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.

This story was beyond adorable. While the idea of finding out that you are related to a reigning monarch is not everyone's idea of exciting, it sure works in this story. The main character really embraces his new found status and his relationship with a fellow young royal is both sweet and sudden. I would highly recommend this story if you are looking for a relatively wholesome story about 2 young men finding their way together towards love. I want to thank Netgalley for the advance reader ebook.

When 17 year old Jamie Johnson finds out he’s the son of the Mitanorian King his life changes immeasurably overnight. He finds himself in a foreign country, with a biological father he barely knows, and the pressures of being a prince slowly creeping up on him. Luckily, a prince from a nearby country, Erik, agrees to be his royal tutor over the summer. This prince just so happens to be very handsome, incredibly kind, and also gay. As Jamie and Erik get to know one another they form a strong bond and romantic feelings form. The problem? Erik had strict instructions from his Gran, The Queen, to keep things between Jamie platonic.

This book is an incredibly soothing breath of fresh air. The pacing, plot, and never ending green flags are perfection. I really enjoyed how quickly Dietrich jumped into the story and quickly, and thoroughly, introduced us to the MCs and the side characters. The overall vibes of this book are supportive, positive, and light. It’s so important to have fun young adult books with lgbtqia+ characters with low angst plots.

I've loved Cale Dietrich since The Love Interest. Somehow every single book is great, I have not once been disappointed. No matter the genre, Dietrich always delivers. This books gives heavy Red, White, & Royal Blue vibes. I loved Jamie and his character development. The beginning was very strong and the writing felt complete. I do just wish there was more character development for everyone, after the first half it felt very rushed! Overall, the short chapters make this a very fast and cute read. 3.5 stars.

This young adult book is great for those looking for a RWRB feel in something more appropriate for younger readers, with a spin on The Princess Diaries.

I love to read fun, lighthearted MM romcoms, something that lets me relax and smile, and this fits the bill.

Jamie and Erik were awesome together. Erik helped Jamie prepare for his new role as prince, and Jamie helped Erik realize he can go for what he wants. I loved both characters!

I predict there will be a lot of buzz about this book the closer it gets to publication.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book

I loved how the character, Jamie, and Erick, blend together and make a fascinating story. This is a well written story by Cale Dietrich and it is enjoyable to read the plot of the story.

Red, white and royal blue and Romeo and Juliet vibes, you know....without them dying at the end. I love Romeo and Juliet and I definitely got like a modern tale while reading. I had a good time reading the rules of royalty and think that you should give it a read.

very cute and enjoyable queer book. i loved the story and the characters! i had been eyeing this book when i had heard about it for quite some time and i am truly glad it didn't disappoint.

This is a perfect book for the fans of the Princess Diaries and Red White and Royal Blue. The romance between Jamie and Erik was great and I had a lot of fun reading it and see them slowly work togethers their wants and desires while also balacing the fact that they are both royals and their family's image and traditions are important. The dialogue is snappy and quick which makes their conversation sound realistic and even in moments where the cahracters get deem and vulnerable, the writign is not cringe and instead feels like two people genuinly struggling with what is happening. There was some great moments of humor between them and also great acts of love and caring. I highly reccomend this book. It is a fun read and the characters are exteremely loveable.

This is very much a Red White & Royal Blue knockoff (the throwaway line about the Prince of England being rumored to be gay made me cringe because it felt like such a callout to RWRB) mixed with the Princess Diaries. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing! I like having a book that librarians can point younger teens to as an alternative to RWRB. I also think Dietrich's writing has improved a lot.