The Prince and the Player

Prince Pact #1

by Nora Phoenix, Charlie Klæboe Svensson (Narrator), Barclay Craig (Narrator)

The royally romantic, enemies-to-lovers college romance for fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Jax Calder.

Tropes & MM Romance / All the spice / Grumpy/Sunshine / Opposites Attract / Bi Awakening / College Soccer

I’m determined to win over the one guy who hates me…but I never expected to fall for him

Being a prince may seem like a fairytale, but to me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. That’s why I’m excited when I get permission from my uncle—the king of Norway—to go undercover as a student at an American college for a year. And I’m even more ecstatic to be selected for their football team. Soccer, I mean. The only problem? Farron, the team captain, dislikes me on sight. Determined to win him over, I start a charm offensive, but nothing works. He only hates me more.

Until the animosity comes to an explosive release…and we end up kissing each other. How did that happen when neither of us has ever been attracted to a guy before? Farron wants to let it run its course and get it out of our system, but I doubt that’ll work. I’m falling for him hard, but he has no idea who I really am. I fear that if he finds out, he’ll never speak to me again…

The Prince and the Player is the first book in the Prince Pact series and features an undercover, sunshiney prince and a grumpy, handsome soccer captain, two guys who mistake hate for attraction, a double bi-awakening, and two opposites who attract each other like magnets.

Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Jax Calder

Genres: Romance, Sports, M M Romance, LGBT, Royalty, Enemies To Lovers, Audiobook

9 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 25, 2025

About the author

Would you like the long or the short version of my bio?

The short? You got it.

I write steamy gay romance books and I love it. I also love reading books. Books are everything.

How was that?

A little more detail? Gotcha.

I started writing my first stories when I was a teen…on a freaking typewriter. I still have these, and they’re adorably romantic. And bad, haha. Fear of failing kept me from following my dream to become a romance author, so you can imagine how proud and ecstatic I am that I finally overcame my fears and self doubt and did it. I adore my genre because I love writing and reading about flawed, strong men who are just a tad broken..but find their happy ever after anyway.

My favorite books to read are pretty much all MM/gay romances as long as it has a happy end. Kink is a plus… Aside from that, I also read a lot of nonfiction and not just books on writing. Popular psychology is a favorite topic of mine and so are self help and sociology.

Hobbies? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Just kidding. I love traveling, spending time near the ocean, and hiking. But I love books more.

Come hang out with me in my Facebook Group Nora’s Nook where I share previews, sneak peeks, freebies, fun stuff, and much more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/noras...

Wanna get first dibs on freebies, updates, sales, and more? Sign up for my newsletter (no spamming your inbox full…promise!) here: http://www.noraphoenix.com/newsletter/

You can also stalk me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoraFromBHR
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On Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nora-...

Reviews

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐
Genre ~ MM sports romance
Series ~ Prince Pact #1
Setting ~ Ohio
Publication date ~ March 25, 2025
Publisher ~ Boldwood Books
Est Page Count ~ 282 (p+ 30 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 8 hours 4 minutes
Narrators ~ Charlie Klæboe Svensson, Barclay Craig
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ double bi~awakening, lots of soccer, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, enemies to lovers, some steamage

Tore & Farron
Tore has left Norway to go to university in the states. He wants to stay incognito and doesn’t tell anyone that he’s a Prince and 4th in line to the throne. He’s really excited to play soccer and learn about a different culture than he’s used to. He wasn’t expecting to get the evil eye from a certain teammate over and over again for no reason.

Farron is the captain of the soccer team and isn’t too thrilled to have a new foreign rich boy on his team. It’s a classic case of a poor boy judging a book by its fancy cover without seeing what's inside first. Assume could be his middle name. This made it take quite a while for me to warm up to him. However, I did love how committed he was to his family. I loved the Thanksgiving chapter and how Tore was welcomed with open arms and truly seemed like he enjoyed spending time with them.

Overall, I definitely had to picture these two as adults and not college age, but I felt their awakening was realistic. The epilogue was a nice look into what's happening in 3 years.

