This book was incredibly disappointing. To use comp titles like Red White and Royal Blue and The Goblin Emperor is just setting this book up for failure because it is nothing like them and not nearly as good. It's also not fantasy. I know romantasy is all the rage right now but to be romantasy there has to be at least a little bit of a fantasy setting or tropes an they're just not there.

The characters are all painfully flat with no personality. The plot is... nonexistent, at least in the 30% that I managed to read. The author doesn't even bother to write full scenes, ending them abruptly with "they talked about many things" (paraphrased). The "relationship" is 100% instalove. There's no chemistry, and no opportunity for the characters to develop chemistry.

The first third of the book consists of: the prince is shy, likes history, and wants someone to like him for him rather than his title. He is set up with someone, falls for him, and then the guy is like "I don't think our personalities get along... but hey, that's ok because you're a prince." Then another guy arrives who is shy, likes history, and seems interested. And they faff about for a month before they finally admit they like each other. And that's literally all that happens.

Plus the writing is flat and bland and the narrator speaks in a bit of a monotone making it hard to distinguish characters.

*Thanks to Rising Action and Dreamscape Media for providing an advanced copy for review.

A captivating tale of forbidden love and royal responsibility, this book will resonate with readers who crave emotionally rich, fantastical stories. It delves into the complexities of LGBTQ+ romance within the confines of a royal court, where personal desires clash with societal expectations. The protagonist grapples with the agonizing choice between following their heart and fulfilling their duty, leading to a poignant exploration of love, loyalty, and the sacrifices made in the name of both. With its blend of heartfelt romance and the ever-present tension of courtly life, "The Prince's Heart" is a must-read for those who enjoy stories that delve into the depths of human emotion and the complexities of navigating love amidst the constraints of power and tradition.

Heat Factor: 100% fade to black
Character Chemistry: Tag is a little standoffish and then they’re in love, but court intrigue gets in the way
Plot: What fantasy political intrigue doesn’t happen in this book?
Overall: I was so irritated I had to put it in timeout, and it didn’t get better after the timeout

This book started a little slow, meeting the characters, getting a feel for the setting. Darien’s brother keeps trying to set him up with guys, but they’re only interested in Darian’s title. Whomp, whomp. Then, their mom’s bestie comes to visit with her family, and Darien is smitten. Truly, the word smitten was created for Darien’s reaction to Tag. Does he know Tag? No! But that doesn’t matter. Tag is beautiful and shy. Then Darien learns that Tag is a history nerd. Darien is also a history nerd! Could anything be more perfect?

After avoiding men like the plague, Darien makes a concerted effort to pursue Tag, but Tag is offering no clues. Until he just plants a kiss on Darien during a picnic. And that’s it for the romance! I mean, not entirely, but Darien and Tag are all in. Kind of.

Enter: the rest of the story. This is only a romance insofar as Darien has to deal with the political upheaval in his kingdom in order to be able to marry his commoner (not really, but he’s the lowly son of a viscount, so…) boyfriend.

The royal families of this world constantly have shifting threats to deal with, so alliances are paramount. Thus Darien’s dad decides he’s going to arrange a marriage for Darien in exchange for a treaty. Thus begins the intrigue. To start, Darien’s older brother points out that the arrival of his foreign royal suitor is not standard negotiation procedure, so there’s clearly something going on there. Then Darien’s dad and older brother die (are murdered!?), and Darien becomes king. Someone attempts to assassinate Darien, and finally everyone in his inner circle is looped in on the nefarious goings on surrounding the royal family.

I became extremely invested in the plot maneuverings from the time the foreign prince, Arbois, arrived at about 35%, until after the coronation at about 50%. Intrigue! Death! Forbidden love! Very exciting!

