Crucify my Love: Gay Book Reviews: [125-ENG] Review: How to Catch a Prince

Series: Chester Falls

Volume: 1/?
Publisher: -

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance

Length: -

Pages: 196

Read in: English
Review copy format: epub

Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮

Shortly before his sister's wedding, the latest press scandal forces Prince Kristof of Lydovia to leave the country and hide for a while in the small town of Chester Falls. That's where he meets Charlie, a sweet man who immediately conquers his heart. It turns out that Charlie has come back to town for his sister's wedding, but instead of enjoying this event to the fullest, he tries to avoid his pushy ex. Kris decides to help him get rid of the persistent guy by pretending to be Charlie's boyfriend. But how can they fake the relationship when everything seems so real and love is in the air? The problem is that Charlie doesn't know Kris's true identity.

"How to Catch a Prince" is the first volume of "Chester Falls" series by Ana Ashley. The very title of this novel says a lot about it, so at the very beginning of this review I would like to focus on the presented story. There is no doubt that the plot of this book is quite simple, which I consider its huge advantage, because it is the simplicity of the story that makes it so incredibly charming. After all, what we see here is the dream of every teenager, or to be honest, not only of a teenager. And so, someone quite ordinary in quite funny circumstances meets a charming prince. Let's add to all that a few "princely" patterns and here's an interesting, innocent story that we fall in love with in the blink of an eye. I have to admit that Ana Ashley managed to present all those simple patterns in a really fantastic way, because we are constantly interested in the novel, and while reading it we are simply delighted with it all the time. In short, in this book we can find everything we are looking for in the novel about a prince and a commoner.

In my opinion, the great advantage of "How to Catch a Prince" is the unique romantic vibe of this novel. In fact, we see it from the very beginning and it's present in the book to the end. It is worth mentioning, however, that the story the author tells us is characterized by an accumulation of situations that probably every reader would describe as romantic, sweet, delightful. In a word, this story is simply a dream about meeting a prince that becomes reality, in which we see the hand of providence that guides the characters, and the whole world seems to be sending signals that two people are perfect for each other. Well, at the beginning of this paragraph, I mentioned that "How to Catch a Prince" is romantic, but it's probably now that you are able to fully understand the meaning of this statement. So if you like stories full of romantic events and sweetness, you've found the right book because this one won't disappoint you.

In this novel by Ana Ashley, I really liked the fact that although the plot moves forward very quickly, and thus the feelings of the characters develop at an equally rapid pace, Charlie and Kris spend so much time together that they have the opportunity to get to know each other well enough to decide if it's a good idea to start a risky and quite demanding relationship. Sure, it's not a familiarity build on many years or at least several months of getting to know each other, but the author undoubtedly makes effort to give her main characters a chance to get to know each other as good as possible, before they run into each other's arms and start to talk about love. Thus, "How to Catch a Prince" is not a novel of a fairy tale type, in which feelings of lovers are based on several not very meaningful meetings, but it is closer to all those more thoughtful stories that we know, for example, from television.

Finally, I would like to write something about the narrative. The fact that the author gives us the opportunity to look at the events of this novel directly from the point of view of the two main characters is undoubtedly a good thing, because thanks to this we look directly into the mind and heart of both Charlie and Kris. In this case, the biggest advantage of the first-person narrative is the fact that what we read happens in a way in real time. Thus, when our characters have their heads in the clouds, we know that this is because of their fast-moving thoughts, and not because they become some kind of intellectual zombies. This is even more important because the author sometimes likes to pay attention to the fact that the characters think a lot not only on paper, but also in the novel's reality.

To sum up, "How to Catch a Prince" is a fantastic, sweet and romantic novel based on teenage dreams about prince charming. This is a positive, warm story that we read with interest and smile. It is definitely worth recommending.

Headcanon: Sometimes, when the guys don't feel like dealing with the press and people, Kris "takes" Charlie on a date, decorating one of the rooms in the castle so that it looks like a restaurant, so they do not have to go anywhere, and the evening is special anyway.

Fanfiction idea: Charlie tries to keep up with all the prince's duties, but in the middle of the day he gives up. Instead, he hides in a library, where one of the butlers shows him some of Kristof's "compromising" childhood photos.

AU idea: Private High School!AU, Charlie is a middle-class student who got into high school thanks to a scholarship, while Kris is a delinquent son of influential parents, who can do whatever he wants and no one can expel him from school.

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Here's some more about:

Book Title: How to Catch a Prince

Author: Ana Ashley

Release Date: December 20, 2019

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Blurb

When you’re faking a relationship, the last thing you should do is fall in love...especially with a prince.
Charlie is back in his hometown of Chester Falls for his sister's wedding. What he needs is a date to keep him away from the wandering hands of his ex.
Prince Kristof of Lydovia, or simply Kris, needs an escape from the latest press scandal. Hiding away in an American small town doesn't mean he can't pretend to not be royal, or be someone's boyfriend. Especially when that someone keeps falling all over him, literally.

Intense chemistry
A family wedding
Too many secrets

When their fake relationship starts to feel very real, and the press closes in, how will Kris and Charlie handle the fallout? And when the truth comes out will Charlie catch his prince, or will he let him go?
Welcome to Chester Falls, where you can expect to meet sweet men, sexy situations, interfering friends, lots of feels, and a happy ever after.

Book One in the Chester Falls series. How To Catch a Prince is a standalone sweet and steamy MM romance novel with no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed HEA.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Excerpt

From Charlie’s POV
I looked for my suitcase and noticed it was still in the hallway and the apartment door was open. God, I really needed a good night's sleep.
Everything happened too quickly. One moment I was reaching out for the suitcase, the next, something pulled my arm and I found myself being dragged down.
I closed my eyes, bracing myself for impact. I let out a curse when my forearm dragged against something sharp, and then opened my eyes when the landing was softer than I expected.
Dark brown eyes, so dark they were almost black, stared back at me. Warmth and a sense of rightness flooded my chest as I took in the face of the stranger, his defined jaw, perfect nose, five o'clock shadow, and those eyes.
I scrambled up, trying to get away from the man, but ended up kneeing him in the groin. The guy let out a harsh groan and folded in on himself on the floor.
"Oh shit, crap, oh god. I'm so sorry." For the love of God, Charlie. I was horrified. The guy squirmed on the floor for a few minutes, taking deep breaths, before he was able to get up.
"Do you go around kicking everybody in the balls?" He coughed.
"No, only guys who tackle me to the floor," I answered without missing a beat.
The guy laughed. "You could have bought me dinner first."
My tummy rumbled at the mention of dinner, and the guy laughed again.
"You keep laughing at me, I'll show you my other karate kicks," I teased.
"Sounds like you need dinner."
"Sounds like you're offering to buy."