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Runaway Prince Hotel #6

Tech Prince Troubles

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He came to this human hotel to disappear. Instead, he found a barista who makes espresso taste like home—and glitches no one else can solve.


Adri Linari, overlooked tech mage and younger sibling of Niralen’s charismatic Crown Prince, is more comfortable with schematics than small talk. Overwhelmed by royal obligations, a sensory-frying engagement party, and the ache of always being the odd one out, he runs—straight to the Renversé Hotel in Princedelphia, Oregon. All he wants is quiet, a place to draw, and maybe fix a few circuits.


He doesn’t expect the barista whose espresso tastes like the calm he radiates.


Single trans dad Sam Walker thrives on structured chaos—managing Café Magnifique, co-parenting five incredible kids, and serving up caffeine and kindness to a revolving door of patrons. Falling for the mysterious, purple-skinned stranger who only ever orders espresso and somehow brightens his mornings? He doesn’t have time for that.


But something’s wrong in the hotel’s west wing, and now they’re tangled in logic-defying glitches that even mess with Sam’s precious machines—and an attraction that won’t stop buzzing.


Tech Prince Troubles” is a spicy, slow-burn male/male urban fantasy romance full of mysterious glitches, coffee-fueled flirting, found family, single dad vibes, and an opinionated espresso machine named Gandalf. It’s book 6 in the Runaway Prince Hotel collab series, where magical royals find love over a cup of coffee. HEA guaranteed.




Each book can be read as a standalone in the multi-author series, but characters cross over.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2025

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About the author

Blaine D. Arden

30 books144 followers
Blaine D. Arden is an EPIC Award-winning author of Romantic Speculative Fiction. Non-binary and proud, ey sings eir way through life in platform boots and delights in creating magical worlds for queer heroes to bump into the loves of their lives at just the wrong—or right—moment. Ey believes in celebrating the transformative power of diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of life, and that our unique experiences and perspectives are what make us strong: “Our Difference is Our Strength.”

Born and raised in Zutphen, the Netherlands, Blaine spent eir youth immersed in books, daydreaming, and making up stories. Quite content in entertaining emself, ey evolved from telling stories to eir favourite doll, to acting them out with eir Barbies, and finally, putting pen to paper.

When not writing, Blaine enjoys singing, sewing, and indulging in building LEGO botanical sets. Ey lives in the Netherlands with eir supportive partner of over thirty years. Despite their differences—Blaine craves shade and doesn’t drink the beers he brews, he doesn’t read romance and loves soaking up the sun—they enjoy watching quiz shows during dinner and playing cooperative games.

From the award-winning Oren’s Right to Aliens, Smith and Jones, Blaine’s books offer readers a safe and enchanting escape into richly imagined worlds with a unique blend of adventure, emotional depth, and belonging.
______________________
Non-Binary / Asexual
ey/em/eir | she/her | Mx.

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5 stars
18 (56%)
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12 (37%)
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2 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Kaje Harper.
Author 95 books2,747 followers
October 8, 2025
This story gives us Adri - child of the ruling family of Niralen - a race of purple-skinned 3-digit-per-hand humanoids who all have magical talents (and all use "he" pronouns.) Adri is the misfit of his family, talented with technology and electricity, where the rest of his family are tuned to biology and the world of living plants. He's an introvert, easily overwhelmed by noise, crowds, and distraction at a level that in a human might be considered clinical anxiety. The rest of the family are cheerful extroverts. At his brother the Crown Prince's engagement party, an overwhelmed Adri decides to run away, at least for a while, choosing a hotel suggested by a random stranger.

At the hotel, incognito, he's told he can work for a room, and he encounters a wonderful man who makes sublime espresso (his weakness) in the cafe across the street.

Sam is a barista and the cafe manager, a dad to five kids (one of them nonbinary) he's helping raise in a kind of polycule relationship with his ex and other adults. I had a bit of trouble at first keeping the kids and adults in Sam's family straight, but by the end they'd all grown on me.

The magic is sketched in just enough to keep the story moving along. The real draws here are the characters, the way Sam interacts with a whole group of people he loves while courting Adri, and how Adri comes out of his shell.

I hadn't read others in the series - I assume there were cameos, but I didn't feel I was missing anything by not recognizing them. This one stood alone. I liked the LGBTQ+ rep, and enjoyed the sweetness of the romance, mostly pretty conflict-free and driven by Adri's fears and Sam's busy life. The ending is sweet and warm.
Profile Image for J. Coatsworth.
Author 92 books191 followers
January 14, 2026
After finishing an alt history book about the French revolution, I was in the mood for something a little lighter. And Tech Prince Troubles, by Blaine D. Arden, fit the bill perfectly.