And then we transitioned into the “Darien must fight for his love against all odds” portion of the story, and we arrived at the annoying part of intrigue-centered books. That is to say, people who are completely aware that shady stuff is absolutely going on say stupid things. Case in point: Everyone knows that there was a leak about Darien’s letter to his uncle because the assassin specifically mentioned it, but when Darien and his mother receive a peculiar response from his uncle, they’re not like, “Hmm. This doesn’t sound right.” Actually, his mom did straight up say that. What they didn’t say was, “If someone knew about the letter, could they have…INTERFERED!?” Or, “Perhaps we should entertain a cleverer approach to diplomacy in this corner.” Alternative case in point: Darien knows that Arbois is up to something, but he doesn’t know what. Everyone in his inner circle knows the same thing. And yet, when pressed to make alliances, his mother specifically says that Arbois is his best bet and he might have to marry the man after all. Woman! This guy is involved in some full blown machinations. What on earth makes you think that he is not actively plotting against Darien?

The fact that Darien apparently doesn’t trust anyone in his circle is also extremely concerning. There’s basically no collaboration about anything (and some things were intentionally opaque for no reason) until the bitter end. Why?

So, the stirring up drama for the sake of drama lost me for a bit, and I had to give the book a timeout. Even when I went back to it, and even understanding Darien’s precarious position, I was so irritated with his whole victim outlook. Like, dude, are you not even going to try to save your kingdom? What are you doing? So, when things started to pull together for the ending, it felt like character inconsistency.

I was also thinking, at the end (because it’s a romance, so obviously Tag and Darien can be together after all), that the conflict should have been either about Darien and Tag overcoming the obstacles to their relationship or the political plot—or, if it were a really robust fantasy, both, because they’re connected—but because of the insta romance and Tag basically never even being around, and the obstacles to Tag and Darien being together basically being a tertiary plot point, it didn’t feel very earned at the end when the HEA came.

My takeaway ended up being, “Who dev edited this book?” because it needed someone asking some tougher questions to iron out some weird choices.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

I picked this up expecting a swoony queer fantasy romance, and while it had its moments, it didn’t completely win me over.

The story follows Prince Darien, the second son of the king, who’s never really had to worry about ruling. But when he meets Tag—a nobleman from a neighboring kingdom—he finds himself torn between duty and desire. It’s a classic setup with a lot of potential, and I wanted to love it.

The romance? Cute, but way too rushed. I love a slow burn, and this felt more like an instant connection without enough buildup. I needed more tension, more longing—just more. The world-building was also pretty surface-level. There were hints of an interesting setting, but it never fully came to life. The story moved quickly, which made it easy to get through, but it also meant that some moments didn’t have the emotional impact they could have.

That being said, I do appreciate how natural the queer rep felt. There was no unnecessary angst over sexuality—just a story about two men falling for each other, which is always great to see. And the cover? Absolutely stunning.

Overall, The Prince’s Heart is a light, easy read that might work if you’re in the mood for a quick fantasy romance. But if you’re looking for deep world-building or a slow-burn love story, this one might leave you wanting more.

Darien Garros is second in line to the throne of Soeria and it is a position he relishes. His elder brother, Samis, will take the throne once their father passes and Darien will support him and he could not imagine doing otherwise. Darien prefers to stay away from the spotlight while he focuses on his history and the administrative tasks associated with his role as a prince. The court arrival of minor nobleman, Tag Leara, offers Darien a chance for romance and he finds himself drawn to Tag almost immediately. However, their romance is thrown into chaos when his father announces that Darien is expected to marry a foreign dignitary he has never met to secure a diplomatic relationship with the nation of Jirena Sadai. Just as Darien has found something with Tag, it seems he is destined to be forced into a loveless political marriage. Darien knows he must do his duty, yet he cannot imagine his life without Tag.

Yet there are sinister forces at work in Soeria and after several devastating losses, Darien is forced to assume a mantle he never expected to wear. Now, he must bear the weight of leadership, while attempting to outwit a threat that could destroy Soeria and all that he holds dear. Darien must find a way to save his kingdom if he has any hope of finding his happily ever after with Tag.

The Prince’s Heart was, at times, a difficult read and while it seemed to want to be a fantasy romance, it had so many issues it often became its own worst enemy. Let’s start with the positives. It is fantasy-lite, so for readers who aren’t normally fans of fantasy or who want to dip their toes into the genre, this might make a nice entry point. It’s got all the flavor of a fantasy without any complex world building. Darien and Tag are also sweet enough characters, both well-meaning and genuine. So there are no anti-heroes or or overly complex moral dilemmas here, if you like your romances simpler and more straightforward.

