Content Warnings: Misogyny, Cancer, Death of Parent, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism  

Summary:  Brielle “Bri” Adebayo is enjoying her life as a New York City public school teacher until she finds out from her mother that she is actually a princess of an African kingdom. If that wasn’t enough, she is told that her grandfather, the king, wants her to come and claim her rightly place as future queen upon his death. When Brielle comes to the kingdom, the Royal Council tells her that in order for her to take the throne, she has to be married! How will Brielle learn everything she needs to know about being a queen and fall in love all at the same time?

Review:  As a child of the 90s, I loved The Princess Diaries movies and this book reminded me of the second one, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which was my favorite.I mean what little girl didn’t dream of being a lost princess of a small kingdom? What really drew me to this book, was the fact that our princess was black. Growing up, I didn’t see any princesses that looked like me, until Princess Tiana. Having another black princess to look at and read about was pretty special for me. It was also exciting that we also share the same nickname.  But enough about me, let us get into the review.

 Brielle was an admirable character. Her unwavering faith and trust in God stirred something inside of my heart. It felt like second nature for her to talk to God and reach out to Him in almost every decision she made. It did not mean that she did not have doubts about her taking over the kingdom but she actively chose to lean on God and not let her doubts consume her. I loved her best friend, Iris and their relationship. They truly felt like sisters and I loved that they prayed together.  I also enjoyed the relationship she had with her mother and it was sad to see it be strained due to the weight of secrets. It was nice that she got to spend time with the other side of her family, even though I thought that some of the members of her family were annoying. While I understood how they felt about the news of Brielle, the hostile attitude towards her was ridiculous at times.

The romance between her and Tomori was adorable. I thought that their chemistry was wonderful and I thought that they were perfect for each other. I appreciated that he was a man of God and constantly encouraged and helped Bri adapt to the kingdom lifestyle. There were moments when I really wanted to get his point of view of everything that was happening but that is a personal preference. His home life was complicated and a little uncomfortable. While it did not go into too much detail, it was still wrong how they treated him and what they thought of him. However, the way Tomori handled that problem was inspirational.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Even though the kingdom was fictional, it felt real at times. I could imagine the beautiful beaches, landscapes and the delicious food. The author did a good job researching the African language and still put her own spin on it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a sweet and faith filled princess story.

Rating: 4/5

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