Cover gripe ~ Farron is on the left and Tore is on the right. Tore is blonde and Farror is dark haired. 🤔

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the above info for reference. I am happy to see there are 2 narrators being both characters are male.

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ X

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for these kinds of books. Hate at first site. Turns to admiration. Becomes sexual attraction. Permanent lovers. It's always like that right? When you hate someone, you do everything in your power to find silly situations to still be around each other. Well, no, not really, but then again... the line between hate and love is very blurry. Intense emotions come tumbling int your life and mind, and some of us hate what we really want to be or have, right? Enough about my personal idiosyncrasies (tho if you're ready this, you probably feel the same way)... onto the book thoughts!

Both main characters have charm, and a few not-so-wonderful qualities, but they have hearts of gold. There are lovely romantic scenes and relationship (friendship, teammates, et al) levels to analyze and achieve. Happy Endings. Good but not overly explicit sexual scenes. All the right ingredients, plus one is a prince, so it adds that extra layer. Made for a great afternoon of reading. That said, and I say this about many LGBTQ books... there are so few that seem based in any sense of reality where readers could say, hey... this could happen to me. Makes me question, are books written to provide fantasy even if they're not in the fantasy genre, or should some have merit in what could happen. Would those even be interesting?

I always come back to this kind, tho, so it must mean I like the fantasy myself, eh? Thanks for a fun trip, Nora Phoenix.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. It was a very cute and simple story and I didn’t really have any issues with it. I did feel that it was a little bit rushed to be honest, but other than that, I didn’t really have any issues.

I would give this five stars, but I did think that it would be longer and it wasn’t as long as I wanted it to be. There didn’t seem as much buildup as I thought there was going to be and one of the main characters was marketed as a player, but he doesn’t act like a player honestly at all throughout the book. Kid was lovestruck the whole time and honestly, both of them were. There’s no problem with that of course.

I just thought that there would be more tension and there would be more angst and there wasn’t as much as I wanted there to be.

But all in all, it was very cute ! 🥰

[Meags · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I’ll start by saying, that despite my middle-ground rating, I enjoyed this M/M story a great deal, whipping through it with ease and leaving me eager to read ALL OF the forthcoming sequels.

Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to this series-starter the moment I realised all of the tropes and themes that would be at play in this one.

☆ Royal Romance
☆ Opposites Attract
☆ New Adult
☆ Double bi-awakening
☆ Sports romance
☆ Grumpy x sunshine

Honestly, even just one of these tropes is usually enough to make me sit up and pay attention, but the promise of all of them left me very excited to read this story. And, for the most part, I liked how these tropes were explored.

I was immediately hooked by the series premise, which sees four royal friends pledging to spend a year abroad, incognito, to live a regular life before the weight of their responsibilities truly kicked in back home.

In this first instalment, The Prince and the Player, we see Prince Tore of Norway get to live his American dream, moving into a dorm room on an Ohio college campus, studying and playing soccer as a freshman, making friends with (nearly) all he meets, simply as exchange student and sunshine-y Tore.

Everyone warms to Tore immediately, except for soccer captain and eternally grumpy senior Farron, who has no time for rich kids like Tore, showboating and stealing the spotlight on the pitch and coming at him with golden retriever, eager-to-please energy.

Tore and Farron were the consummate opposites attract pairing, butting heads at every interaction—or mere glance across a room—mainly because Farron was a niggly bastard, who had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas, projecting the weight of his familial responsibilities and his attached hangups relating to wealth and entitlement on undeserving Tore.

There was a lot of assuming and pigeonholing going on here, at least from Farron’s side of things, and although I usually enjoy a bit of caustic banter as MCs engage in verbal foreplay, I couldn’t help but feel like Farron’s level-of-grump was just TOO MUCH at times, shifting from what should have been amusing interactions full of UST, to countless moments of OTT vitriol that just served to overwhelm me a lot of the time, rather than sympathize as intended.

