The Prince and the Bodyguard

Prince Pact #4

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

Falling for my bodyguard could cost me everything…

I’m Prince Gregory of Great Britain, fourth in line to a crown I never wanted. All I ask for is one year of anonymity at college in America, the chance to breathe without the weight of duty crushing my chest. The King reluctantly agrees, with one I’m never alone.

That’s how Bash enters my life. My bodyguard. All quiet control, sharp instincts, and a presence I feel everywhere. Our relationship is strictly professional; we blend in together at college, but forced proximity has other ideas. His nearness becomes impossible to ignore, the tension between us tight enough to snap.

Bash needs this job to pay for his mum’s medical bills. I need him to guard my identity. I’ve hidden my sexuality for years to avoid shame and scandal and to protect the crown. And then one brave kiss later, everything changes. For the first time I feel authentic. I’m just… me. But I have a duty to England, and he’s sworn to protect me, not fall for me. Loving my bodyguard is dangerous and forbidden but taking the risk is the most real thing I’ve ever known…

Genres: Romance, M M Romance, Royalty, Contemporary, LGBT, Forced Proximity, Queer

Audible Audio

Published July 25, 2026

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...

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

Reviews

[Sjoukje · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never expected to ever one star a Nora Phoenix book, but here we are 🙄

There is so much wrong with this book I don’t even know where to start. So let’s get into the good parts first. The writing is as good as always. She knows how to write actual people. It’s clearly her own voice, no artificial intelligence involved. The MC’s are likable, there’s no stupid third act breakup (they do fight at some point, but that’s actually one of the best scenes and they don’t break up).

So what is wrong with this book it only gets one star? The combination of cultural inadequacies combined with ridiculous and unnecessary homophobia.

I know books about princes are always unrealistic and also wildly popular but this book series is next level. It’s not like The Crown was a documentary but it was at least loosely based on the actual events in the lives of the British royal family. And if you ever read anything about the royal family you’ll know they are covered in scandals. Most recent one the pedophile prince Andrew (who is the brother of the King… Anyone know the names of his daughters? Do you think they are friends with the Dutch or Swedish nephews and nieces of their Kings? No, they are not…. They’re all different generations 🙃)

And let’s not forget about the huge scandal when King Charles cheated on his wife in the nineties, and there were actual recordings of the gross voice messages he left his mistress about wanting to be her underwear or something like that. The wife was late princess Diana, who he was forced to marry because his girlfriend (also an official Lady) for some reason wasn’t deemed worthy to become the queen. Her current description in the media: Queen Camilla. So… so much for forced marriages in the British royal family. They’ve done it, they’ve learned from it and they’ve moved on. If forced marriage was still a thing, Prince Harry definitely wouldn’t have been the happy family man he is today.

And talking about royal real life scandals, the one involving the stepson of the Norwegian heir (stepson yes, because the Norwegian crown prince married a commoner, who was a divorcee with a child 😱 and that’s not the scandal I mean, because that’s was 20 years ago). This guy has been accused of (and maybe even has been convicted of) various drug related crimes and rape.

Another sort of scandal in the recent years: the fight in the Danish royal family after the children of the spare lost their royal titles because of the costs (which I think is hilarious, but let’s not get further into that here).

So long story short: in this book the nephew of the king is going to a US college for a year. Nobody recognises him (because he’s a complete nobody). And the other European princes of the prince pact were doing their years abroad earlier, then Greg disappears for a year and no one of the British tabloids is looking for him in the US? His photos never turn up on any social media? He lives with his lifeguard who is posing to be his boyfriend (which was incredibly weird as well, if homophobia is such a huge thing, why make them pose as a couple??? Everyone knows fake relationships always lead to real ones) taking the exact same classes, living in a couples room and no one pays attention?

And when he finally is recognised it’s by the lovely Pippa, who never tells a soul. (Real life Pippa would run to the media as fast as her little legs could carry her and sell his story, I’m 100% sure.)

Then it’s Christmas and he has to go home and the king won’t let him leave because his cousin (is it a direct heir? Or is he even further removed?) caused a scandal by kissing a man. So now he’s an out prince, and the royal family needs to fix this huge larger than life gay scandal and Greg/Eddie is the person who can single handily fix their reputation by marrying a real Lady. When he doesn’t want to, they lock him up, send Bash away and… prince Floris the very direct prince (because he’s Dutch which equals rude and by nature rule breaking) comes to the rescue. He frees Eddie by sending him away on his private plane, and then flies home on a regular KLM flight. No one noticed that (probably because no one knows any of them). And yes, both of these royal families have absurd amounts of money, but easy access to private planes? Weird.

And then Bash and Eddie find each other, they loose all of their money (because if you loose your title because you want to marry a man you can’t have the money you inherited? This was so weird, because, yes royal families today still get huge amounts of money for doing a public job, but they have been chronically overpaid for centuries so all of them also have a huge amount of generational money - why would he lose that simply for stepping out of the spotlight because he wants to marry a man?)

And then at the end they’re married, and they live happily ever after. Just like their gay prince best friends.

🤮🤮🤮

Few more questions: how is he fourth in line? Why would the king want him to marry a lady to make everything right again, while he’s studying abroad and not make his sister marry a lad (sir? What’s the equivalent?) She lives there, is older, and very much a rule follower.
Why did Eddie lose his mother the same way as Will and Harry lost their mother… Just like the previous book in which the king was named after our real life deceased spare, I found this incredible insensitive. If you are borrowing facts from the real life of the royals as an author shouldn’t you have the decency to use less painful facts?
Why do all these books follow the same script? The (very far removed) prince wants to be normal, goes anonymously to an American college, falls in love with the room mate, who happens to be gay or bi too, there’s an emergency at home that ruins everything, they overcome this and the book is over. 🙄

The biggest issue I have is the use of homophobia as a justification for scandals. This should not be a theme this big in the mm romance world, at least not bigger than in real life. Nobody cares about the gender of the person who’s marrying the person fourth in line. And after real life scandals about rape and pedophilia I don’t understand the author dares to use this as the theme of this book.
Also: books like this normalise homophobia. When they talk about it, everyone understands. And they shouldn’t. If we can’t banish it from our fantasy world, how are we ever going to banish it from the real world? In mm romance we should be safe from hate. Or at least it should be judged, not accepted as something we just live with.

Especially from an author with European roots and who knows how to write amazing mm stories I expect better than this. Please go back to writing books about fake people and real dramas. And leave the real people with unhelpful fake drama alone.

[Cinthya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love them 😭😭💙💙

This is such a feel-good book.

I instantly fell in love with both characters. Bash is such a great guy that you can’t help but root for him, and Eddie is just the sweetest🥹. Most of their moments (not all, but most) take place in their room, which I absolutely loved because they get to be themselves without having to keep up appearances for everyone else. There’s just something about the coziness of their shared room and the little day-to-day routine they develop that had me constantly smiling. I loved watching them grow closer and more comfortable with each other as the story progressed.

The little cameos from the other princes are always so much fun😂 My favorite will always be Floris and how much he loves teasing Eddie. They have completely opposite personalities, which makes their interactions even more hilarious. Although… when things get serious, he definitely proves that he’s a trustworthy friend.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s the perfect mix of great, lovable characters, an engaging story that keeps you wanting to read, and a sweet, genuine romance between the main characters.

This series has been so much fun!! The idea of a group of princes from different countries staying abroad to find themselves is such a cool concept! This one, The Prince and the Bodyguard, and Prince Material are my two absolute favorites in the entire series. They keep you on your toes, make you nervous when they need to, but they also have such cozy vibes and the main characters are everything🧡

It’s just the cutest. I’ll always love them. 🥰

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Song Association 🎶: What Could Go Right | Thomas Rhett

“Remember when we made that pact at Harold and Caroline’s wedding?” Floris asked. “To spend a year in the States and experience normal life?”
Nils slowly shook his head. “Who could’ve known it would be the most important decision we could ever made? We all found love… and in unexpected places too.”

Gosh, what a series and what a finale! Nora Phoenix is definitely a go-to author for me, and I was so excited to delve into the final instalment in The Prince Pact series.

I must admit that I have conflicting feelings...