It’s a shared world book, the last one in a series by number of romance authors. In each one, a prince meets and falls in love with a barista in the fictional city of Princedelphia, Oregon, at or around the Renversé hotel.

In this particular book, the prince is Adri, a member of an alien race that came to Earth a little over 100 years earlier to settle on an island in the Pacific. The Niraleni have an affinity for electricity, and have established themselves as programmers and tech workers throughout the world. Adri’s older brother Frank has gotten engaged, and the engagement party is too much for Adri’s overwhelmed senses.

On a whim, after being handed a mysterious business card, he goes across country to stay at the Renversé hotel, where he can get away from it all and recharge. Literally. The Niraleni are able to get a charge from an electrical current by putting their hand over a socket, and are also able to interact and pay for things with their fingertips instead of using a credit card.

In Princedelphia, he meets Sam, a trans barista, who has a chaotic family life that’s full of former partners and their kids living together as a family unit. Sam is everything that Adri is not, bright and outgoing, friendly and welcoming.

Adri takes a temporary job at the hotel, helping out with some technology issues in exchange for room, board and anonymity, and he and Sam began their dance.

It’s a beautifully told story, with low stakes and a cozy small-town feel. Watching these two destined souls navigate each other is the heart of the story, although there’s also the great separate plot about what’s going on at the hotel itself. Their romance is very touching and affirming, especially the moment when Sam comes out to Adri as a trans man. It was superbly handled, and made me cry.

There’s nothing particularly earthshattering here. Just a beautiful, well-crafted love story between two very different but well matched men, whom we are rooting for the whole time through.

I have a couple very minor gripes about the story. One is that I wish I got a little more detail about Adri’s race. Where they came from, what their life was like back on the island. Maybe in another book…?

And the other was a couple comments that were meant to link this book to others in the series, but caused me a bit of confusion.

Still, those are minor quibbles. This is a very enjoyable romance about found family and learning to open yourself up to things that scare you, but may be just what you need.

Highly recommend.
870 reviews9 followers
September 7, 2025
Chkchk, sucky music, lavender honey lattes, Gandalf the Roasted, bakelite phones, no semen?, Steak Frites, strap-on, evil hair dryers, Airy

Prince Adri Linari of Niralen, an island nation off of Micronesia, is the runaway prince of this book. He's a tech mage which means his forte is electronics, machinery, and circuitry. His energy lines are blue, while his biomancer parents' and brother's are green. He's also neurodivergent causing him to feel more of an outsider in his own family. Adri ends up fleeing to the Renversé Hotel in Princedelphia OR. Its nickname is the runaway prince hotel as many royal princes seek anonymity and refuge there. And Adri is an avid espresso connisseur. When he reaches the hotel, he goes to Café Magnifique that's connected to the hotel.

Sam Walker is a barista/manager of the café. He's taken by the beautiful, tall, purple-skinned stranger who walks into the café and orders an espresso. The stranger is mysterious and enigmatic, but Sam wants to get to know more about the exquisite Niren.