Still, I enjoyed the ease with which both Tore and Farron grabbed hold of their attraction, once acknowledged, and happily explored their shifting self-perceptions of their sexualities with acceptance and eagerness. The chemistry and sexual exploration shared was adequately fun and steamy, quite perfect for a new adult story of this nature, with the deeper feelings following at a decent, natural pace.

The third-act-breakup drama, although obviously expected due to Tore’s hidden royal identity, was still, perhaps, a little overlong in the separation it caused, at least for me. December through to Spring Break isn’t mere “weeks” apart, but rather MONTHS apart, by my count, which just rubbed me wrong in how long Farron took to pull his head out of his arse and get his man back. However, the romantic resolution and the subsequent epilogue went a long way to ease any niggles I had.

I also appreciated that this was a sports romance that actually featured quite a bit of on-page sporty behaviour. I’ve read a lot of sports romances lately that haven’t really had much in terms of game play or training on-page, which just makes things a bit harder to find genuine, IMO, so the tracking of Tore and Farron’s season with the Hawley Hawks was fun to follow, providing some of the highlight moments of the entire story for me.

I may have only read a handful of stories penned by Nora Phoenix, thus far, but I’ve continually enjoyed her easy writing style, her full ensemble cast of characters, her effortless execution of favourite tropes, and the low-angst tone in which she writes.

The Prince and the Player was a solid start to a promising series and more than enough to leave me eager and impatient for more.


***A special thanks to the publishers (via Netgalley) for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[kaye taz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️.5/5
format: audiobook
narration: 🎤🎤.5:5

thank god this is over.

no. just…no.

i might come back with a review with what didn’t work. but in general, nothing worked.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, this was a bit tropey, but also a whole lot of fun!

This is the story of Norwegian prince Tore Haakon von Glücksberg who makes a pact with his friends to spend a year abroad in the US to be just Tore for once.
There, he joins the colleges football - sorry, I mean soccer - team and meets his new team captain Farron: the most grumpy, brooding, defensive guy with the biggest chip on his shoulder you’ll ever meet.
And sparks fly. First in the form of unmatched animosity and then in form of the most delicious sexual tension and chemistry and utter obsession with each other. This was definitely the highlight of this book ❤️‍🔥

And while I enjoyed exploring their relationship for the most part, I did have a few issues, especially with Farron, who frankly was quite difficult to like: he was envious, quick to judge, rude, resentful, hot-and-cold and I honestly had troubles understanding how Tore could fall for him. While he did soften a bit over time, I still wasn’t fully convinced by his redemption arc - it felt more like a small shift rather than real growth.
Tore, on the other hand, was lovely 🥰

So yeah, in general I’d say this was nothing new or too special and I could see the ending coming - third act breakup and all - after the first few pages. Nevertheless I had a good time reading this and am looking forward to see how Tore’s friends got on during their US-adventures in the next instalments of this series 💕

3,5⭐️

Big thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

[julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.6 ˖⁺‧✮

the idea of the book was so fun and refreshing! the prince went undercover to US where he played football or soccer (whatever they called it) with the college team. he met the captain with whom he shared an interesting chemistry that soon turned into a relationship.

this book definitely gave vibes of red, white and royal blue book (not sure about the name but you got it). the prince was very elegant, elite and sounded british to me, for whatever reason, even though he wasn’t. captain was cocky, little mean and unreasonable to the prince.

here comes the first thing i didn’t enjoy. i understood that captain was shocked by this “new” guy who came to the team and was not bad at soccer. i also understand that his attraction to prince, scared him, making his character mean and cold. but sometimes it was too unreasonable. prince did nothing wrong to deserve this type of treatment.

secondly, there was tension but not chemistry. they were fun together but i don’t seem them together in the future. i just don’t.

it was nice to see how the royal family overcome rules and were supportive of this new relationship. on the same line, the main conflict wasn’t much of a conflict. i genuinely don’t understand the hate toward the prince. he didn’t do that much? it being a royal change that much about him? he is still the same guy.

