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.

Yeah, this was a bit tropey, but also a whole lot of fun!

This is the story of Norwegian prince Tore Haakon von Glücksberg who makes a pact with his friends to spend a year abroad in the US to be just Tore for once.
There, he joins the colleges football - sorry, I mean soccer - team and meets his new team captain Farron: the most grumpy, brooding, defensive guy with the biggest chip on his shoulder you’ll ever meet.
And sparks fly. First in the form of unmatched animosity and then in form of the most delicious sexual tension and chemistry and utter obsession with each other. This was definitely the highlight of this book ❤️‍🔥

And while I enjoyed exploring their relationship for the most part, I did have a few issues, especially with Farron, who frankly was quite difficult to like: he was envious, quick to judge, rude, resentful, hot-and-cold and I honestly had troubles understanding how Tore could fall for him. While he did soften a bit over time, I still wasn’t fully convinced by his redemption arc - it felt more like a small shift rather than real growth.
Tore, on the other hand, was lovely 🥰

So yeah, in general I’d say this was nothing new or too special and I could see the ending coming - third act breakup and all - after the first few pages. Nevertheless I had a good time reading this and am looking forward to see how Tore’s friends got on during their US-adventures in the next instalments of this series 💕

3,5⭐️

Big thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

Absolutely devoured this book! I read it in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect of the book. The book had just the right amount of spice. The characters were both charming with their not so great qualities. You can't help but fall in love with them. The book touches on romance, friendship, and sportsmanship. Overall, the book was wonderful. Will be looking into more of the author's books!

when the prince of Norway gets permission to go undercover at an American collage for a year, he meets the caption of the football team who immediately dislikes him. when the hatred becomes too strong, the release is in a kiss. shocked, both boys discover they may not be as straight as they assumed.

with a dual pov and short chapters, i completely flew through this book! i will admit i had to get through the first few chapters, but from there on i finished it in one sitting! i typically don’t love third act break ups, but i felt it work in the circumstance and was written beautifully. i found myself rooting for the main characters relationship and found their dynamics enticing.

the coming out to the team seemed very rushed and i felt the relationship between tore and Luke wasn’t fleshed out which lead to their interactions falling flat.

thank you netgalley and boldwood books for this arc!

Do I love books involving royal family love stories? Yes, a lot of the time I do.

Do I feel deeply uncomfortable with the institutions of Monarchy in the real world? Also yes.

Nevertheless, I find myself drawn to, and enjoying, “secret royal family” stories.

In this case, Tore, who is in line for the Norwegian Throne, negotiates the chance to attend an out of the way University in the US, to have a “gap year” college experience where he can play soccer and exist in anonymity. For Farron, soccer is his vehicle for a University education and a way to care for his single mum and siblings. Having been abandoned by their wealthy relatives when their father died, Farron has worked hard to help support his family and has a distrust (bordering on hatred) for wealth and privilege. When Farron and Tore collide on the soccer team out comes all the delicious tension, bi awakening (from both) and all the good stuff!

One thing that I dislike, but have come to expect, that in romance involving European royalty, the American experienced is centred. It was refreshing to spend most of the book WAITING for that to happen and to not find it! Tore does spend most of the book in the US, but that’s because that’s central to his goal of a year of anonymity, but I appreciated seeing Farron give appropriate significance to Tore’s nationality, and the significance of his expectations.

4 🌟
Spice: open door

I have some mixed feelings about this one, but I have settled on 4 stars since what I enjoyed outweighed what I disliked. I liked the writing itself. It flowed well and didn't feel rushed. I loved both Farron and Tore. They were so different and yet meshed well together. I didn't fully believe the whole hate at first sight on Farrons' part. It seemed extreme. Once these two snapped, they were zero to sixty on seconds. There was a decent amount of spice once they turned into more of a friends with benefits situation. I think them having to come out was a little rushed and just thrown in as a way to get to the drama at the end. I don't love third act breakups, but I understood this one. Farron felt betrayed. I like how they came together at the end, though.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review .

