This is a story told in two parts - there's the Before and there's the After. Epidemiology-student-by-day waitress-by-night Naledi meets a gorgeous man who is the worst waiter she's ever had to train and who incidentally moves in across the hall from her. She's drawn to him in ways she doesn't fully understand and he gets past her defenses in ways she's never allowed with anyone else. Their courtship feels like a dream and Jamal seems too good to be true... So of course he is.
Jamal turns out to be Thabiso, Prince of Thesolo and her long lost betrothed. He's traveled all the way to the States to find the girl chosen for him when they were children and taken from him by her traitorous parents not long after their childhood betrothal. The first half of the book is a boy-meets-girl "Coming to America"-esque romcom while the second half is a "Black Panther" meets "Princess Diaries" second chance romance. Personally, I much preferred the second half.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I love Ledi! She's brilliant and driven and has a love for science that consumes her. Being a woman in STEM, especially a Black woman, she has to work 10 times as hard as her white male colleagues to get half the respect and has to deal with constant microaggressions from her supervisor. She's out to save the world because of a drive inside her to do good and because it's what she believes is right. Ledi is a gem of a human being, but she's far from perfect, which makes her all the more compelling to read. Ledi's parents were killed in an accident when she was too young to remember much of them. She was orphaned and turned over to the state and spent her entire childhood moving from one home to the next. Because of her childhood spent being shuttled from foster family to foster family, Ledi (understandably) does not let people in easily and never asks for help because she has always had only herself to rely on. Even her friendships are arms length, relationships she understands are conditional - if she pushes too hard or asks for too much or stops "being useful," Ledi knows how easily people have always walked away from her. Ledi has had a life of never being chosen, of people constantly leaving her or sending her away so she never allows connections that "stick." Until Jamal. Something about him feels familiar to Ledi from the moment she meets him - he feels safe and profoundly dangerous to her all at once because she knows he could be the one who might actually stay. Which is where my problems start.
Thabiso (aka "Jamal") is a liar. He meets Ledi and through a misunderstanding, takes the place of Jamal as a new hire at Ledi's second job as a waitress. Cute shenanigans ensue wherein this spoiled prince actually has to do manual labor for the first time in his life and he starts to realize how self-centered and pampered he's been. Of course, the night ends in literal flames (he's a TERRIBLE waiter) and Thabiso demeans both Ledi and her job out of a bruised ego. From there, instead of telling Ledi who he actually is (and who SHE is), the prince buys out her neighbor's apartment so he can move in across the hall from her, and spends the next 100 or so pages lying, stalking, taking advantage of this woman. At every turn, his assistant and best friend Likotsi tells Thabiso that what he's doing is reprehensible but he doesn't listen. Even when the grandparents that Ledi does't know exist fall ill back home, Thabiso STILL can't manage to tell Ledi the truth. We're meant to see that he WANTS to tell Ledi but he can't because he likes her so much and he's afraid he'll scare her away - well, tough! He sleeps with her under false pretenses while lying about his identity. That's about as scummy as it gets. The courtship between "Jamal" and Naledi would be cute and romantic (Ledi opens up bit by bit and slowly starts to trust her feelings for Jamal) if it weren't for all the lying. At one point, Thabiso and Likotsi refer to both their love interests in the States as their "American conquests" and that about sums up my feelings about the American portion of this book. Prince Thabiso cares more about getting what he wants than he does about telling Naledi the truth about who she is, where she came from, and the country and family she lost. Ledi is an orphan who cannot remember the only home or family she ever had because she was so young when she lost them and has spent her entire life facing rejection after rejection from families who couldn't manage to want her. Thabiso, upon finding out about the painful past lived by the woman he supposedly cares for, continues to withhold Ledi's true identity from her for the sake of "getting to know her" while making it impossible for her to know him. And, ya know, gets her into bed along the way. Everything finally comes to a head when Naledi finds out for herself who "Jamal" really is and is rightfully hurt and humiliated. Which leads us to the After.