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riddle me this. Why would the man you're in love with being a prince after all be the trigger for an epic crash out?

In this economy? So I'm never beating the gold digger allegations and maybe that's okay but this is a bloody romance for God's sake, since WHEN are we against a literal Prince Charming?

Not only is it objectively not even a crime but additionally, it's not even something Tore did TO Farron.

I haaaaaaaate when one MC has more main character syndrome than the other because babes, this is a duet, NOT a solo.

And it's incredibly unfair and self-absorbed to make it about you that someone chose to live their life a certain way BEFORE they ever met you.

To crown this nonsense, Tore honestly had valid concerns about NOT telling him. Farron had THEE biggest chip on his shoulder about rich people. For someone who claimed to hate people judging him and his family for their financial status, he was pretty good at doing it to others.

Imagine falling in love with someone who hates rich people and is consistently vocal about it. How (- and why) would you tell him you're a prince?

No offense (very much offense) but Tore had literally met this man mere months ago???? And suffered through countless instances of being judged by him for being rich so it's really rich (pun intended) for Farron to have the AUDACITY to hold it against him for not telling him so soon into the relationship.

Pick a struggle. You can't be Mr The Rich Are All Sick Fucks and ALSO Mr You Should Have Told Me You Were A Prince Immediately.

Which is it, boo?

And honestly, Farron was nitpicking just to nitpick. HE was the problem child in that relationship. HE was the judgemental one. HE was the one who was an arsehole 82 times before they started dating. HE was the one never initiating.

Sorry, but I get why Tore wasn't jumping through hoops to lay himself bare for more ridicule.

Not to mention, he had his reasons for wanting to experience a normal life without royal obligations. (And again, they had literally nothing to do with Farron)

And in all this, btw, I haven't even touched on the salient point that he was literally going to tell him that day. Sorry for the inconvenience of his uncle, the king, dying and necessitating his immediate retreat back to Norway. 🙄

The actual betrayal was Farron knowing Tore for all those months and still thinking of him as a rich entitled arsehole who was playing games with him. This was literally a case of Farron making Tore the scapegoat for all his unresolved issues with his father's family.

And guys, this entitled prick COULDN'T even pronounce Tore's name correctly? (and honestly this MAY be an audiobook issue because both narrators say it differently and I'd probably never have noticed this in print but—) if that man says his name is Too-rah, why the fuck does Farron keep calling him Toh-ree? WHO TF IS TOH-REE?

Literally one of the first things Tore corrected him on when they'd just met.

And even after all the hullabaloo was resolved and Tore told him his surname, Farron was all...

"As if I even stand a chance of pronouncing that correctly."

Like —we know. You can't even say the 4 letter one.

Commoners, ew.

***helped a bit that Farron ended up being the one doing the apology tour(as he should) but by then I was so soured on him that there was no saving this for me.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I liked the concept and the idea of the spare prince’s pact. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely keen to continue with the series because I believe it has potential.

But! This particular story didn’t work that well for me. Tore is a wonderful, precious, adorable baby boy prince, an absolute ray of sunshine and the most polite of polite company. And for whatever reason, his love interest is a complete dick with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

I can completely understand Farron’s general animosity toward the wealthy. I mean, that’s fair. But his specific hatred toward Tore and the constant hostility made me deeply uncomfortable. Their interactions were horrible and cruel. Farron didn’t just hate that Tore was rich; he constantly mocked his accent, his speech patterns, his idioms, and even the fact that he said football instead of soccer. And seriously, dude, if you claim to love the sport, that’s what gets you going? The rest of the world calls it football. Why are you so angry about that?

The way their relationship developed felt rushed and didn’t make much sense. And that dick move after they slept together, followed by that interview? I honestly don’t know how my sweet Tore forgave him.

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t a fan. I couldn’t, in good conscience, root for them as a couple because Farron never did anything to make the reader believe he was worthy of Tore. It’s not until the very last chapter that he even starts acting like a decent human in love, but by then, it was too little, too late for my heart to fully forgive him.

