Truthfully speaking, I struggled to finish this book. I didn't feel the chemistry or connection between the main characters, and I just wasn't invested in their happily ever after. It wasn't the right book at the right time for me, but it may be for you if you enjoy:
- he falls first
- college professor princes looking for love
- battles of heart and head when it comes to love
- a chef female main character

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an ALC to review! All opinions are my own.

I like Jayci Lee a lot and this had a lot going for it but in the end, it didn't satisfy me and I'm not quite sure why

"That Prince is Mine" follows a practical woman named Emma who finds herself inexplicably falling for a handsome prince. The caveat is that she doesn't know he's a prince, and she doesn't believe in love. On the other hand, the handsome prince, Michel, is in LA hoping to find love before he has to return home to take his father's seat on the throne as king. It's a whimsical twist to "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" where duty and love could not be more at odds.

This book includes:
- traditional Korean cuisine
- a prince in disguise
- instant attraction

The concept for this book is cute, however the instant attraction was a little too much for me. The over-the-top horniness made me so uncomfortable as it felt totally out of the blue and never fit into the scenes naturally. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book because it was just too cringy and there were several chapters with huge chunks just missing from the narration.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Jayci Lee for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

unfortunately this one didnt do much for me, while the concept was cute it felt a little too all over the place for my liking. i felt like the conversations were forced and the chemistry lacked. i had to dnf because i just couldnt force myself through it any longer.

I enjoy a good "secret royal" story! This one was super cute and very easy to read. I started and finished the audiobook in one work day.

Emma and Michel are so cute. She is trying to come to terms with being set up with a good match life (not love) partner and Michel is in the US trying to find the love of his life before he also meets the same fate. Emma is 100% sure that if she wants a long marriage that it cannot be a love match. Michel is in it to change her mind.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook. Olivia Song did an amazing job on narration and really brought this story to life.

3.5 stars.

I have liked a few of Jayci Lee's other books, so I was excited to give "That Prince is Mine" a read. While I did enjoy this book, I must say, I didn't love it like I hoped I would. It's not bad, it's just "fine." I loved the exploration of Emma's Korean heritage through food. This book made me want to learn how to cook a few traditional Korean dishes. It made me hungry! I liked both Emma and Michel as separate characters. Emma is a Korean culinary cuisine instructor trying to expand her business and move from her home kitchen to a more commercial space to host more classes Michel is in America posing as a visiting professor at USC, but he is secretly a prince! OooOoOoOoOo! One night while in a cafe, Michel sees Emma on a bad date and pays for her bill, eventually striking up a conversation with her and becoming obsessed with her in the process. Therein lies my issue with this story. I didn't really believe in Emma and Michel's romance, not until the very end of the book. It just felt way too convenient that they happened upon each other at the right time and that Michel instantly fell in love with Emma without even knowing her name while he was looking for a wife and while she was looking for a husband. I get the "love at first sight" angle, but I feel like their whirlwind romance could have benefitted from (any!!) pining, yearning, tension, slow-burn, whatever you want to call it. From Michel's end, it felt more like a marriage of convenience than a true love connection between the two of them. Emma decides that she wants to stop going on the dates that her godmother picked for her based on her matchmaking skills so she can pursue a fling with Michel. They eventually fall in love... the problem is that Michel has to return to his small European country in a few short weeks, and Emma is bound to stay state-side because of her family connections and her growing business venture. I will say that the balance of sweetness and spiciness is really good here. It's far spicier than I expected it to be, which was much needed in the absence of any longing type of feelings. It lacks a lot of depth, which makes this the perfect fluffy poolside summertime read. It definitely reminded me of that Netflix Christmas movie with Vanessa Hudgens, so I think fans of Hallmark-y movies like that will be in love. Like I said, this is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not my favorite book. I did love the audiobook narration by Olivia Song. She does an excellent job of bringing these characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

That Prince is Mine is a fun RomCom. For people who like Royal romances, this is a good example. Personally, I also love when food/cooking is incorporated in a story because it is a passion of mine too so I feel more connected to the characters.

This was a sweet romance about using your head vs your heart. We all seem to choose one over the other and it can be hard to be open to using both.

I plan to share this story on Instagram on July 28th.

Www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

This book is just adorable!! So darling. I fell in love with the main character, and their love story. Just so incredibly sweet. The setting was perfect too. Add this to your TBR list! So well written.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio (Macmillan you are my favorite publisher!!!!!) for this audiobook arc.

Unfortunately, this book feel so so flat for me. I ended up dnf'ing at the 47% mark because I just couldn't find myself to care about literally anything happening in the plot. The characters have seemingly no chemistry and their dialogues feel so forced it was hard for me to get into. Some of the issue may be the narration but overall most insta-love stories are not my cup of tea.

I have had a streak of really good romance reads lately and this one just may not have been right time for me. Thank you so so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

THAT PRINCE IS MINE
JAYCI LEE

Emma Yoon does not believe in love matches after her parents get a divorce. Emma is completely prepared for her godmother to make her a match. While on a horrible date in a Cafe a kind stranger pays for her food after her date ups and leaves.