After Naledi finds out she's a princess, she and Thabiso come to an agreement about faking their engagement for the sake of Thesolo and Ledi's career (and her finally being able to meet what's left of her family) and the whole book changes. Everything is finally out in the open, Ledi knows who Prince Thabiso is, and more importantly she knows who she is. She travels to Thesolo to try and help fight the pandemic that has swept through her grandparents' village and try and save her grandparents in the process. I'm not a huge fan of the fake relationship trope, but seeing as how royals have arranged (loveless) engagements all the time, this one wasn't really all that fake. Naledi and Thabiso are truly engaged and have to deal with the realities of their engagement. I LOVED Ledi meeting her cousin Nya - finally seeing your face reflected in the face of a blood relative after years of being an orphan? Someone pass the tissues, please! Ledi learning all about her parents' homeland after a life spent as an American? PUT IT DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS. The kingdom of Thesolo is a magical, technologically advanced paradise and I WANT TO GO TO THERE. Everything wrong with Thabiso in the first half of the book is immediately fixed in the second half - he's remorseful and communicative, giving Ledi everything she needs including space. He doesn't make excuses for his bad behavior and repeats his apologies and reassurances to Ledi as many times as she needs in order to finally believe him and start to trust him again. He prioritizes LEDI'S wants and needs instead of his own and THAT is the Thabiso I wish we had met earlier in the book.
Everything in the second half of the book moves a little too fast - big things are brought up so late in the game that I had to double check how many pages were left. Issues that get brought up are resolved pretty abruptly, almost like Alyssa Cole was in a rush to make a deadline and I found myself looking for missing chapters or an epilogue that wasn't there.
Aside from my issues with the love interest in the first half of the book and my wish that the ending had been a bit more fleshed out, my love for the main character really made this book an enjoyable read. Ledi's journey from closed-off orphan to recovered princess, her reacquainting herself with her lost country and people, and her realization that she doesn't have to make herself small and useful in order to keep people from rejecting her kept me engaged the whole book even through my issues with the love interest and the rushed ending. I look forward to seeing more of Ledi (and her bestie) in the next book in the series.
Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery
A Princess in Theory: Rel... has been added to your Cart
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
|
Library Binding, Large Print
"Please retry" | — | $36.46 |
|
Audio CD, MP3 Audio, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $25.99 | $11.00 |
- Read with Our Free App
-
Audiobook
$0.00 - 3 Used from $36.46
- 77 Used from $1.16 27 New from $4.98
- 1 Used from $11.00 2 New from $25.99
A joyous celebration of the sights and sounds of daybreak and that special feeling a brother and sister have when they get to experience it together. | Learn more
Frequently bought together
$5.98
Get it as soon as Monday, May 22
In Stock.
+
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
What do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
This book was a very enjoyable read - and it was a real-life fairy tale! Prince Thabiso of Thesolo and Naledi Smith were betrothed as children, before Naledi's parents fled Thesolo for New York City. Naledi grew up in foster care and has worked hard to earn her way into grad school for epidemiology.Thabiso has had his assistant track down his long-lost fiancee, and when they find she's in New York, where he has to be for business meetings, he decides to confront her. However, when they meet she thinks he's an employee and has no idea who she really is.Cole does an excellent job exploring a lot of pretty heavy topics, from Naledi's fear of making herself vulnerable and how that impacts her relationships, to Thabiso's life of privilege. Their romance is sweet, and feels organic.Would recommend!!
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Jess Gofton
Fun, but disappointing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 17, 2020Ryan Phillips
A Fun and Well Written Romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 7, 2020Kirsty McGhie
The Diverse Royal Romance You've Been Looking For
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 23, 2018Verity Reads Books (a lot of them)
A fun twist on the Prince in Disguise trope that pretty much lives up to the (enormous) hype
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 13, 2018