[Ashton Reads]

DNF @ 28%. First off, thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited for this one when I saw the comparison to Red, White, & Royal Blue, but unfortunatley it fell flat for me. It wasn't a "bad" book, but I wasn't feeling a connection to the characters, and Farron's hatred towards Tore was a little heavy handed.

Also, this might be a minor thing, but in the scene where Farron interrupts the guy who was trying to drag home a drunk girl to SA, I was disappointed that Farron just threatened the guy and then internally was all "I know he won't dare to do something to her now" and let them still leave together! I think that scene would be much more impactful if Farron had also either 1. Gone with them to make sure the girl got home or 2. Taken the girl from the douchebag and taken her home himself. Him just verbally saying something felt like the bare minimum of intervention, especially when that other guy could still totally SA the girl and she's too drunk to even really remember! And it's not like Farron was following up with her the next day to double check sooo?! I think that scene was meant to make us like Farron after he was so unlikable towards Tore, but it missed the mark for me.

[Cassandra]

"perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Jax Calder"

sleeper agent activated

[ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 - rushed, no REAL character or relationship development, way more tell than show, predictable. rounded to three stars because it’s the first MM-rom book in a ridiculously long time that kept me reading until the end, and I will most likely pick up the sequels for the rest of the friend group when I have nothing else to read.

[BeckieLouLou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 Stars. Audiobook. Young adults, college age. A contemporary story of enemies to lovers, teammates on the same college sports team.

The writing, editing and narration are all good. Where this book misses the mark is in the enemies-to-lovers aspect, which is a very difficult trope to pull off for me. Unfortunately, the author made the “enemy” MC far too unlikeable and therefore very difficult to connect with or cheer for when the tide turns. After being hard to like for the first half of the book, he gets only marginally more likeable after his big ah-ha moment. There was also a SERIOUS lack of remorse, no groveling, no big gesture, no passionate or hugely romantic overture. In the end, not very satisfying. To satisfy, there needs to be a balance between the level of jerk and the level of penance. This was all jerk and no penance, so it didn’t work. There are other enemies to lovers books where the MC has been egregiously, fantastically out of line, but that jerk suffered and struggled to get back his lover, that’s when it works, that’s what I appreciate in this trope.

HEA, m/m, Oslo, Norway, prince, royalty, American, medium angst, mild drama, mild/medium spice, tb roles, bi-awakening, enemies to lovers, rich/poor.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, exactly what I needed right now 🥰

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heated Rivalry but make it college soccer and one of them is also secretly a Norwegian prince. Doesn’t have to work, but it sure did for me!

[Chen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love me an mm romance, so I popped in an immediate request for The Prince and the Player by Nora Phoenix. Enemies to lovers? Yes please. Grumpy/Sunshine double bi-awakening? Sign me up! What could go wrong? Turns out, quite a lot.

Tore, a Prince of Norway, wants to spend a year in America 'undercover' as a normal student playing on the soccer team. He wants to experience life as a student, a break away from the strict, constricted life of obligations he must lead. But why does handsome team captain Farron take such an immediate dislike like to Tore, and what happens when the tension takes a sexual turn?

First of all, there's something you need to know about British people, we're a contradiction. Is it okay if we mock the Royal Family? Of course it is, they belong to us and our history. Are we going to get offended when Americans do it? Abso-blooming-lutely. Throwing this in early doors in a novel is not starting off on an even keel Nora Phoenix, because it means I'm already irritated with you.

Then we get onto Tore, who is kind and sweet, and very endearing. However, you write him heavily influenced by the British language. 99% of the novel is him speaking English, even to his parents. You make a massive deal of him forgetting that Americans call Football 'Soccer.' I freely admit, I don't know much about Norwegian culture, so don't know translations, however, the novel read as if Tore was heavily English based. So then, why is he using Americanisms such as "cleats", "sweater", "gas on the fire", "shin guards", "ass"? It was inconsistent to the character as sticking with the novel set up, it should be "studs", "jumper", "petrol", "shin pads" and "arse". If you're telling me he sounds like an "English Prince", make sure you do your research and make him use the correct vocabulary. There's no way he'd say "knackered" in one breath but "proper thrashing" in another.

