How to Catch a Queen (Runaway Royals #1)

By: Alyssa Cole

Blurb:

When Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, her dream of becoming a queen finally comes true. But it’s nothing like she imagined. Shanti and her husband may share an immediate and powerful attraction, but her subjects see her as an outsider, and everything she was taught about being the perfect wife goes disastrously wrong.

A king must rule with an iron fist, and newly crowned King Sanyu was born perfectly fitted for the gauntlet, even if he wishes he weren’t. He agrees to take a wife as is required of him, though he doesn’t expect to actually fall in love. Even more vexing? His beguiling new queen seems to have the answers to his country’s problems—except no one will listen to her.

By day, they lead separate lives. By night, she wears the crown, and he bows to her demands in matters of politics and passion. When turmoil erupts in their kingdom and their marriage, Shanti goes on the run, and Sanyu must learn whether he has what it takes both to lead his people and to catch his queen.

Review:

 I have mentioned, many times, that I’m an Alyssa Cole fan. I love her Reluctant Royals series. I’ve re-read each book at least twice. How to Catch a Queen came out on December 1^st, and I set aside my stack of library books so that I could read it, and I devoured it.

How to Catch a Queen is set in the same universe as the Reluctant Royals series, and we get to read several mentions of characters from those books as well as some texts. The heroine, Shanti, was actually in Princess in Theory.

Since the age of seven, Shanti’s life goal was to be a queen like her hero, the queen of Thesolo. Everything she’s done in her life is toward that goal. She’s driven and incredibly smart and has made herself the perfect queen. Unfortunately, she had issues finding her king. Until the kingdom of Njaza became in need of one.

Sanyu, the new king, does not want to be king. He doesn’t even want to be in his country. After a pretty harsh upbringing, he’s got some understandable anxiety. He’s also grieving for his recently deceased father. He’s a very sympathetic hero and never does anything genuinely horrible. He does have his chauvinistic tendencies, but Shanti doesn’t let him get away with anything.

The couple is married at the beginning of the book. The story is about them working together to help the country of Njaza and falling in love along the way. It’s an interesting backdrop for a romance, and I enjoyed it.

I am, of course, very excited for the future books in this series and world. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

5/5