This is enjoyable and satisfying. We see characters from the other Runaway Prince Hotel books. However, it can be read as a standalone. The series is a multi-author collaboration. I happily recommend this.
Profile Image for Jeanette Waters.
2,164 reviews5 followers
September 12, 2025
Chapter one which introduced Prince Adri Linari of Niralen was a sweet start. Attending his brother's, the crown prince, wedding, the crowds are too much, the music awful. He just had to get away. Chapter two is when things started going downhill. The introduction of Sam, the barista, and his chaotic (very) blended family was a bit overwhelming. We jumped right into that van ride with a flurry of children. Were there four? It seemed like forty. I haven't read anything else by this author, and I don't know if this is their 'regular' style. Or maybe it's an adaptation to fit the multiauthor universe.
This is my own personal opinion, so I'm not going to ding the author with a 3 star review. After more than 10 years reading mostly MM, I have my preferences for tropes and personalities. Too many, too much found here.
If you concentrate on Adri and Sam's love story, you find an easy, low angst tale. I wouldn't have been bored or disappointed if the author left off some of the bells and whistles. Just give me steam and a bit of angst and I'm a happy camper.
I received an advanced copy of this book from GRR and this is my review.
31 reviews
August 20, 2025
I got an ARC of this book in exchange for this honest review. I volunteered because I love this author, particularly her no-nonsense, realistic characters and her incredibly vivid worldbuilding.
One of those things was missing here, I think due to the nature of a multi-author series based on the same city. Princedelphia just isn't as detailed and fantastic a setting as most of her other books have, and the depictions of technology and IT work are... very strange. If incorrect or inconsistent science/magic bothers you, this isn't a book you should be reading.
I did like the characters. I enjoyed Sam's quiet and happy family moments the most, and his barista scenes, and Adri's attemps at adapting to Princedelphia. There isn't much angst, just a couple getting to know each other in a sort of slice of life book, if that life so happens to have technomancer aliens living and working amongst us. There is a conflict in the middle but it's not the center of the story, just like in real life I suppose.
3,5 rounded up to 4.
2,063 reviews25 followers
September 8, 2025
I absolutely adored this beautifully crafted romance between Sam, the gentle and grounded barista, and Adri, the lonely young tech mage prince with striking purple skin and a heart aching for connection. Blaine D. Arden has built a world that feels effortlessly real, where magic and modernity intertwine in the most heartwarming way. From the moment Adri arrives at the hotel, seeking peace but instead stumbling into a mystery of electrical glitches, I was hooked. His journey leads him to Café Magnifique—a haven of warmth, espresso perfection, and the kind of love that sneaks up on you. Sam, with his calming presence and welcoming blended family, offers Adri not just refuge, but a place to belong. Honestly, I wish I could pull up a chair at the café and join them myself. The story surprised me in all the best ways, with tender moments, unexpected twists, and a romance that felt both magical and deeply human.
71 reviews2 followers
August 25, 2025
I loved this beautifully developed, tender romance between the gentle, down-to-earth barista, Sam, and the lonely young tech mage prince, Adri. The author has crafted a world that feels utterly plausible and right from the start I was rooting for the gorgeous, purple-skinned Adri, as he seeks a place to find some quiet down time, only to be drawn into a quest to fix the mysterious electrical glitches that keep popping up at the hotel where he’s staying. True refuge beckons at Café Magnifique, where the handsome manager Sam and his perfect espresso coffee soothe Adri’s soul. As for Sam and his wonderful blended family, they sound so cool and welcoming, I only wish I could go and hang out with them.

This story surprised me at every turn and I look forward to reading more books by Blaine D. Arden. I received this book as an advanced reader copy and the opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Dana.
135 reviews
July 29, 2025
This book left a smile on my face and warmth in my heart.

There is this alien prince who is introverted and wants to get away and he ends in a cafe shop with an espresso to die for, and then he sees the barista and it's instant attraction on both ends.

Expect lots of espressos and stolen looks, technical external drama and chargings.

After they manage to finally talk and have a relationship, everything intesifies and you get a tingling that maybe they will split but no, they talk like grown ups and get over it.

After they manage to work through the blips of the relationships, there comes the i love you part and it ends sweet and it leaves you with a smile on your face.

Enjoyed this book a lot. Mushy and fluffy and good!
3,148 reviews21 followers
September 16, 2025
In fact, it is because a lot is going on at Adri's brother's engagement party that he decides to sneak away to try to find some peace of mind and to get away from that feeling of being left out and overlooked. He runs straight to Renverse Hotel and at the Cafe' he meets Sam, the barista, a single dad who co-parents a gaggle of very active children. So much for peace and getting away. There is a lot going on in this story around what is actually a lovely love story that develops between Sam and Adri. I enjoyed all of the elements as they worked together to present the life these men are living and how they find in one another a place to be content and seen by one another.
I received an ARC from GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for CatOnABlueBackground.
354 reviews5 followers
July 30, 2025
This is #6 in the multi-author Runaway Prince Hotel series. I got this as an ARC and it is the 2nd book in the series I have read (because only #1 is available at this point).

It's another runaway prince who leaves the festivities (his brother's engagement party) and runs away to the Renversé Hotel in Princedelphia. He meets a barista and sparks fly between them. There are children, and some tech glitches, and eventually a HEA. The main characters were cute, and the side characters were interesting.

A nice entry to the series.



Profile Image for Aly York.
Author 4 books7 followers
September 3, 2025
I received this ARC for my honest opinion. Tech Prince Troubles by Blaine D Arden is a cute and fun read, Adri and Sam’s relationship and how it blossomed was adorable. Adri is sick of the royal life and just wants to be an average person. Sam is a barista and has a huge family he is a part of. They meet and slowly fall for each other. Adri is weary because he is a prince. Sam is weary because he is trans and has kids. They both realize that they were both fearful and weary for nothing. Such a cute read. I recommend checking it out.
Profile Image for Virginia Lee.
2,507 reviews35 followers
September 29, 2025
A new-to-me author, and wow—this book completely blew my mind! ✨
Adri, our young prince, only wants a little peace and quiet. But, of course, life rarely gives us what we’re looking for. When he meets Sam, Adri sees the calm he’s been searching for—but instead, the two of them are thrown into a whirlwind of drama and mystery as they work to uncover where all these problems are coming from. This is a beautifully done slow burn, filled with tension, emotion, and plenty of twists to keep you hooked.
Profile Image for Amber.
1,725 reviews7 followers
December 3, 2025
I loved it!