Oh, and having a character say "As us brits say, keep calm and carry on." Hate to break it to you, but we don't. It's something that is printed on cheap merchandise and sold at inflated prices in London gift shops.

So yes, that didn't exactly help the situation, but I "stayed calm and carried on" reading. However, I just got more annoyed and I'll tell you why.

The character of Farron is obnoxious and immediately unlikable. The chip on his shoulder, and the fact that he dislikes someone immediately because they come from money, is immature and not believable for someone of college age. Later we get a reason for this, but it's a, too late, and b, still not strong enough a reason for his pretty shitty behaviour.

When it comes to their relationship, I wish I could give more positives, but honestly, it comes from nowhere. I think there's definite sexual attraction and lust, but Tore talks about falling for Farron and he doesn't know a thing about him, only that he's been awful and dismissive of him since they met. Doesn't sound romantic to me. I wanted to see how their relationship evolved, but we weren't given it.

The story is so underdeveloped, as we learn nothing about either character coming to terms with their bi-awakening. Huge life-altering decisions are made instantly. An epiphany happens from nowhere, and the character is completely fine with it, even though soccer is supposed to mean everything to him. I just can't understand why an editor hasn't helped out by pointing these things out.

Then we have a teammate outing them and that being an acceptable thing to do? Absolutely not. Can't say no enough.

Phoenix clearly was heavily influenced by Red, White and Royal Blue, but fails hard to capture the magic and beautiful development of Henry and Alex's relationship. Incredibly disappointing I'm afraid.

Cute front cover though.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Stoic Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just devoured this book—heartwarming, tender, and just the right or full amount of sexiness. Guaranteed to leave you smiling. Don’t miss this one! 👌

[⋄⋆ taylor ⋆⋄ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5☆

This was a cute read! I quite enjoyed the writing style, and the characters were well developed too.

I really liked Tore’s pompous/posh way of talking. That was funny. And as for Farron, I thought his home life was well developed, and I understood where his grievances came from. He learns that not all rich people are the same, and understands that Tore is different. So that was admirable and a good character arc.

Unfortunately there were a few things I did not enjoy.

I didn’t think their relationship was fully developed. For me it was more about lust. I don’t know, I just didn’t see the emotional connection because it was very fast paced. It would’ve been nice to see more cute/endearing moments between the two, to really show how their love was developing.

My biggest concern was the fact that their teammate forced both Tore and Farron to come out. Their teammate walked in on them making out, then immediately called the entire soccer team into the room so T&F could share the news because he “couldn’t keep a secret”. Well buddy that was not your choice to make! If anyone did that in real life, they would be shamed for it and honestly I would stop being their friend. That was totally uncool and not right, at all.

It also would’ve been nice to see more development of the boys’ journey with discovering they’re bi. It was sort of like “ok I liked kissing him, I’m bi,” But there’s usually more inner turmoil, or it usually takes a while to come to terms with your sexuality changing. It’s not an instantaneous acceptance of it, especially when they’ve gone their whole lives thinking they were straight.

Overall, this is a cute, surface level book. It was easy to read, and yeah it was cute. But I didn’t love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the chance to read an ARC of The Prince and the Player through NetGalley (thank you!), and wow—I devoured this book in a day! It was completely addictive, and I couldn’t put it down.

Tore and Farron had such an amazing dynamic. The enemies-to-lovers tension? Perfection. I loved how their relationship evolved, and their bi-awakening journey felt real and well-developed. Tore’s sunshine personality clashing with Farron’s grumpiness made for some great moments, and their chemistry was off the charts.

The story itself was so well done—fun, emotional, and full of heart. If you love royal romances, sports romance, or just a really engaging romance with great characters, definitely check this one out.

