This is a sweet book. A Norwegian prince decide to attend an American college to gain some semblance of a normal life experience. As a star soccer player he butts head with the prickly team captain who has a huge chip on his shoulder about money. The writing was a little rough at points and the pacing of the relationship was strange but I liked the overall story and I look forward to more in the series.

3,25* Very cute, fun story but quite predictable.

(Firstly, why did the guys on the cover switch hair colours? (I like it when the cover matches the content of the book.)

I don't really know what to say about this book. Everything is as you can imagine seeing this title and cover. There's The Prince (Tore, fourth in line to the Norwegian throne) and The Player (Farron, he plays football, not people) and they have nothing in common, except for the fact that they love football (football not soccer, I'm with Tore on this one). Tore wants to taste normal life, so he goes undercover to an American college where Farron is the captain of the football team. And Farron hates him instantly because he looks and acts rich. But, of course, they have a lot of chemistry, and you know what happens next ;)

What annoyed me in this book was the lack of a plot. Our main characters just argue and make up throughout the whole book. It made the book go fast, but it also makes it quite forgetable.

I also have some issues with the backstories and the behaviour of the characters, like Tore's father changing at the end of the book, or Tore's speech about rich people helping the world (srsly using Bill Gates as an example...).

Overall, it's a quick, fun read but don't expect too much from it.

If you enjoy sports romance, rivals to lovers and mm romance then this book is for you.

I've not read the author before but I really liked the characters, the story and how it flowed.

It was easy to read and care about what happens to the characters.

A college sports romance, royalty/commoner, grumpy/sunshine, enemies-to-lovers romcom. Easy to read, enjoyable, funny, with some spice (not a lot but not too little either), and with actual soccer scenes in it.

There's nothing particularly unique about Tore and Farron's story - or their characters - that I haven't read from other books before or already seen in movies and shows, but this book is still refreshing in its own way. And Tore and Farron has their own lovable and believable personalities.

With stories like this, it's just satisfying reading the main characters choose and figure out how to stay together despite everything getting in their way.

This book was an adorable sunshine/grumpy, enemies to lovers romcom. I'm a big fan of royal romance so this book was perfect in that sense. Like many said, it did feel like the romance was a bit rushed and could have been more drawn out. As an enemies to lovers trope, you kind of expect the drawn out relationship aspect., that's half the fun.

I feel like with the premise of the book, title, and cover art, readers of Red White and Royal Blue will be drawn to this. It's not completely a readalike for RWARB but it's still adorable for lovers of the royal romance subgenre.

This book is a cute mix of teammates to lovers with secret identity! Loved Farron and Tore and am excited for the rest of the books in the series - where we can follow the Royals on their Prince Pact!

Tore is a Prince of Norway, and at an event with multiple Royal families, he talks with her Prince friends from other countries about how sometimes they wish they could experience life without their title - what would life be like for them? Tore had to turn down a chance to play football because of his responsibilities, so when the opportunity arises that he can join a college soccer team, he can experience life at an American college for a year.

Hawley University in Ohio is the school Tore ends up at. When he joins the soccer team, he meets the captain, Farron Casey, who immediately takes a disliking to him. Even without knowing Tore is a Prince, Farron knows they come from different lives. Farron has worked for everything he has - he helps support his family while in school and playing soccer, just to keep them afloat. He immediately clocks Tore as a rich, spoiled kid and wants nothing to do with him.

The dislike gets stronger and stronger until they physically clash, and they have to figure out what this means. After all, they're both straight. Right?

I think this book handled the dislike to love in a believable way so that it wasn't an overnight change and we were able to actually experience the feelings develop.

This was enjoyable and I do recommend for anyone who likes dislike to love, teammates, class difference (& discussions/thoughts around that), hookup to lovers, and secret identity (especially of royals!)

What a fun read this was..

Other than the fact that I thought it went from hate to love way too quickly, I quite enjoyed my reading of this book.

It was nice to see that the characters did not mind being gay or bi at all and no homophobia happened, refreshing.

I was really rooting for the main characters by the end and I would've loved a few more chapters to develop their relationship more.

Overall I'd recommend it for people looking for a quick read, nice romance.,

4⭐️ This was such a cute book. I’m a sucker for a royal romance novel, and this one was a fun quick easy read!

This is SUCH A FUN M/M, Sunshine/Grumpy romance read.

Tore, a Norwegian prince, enrolls in an American college with the goal of being out of the spotlight and living like a normal person. His bubbly and positive personality and serious skill on the soccer field immediately gets under the skin of Farron. Farron grew up poor and is just trying to focus on school, soccer and providing for his family where he can. Tore disrupts his plans and Farron immediately judges him as a spoiled rich boy.

Guys. This is such a fun read with great character building, well written scenes that are believable and a satisfying ending with a bow. Highly recommend.

Spice: 2.8/5
Readability: 5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC. I flew through it in one sitting! It read like Red, White & Royal Blue fanfic, which is fine by me.

Nitpick: The illustration on the book cover is annoyingly inaccurate. The prince should be blonde, and the soccer team’s colors are blue and yellow. It shouldn’t be difficult to get basic colors correct.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

This MM romance follows Tore, a Norwegian student who has decided to spend a year in the USA, and Farron, who is the captain of his college soccer team. Tore is in fact the Prince of Norway, but intends to keep that to himself. When Tore joins the team, he and Farron seem to dislike each other, until an unexpected kiss marks the beginning of an important journey for them both.

This book made me smile, as I found both Tore and Farron to be quite funny, and endearing as well. I also found it funny that in the beginning, they didn't seem to get along very well. They had interesting chemistry, and I was keen to see how they might develop as characters later on.

