This was such an amazing story. I fell hard for Tore and Farron.
Prince Tore pleads with his family to allow him a year away to college in the united States. To enjoy some time learning, playing soccer and doing normal things without letting in he is a Prince.
His new teammates repect the player they have learned Tore to be. Aside from the captain, who seems to dislike him for no reason.
Farron is less inclined to accept Tore, after finding out how different their upbringing has been. Nit easily won over, the two find themselves at odds with everything.  You onow what they say how opposites attract. These two have chemistry for days!
A truly addictive , funny, sexy coming out romance. I really loved this story and hope there are more to come.
4.5 stars.

*4.5

The two of them have very different reactions to discovering that they were bi and I loved both of them. Tore just accepted it so easy and went I guess that's what I am now. Farron took a little bit more loving to get there but he realized that he couldn't be without Tore. I just thought they were really cute and I wish the book was longer.

I received an arc through netgalley.

A Norwegian prince that just wants to go play soccer without the constrains of duty and the soccer captain of the team the prince joins? Count me in. This book dragged me in and did not let me go. It was fast paced (maybe too much so at times), which definitely kept me entertained at all times. I loved how the dynamic between Tore and Farron developed, especially as they went from dislike into their “we just have to get it out of our systems” until they finally realized they had fallen for each other.

Going into the book, I thought that Tore and Farron were already out, so I was surprised when early in the book they separately mentioned they were straight. However, I quite liked how the author handled the whole process of the two of them realizing they were in fact not straight, which was surprising. They had their realization, got together, and just went about their lives, not making it in a huge deal or major plot point, especially as this is a new adult book.

Honestly, my only complaint with this book is that it felt like a lot was just left out, especially on the part of Tore and his development as a character. I felt like we got a lot of info about who Farron was and saw his interactions with people outside Tore (especially his family) but that didn’t happen very much at all except at the one wedding scene at the beginning.

Overall, this was a great quick read, and I’d highly recommend it.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this story!

Tore and Farron were amazing characters whose insecurities seemed to mirror/parallel each other perfectly. I loved how they navigated their sexuality together but had completely different journeys.

Overall it was a beautiful, funny, sexy and heartbreaking mm romance that I would highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This book was fun and cheesy and I loved it! I’m a sucker for a royalty romance and a sports romance so I loved that this combined the two. This is a quick and enjoyable read!

This is a cute rivals-to-lovers MM college sports romance (soccer, in this case) that was an easy and fast read. I found it to be pretty typical for this genre with plot and tropes, but it moved a bit too quickly/easily through some of the major plot points which left the story feeling a bit flat overall. There were a few wonky editing choices that took me out of the story from time to time (some repetitive language and the use of “oh gods”, which is odd to see outside of fantasy but maybe it’s a Norwegian thing?). Anyway, it was a solid 3.5 stars for me!

(Also are we going to talk about the fact that the illustration on the cover has the characters backwards? 😬)

This book was definitely a bit trope-heavy, but wow, was it fun!

It follows Norwegian prince Tore Haakon von Glücksberg, who strikes a deal with his friends to spend a year in the U.S., leaving his royal title behind to just be "Tore" for once. While there, he joins the college soccer team (yes, soccer, not football) and crosses paths with his new team captain, Farron—who just so happens to be the grumpiest, moodiest, most defensive guy with a serious chip on his shoulder.

And then? Fireworks. At first, they clash in the most intense, animosity-fueled way, but soon, that tension transforms into something sizzling—off-the-charts chemistry, undeniable attraction, and a full-blown obsession with each other. Hands down, their dynamic was the highlight of the book


Overall, this wasn't anything groundbreaking, and I could see the third-act breakup coming from a mile away. But despite the predictability, it was still an entertaining read! I’m definitely curious to see what’s in store for Tore’s friends in their own U.S. adventures in the next books of the series. 💕

This is a sweet and spicy mm romance which has echoes of Red, White and Royal Blue.

As a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope this was always going to be up my street and the football links were also a big appeal.

I only wish there would be more of Farron and Tore's story because I'm hungry for more!

This was a quick, adorable MM read. I loved the focus on soccer, since this isn't a huge sport for romance books to delve into. It definitely needs more attention! Nora Phoenix did very well with developing the characters and showing the chemistry between Farron and Tore. Though, I did have a bit of an issue with how prejudiced Farron was for most of the book towards people with money.

Overall, a great read! The spice was pretty good and the plot was fun! I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet MM romance.

Thanks to Boldwood for this ARC!

The Prince and the Player was such a sweet romance - I loved how much Tore wanted the chance to live a normal life for a little while outside of his princely duty and the chemistry he had with Farron, the grumpiest soccer team captain with the biggest chip on his shoulder. Love and hate skirt a thin line and I thought this book navigated that well, demonstrating how their tension could blow up either way. I loved the way these boys found common ground and we got to see their relationship develop and deepen and turn into something softer. The book balanced some of its more existential questions pretty well, but they were sometimes a distraction from the real plot. I did find that there were some moments where the author had to really pause and explain things so that the reader had the knowledge they needed; I didn't mind it, but it did make some of the scenes feel a little longer than necessary. All in all, this was a fun read and a little bit of a sports romance fairy tale and it felt like maybe there was a series being set up, which would be delightful!