[Jordan Fischer | julietfoxreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love royal romance and/or sports romance - you NEED to try The Prince and the Player! I went in expecting more typical royal romance, but it's actually got quite a lot of soccer, which is definitely a sport I've been wanting to read more about. Tons of tension, hidden identity and opposites attract, and a double bi-awakening, this awesome low angst read was exactly what I needed. Highly recommend checking it out!

Y'all I LOVE Tore SO much. He's kind, talented, and incredibly thoughtful on top of being a Norwegian prince. Even when he's dealing with some pretty intense animosity coming from Farron, he still never fails in being unflinchingly polite - a golden retriever with an accent. And then there's Farron - the story is a pretty intense hate to love, but most of that is one-sided. It took me a while to understand why Farron is so harsh towards Tore, but once he opened up it made a lot more sense. THAT SAID, I do love how explosive their chemistry became once they did realize that they were attracted to each other - OMG it's HOT. The spice in this book is really fun since both guys are just realizing that they are into guys. I listened to this one as an audiobook and y'all, I am OBSESSED with Charlie Klæboe Svensson's accent - I could listened to him all day. A new favorite for sure!

I was really glad that the hidden identity aspects of this book didn't cause any truly significant angst - I was more hung up on Farron disliking Tore so much than I was on the fact that Tore keeping the fact that he's a prince a secret haha. And OMG, I loved Tore's friend group of fellow royals - I am THRILLED that this will be a series, and I cannot wait to read the other guys' stories.

[sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Asshole Main Character stops a random girl who never shows up again from being sexually assaulted so the reader can rest assured he’s not That Much of an asshole … and actually he ends up leaving her with the guy anyway while feeling all high and mighty about it ??? bit strange isn’t it

and don’t get me started on this book’s weird commentary about wealth

[Eugenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book fell flat for me. It was superficial and, at times, tried too hard with the enemies to lovers trope. This is my reminder that this author is not for me.

[Ellie Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should I feel bad about giving this the same rating as the Safekeep

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enemies-to-lovers trope and grumpy/sunshine exploration that was quite well done. Prince Tore of Norway comes to a small college in Ohio, US, to anonymously study and play football/soccer for a year, and immediately runs headlong into a rivalry with Farron, a senior and the team captain. Farron hates all rich people, and he hates Tore on sight. Tore doesn't understand the animosity and does his best to remain unaffected. Things develop slowly, and the author does a nice job exploring Farron's homelife and his reasons for why he is so aggravated with Tore, and I also liked how the author portrayed Tore, especially his formal/posh way of phrasing things.

Their dynamic is explosive, before and after they both realize they're attracted to each other, and I quite enjoyed the tension between them. Of course, Farron has no idea that Tore is a prince, and this is obviously the part that eventually causes... well, you read this for yourself.

Overall, this story delivered on what it promised, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The only thing I didn't like so much was their teammate outing them after catching them in a compromising position to the football/soccer team - that wasn't cool, even if Tore and Farron didn't make a fuss.

This was my first novel-length book I've read from this author, but it certainly won't be the last.

** I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

[Moraa]

DNF @ 65%

Four rich princes give up their royal lives for a year to experience living like commoners.

Listen, as far as premises go, I don’t know whether to be alarmed or outraged.

Nevertheless, I was curious enough to start this on a whim (I’m weak for illustrated covers, I can’t help it).

Bored.

That’s it. That’s the review.

I was bored when Tore and his friends were hatching their little plan. Bored when Farron was hating on Tore for no fucking reason. Bored when they eventually got to the fucking…

You get the gist, I was plenty bored.

At first I thought it was the writing style and that’s part of the problem but mostly it’s that the characters don’t feel real, especially Tore. In what world would a prince, even one 10th in line for the throne, not have daily duties to attend to? I don’t know, it’s asking a little much for me to suspend my disbelief enough to buy into the idea that the highest aspiration of a Norwegian prince is to attend an American university.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 ⭐️

The plot of this book is as follows: man (painfully and embarrassingly) discovers ✨nuance✨

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Nora, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of her book, The Prince & The Player.