Overall, it was such a quick-paced, easy-to-sink-into romance and it was a lot of fun! But there were a few plot points that seemed a little jarring to me -- and others from what I've read of other reviews -- which sometimes made it hard to completely fall into the story. In saying that, the book absolutely flew by and I can definitely see myself coming back to reread this series. I think book three is my favourite in the series, with book one following close behind.

In summary: Greg is the last of the four princes to head over to the US to have a year of freedom, to live as a 'commoner' and find their authentic selves before heading back home to resume their royal duties. Greg will be sharing an apartment with Secret Service Special Agent Basil Puller (aka Bash). The catch? The apartments they're staying in are reserved for couples, so they need to pretend to be in a relationship if it comes up at any point. This was the first plot point that really didn't make sense to me... the king lets Greg go to the US for a year on the pretense that he won’t cause ANY kind of scandal. And of course, the idea of him coming out as gay is out of the question. So, in what universe would the king approve of Greg pretending to be in a relationship with a man as part of his cover story?? Like I get that if their cover is blown, they can just come out and be like ‘oh he’s my bodyguard we were just pretending to date’ but wouldn’t that be even worse??

They try to keep a professional relationship, but quickly fall into something more romantic instead. And I LOVE that this happened because Floris told Greg to create a situation where he can watch Bash's tells, see if he might feel the same. So Greg's like 'bet, we'll sit down to watch a movie or something together' and then puts on HEATED RIVALRY HAHAHA

The thought of Eddie wanting me—really wanting me, not merely getting caught up in the moment—was enough to shatter what remained of my self-control. “Fuck it,” I muttered, reaching for him, my hand tangling in those impossibly soft strands of hair as I pulled him back to me.

The other princes also make their appearances via phone calls and text messages, so it was great to see them pop up! And their banter always cracks me up.

Floris
everyone who meets me wants to screw me, so why would Greg be any different
Nils
no, they all want you to go fuck yourself, which is not the same

When Thanksgiving comes around, they head to Bash's home, but Bash decides they need to keep up their professional ruse as his parents don't know he's bi and also would be disappointed to learn he's crossed this professional boundary. But in doing so, Bash also completely ices Eddie (aka Greg) out and leaves him feeling like nothing more than a job.

“You hurt me.” Eddie’s voice broke, showing me the depth of his feelings. “All day, every careful word and measured response, you made it clear that in your real world, with your real family, I was merely someone you were being paid to protect.”

My one gripe with this part of the book was that we skipped past a lot of their firsts in terms of intimate scenes. We got their first kiss and Eddie's first attempt at oral, but then we get to this line:

No mention of the intimacy we’d shared over the past few weeks, of how he’d stayed in my bed more and more, no acknowledgment of the way we’d slept tangled together two nights ago.

I'M SORRY?? What do you mean we don't get to read about the first time they spend the night all cuddled up?? Their arrangement was that Eddie had the bed while Bash took the couch and this continued even after they started hooking up. You best believe I wanted that scene where Eddie invited Bash to just stay the night rather than going back to the couch?? And then they decide to just keep doing it over and over?? I'm hurt that we didn't get to see that and it really kicked me out of the story for a bit.

AND THEN. The climax. Each of the previous books was fairly chill in terms of the royal family accepting that their child was gay and that they wanted to marry a commoner. England? Absolutely not HAHA. We needed at least one royal family to kick up a stink and BOY DID THEY. Eddie's dad and uncle (the King) decided for him that 'hey your cousin is gay or bi or pan or whatever but he's causing a scandal, so we're going to marry you off to this pretty girl who's from a good family and suitable for a prince, it's happening in two weeks and we've already told her about it' and Eddie is like 'absolutely not, I'm in love with a man'.

“I beg your pardon?”
“I said, I can’t do that.” My voice was stronger this time, carrying a conviction that surprised even me. “I can’t marry Lady Margaret. I shan’t.”

And the kicker? They don't change their minds. When they figure it out, they actually ship off Bash back to America (taking his phone and everything while they're at it) and when Eddie gets back to his room, they've taken his phone and laptop and have essentially locked him in there! Eddie's sister reveals that their dad and uncle have decided to announce the engagement anyway, thinking that Eddie won't cause a scene by calling off the engagement after it's announced. Eddie's all 'they literally told me I'd be stripped of my titles if I did this and I said okay see ya, why do they think I won't cause a scene??'

But long story short, Floris comes in and gets him out, Eddie flies back to the US to be with Bash and his family. Bash is completely cut off from his funds, royal duties, etc. but still maintains his royal title. Bash loses his job in the Secret Service. They wind up working standard jobs while they live their lives happily together. And the epilogue is set TEN YEARS in the future with all of the princes, their partners, and their kids at Bash and Eddie's place for a catch up. And this line? Just about killed me cause how sweet:

nearly everyone called me Eddie these days. Except for one little girl with beautiful brown hair, fair skin, and my green eyes. She called me Daddy.

[Ana Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved the best for last! This one is definitely my favorite of the series. I’m so sad it’s over 😭

I have enjoyed all of the princes’s stories so much. Each and every one of them has had to fight to be themselves and stand up to the people who decided their lives for them before they were even born.

All of them had to eventually decide what really mattered in their lives and they all chose their own happiness. Screw royal duties and antiquated beliefs. Being true to themselves and choosing love above everything was what they all wanted and went for it.

I loved this story the most because I’m a sucker for bodyguard/protectee romance. Falling for the person you’re paid to risk your life for is romantic AF and Bash was completely taken by Eddie from day one.

Bash needed his job in order to help his family. Getting involved with Eddie would be catastrophic for his career but he couldn’t help his attraction to him. Eddie was nothing like the press painted him as. The more time they spent together, the more he got to know the real Eddie and the more he fell for him.

Eddie never thought that going to America would change his life in such an unexpected way. The plan was for him to come to America to further his education and explore his sexuality. Instead, he fell head over heels in love with his bodyguard.

He knew nothing could happen between them because as a prince, he had duties to fulfill and appearances to keep. But he was more than happy to give it all up if it meant he could keep Bash. Nothing else mattered as long as they were together.

“𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾,” 𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭. “𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰. 𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮 𝓪 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰.”

I think my favorite part of this story was the epilogue. I loved reading about all of the princes together and how happy they all were after following their hearts. I’m really gonna miss this series but I’m looking forward to what Nora does next 🥰

[VickydpBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston or Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, this book deserves a spot on your TBR.

Prince Gregory has spent his entire life living under the weight of royal expectations, so when he’s finally granted a year of freedom at an American college, it comes with one unavoidable condition—a bodyguard who never leaves his side. Enter Bash: professional, protective, and impossible to ignore.

The chemistry between Gregory and Bash is undeniable from the very beginning. Their slow-burn, forced-proximity romance is packed with longing, stolen moments, and emotional tension that kept me turning the pages. Every interaction between them felt meaningful, making their eventual relationship both believable and incredibly rewarding.

What I loved most was Gregory’s personal journey. Watching him struggle with duty, identity, and the pressure of hiding who he truly is made his story deeply emotional. Bash is the perfect balance to Gregory’s world—steady, caring, and carrying his own burdens as he works to support his mother’s medical treatment. Their relationship isn’t just romantic; it’s built on trust, sacrifice, and genuine affection.

The royal family drama, forbidden romance, and high emotional stakes create a heartfelt story that’s both swoon-worthy and bittersweet. It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes the greatest risk is choosing to live authentically.

A heartfelt, emotional MM romance filled with royal intrigue, forbidden love, and unforgettable characters. Highly recommended for fans of slow burns, bodyguard romances, and stories about choosing love over expectation.

[Steve Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading *The Prince and the Bodyguard*, the fourth book in The Prince Pact series by Nora Phoenix, and I had to share how much I enjoyed it! The story follows Gregory, aka Eddie York, the future Duke of York, as he goes undercover at Cascade Bay University, living as a common college student—and guess what? His bodyguard, Special Agent Basil “Bash” Puller, is his roommate and fake boyfriend because they have to live in a couple’s-only apartment. Talk about an intriguing setup!

Eddie, with his aristocratic charm and posh accent, and Bash, with his warm southern drawl and tough background, make the fake dating scenario both fun and heartfelt. The risk they take in pretending leads to real feelings, and it was a joy to watch their relationship grow. Plus, seeing the main couples from the first three books pop in made this one even more special.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Though I’m sad this is the last book in the series, the ending felt just right. If you’re looking for a mix of romance, suspense, and a touch of nobility, I highly recommend giving this a read!

[Liene · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I requested this book, I was not aware that this was a book four in the series. I looked at the cover and thought that it would be a fun reading material. And it was.
This was also my second book that focuses on male – male relationship, first being Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston prior to the adaptation. This book provided with a familiar vibe.
I enjoyed the relationship between Eddie (Prince Gregory) and Bash (Special Agent Puller). It was so refreshing (and spicy). Absolutely loved that the book focused more on their daily life and wasn’t filled with royal talk unless the situation called for it. Loved the parts where they were at Bash’s parents. And Eddie’s friends were mentioned.
Ending was expected and welcomed, although it did feel a little rushed with the big time jump at the very end.
I will make sure to check out the previous 3 books that are part of the series.

[Maddi Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

this series is such quick easy reads that make you feel like there’s some good in this world. i absolutely loved eddie and bash and the progression of their relationship. it felt very natural and while there was big stakes to it and it was very dramatic in that way i loved how their love prevailed. also loved how heated rivalry (tv) was a major contributor to them getting together 🙂‍↕️

[Cristiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the arc, in exchange for a honest review.


Honestly, I enjoyed the story, but it wasn't my favourite. I liked the ending and it was probably the best part, in my opinion.

[James Daloisio Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every second of this. The best couple, and that’s hard to say because all four were awesome! But this book was worth the wait!

He said FUCK THE CROWN, I want my man! The 10 years later was the perfect wrap up! I’ll miss the Princes!

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuteeee! Really enjoyed this one. Epilogue was lovely as well.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less Blade Than Blanket, but the Blanket Is Well-Folded
“The Prince and the Bodyguard” may soften its sharpest conflicts, but Nora Phoenix still delivers a warm, watchful MM romance about care, control, and the right to be ordinary.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | July 15th, 2026

Danger, in “The Prince and the Bodyguard,” first comes with a checklist: routes, exits, sight lines, locked doors, the polite paranoia of professional watching. Bash Puller is hired to keep Prince Gregory of Great Britain safe, hidden, and reputationally harmless during one illicitly ordinary year at an American college. He maps the campus, chooses tables with escape paths, sleeps on the couch, and learns the private weather of the young man he is supposed to protect – when his shoulders tighten, when his manners become armor, when Eddie starts disappearing back into Gregory. Nora Phoenix’s sharpest turn is to make that vigilance less about possession than attention. The romance begins not when Bash looks at Gregory with desire, but when he recognizes Eddie, the person buried beneath the gilt.

Eddie York is the name Gregory uses at Cascade Bay University, and like many good false names in romance, it turns out to be more truthful than the official one. Prince Gregory Edward William Mountbatten-Windsor has been raised inside a life of gilded substitution: duty instead of choice, protocol instead of intimacy, a future wife instead of desire, dynastic usefulness instead of personhood. His uncle, the king, permits his American year as a licensed release before Gregory returns to suitable marriage arrangements and the Crown’s expectations. Lady Margaret waits in the wings as the life he could perform too well. The palace calls this protection. The book understands, at its best, that it is control wearing a very expensive suit.

Much of the setup comes from a familiar romance kit: closeted prince, Southern bodyguard, fake couple, forced proximity, only-one-campus-apartment, forbidden attraction, carefully licensed escape. Anyone hearing the distant clink of “Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston will not be hallucinating; the comparison arrives with a footman. Phoenix, though, is after something softer, more domestic, and less sparkling in its banter. This is not a romance of public sparring or set-piece repartee. It is a romance of logistical tenderness. Bash does not woo Eddie by dazzling him in debate. He knows where the exits are. In this book, that is practically a love language.

Even the fake-dating device, that faithful little romance contraption, does more than unlock a shared room. On paper, Eddie and Bash must pose as a couple because the safest campus housing is reserved for partners. In practice, the fiction gives Eddie a rehearsal room for wanting. At Buckingham Palace, his queerness would become scandal, strategy, succession arithmetic, and briefing-room nausea before it could become an unmanaged fact. At Cascade Bay, desire first disguises itself as cover, then convenience, then experiment, until the pretense does what pretense so often does in romance: tells the truth a few pages before the characters can bear to.

The plot knows its route, though it is not always sure what to do with the pulse. Gregory arrives in America as Eddie; Bash becomes his roommate, protector, and credentialed fiction of a boyfriend; their cover grows more convincing than either expects; attraction turns into desire with a schedule and a security plan. Thanksgiving at the Puller home changes the book’s air: food, grief, teasing, illness, ordinary affection without choreography. Eddie feels what family can be when it is not a constitutional exercise; Bash has to decide whether he can let his family see Eddie as more than an assignment. Then England reasserts itself. Sandringham reinstates family pressure, separated quarters, an arranged engagement, a forbidden confession, Bash’s removal, Eddie’s escape, and a negotiated future outside the palace’s claim on his hours. The epilogue does not crown Eddie; it seats him at a table, which is the book’s more radical reward.

Romance is often accused, by those who read it inattentively, of being escapist in the simple sense. “The Prince and the Bodyguard” escapes in a more exact direction. It does not imagine that palaces are the prize. The prize is breakfast without surveillance, a bed shared without shame, a family table, a key, a surname chosen rather than inherited. Phoenix’s most persuasive wish is not that love makes Eddie grander. It is that love gives him a usable life: breakfasts, beds, classrooms, borrowed quiet, a morning not arranged for headlines. The fantasy is not elevation. It is permission to come down.

In Bash, the book finds its second captivity. He is not simply a competent man with a gun and an inconvenient jawline, though the novel is certainly not too refined to appreciate the jawline. He is a former Marine, a Secret Service agent, a grieving brother, a bisexual man who has survived by passing as straight in masculine institutions, and a son desperate for the money that will help cover his mother’s cancer treatment. That last pressure keeps the paid-watching premise from floating free of consequence. Bash needs this job; Eddie needs his protection. Their romance is ethically smudged from the start.

Phoenix sees the problem, even when she later cushions it. Bash knows that falling for Eddie risks his career, his integrity, and the creed of service he has built around protecting others. Eddie is not just a lonely aristocrat seducing the help with cheekbones and vulnerability. He is someone whose safety depends on the man becoming his lover. The imbalance is real, and the pages are sharpest when they let that imbalance complicate the swoon rather than vanish beneath it. The relationship works because Bash’s care enlarges Eddie’s freedom rather than narrowing it. He protects Eddie from harm, but also from being reduced to Prince Gregory.

Across its sentences, the prose is most alive when it remembers the difference between heat and attention. “The Prince and the Bodyguard” puts names on feelings quickly, with mostly medium-length, linear sentences built for intimacy and speed rather than compression. Eddie’s chapters are anxious, polished, self-mortifying, and lightly theatrical; Bash’s are plainer, Southern-inflected, procedural, and duty-bound. The voices are not subtle, but they are legible in useful ways. Eddie spirals with aristocratic embarrassment. Bash assesses the room, the exits, the risk, the feeling he is trying not to have. One blushes; the other scans.

Phoenix’s diction is direct, and occasionally so eager to be understood that it escorts every feeling to the front door. The novel repeatedly names its favorite emotional nouns: authenticity, duty, performance, freedom, chosen life, professional boundaries. These are the right concerns, but they are not always trusted to rise from scene. The book sometimes explains the emotional meaning of what it has already shown. That explicitness can feel generous, even tender. Nobody is stranded in ambiguity. It can also make the prose feel overlit, as if every lamp in the palace and the dorm room has been switched on to make sure no feeling is left unattended.

A better measure of the book’s style is its loyalty to useful things and rooms that train behavior. Couches, tea, library tables, security routes, shared bathrooms, phones, beds, family kitchens, and farmhouse rooms do more work than ornamental metaphor. The couch matters because Bash sleeps there in duty before he enters Eddie’s bed in trust. Sweet tea matters because it is strange, local, funny, and offered. Sandringham matters because its corridors restore hierarchy before anyone has to say a word. Phoenix’s most effective symbols are practical objects, which is exactly right for a romance about care as practice.

Dorm rooms, palace corridors, kitchens, and farmhouse rooms also organize the book more forcefully than novelty does. There are no formal tricks, no fractured chronology, no unusual apparatus. The novel is carried by dual first-person narration and a smooth escalation from setup to intimacy to crisis to repair. Yet its room-by-room movement gives the structure modest force. Cascade Bay is the experiment: Eddie can try being ordinary. The Puller home is the anti-palace: warmth, food, grief, teasing, no choreography. Sandringham is institutional weather, all corridors and separated quarters, where Prince Gregory threatens to swallow Eddie whole. North Carolina, finally, is not exile. It is the size of life Eddie can inhabit.

Inevitably, that structure also reveals the book’s chief limitation. “The Prince and the Bodyguard” raises pressures sharper than it ultimately wants to sustain: the monarchy’s demand for heterosexual respectability, Bash’s dependence on the assignment, medical debt, the security breach, public scandal, the loss of Bash’s Secret Service future. These are not decorative obstacles. They are the bill the premise itemizes. The final act acknowledges them, then arranges a velvet corridor through. Eddie’s sister becomes an ally, his friends mobilize, and his father softens. Titles are retained without duties, education funding continues, temporary security is provided, Bash’s career loss becomes survivable, and ten years later the farmhouse glows with peace buffed a little too smooth.

Mercy is part of the bargain, of course; romance is not court stenography. The question is whether repair pays the bill the story has presented. Here, the emotional repair is convincing; the institutional repair is thinner. Eddie and Bash have earned one another. The Crown, the workplace, and the medical system are allowed to exit with rather fewer bruises. The machinery discovers manners just before it has to draw blood. The world bends, discreetly but decisively, until love can pass through with only ceremonial injury. One believes the love. One is less persuaded by the sudden civility of everything around it.

It helps that Eddie and Bash make the room warmer by learning how to stand in it together. Eddie could have been merely sheltered, Bash merely stoic. Instead, Eddie has enough wit and self-awareness to keep innocence from curdling into preciousness, and Bash has enough fear to keep competence from hardening into fantasy steel. Their best scenes are not the set-piece defiance but the cumulative domestic ones: studying in the library, learning campus rhythms, navigating breakfast, sharing a bed after injury, standing in the Puller kitchen, discovering how much unperformed affection can undo a life of ceremony. The romance becomes credible through repetition. Routine, here, is seduction with a schedule.

The sex scenes follow the same emotional logic. They are explicit, but their real emphasis is not conquest or heat for its own sake. They are scenes of permission, negotiation, trust, and astonishment. Eddie’s inexperience is not treated as decorative innocence; Bash’s caution is not treated as a lock waiting to be picked. Their physical intimacy extends the book’s best idea: to care for someone is to pay close attention to what he can bear, what he wants, and what he has not yet learned how to ask for.

Reality gets in through the side doors. The novel is not a treatise on monarchy, health care, workplace ethics, or queer public life. Still, the world beyond the couple presses in. Eddie’s sexuality becomes a problem because the institution knows how to manage scandal better than it knows how to love him. Bash’s mother’s illness makes money a moral force inside romance, not just background motivation. The book does not pursue these pressures with severity, but their presence gives its sweetness enough ballast to keep it from floating off. Without them, the novel would be all silk sheets and palace gates; with them, it has a floor under its feet.

Only a couple of comparisons earn their keep. “His Royal Secret” by Lilah Pace treats queer royal life with a chillier eye for public consequence. “A Gentleman’s Position” by K. J. Charles is sharper on rank, service, and the awkward ethics of unequal desire. Phoenix offers less blade than blanket, but the blanket is warm, well-folded, and not pretending to be a sword. Her book has a couch, a cup of sweet tea, and a wounded prince learning that being seen does not have to mean being used.

Placed against its own ambitions, “The Prince and the Bodyguard” knows its assignment and completes it with feeling, while declining several of the harder examinations its premise invites. It does not rearrange the furniture of the genre, make syntax do tricks, or sharpen every implication to a point. It is a warm, satisfying MM royal/bodyguard romance with a smart distinction between care and control. My rating is 78/100, which corresponds to 3/5 stars on a whole-star scale. That places it at the high end of good: emotionally generous, better than merely competent, not quite singular or controlled enough to move higher.

Once the book leaves the palace behind, its clearest wish comes into focus. Eddie is not rescued by public adoration, and Bash is not rewarded by becoming the permanent guardian of someone more important than himself. They are rescued, if that is the word, by a life in which importance has been rearranged. A child runs through a house. Family gathers. Former princes arrive with partners and children. A man once measured by succession now measures happiness by who is at the table.

Under all the fake dating, royal scandal, and bodyguard yearning, Phoenix has written a romance about the luxury of being unperformed. The title promises a prince and a protector, but the book’s truest image is smaller and better: a crown set down somewhere out of frame, a key in the hand, a porch in North Carolina, and someone watching not because he has been paid to, but because love has taught him how to look.

Lest the porch seem too polished, the ending still carries a small tremor of unreality. The book wants Eddie’s exit from public duty to feel both costly and kind, and it mostly does, but one can feel the palace doors being oiled for the sake of the lovers. That is not fatal. It is the chosen mercy of the form. Phoenix knows this story’s deepest wish is not to punish Eddie for wanting a life, but to give him one without making him apologize for every room he leaves.

Ordinary, here, is not the absence of glamour; it is the first form of freedom Eddie can actually use. It means a morning not scheduled by aides, a name not arranged for headlines, a body not recruited into dynastic usefulness, a love not treated as a constitutional inconvenience. If the novel sometimes softens the world too much to get Eddie there, it also understands why he would cross an ocean for the chance.

Still, the final image holds. Not a throne. Not a balcony. Not the stiff little theater of royal endurance. A house in North Carolina, a table filling, a child running past, Bash watching because watching has changed its job. The job was to keep a prince safe. The love story is that he learned how to let a man be free.

[Yuli Atta]

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC copy of this book.

Unfortunately, I DNFed at 66%. There isn't anything wrong with the book that couldnt be fixed at the final stages as this is an ARC which is usually subject to changes.

There's just something that didn't work out for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. I feel like Bash and Greg don't have good chemistry. I feel like Greg being in the closet bc of the scandal it would cause makes little to no sense when he then has to conveniently pretend to be dating his bodyguard in order for them to qualify for the couples' dorms. Why does the future Duke of York need to pretend to be a couple with his bodyguard when he can afford to buy the whole building? Can American college students not live outside the dorms? It just didn't make much sense to me.

I reached 66% and I just didn't care about Eddie, didn't care about Bash and wanted it to end so I decided to stop.

[Nancy Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW
THE PRINCE AND THE BODYGUARD di Nora Phoenix
VOTO:4⭐ 2🌶️
RECENSIONE: The prince and The bodyguard è il quarto libro autoconclusivo della serie The Prince Pact. I protagonisti di questa storia sono il Principe di Inghilterra Gregory Edward Mountbatten Windsor e Basil (Bash) Puller, la sua guardia del corpo personale che è stata assegnata a Eddie ad inizio libro perché il giovane Principe andrà a studiare negli Stati Uniti per un anno.
La storia è molto tenera e dolcissima, una coccola per il cuore e avrei tanto voluto dare 5 stelle piene a questa storia ma ho trovato dei “difetti” di trama, se posso permettermi.
La storia dura mesi ma purtroppo non ho sentito il tempo scorrere perché dopo alcuni capitoli erano già passate settimane/mesi. La relazione tra i due protagonisti poteva essere più slow burn visto che le premesse erano perfette: Eddie non è un Principe ma un ragazzo normalissimo che frequenta l’Università e Bash lo stesso (ma lui non darà esami). Purtroppo l’ambientazione dei college americani, gli amici, le feste e appunto vedere come i due si avvicinano sono totalmente assenti in questa storia. Abbiamo letteralmente due scene dove Eddie frequenta un gruppo per un corso di studio dove subito alcune ragazze dicono loro che sono dolci insieme e che formano una bellissima coppia (cosa che loro all’epoca non avevano nemmeno capito, ma trovano l’altro carino). Tutta la loro esperienza al college è racchiusa nella stanza dell’università e qui sono perplessa: se sapevano da subito che Eddie sarebbe andato a studiare con la sua guardia del corpo, perché non gli hanno dato una camera doppia con due letti? Invece no: un appartamento con UNA STANZA SOLA (che si prenderà Eddie) mentre il povero Bash dormirà sul divano. (Non era nemmeno un divano letto).
Non ho sopportato la famiglia Reale, soprattutto lo zio e ho ODIATO come l’uomo avesse già stabilito quello che Eddie avrebbe dovuto fare con una ragazza che noi non abbiamo mai conosciuto ed era solo un nome (Dall’inizio si sapeva che si doveva sposare con questa ragazza, ma i rapporti tra i due non ce ne sono stati, forse uno piccolo e verso fine storia).
La famiglia di Bash è stata bellissima e le interazioni con Eddie mi sono piaciute moltissimo.
Avrei voluto vedere più Eddie in crisi e più chat con i suoi amici Floris, Tore e Nils, ma abbiamo avuto solo una chat divertente e poi sono spariti. Floris sembra un ottimo amico per Eddie, peccato non aver letto abbastanza su di lui!
Se volete passare un paio d'ore sotto l’ombrellone e perdervi in una storia tenera e dolce, questo romanzo fa per voi!
Ringrazio Nora Phoenix e NetGalley per la copia ARC.


English Review: The Prince and The Bodyguard is the fourth standalone book in “The Prince Pact” series. The main characters are Gregory Edward Mountbatten Windsor, the Prince of England, and Basil (Bash) Puller, his personal bodyguard, who was assigned to Eddie at the beginning of the book because the young prince is going to study in the United States for a year.
The story is very sweet, heart warmer but I would have loved to give it a full 5 stars, but I found some plot flaws…
The story spans several months, but unfortunately I didn’t feel time passing because, after just a few chapters, weeks or months had already gone by. The relationship between the two main characters could have been more of a slow burn, given that the setup was perfect: Eddie isn’t a prince but a perfectly ordinary guy attending college, and for Bash is the same (though he won’t be taking any exams). Unfortunately, the American college setting—the friends, the parties, and, indeed, seeing how the two grow closer—is completely absent from this story. We literally have two scenes where Eddie attends a study group, and right away some girls tell them they’re cute together and make a beautiful couple (something they hadn’t even realized at the time, though they did find each other attractive). Their entire college experience is confined to the college room, and this is where I’m confused: if they knew right from the start that Eddie would be studying with his bodyguard, why didn’t they give him a room with two beds? Instead, they gave him an apartment with just one bedroom (which Eddie ends up taking), while poor Bash sleeps on the couch. (It wasn’t even a sofa bed.)
I couldn’t stand the Royal family, especially the uncle, and I HATED how the man had already decided what Eddie was supposed to do with a girl we never met—she was just a name (we knew from the start, that he was supposed to marry this girl, but there was no evidence of a relationship between them—maybe a brief one toward the end of the story).
Bash’s family was wonderful, and I really loved his interactions with Eddie.
I would’ve liked to see Bash struggling more with his job and sexual awakening.
I would loved to see more of Eddie’s friends Floris, Tore, and Nils, but we only got one funny chat and then they disappeared. Floris seems like a great friend to Eddie—too bad I didn’t get to read more about him!
If you want to relax for a couple of hours and lose yourself in a tender, sweet story, this novel is for you!
Thanks to Nora Phoenix and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

[lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

alright so. on a technical level, this is the best book in the series. however, the giant military boner and american nuclear family worship had me feeling genuinely ill the whole time. i think this is the straightest gay romance i have ever read.

like i said, technically and on a sentence level this book beats the rest of the series. most of the dialogue was almost believable, and the exposition was less obvious, at least to me. that is what is keeping this book at 3 stars.

unfortunately, the content was no good. bash, an ex-marine secret service agent has apparently never considered the massive american military industrial complex. this book takes place in a world where heated rivalry exists, so is the rest the same? no mention of ice raids, of the military deployed in cities, of literally anything happening in the states. bash even tells us that his dream is to protect the president one day. everyone talks about how cool and great it is that bash fought for his country's honour and for freedom (seriously). they like, genuinely say that. and then, obviously, he can't stay a secret service agent after falling in love with the guy he is supposed to be protecting, so what does he do? he goes and becomes a sheriff. because being a military man wasn't bad enough, he has to be a cop too.

along with this weird hard-on for the military came the sort of "traditional" family values that almost had me throwing my e-reader. bash's mama is too sensitive to listen to talk about her dead son, or guns. she wants to keep her husband out of the kitchen, unless it's to do dishes or take the turkey out of the oven (it's too heavy for her). she can cook an entire thanksgiving dinner while getting chemo treatments, because she just loves to feed her family. bash's dad is a stoic mr. masculine who takes his feelings out on his woodworking shop and won't tell bash he supports him but he shows it by... going outside for some "fresh air" when bash comes out but not saying anything homophobic? women's rights and queer rights are under attack all over and this is the way you choose to tell this story?

not to mention, the babylogue. i hate a babylogue. stop giving couples infants to prove they are still happy ten years later. "look at us, we might be gay, but we can still get married and have babies!!" oh my god please just be interesting instead. every single couple from this series apparently decided to settle down with 2.5 children (something eddie thought was a terrible fate at the beginning of the book) and i just don't like it. instead give me a hint about whatever is going on with poor alexander! i just want to know that little scandal prince is ok.

in conclusion, if you for some reason like soldier books i guess you will like this. it is, on a craft level, pretty good and better than the rest of the series (which are almost good!). unfortunately, i can't think of anything less attractive than someone who joins the military of their own free will.

i didn't want to be this critical, i have tried to be supportive of this series, but frankly i found everything that happened here to be pretty unsupportable. i can't in good conscience actually recommend this book. if nora pheonix ever writes about poor prince alexander, let me know! unless he falls in love with a soldier boy, then i want nothing to do with it.

thanks again to netgalley and boldwood books for the arc! as you can probably tell, this has been my honest review.

[Rosenthal Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF au premier chapitre.
Donc en gros, on a le neveu du roi qui est dans le placard et qui décide de partir 1 an aux états unis pour faire ses études. Jusque là, OK l’idée me plaît, un peu à la « first daughter » ca promettait quelque chose de sympa.
Premier red flag pour moi, le groupe de pote « princes » visiblement tous queer (si j’en crois les autres tomes de la série et Greg qui balance qu’ils sont tous avec des hommes). Désolée, mais une fois ça passe, 4x c’est un chouïa incohérent. M’enfin j’aurais pu passer outre, pcq certaines facilités scenaristiques sont sympa et qu’on aime la diversité et l’inclusivité !
Sauf que oui, mais non : on va me faire croire que Greg, neveu donc du roi d’Angleterre, pays où la monarchie est aussi omniprésente dans la vie politique, sociale, sociétale et journalistique, peut disparaître un an sans que ça se sache ? Que le gars va prendre un pseudo pour être anonyme ? À quel moment c’est plausible ? Et même si une personne lambda ne connait pas l’arbre généalogique de la famille royale ou l’identité de toutes les générations et de toutes les branches des familles, si quelqu’un disparaît ça fait le tour de la presse. Parce que c’est l’ADN de l’Angleterre. Mais là le type, qui demande à son oncle s’il a le droit d’aller à la fac, pense qu’il peut rester anonyme ? Et tout le monde y croit ? Tout le monde monte cette supercherie irréaliste ?
Allez, ça pourrait « encore » passer. Mais toujours un BIG NON parce qu’on lui colle un bodyguard, ancien membre des Marines, désormais membre des services secrets américains qui va être son colocataire DANS UN LOGEMENT POUR COUPLE !!!! Excusez-moi, on parle de Greg dans le placard, que le roi, son oncle, veut marier à une femme à la seconde où il rentre de son année de découverte à la fac, qui ne peut pas faire son coming out compte tenu de son rang social et l’auteur-ice trouve ça cohérent que TOUT LE MONDE valide le fait qu’il fasse SEMBLANT D’ÊTRE EN COUPLE AVEC UN HOMME ? Mais M D R ! La justification c’est que ça écartera tous soupçons. Baaaa bien sûr, et la presse ne va pas s’emparer de ce scandal ? Faut arrêter de nous prendre pour des poires et écrire un minimum de choses cohérentes. On fait des recherches, et on se contente pas de prendre un contexte / environnement politique sans se renseigner. D’autant que l’auteur-ice fait mourir sa mère de la même façon que Lady Di donc iel se cache meme pas de s’inspirer de la monarchie anglaise actuelle. Dans ce cas autant aller au bout et pas juste piocher des trucs et prendre des libertés aussi aberrantes ailleurs.
Ça me débecte ! Il y a tellement de potentiel avec ce genre de trope, franchement ! Je préfère même pas donner mon temps à ça

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to see Floris back in this book as a cheerleader and helper for Eddie as he got closer to his bodyguard, Bash. The Chemistry between Eddie and Bash was strong and I enjoyed their developing relationship, including the scene where they came out to each other as the first people to know of their sexualities except for the other princes in Eddie’s case. Them both sharing such an intimate truth about themselves with only each other (except for the princes in Eddie’s case), surely only deepened their bond, as it meant they only really had each other to talk to about their sexuality thereby encouraging further confidences and increasing closeness. I enjoyed the way the m/m fake dating trope was employed in this book and I liked how Eddie covered for Bash at the international relations mixer so as a royal he was shown to be a man of intelligence not just a figure head, but I thought the portrayal of the British as uptight and emotionally repressed was stereotypical, lacking in accuracy in reality, overdone and referenced far too many times over the course of the book as a whole. The inclusion of the late evening fire alarm because someone had overenthusiastic cooking was very realistic for university accommodation and a creative way to interrupt Eddie and Bash’s first kiss scene. I liked that Charlie surprised Eddie in her reaction to Eddie and Bash’s relationship, how Floris came to the rescue masterfully and how Eddie’s dad winds up coming around to strike a compromise with the King. I did think Eddie and Bash should have foreseen Bash being exiled and have had a plan on where to meet and how to progress things after Eddie revealed the truth to the King and his Dad though and not planning that amongst themselves, the princes and Charlotte in advance seemed a weakness in the book. I also thought that not enough explanation was given as to why Bash was now willing to tell his family he was Bisexual as he’d been in love with Eddie for a while but hadn’t been willing to tell them - so why didn’t he tell them as soon as he knew he loved Eddie? Was it because Eddie wasn’t willing and able to have a long term relationship so until he was there was no point in revealing the truth? If so then that makes sense I guess but one could argue that Bash being willing to have a long term relationship and reveal the truth to his family could just as easily act as a catalyst for Eddie to stand up to the royals and it’s a lot less complicated for Bash to tell his family than Eddie to stand up to the monarchy. Those plot questions are why I gave this book four rather than five stars despite enjoying the book as a whole.

[anete · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I cannot decide whether I hate this book or mildly enjoy it. I have prepared a list:

1. age gap - it was 21 and 27, imo quite different stages of life but I am willing to look past this. I also liked a trope I hadn’t read where both characters are inexperienced and adults, so that was refreshing.

2. throwing everything away for your lover who you have known for a couple of months and dated for him for 2 of those - THIS is where the age plays a role. It’s not that I don’t believe Eddie didn’t truly loved Bash but he’s 21, this is his first queer experience and they have only had one minor fight about basically being in the closet. I felt like their relationship hadn’t experienced anything, that both of them hadn’t experienced anything, and both of them were just willing to give it all. Kind of felt immature and naive. But it could be argued that Eddie just simply didn’t want to be a prince and that’s why he gave it up, which is fair enough.

3. it felt like the book was written by AI - constantly same points were made repeatedly, as if I don’t remember what I read a couple of pages ago. Definitely felt like the book was ‘dumbed down’. Also Eddie, when he met Bash’s parents the 2nd time, still didn’t drop the formalities even though they had discussed it the previous time? And he seemed to have been very comfortable then. Can’t tell if it was rushed or written by AI or both.

4. minor characters - Bash’s older, deceased brother (whose name I cannot remember to drive the point home) felt like just a trope. It feels odd to say that I felt offended for a non-existent dead brother but I felt like he was only there to serve as pressure for Bash. Even his own mother said they used to be really close and you’re telling me I don’t know anything about this brother that was one of your favourite people besides that he died while serving and now that puts pressure on Bash???? I didn’t even see the dialogue of Bash telling Eddie about his dead brother, which doesn’t make sense, since he used to be such an important person in his life.

5. the title - didn’t fully understand what was the point of keeping the title but not getting any benefits, maybe not being ‘cut off’ from the family but he kind of cut them off anyways besides his sister (whose said she would be with him anyway) and his father (who I assume would do something similar). I did enjoy that they weren’t outed, which happens often in the royal trope. I did get confused when the Crown announced he was with a guy, cause I thought the whole point of Eddie not getting any benefits or not working for the Crown was so that he could be gay and no one would really know or care?

[Brittney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prince and the Bodyguard • Nora Phoenix
Prince Pact #4

One phrase: royal fake dating with bodyguard tension 👑🖤

A prince and his bodyguard falling for each other?

Yes please.

The Prince and the Bodyguard brings us Eddie and Bash, a spicy MM royal college romance with fake dating, secrecy, chemistry, and all the pressure that comes with falling for someone when duty, family, and the monarchy are watching.

I really enjoyed seeing Floris back in this book too. Watching him cheer Eddie on and help him navigate his feelings for Bash was such a sweet connection to the rest of the series.

Eddie and Bash had strong chemistry from the start, and I liked watching their relationship develop beyond attraction. One of my favorite parts was the way they came out to each other and shared something deeply personal before almost anyone else knew. That kind of trust added emotional weight to their bond and made their closeness feel more meaningful.

The fake dating trope was also fun here, especially with the royal setting. I liked how Eddie showed up for Bash at the international relations mixer, proving he was not just a figurehead, but someone intelligent, capable, and willing to protect the person he cared about.

There were definitely moments I had questions about, especially around planning for the consequences of their relationship and Bash’s decision to come out to his family. I also felt like the British emotional repression jokes were a little overdone at times.

But overall, I still really enjoyed Eddie and Bash together.

Their romance had warmth, tension, vulnerability, and that “we only really have each other” feeling that made me root for them. The fire alarm interrupting their first kiss was also so painfully realistic for university housing that I had to laugh.

✨ Tropes and vibes:
👑 royal romance
🖤 bodyguard romance
💞 MM romance
🎓 college setting
🤝 fake dating
🔥 secret relationship tension
🫶 coming out together
💬 emotional vulnerability
👀 forbidden feelings
🌈 bisexual rep
💔 royal pressure
✨ series cameos

📚 Read this if you like:
MM romance, royal college settings, fake dating, bodyguard tension, coming out stories, secret relationships, and romances where duty and desire are constantly pulling in opposite directions.

This was sweet, spicy, emotional, and a fun return to the Prince Pact world.

#ThePrinceAndTheBodyguard #NoraPhoenix #MMRomance #RoyalRomance #BookReview @Boldwood

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet, charming adult MM romance that left me feeling all warm and cozy inside, perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue. In the four books of Nora Phoenix's "Prince Pact" series, four young European princes (Tore of Norway, Floris of the Netherlands, Nils of Sweden, and Gregory of England) make plans to spend a year incognito in America to live life without royal duties and expectations and learn more about themselves. Along the way, of course, each finds love where they least expect it. This book, the fourth and last in the series, follows Gregory's year at Cascade Bay University in the Pacific Northwest.

Gregory's cover is Eddie York, International Relations major, and one condition of his year abroad is a permanent, live-in security detail in Secret Service agent Basil "Bash" Puller. Through forced proximity, a fake boyfriend trope, mutual admiration and respect, a Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina that changes everything, and an England trip that threatens to unravel it all, Eddie and Bash grow together in confidence and love into a true force to be reckoned with.

Eddie and Bash are drawn sympathetically with palpable, gripping stakes that drive the conflict realistically, between the constraints of Eddie's royal identity and Bash's need for the protection job to support his family financially. Their love grows organically, and you absolutely have to root for them to make it against all the odds. I couldn't help but make (positive!) comparisons to Red, White, and Royal Blue, especially with the dramatic last quarter of the book, in which the English monarch clings to outmoded ideas of what it means to be a royal and dramatically threatens Eddie and Bash's happily ever after.

Despite this being the fourth book in the "Prince Pact" series, this was my first book in it, and it hooked me so firmly that I immediately went back and read the first three books in the series, The Prince and the Player (Tore's story), Prince Material (Floris' story), and The Prince's Playbook (Nils' story). I adore the mutual love and support that the four princes have for one another, and Nora Phoenix does an excellent job of building out the Prince Pact universe and making us care deeply about the princes and their partners. The epilogue flashes forward a decade to give the brotherhood and their families (and children!) a sweet, satisfying ending.

[Continuity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fake dating, secret relationship, AND forced proximity? I am sat.

This book just screams drama, but inside is actually a very wholesome, low angst (considering the plot) story. I think this book could’ve benefited from fifty to even a hundred more pages to help aid the pacing of this story. I wish there were more angst and pining between the two of them in the beginning, seeing them resist their desires and slowly fall for one another. Because, as it is, the characters get together very fast, considering all the negative consequences for both of them if they got found out. However, that is me putting unrealistic expectations onto the book. It’s not the book’s fault that I’m a sucker for yearning.

However, I do wish that we got to see more of the two characters together, at least before the main conflict. As I mentioned before, the consequences of their relationship are catastrophic and life-changing for both of them. It would be more realistic if we could see more of them together and understand why they would sacrifice this much for each other.

My last critique is extremely nitpicky and just a personal preference thing. There are very, very overt references to a popular queer sports romance, and it took me out of the story a bit. Again, this is purely personal, I have a hard time with pop cultural references, and this one was VERY prevalent in the story during an important milestone in their relationship. I think I wouldn’t have gotten so ‘icked’ out if it wasn’t so detailed, if they just lightly mentioned that the characters were watching it instead of actively describing the scenes from the show.

Though I will say, I loved the epilogue! It was a nice little farewell to the characters and was such a treat to read. Overall, I think this is a cute and entertaining read. It’s perfect if you’re looking for low angst and love the tropes presented in this novel. Thank you, NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tags/Warnings
.
.
.
Tropes: Bodyguard x Prince, fake dating, roommates, forced proximity, secret relationship, forbidden romance
Kinks/NSFW: Frotting, virgin MC, loss of virginity,
Triggers: Closeted characters, past death of sibling, past death of parent, parent with cancer
Third act break-up: No
OM/OW: None

[Duskvioletnova · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

When I read the blurb for this book, I was instantly sold. A British prince falling in love with his American bodyguard, of course I’m interested.

Starting off with Eddie or should I say Gregory, Prince of Great Britain. I really liked his character, and his determination not to let his family stop him from pursuing his dream of studying abroad.
Then there is Bash, the bodyguard. I really liked getting to read about his internal battles with his background, what he came from and who he is. Also, as someone who is always a little too aware of their surroundings, I liked how it was portrayed in Bash not only using it to protect Eddie, but also to notice him. He noticed quite a few things about Eddie throughout the book, due to his training, but it never felt creepy.

I absolutely can not stand most of Eddies family in the book, especially his uncle. I can’t and probably never will understand how people can be so hateful towards others, or feel like they get to have a say in others' personal lives.
Bash’s family on the other hand, I really liked them. They were much kinder, and overall just a fresh breath of air compared to Eddie's family.

As for the setting, I feel like a lot of things are missing. Most of the time is spent in their room, while Eddie originally went to America to have a true college experience without having to worry about getting recognized. Although I get that the idea might have been that he doesn’t feel the need to party anymore because he has met Bash, I feel like it was a big part that was just kinda forgotten about.

The story itself was nicely written, I really like the turn it took, and the end was definitely worth it. There were some parts in the book, where you could feel their bond getting stronger, and them starting to care more about each other, and I really liked that.
However, even though there were quite a few timejumps, it didn’t really feel like that. When I was reading, it just felt like things kept happening directly after each other, like they never had a dull moment in their lives.

Overall I did really enjoy reading this book, and would definitely recommend if someone is looking for a falling in love with your bodyguard, type of book.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

I’d rate this 3.5

I have only read the first book, the Prince and the Player (which I rated 5 stars), before reading this fourth book in the series. This was not my favorite of the two, though I still intend to read the other books in the series.

Overall, this book was enjoyable for the romance trope between a Prince and a commoner. The spicy scenes were good. The building romance was believable. The MCs were very likable. And the resolution at the end was relatively satisfying. Unfortunately there were some aspects that troubled me.

The set up was supposed to be Prince Gregory, AKA Eddie, attending an American college for one year as a ‘regular person,’ with an assigned bodyguard, Bash - posing as fake boyfriends in a couple’s dorm to hide Eddie identify. But there was extremely little interaction outside of their dorm room for the fake boyfriend trope to really be used at all. Even when visiting Bash’s parents, it seemed under utilized. So it seemed mostly a wasted plot point.

A majority of scenes up to around the first 70% of the book were spent solely with the 2 MCs, very little secondary character interaction. Also, a character, Pippa, recognized Eddie at college for being Prince Gregory. She promised to keep their secret - and did! It was a strange and useless plot point. Most college age kids would’ve taken and posted a photo in minutes.

I also felt Eddie/Gregory was a bit two dimensional in the first 70% of the book, which his characterization did pick up after that when he returned to England.

*Spoiler* I wasn’t totally comfortable with the ending. His royal family was overly concerned about the scandal their relationship might cause - for this 4th in line Prince. Assuming his father was #3 to Eddie’s Uncle King, there were still 2 others ahead of them in line (I assume his more scandalous cousin was one of the two, but still another spare besides). You’d think they’d jump on the stable relationship publicity to offset the more scandalous cousin. *Spoiler*

A couple minor details. Bash’s real name was Basil. I’d be shocked to meet any American named Basil. Also, the phrasing “I am undone,” “he will undo me,” and variations thereof were used during the spicy scenes far too often.

I still enjoyed it overall.

[Eiji Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prince and the Bodyguard By Nora Phoenix Review
In exchange for an honest review, I got to read the ARC of The Prince and the Bodyguard by Nora Phoenix by Netgally and the author.
This is the fourth book in the Prince Patch series telling the story about four European princes that all want to spend a year abroad to find themselves, far from their daily life of being part of the royal family’s and commitments that come with that. In the fourth book we follow prince Gregory the prince of the British royalty, fourth in the line to the crown because of his position he have to be under the constant scrutiny of the public and the media and his only wish is to find himself and find out who he is without the crown and the royal duty that always follow him. With his uncle that does not like the idea of him doing it finally letting him go to the US for a year at the University Cascade Hall in the Pacific North West, where he will be living with his new Bodyguard Bash that will go under the identity of his Friend/boyfriend while they both are going to study for a year together, but what Gregory did not prepare for is the feelings that start to grow for his bodyguard that blows him off his feet during a zoom call before he fly out for the start of school. Also, no one else than his group of friends know that Gregory is gay and if it comes out it can become a full-blown royal scandal that his uncle the king does not want. But holding his hands of the gorgeous bodyguard fast turn to a lot of first as both have never been with men before and this gives the good base to explore their sexuality and this attraction they both have for each other.
This is a beautiful story about coming out and what happens when a royalty falls for his bodyguard and the chaos that can happen when two worlds clash together when feelings are hard to reject when attraction happens. This is the ending to the Prince Patch series as it comes full circle. If you like Nora`s books I think you will like this story as well as she has created a great story with great character growth and complicated lives into a beautiful love story unlike others!
Lastly I want to Thank both Netgally and Nora for letting me read the ARC of the series and I cant wait to see what Nora will write next!

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have finally made it to the British Prince - Gregory, fourth in line to the throne and future Duke of York. The Prince Pact series has been one I’ve really enjoyed reading because it’s cosy and got the feeling of the perfect MM romance I’d watch if Hallmark made them into a series; and honestly I was convinced we’d have a sudden twist to the story because the fictional King would carry on saying no to his nephew.

This was the perfect read, the pacing is perfect and both Gregory and Bash are beyond adorable and I liked how we see them both deny the realities of what they’re both secretly feeling and especially how Nora Phoenix decides to make the heat rise. (I don’t want to spoil it - but it’s perfect and you can easily imagine just why there's a sudden change between the prince and the bodyguard hidden away in their apartment.