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for this ARC! I loved this book! I got approved for it at the perfect time since I’ve been in an MM and sports romance mood. The story between Farron and Tore was exactly what I needed to scratch that itch.

I love the thin line between love and hate and how it can easily shift when you're constantly around someone you dislike. Farron harbors a strong dislike for the wealthy, having had mostly negative experiences with rich people. Enter Prince Tore—hiding his identity but not his wealth—who slowly shows Farron that not all rich people have bad intentions. In turn, Farron helps Tore see what life is like on the other side. Their dynamic has sweet moments, plenty of tension, and just the right amount of spice.

I do wish the author had explored the soccer team dynamics more. The camaraderie was mentioned but never fully fleshed out through outings or meaningful interactions with teammates. Tore’s friendship with Luke, for example, would have felt more impactful if we had seen their bond grow on the page. The team's reaction to the relationship also felt rushed—one person found out, and suddenly, everyone had to be called back from a party for an official announcement. It didn’t feel necessary at that moment and came across as a bit forced.

That said, I found the story incredibly cute, and I loved that no one in the book was against them being gay. The overall tone was heartwarming, and the personal growth—especially for Farron—was well done.

I’m leaning more towards a 3.5-3.75 ★ but I’m rounding up to make it easier! First off, thank you for letting me read this as an ARC. I personally love mm romances, I just think we get more vulnerability in them and I just simply adore them. I had a fun time with this book, it was a fun and quick read. I did like Farron and Tore’s relationship once it picked up, I like how they were so consumed by the other, that was super cute. I also really liked how everyone was so supportive of their relationship. There were some things that bugged me.. so first off, the instant hate wasn’t my favorite because I felt like Farron was being unfair and really judgmental but I did like that we saw this growth towards the end of the book because he can’t really be mad at people who have money right? I mean don’t get me wrong I get upset when people have money and don’t help others, but Farron was mad at the worlddddddd. ANYWAYSSS, that was really the only thing that bugged me, also! How Farron just left after they slept together.. criminal lol, Tore is definitely better than me.

The way my thoughts rolled out:

10% - but, like, why is Farron so mad at Tore though?

...

|
75% - see above...but also, am i misremembering being POC, hustling (y'all call it "grinding" these days) and 21? Sure i rolled my eyes when Karen, but i was never like: wtf is up with bro's accent? It's making me ragey.

My point is: reading while POC is always gonna show you some things, chile.
|

...

82% ( a.k.a. the third act reveal) - Farron had the audacity to wonder why Tore kept his royal connection a secret. Can this narrative be real for a second and just, I dunno, have some perspective? Why do I HAVE TO do the thinking about how absolutely uncool Farron had been to Tore for about 75% of this book? ESPECIALLY after they started to get sexy naked. I'm working too hard for this, straight up.

Characterization like this grates on my nerves. The lack of self awareness is so dense, and sure yes probably true to life in most cases...but this is a ROMANCE and I'd love some, I dunno, lover-liness about a title that's supposed to be ✨Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Jax Calder✨. Which is ME. I'm THAT person. And i for sure did not catch that comp.

Suffice it to say, i'm happy that this was a great read for so many people, but unfortunately this just wasn't the read for me.

This one is a beautifully written, emotional, and steamy MM romance. With compelling characters, great chemistry, and a touch of royal intrigue, this story keeps you hooked from start to finish. The mix of tension, passion, and heartfelt moments makes it a must-read for fans of the genre!

