Naledi (Ledi) Smith has been on her own for most of her life, bounced around in foster care after her parents were killed in a car crash. Now she's a grad student with multiple jobs and a supposedly upcoming epidemiology internship that she still hasn't been contacted about. The spam emails she keeps getting that say she's betrothed to a Prince Thabiso from some country called Thesolo do not amuse her.

As it turns out, the emails aren't spam. Prince Thabiso has been looking for his betrothed for years. He hopes to find her and either bring her back to Thesolo or finally convince himself that they aren't soulmates the way he'd been told as a child they were. His assistant, Likotsi, tracks her down, but their first meeting doesn't go anything like Thabiso expected it would. Ledi mistakes him for a new waiter named Jamal, and rather than clear up the misunderstanding, Thabiso decides to just go with it. He'll get to see how Ledi behaves around him when she's unaware that he's royalty, and being a waiter can't be that hard, right? (Ha!)

I pre-ordered this because both the cover and publisher's description made it look cute and fun. A contemporary romance in which an ordinary woman learns she's actually a princess sounded like it'd be right up my alley.

The setup was excellent, and the sample "spam" emails made me laugh. I loved Ledi, who was afraid to let her guard down and who worked so hard and was still worried that none of it would be enough. She relaxed her guard around Thabiso a bit more quickly than I would have expected, although that could have been due to the way he subconsciously reminded her of things from her childhood.

Plus, Thabiso had some great moments. He listened to and remembered the things she said. Because he knew she was always taking care of herself and everyone else, he tried to set up times that were solely about her and taking care of her. The bit with the grilled cheese sandwiches was cute (although the way the next chapter started made me think he'd accidentally burned the apartment down).

I winced every time he put off telling Ledi the truth, although I could usually understand his reasons for doing so. There was one scene that really bothered me, though. He arrived at Ledi's apartment, fully intending to tell her the truth, only to have her start kissing him. He wasn't so overwhelmed by her kisses that he couldn't think - he actually did slow things down enough that he could have stopped everything and told her right then. Instead, they had sex, he worried that she'd call him Jamal, and he figured he'd tell her sometime after they were done. It made it seem like he cared more about having sex than he did about Ledi.

This part upset me so much that I spent the rest of the book mentally rewriting it. I came up with a couple alternatives that would have still led to Ledi being hurt and angry enough for the rest of the book to happen, but would have made Thabiso a little less horrible. Unfortunately, the scene happened the way it happened. Cole dealt with it by having Thabiso make Ledi an offer she couldn't refuse, something that would force her to spend enough time with him that she'd eventually soften towards him and forgive him. She did, of course, and I could understand why, for the most part. Unfortunately, I never quite forgave him.

Although I was upset with Thabiso in the second half of the book, I still really loved the "royal life" scenes. Ledi's trip to the airport, in particular, was great. I loved her meetings with family members - I wonder if Nya will ever get her own book? - and I was glad that Thabiso defended Ledi whenever his mother started to act horrible.

For the most part, this was a really good book. It would have been an excellent one if it hadn't been for the last "trying (but not really) to tell her the truth" scene, which unfortunately slightly soured the rest of the book. Oh, and one little slightly spoiler-y complaint: why did Ledi, who should have known better,

I'm going to wait and see what reviews say about the next book before deciding whether to get it. I'm iffy about Portia, Ledi's friend and the next book's heroine. Almost every time Portia was mentioned, Ledi worried about the amount she drank and whether spending time with her would mean more work and anxiety than relaxation. A Princess in Theory ended with her in therapy and hopefully drinking less, but I'm still wary. Meanwhile, I'm crossing my fingers for a future book starring Likotsi, Thabiso's well-dressed lesbian assistant.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Cheng Liu is a hot shot young Chinese professional. He’s tall, polished, assertive, sexy, ambitious, good looking and used to speaking up and getting what he wants. So when he sees beautiful and equally poised, but shy and reserved African-American professional Angela Hawkins, he knows that opposites definitely attract in this case. He simply must go introduce himself to her and maybe even seduce her in the process…

Two young adult workaholic professionals share one steamy, pleasurable night together in Hong Kong. Yet can their short, passionate one night affair turn into a lifetime of love, happiness and companionship? Can their AMBW (Asian Man Black Woman), lemon and chocolate swirl decadence, creamy, sultry, rich, sweet, tangy and indulgent romance survive a seemingly betrayed promise?

Review

This wasn't a terrible read by any means. It was simply flat and failed to shine. The plot is a very well traveled one. One night stand. Lost number. Reunited. Child.

It is set again an more international background though the ages of the characters are a bit too young for the kind of success they had. The heroine is engaged when the hero happens to find her.

The interracial piece has promise with an Asian hero and an African American heroine which is why I picked up the book but while it is thought about it doesn't really impact the characters or the plot in any real way.

The main issue is all the telling vs showing that goes on.

I will check out another book by this writer to see if things are improving, however.

Riley Gold is on the run. Her ex-boyfriend has been stalking her for the last year and she can’t get out of Dodge, Oregon fast enough. However, she should have planned her escape better, and maybe she wouldn’t have ended up caught in a rainstorm, in the dead of night with a flat tire. Trapped in the woods and miles away from the next town, Riley sets off on foot to a large cabin home for help and refuge for the night. Is it just her imagination or is someone…or something following her? 

With the First Moon Festival on its way and pheromones saturating the air, Theo Kodiak is a sniff away from going feral. As the father of two boys, it doesn’t leave him a lot of time to find a companion to help raise them. Low and behold, fate shines down on him and presents a sensuous woman at his door. Riley is cold, scared and in danger, but she just maybe exactly what he needs in his life. The erotic attraction between them can’t be evaded and soon they are swept under a tidal wave of euphoria. 

When a threat from both their past jeopardizes everything that is important, Riley and Theo find themselves united and a force to be reckoned with. However, something else may stand in the way of this Were-bear getting his gold.

Review

Oh, this is a fun bon bon of a Bear Shifter Romance! Yum, Yum, Honey!

I adore bear shifters so I am not that hard to please but our hero is a wonderful father and a great big hot handsome bear of a man. He has twin sons and they are fun characters.

Our heroine is moving back home to out run a stalker ish ex boyfriend. There is a storm. She crashes into a tree near a remote shifter town and bam! she finds a bear shifter's cabin...like you do in Romanceland. If I want a bear shifter of my own, then I am going to have to drive to the back of beyond in the woods and ram my Honda Fit rudely into some foliage apparently. Luckily, I found my bear a long time ago and don't to need to wander around aimlessly hitting innocent trees with my car in the rain. My insurance agent is disappointed.

Anyhow! The couple has mad mating heat going on. They fight it because of the human/bear thing. She doesn't know he is a bear though.

Things work out without to much drama. There are good twists along the way. I like this couple, the kids, and love the town. Bon Bon.

There are lots of little great jokes in here. This is a bear shifter town and everyone has bearish names and loves honey. I think there should have been more berries. Bear culture is well developed. I roll around in that stuff like clover.

Our heroine is an African American BBW and our hero is paler but that aspect of the book is handled with a light touch. This is good but it could have been a little more seamless. It is awkwardly threaded in.

I look forward to visiting this town again!

Buy it on Amazon!