A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals

Shockingly, Alyssa Cole is a new-to-me author, but now that I've read this book I can assure you that she's been bumped to the top of my auto-buy list. I already know I'll devour anything she writes. As for "A Princess in Theory"? I'm not even sure I have the words to list all of the things I adored about this story, but I'll try. First, I loved Ledi's irresistible combination of genius and cool. Ms. Cole never minimizes how smart this woman is, but instead of taking the easy and common route of making that a negative, Cole deftly turns it into one of Ledi's many admirable qualities. What's more, she allows Ledi to own it. This character knows her worth. She has doubts and uncertainties by the boxload, but she also has boundaries, and she sticks to them. I loved her wryness, and her bravery, and her loyalty, and her vulnerability. I *died* of happiness every time she muttered, "This motherf*cker" under her breath. lol Next, I especially loved that Ms. Cole gave this character a hero that was worthy of her. Thabiso is spoiled, yes - but he's not rotten. He appreciates the things that make Ledi unique, and time and time again he stands up and fights for her right to be herself. He also fights for *his* right to be himself, and the ways he does that take him far afield of a cookie-cutter prince and directly into the territory of a swoon-worthy man who might just save the world. These two are perfect for each other, and their chemistry is delectable. Speaking of which, one…

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…