A great MM rivals-to-lovers romance between an undercover Prince and a football player with a chip on his shoulder. The Norwegian Prince was charming, and I loved the way his struggles with finding a place were shown - the juxtaposition between his background and the life he is trying to build while at college. The contrast between Tore's sunshiny outlook, and the perpetual grumpiness of Farron was well done, despite the cliche. I'd love to see more of the other Royals as they explore their US experiences too, and hope we see those from Phoenix.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the chance to read ahead of release.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me this arc in exchange for a review

I really liked this book

I enjoyed the chemistry between Tore and Farron, it was probably some of the best chemistry in MM romances i've read from. Where this book somewhat lacks is the spice for me. it just felt kinda clunky and very anti-climactic but overall a good book with great writing

Can't wait to continue the series when they come out!!!!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

This book was quick, cute, fun, and just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. I enjoyed both characters and how different they were. I felt like the romance wasn’t as fleshed out as I would have liked it to be, but other than that this checked all my boxes. I’m hoping the author was hinting at a couple more books in this series with the side characters, so I’ll be eagerly awaiting that!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book for what it was. It's a relatively light hearted, enemies to lovers, MM romance that reminded me of 90s and 00s movies. It didn't go into much detail about the characters and the story could be fleshed out more but it was still an enjoyable story.

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers college sports romance quite a bit. I liked so much of this book that I will recommend it but with a caveat that one of the characters is so short sighted that it defies reasoning. That said, the inner life of the other protagonist is nicely shown and has real depth which made me want to finish the book. Enjoy!

This was a tough one for me. I went into this with the comparison to Red, White and Royal Blue and the writing of Alexis Hall in my head but that's not really what happened.

While I loved MC Tore, I really struggled with Farron. He was judgmental and he was quite unpleasant to Tore once they were together. Their relationship shifted gears from "might be interested" to "oh my god I love you!" in a matter of a few pages and I actually stopped to see if my kindle has skipped forward a few pages. This kind of speed for a relationship might work for some folks - could be a me problem.

Tore was lovely - although I found his speech patterns to be odd. I suppose it is explained away as him learning English at an early age...and let me be clear, I don't know much about Norway.

If you like this type of book - it will probably work for you. I like much more character development and authenticity.

A MM romance between a soccer captain and the new transfer student. The spice scenes are perfectly placed and well written. The plot seems believeable until the very end, but if I wanted realism, I'd read non-fiction. Overall, a cute book to read if you just want a easy romance.

What a sweet romance novel.

I really loved Tore and Farron. They are sweet and kind (even though Farron is so grumpy!)

Tore's English is (mainly) British (because he is friends with the British prince and spent his childhood with other European princes) and I liked that we felt the difference in language level with Farron and the other American students and how it evolves over the course of the novel.

I can't say that it really bothered me (because the story is really cute and the characters are very endearing) but the fact that these two big guys (a prince and a soccer player) fall for each other and that neither one seems to be disturbed by that (apparently, they've always be strait before)... it lacks realism.
At least one of them should have had to experience a moment of uncertainty to make the story plausible.

I don't know which one :
- Tore has almost no chance/no risk of accessing the throne but he is of royal blood - his personal life will be common knowledge, in the press...
- Farron comes from a working class background, where homosexuality is potentially not very well accepted, and what's more, he wants to become a soccer player (soccer is not known to be very open either about homosexuality).
And besides: how is it that the rest of the team takes it so naturally and without batting an eyelid?

I give it 4 stars because I really loved the characters and the story... but it's too perfect to be true.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC in echange for an honest review.

So tropey. So predictable. But sometimes that's just what you're looking for in a cozy low-angst romance. I love the grumpy/sunshine characters- it's as if Roy Kent saw Danny Rojas as the new, flashy foreigner who is impossible to dislike except for the boiling jealousy for his youth and talent... And then they fall in love. Oh, and then Danny ends up being a Prince. I would binge watch that show, tbh. Anyway, nothing new here for MM romance readers, and there is a gaping plot hole that Farron nor his Coach never Googled Tore to see how famous he was for football in Norway. But my star ratings are always for the vibes. Did I want to see Farron lose his grumpy exterior and get love bombed? Of course. Was I smiling more often than I was rolling my eyes at the cringy bits? Well, maybe 50/50 on that one. 3.5 stars rounded up. CW: open door