[Review] A Tale of Two Princes - Eric Geron

Summary: Edward Dinnissen leads a charmed life. He’s the Crown Prince of Canada, gets the royal treatment at his exclusive private school, and resides in a ritzy mansion. He thrives off being the perfect prince as he prepares for the Investiture Ceremony on his eighteenth birthday, the final step in his role as heir—and Canada’s future king. But this closeted Crown Prince has just one tiny problem: he’s unsure how to tell his parents, his beloved country, and his adoring fans that he’s gay.
 
Billy Boone should be happy with the simple life. His family’s ranch is his favorite place in the world, he loves his small town, and his boyfriend is the cutest guy at Little Timber High. So why does it feel like something’s still missing? Maybe it has to do with the fact that this out-and-proud cowboy feels destined for something more . . .
 
When Edward and Billy meet by chance in New York City, they discover that they are long-lost twins, and their lives are forever changed. Together, will these twin princes—“twinces”—be able to take on high school, coming out, and coronations? Or will this royal reunion quickly become a royal train wreck? (Pub Date: Jan 10 2022)

 

Whoever okayed this book, they were trying to ride the hype of Red, White & Royal Blue. Well, it is a queer romance, it involves a prince. In fact, two princes. But I'm almost sure that's not the book the author had in mind while writing. If anything, it's closer to Princes Diaries or maybe Roman Holiday.

Well, both. As we have two main characters: Edward, the crown prince of Canada who is always bringing trouble, and Billy, the actual crown prince of Canada who just found out who he really is after being raised in a farm of the States. They're twins, but lived completely different lives in different countries. And now they're inverting their roles, now Edward isn't the next in line to be king, but Billy, for being the older twin. Worst, for Edward, it's like Billy is getting everything, he doesn't need to pretend to be straight, as he's been out of the closet for a long time, and his parents and the press seem to love him.

3 plus. 

I like the idea, but the development dragged in my opinion. I can't point out what would have made me like this book more (maybe if it weren't two stories in a single book? Focusing more on one of the princes?), but the feeling that I was supposed to like this more stuck with me to the end. I found both princes not easy to relate to, especially Edward, of course. The certainty that all he did would come back to bite him made me anxious. The part of the Canadian royal family was also a little weird, I didn't really understand the mechanics behind it and would probably have preferred if they didn't get into details and just present it as a fact, but then the book started going into the relations with the British side. Weird. Not what I'm here for. So, maybe this book loses us in the extras the author probably worked hard to insert when we were okay with just the romances. And the romances ended up bland as a result.

Still, a good book, deserving that plus. As I said, I can see the author put effort.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.