Review: A Prince on Paper

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved "A Prince on Paper" every bit as much as I have the previous installments in Alyssa Cole's wonderful Reluctant Royals series. I was intrigued by both Nya and Johan upon first meeting them in book #1, and have been looking forward to getting to know them better ever since. Their story definitely did not disappoint!

Both Johan and Nya were complex, well-developed characters who experienced a tremendous amount of growth over the course of the story. They brought out the best in each other and helped each other learn to do things that scared them, in spite of the fear. As a result, Nya really came out of her shell, overcoming the emotional abuse inflicted upon her by her father for years. As for Johan, there turned out to be so much more to him than met the eye. Far from being a callous playboy, he was a protective, loving, deeply emotional man who tried his best to make the world a better place. He learned to live with the fear of losing the people he loves because the joy of having them in his life was worth the risk.

Overall, I have enjoyed the world Alyssa Cole created in this series immensely. I will be sad to leave these characters behind, but if this really is the end, I'm happy that we got to check in with so many of the couples one last time. For the record, and just in case Ms. Cole might someday see this, I wouldn't mind reading a few more books or novellas set in this world. For example, it seems like there might be a story to be told about Njaza's King Sanyu and his Thesoloian bride. Maybe there's a story out there for Johan's sibling Lukas as well? That could be VERY interesting, indeed!

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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