age of cell phone cameras and social media), when the news breaks about Jamie he's just asked to take some tips from Erik. Despite the sudden scrutiny, Jamie makes very few faux pas,*** which I'm actually glad of; I get tired of books in which characters are thrust into the spotlight and it never occurs to them to brush their hair or think before they speak.

It's...not a super realistic book, or a subtle one. A lot of things are glossed over: Jamie is basically told that he can step into the life of a prince and do whatever he wants (or, not quite, but that's the general vibe), or he can go back to the US and continue his life there (never mind that he'd probably never have a moment of peace again); he's routinely encouraged to speak to the media and stand up for things he believes in. There's very, *very* little standing on ceremony, including when security protocols are broken and Jamie is allowed to decide to brush it off and continue into an unsecured situation. Mitanor has somewhat flexible inheritance laws, but there's neither conflict nor really interaction with Jamie's half-brother (who might suddenly have competition as presumptive heir to the throne), and instead the villain of the book is a homophobic politician who leaves a trail of slime in his wake. I also thought it was quite sad how quickly Jamie takes to calling his biological father (the king) "Dad" because "He's earned it" (loc. 4000****)—never mind that Jamie has a stepdad who's been in the picture for five or six years and has actually helped raise Jamie, but never gets beyond first-name status. (There's nothing wrong with first-name status! But it has to hurt to see a kid take the attitude of "well, you raised me, but he gave me DNA *and* is a king, so we all know who gets 'dad' status".) I also rather wished that we'd stayed in one POV throughout, as I couldn't tell Jamie and Erik's voices apart, down to Erik using casual American slang.

But it's a princess fantasy book. I know I'm not supposed to be looking for something super realistic here—better to look for the fancy apartment and polite princes and suddenly limitless possibilities. (And, of course, for a queer "Princess Diaries".) Check your practicality-o-meter at the first page—it'll be waiting for you at the end of the book.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*Never mind the general lack of princesses here—this sort of book is always going to be a princess fantasy book for me

**Risk/risks/risky count: 31

**Yes, I looked it up, and both singular and plural are "faux pas", with a slight variation in pronunciation

***Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.