*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Prince and the Player blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: The Prince and the Player
Author: Nora Phoenix
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)
I’m determined to win over the one guy who hates me…but I
never expected to fall for him
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…
The Prince and the Player is the first book in the Prince
Pact series and features an undercover, sunshiney prince and a grumpy, handsome
soccer captain, two guys who mistake hate for attraction, a double
bi-awakening, and two opposites who attract each other like magnets.
The royally romantic, enemies-to-lovers college romance
for fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Jax Calder.
The Prince and the Player is the latest steamy M/M romance from author
Nora Phoenix. This is an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, double
bi-awakening royal romance set against the backdrop of college football/soccer.
This was my first time reading anything from Nora Phoenix but I was
quickly hooked by her engaging storytelling and fast-paced narrative.
Farron and Tore had a fantastic grumpy x sunshine dynamic. Their enemies
to lovers romance was brilliantly crafted, best summed up with the line “I
don’t like you. But for some reason, I do like kissing you.” I couldn’t get
enough of the story and was glued to my kindle throughout the book as the
initial tension between the two of them quickly progressed into sexual tension.
The way their relationship evolved was beautifully written and felt really
real, which was great to see.
This bi-awakening romance is packed full of spice, which again was really
well written. The way they gradually worked their way up through the different
intimate acts felt authentic to people exploring their sexuality for the first
time, which I really liked. The coming out scenes were heartwarming and
beautifully crafted, particularly (*mild spoiler alert*) when they come out to
the rest of their football team and receive a response quite different from the
toxic masculinity fuelled response you might stereotypically expect to see from
a sports team, particularly in a sport where there’s still so few openly queer
professional players.
The college setting worked really well for the story, as did the chapters
we had in Farron and Tore’s respective hometowns which allowed us (and them) to
really get to know the both of them on a deeper level. Both of our protagonists
were well crafted complex characters, particularly Farron who had a really
interesting backstory with him becoming a father figure and having to provide
for his siblings from a young age.
Overall, this is a brilliant royal M/M romance, which is full of heart.
It’s one of my favourite bi-awakening stories I’ve ever read, particularly with
it being a double awakening which was really well developed.