4/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

Read this story if you like:
🖤 rivals/enemies to lovers
🖤 sports (soccer) romances
🖤 gay/bi-awakening 🏳️‍🌈
🖤 open door spicy spice 🌶️
🖤 one is a secret royal
🖤 … the Midwest? (Ohio) 🙂
🖤 Red, White, & Royal Blue vibes

Prince Tore wants to go somewhere where he can be himself without the royal title. He had a chance to be a big soccer star in Europe, but had to give it up for royal obligations. He convinces his family to let him attend college in America (at a fake university in Ohio). He joins to soccer team and immediately the team captain, Farron, hates him. He’s everything Farron hates - a privileged rich kid.

Eventually the hate comes to a head when they are forced to room together during an away game. Farron kisses him! They both thought of themselves as straight at this point, so they were both confused. They can’t stop fighting and finding themselves all over each other. Eventually they decide that they are just doing it for sex and to ‘explore.’

Their relationship changes as Farron takes Tore home for Thanksgiving. However, they still keep it a secret from everyone. Also Tore has still not told anyone that he is a prince. Their team goes to the championship and they win (YAY!). Unfortunately Tore’s uncle passes shortly after (he was the King) and he must head home, but doesn’t tell Farron why.

Farron does eventually find out who Tore is, while scrolling his phone. He decides not to reply to any of his texts. When Tore comes back to school after Christmas, Farron tells him he knows who he REALLY is and doesn’t want to hear any excuses. Time passes and they do not make up. Spring Break comes and Tore decides to leave school for good, without telling Farron.

This is the kick in the ass that Farron needed to realize he was in love with Tore. He flies around the world to apologize and tell him he loves him. And of course it’s a HAPPILY EVER AFTER 💕

[Jess.bookrecs · Rating 4 out of 5]

||4.25||

Reading this truly felt like watching a movie. Literally words cannot express how deeply swoon worthy this story is. It has to be the most cliche asf story I’ve ever read to but by the stars I ate it up.
Screaming at nothing, shrieking and kicking my feet while also feeling my eyes sting with tears multiple times. I was amused by this story dammit.
I love how we see both sides of the MC’s in full view with the author doing well not to favor ones background over the other even tho there’s a clear distinction. One of the MC’s did piss me off a lot tho Tore was a sweetheart too much of a sweetheart sometimes. Forron on the other hand needed a good smacking here and there. He was so goddamn selfish and very ignorant sometimes that I wanted to shake him but I fear It just added more lore to the story.
The pacing was fantastic, easy to get hooked on which I’m grateful for bc I was a bit apprehensive about not really understanding a cultural setting and politics that are different from mine but omg it works!
The Norwegian nicknames and proclamations of love. The British vs American language barriers and differences. It just works and I was happy to travel, explore and view love in different settings with these two
Honestly just slay. I can’t wait for book 2
Hopefully NetGalley will approve my arc request when the time comes 😭

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot more than I expected. I don't like (and usually tend to avoid) enemies to lovers books. However, I love Nora's writing, so I decided to give this one a shot. It was really nice. I like how the relationship had time and space to develop and doesn't jump from enemies to sex to suddenly we don't hate each other anymore, and any animosity is more justified and examined than just "I hate you but you're hot", which is a pit this trope tends to fall to and which annoys me to no end.
In the end I actually liked it. Surprising, but pleasant to me.

[VickydpBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book

Being a prince may seem like a fairytale, but to me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. That’s why I’m excited when I get permission from my uncle—the king of Norway—to go undercover as a student at an American college for a year. And I’m even more ecstatic to be selected for their football team. Soccer, I mean. The only problem? Farron, the team captain, dislikes me on sight. Determined to win him over, I start a charm offensive, but nothing works. He only hates me more.

✨ Tropes & Themes ✨ ✧ MM Romance🔥 ✧ All the spice 🌶️✧ Grumpy/Sunshine🌞✧ Opposites Attract💗✧ Bi Awakening ���� ✧ ⚽️ College Soccer