Solid 4,5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this story!
One sided hatred from the very first glance to heated love and passion. Prince being sunshine and Player being grumpy made me giggling sometimes and saying to myself JUST KISS HIM ALREADY 🫣😂
I would give 5⭐️ but hatred came from prejudges and not actual actions which did not entirely sit with me well ;)

Tore and his other Prince friends agree that they want a life outside of the royal family. Tore goes to the US for a year to play soccer, immediately clashing heads with team captain Farron. Farron hates Tore for his wealthy clothes and how good he is at soccer, but that soon turns to lust.

DNF at 36%. Unfortunately I can’t read a book where one character pushes another and then immediately kisses them. I don’t find that kind of lust attractive and I can’t read books that promote this kind of behaviour. The writing was also not for me - too much ‘tell’ and unnecessary detail where it wasn’t needed. The stilted British accent for Tore made for a difficult read, and Farron was just completely unlikeable and I don’t see a redemption arc for him that’s worth it. It’s very clear this was inspired by Red, white and royal blue but it doesn’t live up for me I’m afraid.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3⭐️

This was an okay book nothing ground breaking but the overall writing was solid tho it felt slightly juvenile at times and some of the dialogue choices where slightly cringey but both things where easy to look past. the overall plot while nothing special was fun

The characters where okay I found it difficult to like farron , he was just so whiny like i get he hadn’t had a easy life but he blamed rich people for all his issues because he made an assumption about their lives, it made him difficult to like and made him very annoying to read, tore was cute but there wasn’t much to him he lacked abit of substance. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how their relationship progressed either they spent no time together except to have sex yet they really liked each other yet knew nothing about the other it just didn’t really work for me.

I’m also pretty sure this author has never met a British person before no British person cares about the war we had with America and some of the reference to what British people say either are stereotypes or haven’t been a thing since 2012 honestly the whole book kinda feels like it was written in 2012

Overall all it was a fun book it could be improved in many ways and there wasn’t anything about it that was amazing but it was an easy cute read

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital arc

My review is shared on Goodreads. Thank you for the opportunity.

I feel like I chose the best time to read this for myself, I was craving a cute but also angsty romance book to lift my mood, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Their story was so cute, though it wasn't really unique or life changing, we have seen similarities in other books. I saw the "challenge" from miles away.

I also want to underline that there were a few things that made me laugh about Tore's thoughts and words, and I am aware that the intension was to make him sound like that, but "I'm from Europe", said no European ever.

This story was reminiscent of one of my all time favorite books, so of course I loved it! I’m a sucker for a royalty-in-disguise trope and Tore was an especially good one! He had so much to lose, but still ended up falling for Farron.
Farron was hurting and you could tell from the beginning it was going to be hard for him to overcome his prejudice. The HEA was so sweet and I can’t wait to have the series continue.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the ARC!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC! I read this in pretty much one sitting and loved it a lot. It’s sweet, spicy without being over the top and has a great story. Although some parts were slightly predictable I still liked it a lot! 3.8 /5.

It's a nice book overall, although the writing was a bit too simple and repetitive. At first I thought it was a first novel, which would've explained the plain writing, but after checking I was a bit disappointed seeing that the author had so much experience before this novel. Other than that, the story was nicely paced, and even though many parts of the plot were a bit too simple to be realistic, it was nice to have something hopeful, sweet and uncomplicated to read.

This was a good read. It didn't blow me away but it was enjoyable and well paced. There was a little too much drama surrounding Tore's background but to be honest, I expected nothing less.

This was well written and the interactions between the characters was pretty solid. I do wish we got more from the background characters; particularly the other soccer players, I would have liked to get to know them more.

There were a lot of tropes in this but it was enjoyable and an easy read.

Overall I liked this one a lot.

3.5 stars


The Prince and The Player gave me all the gay "The Prince And Me" vibes - boy, how I love that movie!

The story is nothing particularly new, there was not great surprises, however I did enjoy reading it.

Farron is quite... how do I put it. I didn't hate him, but I hated the way he acted a lot of the time. He was jealous, quick to judge and stubborn as a mule. It took most of the story for him to stop being that way, and to me it got a bit tiresome.

Tore, on the other hand, I loved from the get go. What was not to like really.

And oh, Tore's friends. I feel that they all need to go and have a USA adventure!

I would read more books about Tore's friends if they happened.

This was such a lovely story to read and I couldn't put it down. It was so much fun to read how they went from enemies to lovers. That first kiss was absolutely swoon worthy. It's good to read that bi-awakening isn't always as easy and they had to come to turn with the attraction they felt for each other. Also they're from completely different worlds. It was a well written love story that dragged me in from the first chapter. I can't wait to see if the other princes get their story.