I found it quite heartwarming to follow Tore and Farron’s journey. Love and attraction are complicated, they are not easy to explain, and not everything needs an explanation. I think their story speaks to the fact, and it's a reminder that sometimes, the best things in life are unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t for me I found the pacing to be off and just didn’t find the characters to be particularly unique or compelling. They were also so young and felt young. I probably would have enjoyed this more if I was a bit younger.

4 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Nora Phoenix for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts! This was my first read from Nora Phoenix and I can easily say it will not be my last, especially upon hearing this is planned to become a series 👀 It took a little while for me to get into the book at first but once I did, I could not put it down until I was done with it. The last half of the book had me sitting on the edge of my seat!



Tropes:
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Opposites attract
- College soccer x undercover prince
- Enemies to lovers

3.5⭐
Genre ~ MM sports romance
Series ~ Prince Pact #1
Setting ~ Ohio
Publication date ~ March 25, 2025
Publisher ~ Boldwood Books
Est Page Count ~ 282 (p+ 30 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 8 hours 4 minutes
Narrators ~ Charlie Klæboe Svensson, Barclay Craig
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ double bi~awakening, lots of soccer, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, enemies to lovers, some steamage

Tore & Farron
Tore has left Norway to go to university in the states. He wants to stay incognito and doesn’t tell anyone that he’s a Prince and 4th in line to the throne. He’s really excited to play soccer and learn about a different culture than he’s used to. He wasn’t expecting to get the evil eye from a certain teammate over and over again for no reason.

Farron is the captain of the soccer team and isn’t too thrilled to have a new foreign rich boy on his team. It’s a classic case of a poor boy judging a book by its fancy cover without seeing what's inside first. Assume could be his middle name. This made it take quite a while for me to warm up to him. However, I did love how committed he was to his family. I loved the Thanksgiving chapter and how Tore was welcomed with open arms and truly seemed like he enjoyed spending time with them.

Overall, I definitely had to picture these two as adults and not college age, but I felt their awakening was realistic. The epilogue was a nice look into what's happening in 3 years.

Cover gripe ~ Farron is on the left and Tore is on the right. Tore is blonde and Farror is dark haired.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the above info for reference. I am happy to see there are 2 narrator being both characters are male.

I really wanted to love this book—I thought it would be exactly my kind of story. The premise definitely had potential and is usually something I enjoy. Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite work for me.

The story felt a bit rushed, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. The "enemies to lovers" trope didn’t come across as very believable; the tension between the characters felt forced and exaggerated, rather than organic. The overall plot seemed a bit flat, and the dialogues were quite cliché at times.

That said, I do think The Prince and the Player could be a good fit for readers who are new to the MM romance genre or are simply looking for a light, escapist read. But for someone who reads more regularly in this genre, the story doesn’t offer anything particularly new or memorable.

The writing is sharp, with plenty of humor and just the right amount of angst. Phoenix balances the lighthearted moments with more serious themes—identity, expectations, and the fear of being truly seen. And while the secret identity trope adds an extra layer of drama, the reveal is handled well without feeling overly dramatic or unrealistic.

If you love MM romance with great character dynamics, sizzling tension, and a touch of royalty, The Prince and the Player is a must-read. The only reason it’s not a full 5 stars for me is that some of the conflicts wrap up a little too neatly, but overall, it's a fantastic start to the Prince Pact series.

A charming and addictive romance filled with heart, humor, and heat. Definitely worth picking up!

Started: 24 March 25
Finished: 24 March 25

Rivals to lovers? Sign me up!

The Prince & Me (2004) but make it MM. I loved this novel a lot. You have the hidden identity, rival at first sight, friends with benefits to falling for each other and hidden identity resulting in a misunderstanding. You can’t go wrong.

Great characters, wonderful friendships and really nice buildup between the two main characters with a little added spice.

Really enjoyed this authors work and the flow to this novel was great, it kept me hooked from start to finish.

Being a prince may seem like a fairytale, but to me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. That’s why I’m excited when I get permission from my uncle—the king of Norway—to go undercover as a student at an American college for a year. And I’m even more ecstatic to be selected for their football team. Soccer, I mean. The only problem? Farron, the team captain, dislikes me on sight. Determined to win him over, I start a charm offensive, but nothing works. He only hates me more.

Until the animosity comes to an explosive release…and we end up kissing each other. How did that happen when neither of us has ever been attracted to a guy before? Farron wants to let it run its course and get it out of our system, but I doubt that’ll work. I’m falling for him hard, but he has no idea who I really am. I fear that if he finds out, he’ll never speak to me again…

Super tropey, LOTS of chemistry. I loved the characters and had fun reading this, even though it was super predictable. If you're looking for something groundbreakingly new, this isn't it. But sometimes you're just in the mood for a fun story with your favorite tropes, and this is it! I go back and forth, and this was a lovely read for me! 4⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

What a lovely romance honestly. Theres a lot of spice in here, is someone wants to know. I wasnt expecting that but whew did i like it.
This is a red white royal blue x soccer mix so if those are things you love to read, this is right up your alley. I was also reminded of the netflix show young royals.
I absolutely enjoyed this and i bet you will too!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

This book really did the enemies to lovers trope really well. I loved Farron and Tore. Farron started out with a major chip on his shoulder but he did come around and become a total softy for Tore. Very Hot!! I hope this is a series and we get the stories of Nils, Foris and Greg too.
Thank you to Boldwood and Netgalley for the copy of this book. Opinions are my own.