I loved Tech Prince Troubles by Blaine D. Arden. I loved Sam and Adri's story. Adri was an interesting character. He didn't like crowds and loudness and had special noise dampening aids to help with that. I loved how he recharged and his love for espresso. I also loved Sam and his kids that he co-parents with his ex and his ex's new wife and their three kids. I also loved that Sam is trans and that one of his kids is non binary. It was a fun story to read.

I read this book using the Kindle unlimited app.
Profile Image for Belinda Zamora.
2,966 reviews8 followers
September 14, 2025
Great addition to the series

Adri is a genius, introverted tech prince who's lonely and wants to be free of his royal life.
Sam is a gentle, weary barrista who's trans, a single father, and has a large family.
They meet and are instantly drawn to each other.
There's some external technological issues that Adri has to deal with, and there's almost a problem between them, but they thankfully actually talked to one another and resolved the situation.
Profile Image for Saskia Veldhuis .
2,092 reviews18 followers
September 14, 2025
Part of a multi-author series of standalones, I haven't read any of the other books. I particularly enjoyed the combination of technology manipulation and magic, which was quite unusual. As always, the trans representation was excellent, and it was nice to have a story with no "phobias" around gender or sexuality. There can always be more prince/barista books because none will be written in the same way.
Profile Image for stardragon.
1,379 reviews7 followers
September 21, 2025
Adri is a tech mage prince, very introverted and lonely. He escapes his kingdom after an engagement party to the Renversé Hotel to get away from obligations. This hotel always has both unique characters and situations. Shortly after arriving there is an electrical glitching mystery happening. To relax he goes to the Cafe Magnifique for an expresso and meets Sam the barista. Sam has his hands full with the cafe and co-parenting five kids. This is a true love story that warms your soul.
Profile Image for Ida Umphers.
5,680 reviews48 followers
September 22, 2025
I love this hotel, its staff and its guests and every story in this series has been a winner. This one about Adri the tech mage and Sam that wonderful, caring parent was pure magic. I loved watching them fall for each other and seeing the way Sam's calm competence soothed Adri and helped him deal with his stress. The way the author developed the technical problems that needed Adri's special skills and the way Adri and Sam worked to figure out what was going on made for a great read.
Profile Image for K-Me.
2,997 reviews
September 14, 2025
I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this story and the characters. Adri was literally a stunning purple prince, but he was a tech genius not a social genius. Sam was a good guy who could help but be drawn to the stunning purple man. The cafe was legit such a warm cozy atmosphere. Adri did not feel lonely there with Sam. Very sweet romance with a lonely prince and single father.
Profile Image for Joscelyn Smith.
2,328 reviews17 followers
September 15, 2025
Sometimes you have to leave home to finally find where you belong. I really enjoyed the low angst vibe of Adri and Sam's story. It was a joy watching Sam's wonderful family welcome Adri, he so deserved the love and comfort he found with them. This was a fantastic addition to this multi-author series.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the GRR team*
5,025 reviews19 followers
September 17, 2025
Lotsa fun! Adri, is a bit socially awkward. He doesn't fit in with his Royal family. He runs away and ends up at the Renverse. He meets Sam, a single trans Dad. Sam's kids raise the chaos level of the story. Adri and Sam, find their path and blend. There is a lot of passion in the story and more fun! Nicely done, I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.
141 reviews1 follower
February 15, 2026
Tech Princes Save the Day by Fixing the Chandeliers and Electrical issues.

The excitement for the special charity ball put lots of pressure on when things began going wrong, but by focusing on the real problems and solutions, the ballroom was soon remarkably ready and decorated perfectly.
Profile Image for Deb Kel.
2,743 reviews7 followers
September 14, 2025
What a fantastic addition to this brilliant series. Just loved the uniqueness of the characters whose journey i thoroughly enjoyed following. A highly recommended read!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Louise Lilly.
182 reviews4 followers
September 12, 2025
I liked the worldbuilding and the idea of Niren species. The story didnt really catch my attention too much. Maybe it was too light and too low angst for my mood atm.
Profile Image for Kamila Mykhailiuk.
1,449 reviews12 followers
September 13, 2025
Wow! I absolutely loved this book. Amazing characters and wonderful plot. Very beautifully written and easy to read.
161 reviews1 follower
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September 14, 2025
Interesting Story

Tech Prince Troubles was an interesting paranormal romance with unique characters and an intriguing slice of life style storyline with exceptional world building.
Profile Image for Emeli Webb.
255 reviews63 followers
September 14, 2025
Tech Prince Troubles was an interesting paranormal romance with unique characters and an intriguing slice of life style storyline with exceptional world building.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews