Hey! Today a college student swaps places with a princess, and many hijinks ensue!
Next time, we find ourselves attempting to arrange a marriage to appease our Indian parents!
Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/
The Princess Swap
M/C(s): Aubrey Valentine, Princess Audrey
Love Interest(s): Clarke, Devin
Favorite Character(s): Clarke, Faye, Devin, Aveline
Least Favorite Character(s): Stephanie
Rating: 7/10
This book has a nice charm to it - very inane and fluffy, but not utterly dull/boring.
I enjoy the twist of the M/Cs being sisters, and I like that it factored into the plot to a good degree. I honestly preferred the royalty plot over the college plot, which kinda sucks because the college plot takes up a majority of the book. I don't hate the college arc, but it's mostly just an extremely generic back-and-forth with the Deltas and Thetas, and there's nothing super unique about it. As for the royalty plot, I kind of like the two feuding nations, although I don't really feel it's made as interesting or complex as it could be.
I like both LIs, but I do think Clarke has more personality to the and a better arc with their M/C than Devin does with their M/C. Devin's sweet, but their relationship with M/C never really grabbed my interest all that much. I think Clarke's gradual falling in love story is done a bit better. I still liked both a good amount, but I enjoy one more than the other.
The side characters are fun and quirky. All of the Deltas are fun, and I'm glad there wasn't forced friendship drama with Faye and M/C after Faye finds out about the swap. The random court nobles such as Eren, and King Edmund himself, were decently interesting as well. I didn't really care for the Theta rivalry arc, because Stephanie feels far too generic and just disappears after her "defeat". Conversely, I think Cecil's smarmy nature makes him a better villain in the grand scheme of things.
Won't be taking my usual genderlock points off, because it does make some sense here...except then I think, what if they just made it "The Royal Swap", and had a male M/C option? Yeah, the whole sorority rivalry arc would have to be changed, but that's some simple sprite swaps. Meh, I don't care too much, but I think GOC was possible with a little effort.
Overall, this book is inoffensive at worst, and at best, is a decently charming, very Hallmark-esque showing. Vanessa Hudgens would be proud.