Unfortunately, The Prince’s Heart didn’t work for me. I felt Darien and Tag had no chemistry. Their affection for one another is borderline insta-love and never shows much development or evolution. While we’re told they’re desperately in love with one another, I never actually believed it and didn’t feel any real depth of emotion between them. As characters, they are rather flat and lifeless, especially Tag, who had very little dimension, which only added to the lack of romance between them.

The story is simple and doesn’t have any real tension or multi-layering. The villain and his actions are obvious from the start and the characters telegraph their actions in such a way there is no sense of anticipation or meaningful tension. As a result, the book was boring to read and I was never fully engaged with either it or the characters. The writing style was equally frustrating and, more than anything else, this took me out of the moment when I was trying to read The Prince’s Heart. The writing itself is okay, but an awkward use of present tense, along with the usage of modern anachronisms, was so jarring that I found the book rather unpleasant to read.

On the whole, I struggled with The Prince’s Heart and did not enjoy it as either a fantasy or a romance. The storyline and characters were too simple and lacking in depth and, when combined with a somewhat jagged writing style, I was never able to find my groove with this one. I applaud the author’s efforts and I’m sure there are plenty of readers who will find something to enjoy here, but it did not work for me.

A queer romantasy set in the realm of Soeria, Prince Darien seeks a suitable match but is hoping to find someone who actually loves him instead of someone who wants to be with him because he is a prince. He believes he may have finally found his person when he meets Tag and is hopeful they will be allowed to court since he is not next in line for the throne. Then an unspeakable tragedy happens which changes everything and forces Darien to choose between duty and love. This book started out strong and I really loved it at first, but in the end it fell a bit flat for me. I was definitely caught off guard by a few early dramatic twists I did not see coming but after that, I think some of the plot developments were a bit obvious to me. I kept expecting more major twists to develop that would surprise me but it essentially played out as I expected it might. It also felt like Darien found love a little too quickly with not much tension or build up. I would have liked to see more character and relationship development between Darien and Tag. I did enjoy the world of Soeria and the dynamics of the kingdom and throne. I love the premise and characters but felt they needed more development in order to connect with them. Overall it was still a fun story and I am glad I read it! Thank you to NetGalley, Ben Chalfin, and Rising Action Publishing for the gifted ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

The queer love story was sweet, but the execution of it was lacking. Unfortunately, the writing style of this book was not for me. Also, the insta-love trope was a detractor as well.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I am glad I am not alone in my feelings based on reviews of this... It had no fantasy to the Romantsy, spite it being described as such. Twists and turns were there for the plot, characters enjoyable, a sweet and fun love story with a cover that is just perfect! I did not love this book but I also did not hate it. It was enjoyable and compares to Red White and Royal Blue (which I love) if you're a fan of that!

This story is told in first person by Darien, the second son of the Kingdom of Soeria. Darien’s brother, Samis, first in line to be king was allowed to marry for love and Darien believes that he will be able to persuade his parents to allow him to do the same one day when he’s ready. Just as he finds romantic interest in Tag, the brother of his friend Riella, his father announces that he is considering a political marriage that would bring a treaty between their kingdom and an adjacent powerful kingdom and that his potential husband is on the way for an introduction.

I had mixed thoughts about this story. I found Darien to be a little too naïve and acquiescent to plausibly handle the positions that he is put in during this tale. He often delayed his decisions until it was taken out of his hands or let others make decisions for him, which didn’t lead to satisfactory character development by the conclusion. The romance was a little too sweet and easy for my taste, and the villain too obvious. I did enjoy several other characters in the story, especially his siblings and friends. Despite a twist in the middle that did grab my attention, I ultimately found the overall story disappointing.

Limited recommendation to readers that enjoy court intrigue and aren’t looking for an angsty romance or a complex fantasy world.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rising Action Publishing for a copy provided for an honest review.