Michel Chevalier is the crown Prince and Internim Professor. Michele is in California trying to find true love before he is forced to an arranged marriage before he takes the crown. While working on his presentation at a cafe in the hotel that he is staying at, he sees a beautiful woman sitting not enjoying the date she is on.

That Prince is Mine has a steady pacing that keeps the reader engaged. The book stayed true to the struggle of Emma looking for just a match and trying to keep her heart out of the equation. While Michel wants to make sure that Emma is falling in love with Michel and not just the crown.

I love a book that also includes amazing side characters!!

This book is definitely an adult rom-com. I would give this book 4 spicy peppers, with 5.5 chapters with spicy scenes.

I would give this book 4.5 stars, this was such a fun read!

Emma believes that being with someone who is perfect for her on paper is better than falling in love with someone. Love can be messy and complicated and it risks fading. Letting a matchmaker find someone for her seems more logical and safer. When she accidentally falls in love how will she handle it and will she push him away in favor of a more compatible relationship? This is my first Jayci Lee book but I can promise you it won’t be my last. This book was funny and cute, it was thoughtful and steamy. I loved the banter between the characters. The build up before the more romantic moments was perfect. I really enjoyed all of it. I can only hope that this book will lead to more with the side characters as an interconnected standalone series (wishful thinking 🙃), because I loved it. The audio narrator was great as well. She was easy to listen to and her voices were not distracting.

Ok the book is excelente,
UPDATE
Audio got fixed and omg perfection!!!!
Love it so damn much.
This was such a cute book.
The couple and all their interactions to die for 😍
The korean add on perfection as well , now im just starving and hungry 🤣. But we’ll definitely will recommend

I want to thank everyone for the early copy of That Prince is Mine.

Having read one of Jayci Lee’s other books, I was excited to jump into this one but it unfortunately felt flat for me. I think my biggest take away was how much I disliked the male main character. He was instantly in love with the FMC, before he even knew her name, and it all felt fake/calculated towards them both just finding a spouse.

I unforunately DNF’d this book.

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee

Emma is a Korean cuisine instructor. She has not been lucky in love. Her aunt, a matchmaker, wants to have her chance. Michel is a prince. He is on the search for the woman he loves who is willing to stand beside him in his royal responsibilities. They meet while he's a professor at USC.

It's a light and fluffy romance with a little spiciness.

Thanks, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance reader copy.

Well this book was not for me. I’m not sure what I expected when I saw a tag line of sweet and sexy but it was not this story. The relationship is more insta-lust than insta-love and I did a lot of skipping through the spice which is difficult to do on audio. The story also didn’t feel fresh other than the Korean culture aspect. It felt very much like an adult version of The Prince and Me but with cringy spice. While the narrator did great with Emma’s voicing, I was confused as to why Michel and his relatives all had British accents but spoke French.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are more own.

Content Notes: Multiple descriptive open door scenes

While I was surprised that there was no male voice for the MMC pov it was still a good audiobook. I loved Emma and Michelle and was happy for them. I am always a sucker for a Cinderella vibe fairy tale but I also like the fact they were culturally different. Glad it was an audiobook because I wouldn’t have been able to pronounce most of the words. 😅

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 3.5⭐️
Narration: 3⭐️
Overall: 3.25⭐️

The synopsis of this book gave me “The Prince & Me” vibes which had me feeling nostalgic and looking forward to reading it. For the most part, it delivered on that with some added spice, but also fell somewhat flat for me.

One thing I loved was Emma’s foodie personality and that she was an instructor of specialized cuisine from her Korean culture. So many of the food description sounded delicious and full of flavor. Honestly, I was more interested in that than the romance element.

The relationship between Emma and Michel felt very instalust/instalove, and I think that was partly due to feeling like I was dropped into a story that had already been going on for a while. Michel had been watching Emma for quite some time in the cafe before they spoke. I did enjoy the interactions between them as their relationship grew, but I just didn’t feel much of a connection.

Additionally, this book was far too long with not a lot going on to make the extra pages needed. I think it could’ve been significantly trimmed down without losing the heart of the story.

Narration: I didn’t love the narrator’s style for this performance. It sounded stiff and stilted to me, very formal delivery in more than just Prince Michel’s POV. I wasn’t crazy about the different tones of voice for different characters either, particularly the male characters. She did invoke emotion well in particular important moments, so I appreciated that. I thought her performance of Emma was definitely the strongest part overall.

An adorable lighthearted read with a European Prince and lots of food. A favorite trope of let’s get it out of our system and then they fell in love. Also a hero that sacrifices himself to be with the love of his life. The book was full of many swoon worthy moments had a bit of spice that I was not expecting but appreciated.

I really loved all the nods to Korean culture in this book! As someone who loves to cook I enjoyed the fun nods to food. Some of the Korean words were pronounced very awkwardly which really annoyed me haha. I thought it was a little too long as well. Thank you so much for the ARC NetGalley!