With the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry about to become a reality, I’ve rediscovered my love of all things royal–especially when it comes to reading. I devoured The Royal We. I inhaled My Lady Jane and Kiara Cass’ Selection series too. And of course I ate up every last Princess Diaries book that there was. I might pretend like I’m a girl who cares little about girly things, but give me a story about royalty and I can’t ignore it. So when I got the chance to read Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm, I snapped it up faster than you can say “the Queen’s corgis are darn cute.”
Like The Royal We, Prince in Disguise is a light-hearted romance, with the exception being that it is a YA title. Dylan, the non-girly, “ordinary” sister of Dusty, who is marrying a Scottish “laird-to-be” on a reality TV show called Prince in Disguise, Dylan is dragged off to Scotland too for “the wedding of the year.” Although she is in no way excited about this trip, Dylan ends up meeting a cute, funny groomsman named Jamie who might just be more than he appears…
Reality Doesn’t Always Bite
I’ll admit that like the Selection series, I was hooked by the reality TV angle. Even though I’ll deny it forever, watching The Bachelor is a guilty pleasure of mine and this book fit right into that niche. I think it’s the “classic pretty girl who thinks she is ugly finds unwanted fame + handsome dork that draws me in every time. In Prince in Disguise, it was exciting to follow Dylan as she and Jamie tried to escape the cameramen that followed them relentlessly while their romance slowly unfolded.
Royal is Always In
Let’s be honest here. Attractive, available Princes are always in season. Am I right? Although it isn’t quite so obvious to Dylan that Jamie is a Prince as it is for the reader, it was fun watching her get to know him (while also imagining what it would be like to get to know a Prince a little better). While the snappy prose and fast-paced dialogue made Prince in Disguise a quick and enjoyable read, the plot was also well-done. It didn’t matter that I knew Jamie was a Prince right away, because it was so entertaining to see Dylan fumble through their encounters. In fact, I think it made it funnier, because she was so unaware of her real situation (and also a little bit sweeter when she learned the truth about Jamie).
The Final Word
We declare Prince in Disguise to be fun, fresh and an excellent way to satisfy all of your Royal cravings. If you’re looking for something to fill that Royal Wedding void once the Prince Harry/Meghan Markle wedding is over, pick up a copy of Prince in Disguise and you won’t be disappointed.
The Novel Shrink 