"The Princes Heart" by Ben Chalfin is a romantasy novel that highly focuses on the romance part, and leaves the fantasy side to the background. Whenever we discuss romantasy, people differ in their opinions and preferences, so it's best to set the expectations properly to make sure a book is given a far chance.

Darien is the second son of the king of Soeria, beloved by all, but still confused about what his desires will lead him. He rejected all possible theories of a match, until he meets Tag Leara, and instant connection is made. However, Darien is thrown into the kingdom's politics, and he will have to decide what the best path to follow will be.

Darien and Tag's romance builds fast, so if you're a fan of yearning and slow-burn, look elsewhere and you won' be disappointed. The characters are pleasant and fun to read about, but the story lacks emotional depth and a solid structure, not predicable.
I think Chalfin has potential, but I'd love to see queer romantasy novels with more substance to them.

3 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

Publishers Stop Comparing All MLM Books to RWRB, Impossible Mode

I feel like this could have been a great book if the "villain plot" wasn't so predictable and boring. After the reveal, it felt like every single character became a caricature and I couldn't take it seriously afterwards. Especially the cannon part. Like. Ok.

The instalove was a little heavy-handed, but I'll give it to the author for trying. I'm not a fan of the idea, but sometimes it works. It didn't so much in this one, I feel like these two will need to have some actual conversations.

I had high hopes for this one, but "I'll marry you, even though I hate you" killed all momentum for me. My MMC, please just go to your goddamn council. Even if they don't believe you, fucking tell someone. My god.

Even though the plot felt very predictable, I couldn't put the book down.
Loveable characters all around and a very determined prince. The very adorable romance of the plot, I couldn't get enough and the main murders of the plot, there wasn't enough. But I really liked the pace of the story and the dialogues.
I would really wish to read more from the author!

In the kingdom of Soeria, Prince Darien is content with his role as the second son of a relatively young royal dynasty. He despairs of ever finding a partner who will love him for who he is rather than his title. Just when he does meet his match in a friend's younger brother, tragedy strikes and fate intervenes to keep the young lovers apart. Can Darien and his new found love be together or will he be forced to chose duty instead?

Although I had a good time reading this book, I feel it needed more rewrites before publication. It is advertised as a queer romance but I definitely found it more of a family/political thriller. The main love story takes a back seat to other plot lines and our love interest, Tag, receives very little flushing out. He is rather flat and the reader never learns anything about him. He also annoyed me by the end of the book as he kept flip flopping back and forth about whether or not he wanted to be with Darien. It got old after a while.

Unfortunately, our antagonist, Arbois, suffered from lack of development as well. He was cartoonishly evil and had no motive for his actions beyond being power hungry. He telegraphed his goals from his first introduction so it was incredibly frustrating that Darien couldn't figure it out when I as a reader picked it up instantly.

Despite this, the strengths of the book were Darien and his relationship with his family. Darien was a great and likeable main character. (He has a deaf horse, who wouldn't love that?) Again, the side characters felt flat but I did enjoy their interactions with Darien.

All in all this was a quick and mediocre read. It didn't light my world on fire but it wasn't bad.

Reviews going live on Fable, Goodreads, Storygraph and Tik tok on 2/21.

The story opens with Darien, a lonely prince who wishes to find someone who loves him for who he is and not his title. His brother tries setting him up with men hoping to help him find "the one" but most seem more interested in marrying into the royal family than who Darien is as a person. This changes when he meets Tag, the son of his mother's friend who has just arrived at the palace for an extended stay.

The story is set in a light fantasy world with no magic so it reads more like a historical romance than a romantasy. Soeria is queer normative but outside of that and some history of the kingdom and its neighbors, we're not told much else about the world it is set in.

The romance at the center of the story is very sweet. I wouldn't describe them as a slow burn, as the official description does. In fact, I think they are better described as love at first sight. There is some time spent with Darien wondering if his feelings are reciprocated but there's no substantial yearning or angst that you'd expect from a slow burn. Some problems arise after the start of their relationship that put their bond to the test but the two get together early in the book.

