YA Review: Prince in Disguise

Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm, December 19, 2017. 320 pages. Published by Disney-Hyperion. Source: Publisher.

Someday I want to live in a place where I never hear “You’re Dusty’s sister?” ever again.Life is real enough for Dylan—especially as the ordinary younger sister of Dusty, former Miss Mississippi and the most perfect, popular girl in Tupelo. But when Dusty wins the hand of the handsome Scottish laird-to-be Ronan on the TRC television network’s crown jewel, Prince in Disguise, Dylan has to face a different kind of reality: reality TV.

As the camera crew whisks them off to Scotland to film the lead-up to the wedding, camera-shy Dylan is front and center as Dusty’s maid of honor. The producers are full of surprises—including old family secrets, long-lost relatives, and a hostile future mother-in-law who thinks Dusty and Dylan’s family isn’t good enough for her only son. At least there’s Jamie, an adorably bookish groomsman who might just be the perfect antidote to all Dylan’s stress . . . if she just can keep TRC from turning her into the next reality show sensation.

First Sentence

Tears coursed down my face as I tried to fight through the pain.

Somehow, I have read more contemporary books this year than anything else...with the exception of comics. I'll be honest, my feelings are very neutral on this one. It wasn't a 'wow' me type of book but it was not a complete dud either.

• Okay, so I don't watch reality TV, like, at all, so the whole idea of Dylan's sister being on a reality show was weird.  While I know this is just a book, that happens to have a reality show angle, it is still weird to think people actually agree to things like that, you know. Especially if the producers are anything like the one in the book. 

• I want to talk about one of the things I did enjoy about Prince in Disguise. Dylan and Dusty. Even though they did not get along all that well, I thought they were actually a really great sister combination; they may have argued but in the end, they were there for each other (be it for firm advice or sisterly defense). Their relationship wasn't perfect but it definitely felt like the author understood the strange dynamics that make up sisterly bonds. 

• I guess the question is, why did I not like it more than I did. Well, that would come down to a couple reasons. Even though at times I enjoyed the sibling dynamics between Dylan and Dusty, I just could not really get into the duel romance plot that ran through the book. At times, it felt really rushed and like maybe Dylan and Jamie's relationship evolved too quickly. The other thing would be the reality show angle. It was rather disturbing the lengths the crew went through to get what they wanted for the show. 

• As to the writing- There are two things I felt the author captured really well with this one. The relationship, tumultuous at times, between the two sisters. I also thought she did quite well with capturing the southern and Scottish accents of the main characters; even though I was just reading, I could practically hear both accents. The beginning of the book felt rather abrupt in the way the story was introduced; it made it a skosh difficult to get into the story at first as it felt like the continuation of a previous story-line rather than a standalone. 

Final Verdict: Prince in Disguise- It was cute, but I just didn't fall in love with it.

A copy of this book was received for review consideration from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.