I’m sad to say A Prince on Paper was my least favourite story in the Reluctant Royals series. While Alyssa Cole excelled in some aspects of the storytelling the novel’s questionable politics and weaker plot made it a less satisfying romance than its predecessors.

A Prince on Paper is the romance between Nya, a quiet girl desperate for adventure after a miserable life under her father’s thumb, and Johan, a playboy prince with a heart of gold. After a year of mutual pining Nya and Johan concoct a fake engagement to help boost the image of the monarchy in Johan’s home country.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Alyssa Cole is the master of emotional intimacy. The best scenes in A Prince on Paper were the moments Nya and Johan were emotionally vulnerable with each other. There’s nothing that swells my heart more than see characters talk to each other openly. The book was at its most brilliant when it slowed down to show these sharing pieces of themselves with each other

Unfortunately, very little else in this story worked for me. My biggest problem was the referendum side-plot that took over the second half of the story. In lighthearted genre fiction like the Reluctant Royals series, my personal politics rarely play into my enjoyment, but the discussion of anti-monarchism in this book made politics impossible to ignore. This political framing was central to the story and poorly done. Cole’s decision to frame anti-monarchist sentiment, something historically rooted in left-wing politics, as entrenched in anti-immigrant bigotry and corporate capitalism astounded me. This framing was ahistorical and unbelievable. Cole’s doubling down that support for democracy exclusively came from malicious outside influences was so laughably unrealistic it took me out of the story constantly. The conclusion of the novel and the upholding of the monarchy ultimately felt like deeply conservative politics insidiously painted over with a thin coat of liberal aesthetics.

I also wasn’t as fond of the tropes central to the story. While I believed Nya and Johan's romance I found the obstacles keeping them apart contrived. These two were incredibly open about their mutual attraction as their fake relationship developed into something more (something I appreciated) so seeing them split up over minor miscommunication made no sense. The third act break-up forced them to act outside of their established characterization for the sake of a dozen extra pages that added nothing of value.

This is exemplary of the overall lack of emotional stakes in the story. Johan and Nya’s personal hang-ups didn’t keep them from being together so interpersonal growth was substituted for external conflict. The overstuffed nature of said conflict—Nya and Johan’s families—distracted from their romance rather than adding to it.

While this review was overwhelmingly negative I didn’t hate A Prince on Paper. Alyssa Cole is a fantastic character writer and reading this book, despite its shortcomings, was a breeze. I’m definitely ready to dive into more series by Alyssa Cole in the future and hopefully, I’ll have better luck next time.