They’re both carrying the weight of responsibilities neither asked for, with the prince, it’s obvious; he has been born into a role and the world awaits him taking on the title; but it’s Bash’s backstory that I think many will want to be able to hug a fictional character over; he’s lost an older brother in the line of duty and the family are balancing on a knife-edge of moving forward and grieving; and then there’s the fact his mother has cancer and the bills are adding up. This job of protecting a prince could make his Mama’s life easier so that has to be heavy on a young man. I certainly wanted to reach in and protect him at all costs…

Nora keeps it as light as you can with this heavier subject lingering in the background, and I loved seeing their romance grow from secret wondering to telling truths, plus of course we get glimpses of the other princes we’ve met along the way. Each one is as funny and as caring as a reader will recall; and they’re all team ‘Fall for the Bodyguard’ once they know - their friendship is adorable. I was so happy to get to read this, but also so sad to say goodbye to a series I’d loved and had many a smile over. Thank you Nora for the epilogue in this one where we get to see what true happiness for them all feels like.

[Heather O'Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic ending to the Prince Pact series.

Prince Gregory of the UK is finally granted a year’s stay in the US posing as a regular university student in order to broaden his horizons. To the King, that means one thing, to Gregory, it means exploring his sexuality, which he keeps secret from most everyone. The condition is that he has to have a live-in bodyguard, the beautiful former marine and current Secret Service agent Bash Puller.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the most secure campus housing is apartments for couples, so they have to pretend to be a couple. Oh, and did I mention that Bash has a bisexual side that he has kept carefully hidden up until now? The tension between Bash and “Eddie” (Prince Gregory’s assumed name) is instant and hot.

But will the King’s wrath be just as instant and hot if he finds out Gregory is lusting after his bodyguard? Will the Secret Service be hot under the collar if they find out Bash has feelings for his protectee?

This story had some of my favourite tropes:
- forbidden romance
- forced proximity
- fake dating
- fighting against expectations placed by others.

Eddie has the weight of being fourth in line for the Crown and all that entails, including a potential arranged marriage to the “right girl.” Bash has the weight of his career protecting Eddie and his need for funds to help support his family… not to mention as a Marine, he’s played straight for his entire life.

I should also mention that there are a few chapters toward the end that were absolute page-turners! Putting this story down to go to work or sleep was torture, as I had to know what was going to happen.

Each of these Prince Pact books can be read as a standalone, but they are so much more interesting when read in order. Every book features a different prince and the love story their time in the US allows.

The Prince and the Bodyguard occupies perhaps the most important spot in the series, as it wraps up all four of the storylines in a beautiful epilogue that left me wanting more adventures with these characters.

I give this book a VERY solid 4/5 stars. Did I thoroughly enjoy it and want more? YES. 100%. Highly recommended!

[Elizgangsta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth and final book in this wonderful series! It’s an M/M romance featuring forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, and a coming-out storyline.

First, we have Prince Gregory, who is closeted to everyone except his fellow princes. As a British royal, he’s forced to live a false life for the sake of the crown. I really liked Gregory; his polite manners and love for tea were charming and hit close to home from my time living in England. I also loved his curiosity and eagerness to get the full "American experience" with food!

Then there’s Bash. Personally, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with him because of how he talks about military pride and family obligation. Coming from a military family and being married to a service member, it’s always felt like a job to us like any other, so the heavy emphasis on forced duty and generational pressure didn't resonate with me. That’s definitely a personal preference, but it was hard for me to set aside.

That said, I truly loved their connection. They brought out the best in each other, and it was wonderful seeing Gregory realize he deserved happiness and choose Bash without hesitation. I liked that Bash learned it wasn’t all on his shoulders to provide for his parents and that he didn’t have to hide who he was to please his parents all because they lost a son.

On a personal level, so much of this story resonated with me, from the military aspect and the UK setting to having lost a brother myself. Those elements made the characters' emotional journeys feel deeply relatable.

I also loved getting glimpses of the princes from the earlier books and seeing them stand by Gregory when he came out to his family.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series and I am sad to see it end! I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

Thank you Boldwood Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

The Prince and the Bodyguard is the fourth book in Nora Phoenix’s Prince Pact series about four friends who each take a year a way from their royal lives to live as everyday men in the U.S. I have been looking forward to Gregory/Eddie’s story, as we have followed his struggles in the background of the other books. He has a particular challenge in that while all the men are princes, Eddie’s is a more traditional monarchy with a much higher profile outside his country.

My main problem with the university part of the book is that I struggled with some things just not feeling like they totally made sense to me, which pulled me out of the story. I know that this is a personal thing for me, but I did have a hard time here with some elements. First, we have the fact that for some reason the British monarchy decides that rather than having one of their presumably multitudes of security guards protect Eddie, they are going to hire a U.S. Secret Service agent and give him a temporary assignment to do the job instead. And Bash is the sole person responsible for protecting Eddie, essentially 24 hours a day (when Bash leaves to go to the gym or whatever, Eddie must stay in their apartment). So basically, for an entire year, Bash gets zero days off and works all day long every day. I mean, even the president has a rotating team of secret service. It just felt so contrived for the story, I struggled with it.

I really liked the time when the guys are in England and I think that really highlights both their relationship, as well as some of the key hurdles that Eddie is facing. I also liked that we got a nice epilogue at the end of the story that brings together all the princes and their partners about ten years later.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Jine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to jump back into this world and it did not disappoint! I’m so happy we finally got Gregory’s book!! He finally gets to go to America like his friends and spend a year learning but he has to take a bodyguard bash! A rugged southern former marine who needs the position to help support his family! What both of them didn’t expect to happen was a instant attraction and because they lived in a campus apartment meant for couples they had to pretend to date
One thing that truly made me laugh when Floris told Greg to take a chance and see if Bash felt the same they had a movie night and Greg chose what to watch and he picked heated rivalry I laughed so much but it worked because their professional relationship changed drastically! They explored their newfound feelings in the bubble of their apartment but when they went to Bash’s for thanksgiving I didn’t like the coldness because bash got scarred and Greg slipped back into his diplomatic self I’m glad that was short lived but their biggest hurdle was Christmas when he was summoned back to England
His uncle and his father had plans for him to marry someone a woman and it truly looked grim they only got a second to talk and when they professed their love they were caught by his sister who turned out to be an ally
But the proudest moment! When he stood up for his love for bash against his uncle and father and refused to give up on what they had; now did that come with complications of course they literally locked Greg in a tower but in came
Floris! When they reunited in the airport oh my god and bash’s family telling him he was bash’s boy so he was theirs too!!
Truly this was phenomenal but that epilogue was absolute chefs kiss if you have read all the books in the series then this tied everything together!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5/5 ⭐️

Yet again, Nora Phoenix has done it! A college romance with incredibly mature characters, The Prince and the Bodyguard finishes up the Prince Pact series with a bang.

This book was a zero-angst yet emotional read about Prince Gregory "Eddie", the 22-year old prince of England who's fourth in line for the throne and his 27-year old American bodyguard, Bash, while at college in the Pacific Northwest. While it can be read as a standalone, Eddie's story is much better read as the fourth book in the Prince Pact series.

The book starts out with the possibility of a fake dating storyline, but this turned out to be even better! There were none of the typical fake dating plot lines. It was so incredibly refreshing. Their romance starts quickly, but not quite insta-lust. Eddie and Bash form a perfect pair, despite their class differences.

I love how we see Eddie come out of his shell, embracing the opportunity to truly explore his sexuality. Similarly, Bash takes this opportunity to finally give in to his desires and push the limits of his duty as Eddie's hired protection detail. Both handle their situation with incredible maturity (and no angst! woo!), which really sets this series apart from other college romances. Did I say that already? Probably 😂

The ending was absolutely my favorite part. The epilogue brings together our four princes back ten years later with a look into their futures. I loved seeing the four of them together again, with their respective families. In addition, I loved seeing the distinction between each of their "happily ever afters" and what it entails. Their versions of happy royals were all different, and Eddie's really was the perfect resolution to The Prince and the Bodyguard! Absolutely perfect!!!