The characters are likable but most feel a little flat. Even Darien, our sole point-of-view, isn't as developed as I wanted him to be. The book had so many supporting characters that all of the characters ended up suffering a little. There's one fairly major character whose only personality trait is that she likes knives and fashion. Darien also reads as much younger than he actually is to me. He's said to be 25 but his inner thoughts and behavior seem too immature for that age. If he'd been written as an 18-year-old, his story could have been a more impactful and believable "coming of age" tale.

The plot takes some time to really start moving but once it does it's an interesting mystery with high stakes and some big, surprising moments.

The Prince's Heart is a story about duty vs love. It's a sweet love story but I think it could have benefited from more editing. The author has a lot of potential but this needed more in-depth and mature character exploration to be fully successful for me. Still, it's a fun and fast read with interesting political intrigue and a cute romance.

I was eager to read The Prince's Heart, a gay romance that was full of love, duty, and court intrigue. Although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting from the book description, I still enjoyed it. There wasn’t as much fantasy element to it as I was expecting and it felt more romance than romantasy, but I also didn’t mind that.

If you want a nice, light and fluffy LGBTQ+ romance, I think you’ll enjoy this. I liked our main character Darien and I was also rooting for his romance with Tag to be successful. While their connection and the worldbuilding could have had more depth, it was still an enjoyable read.

I was looking forward to reading this book and overall I would say that I liked it. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting and there were parts I felt could’ve been developed more. I think the author tried to do too much for a book of less than 300 pages which resulted in it feeling incomplete. I think there was a good premise here, but was lost slightly in the execution.

I wanted to like this book because on paper, it's everything I want in a book. It's queer, it has fantasy, and it has romance. But the voice in the writing drove me up a wall, which might just be a personal problem but it felt a little clunky and forced, if I had to pick a word to describe it. Things didn't flow like I wanted them to.

I am also not a fan of love at first sight and what not as a trope. I find that it's not particularly compelling and this wasn't really an exception to that. As a whole, it felt like an awkward book to read, and it felt somehow rushed and not fully fleshed out and it really just left me wanting more.

This was archived before I was able to review, thank you for the opportunity to review this though. I look forward to being able to review more from your company, thank you for continuing to publish LGBT+ stories.

I would like to start out by saying thank you to netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book.

The Prince's Heart was stated to be a Romantasy, but I'm going be honest it's definitely a romance but not much of a fantasy beside the idea of kingdoms amd monarchy. That was not a super big deal to me, but in case anyone was expecting fantasy to be a big part of this then this book might not be for you. When I first saw it, I thought it sounded pretty good and I personally love reading romance books, but the romance in this was not for me. I'm occasionally okay with love at first sight, but I was not a fan of how this was written. It takes the MC not even a couple pages to be in love with the LI and vice verse. The MC is a little superficial. There is little to no build up. I geniunely dont know why they even like each other. I also disliked the LI flip flopping between whether or not he wants to be with the MC, like just commit. That was my biggest urk in this book because the romance I usually read, they are hardcore ride or die. Not that either of them had a reason to be ride or die, since they barely knew each other.

I felt like this book had no depth to it and definitely needed something more to it. I need to connect with atleast one of the characters to fully enjoy a book. I felt like we knew almost nothing about any of the characters including the two MCs. It gave me no attachment to them or their relationship what so ever.

The writing was okay, but overall a very slow read for me. I had to read it a little at a time because it did not capture my attention at all. It was pretty straight forward and predictable. This is all my personal opinions and I dont really recommend it, but this might appeal to someone who enjoys short fairy tale romance stories with a hint of fantasy & political angst.

2.5/3 stars.

This wasn't the worst book ever... Just wasn't the best either. The plot wasn't anything special but I wasn't too bothered by it because I care more for the characters anyway... Except the characters weren't anything special either. At times, I even found the two main characters annoying. When we met the love interest, I thought to myself, "surely they're not the ones getting together?" because I just did not feel the chemistry. At all. I waited and waited and waited and waited. And waited. Until I was at the very last page where I was just over them both because, like... I did not cheer for them to get together at all. I could not care less if they break up or not, Which should not be what I'm feeling considering the tension of "will he choosy duty over love?" was the main theme of this book.

In short, this was simply a forgettable book for me.