I am absolutely obsessed this book! I wasn’t even half way through it when I stopped and preordered it. I love a good sports romance and I especially love when there is a good gay awakening. This book has everything you could want, princes, secret identities, Bi soccer players, and a romance for the ages. I’d recommended this book for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and sports romances. This book had some truly wonderful spicy scenes as well as some heartwarming scenes that truly showcase the different worlds they come from and how just because they’re from different worlds doesn’t mean they don’t share some struggles in common. I adored this book and I loved Farron and Tore’s story and I would highly recommend this to anyone. Happy reading!

This book was like a modern fairytale.

I loved the whole dislike to love trope and Tore and Farron really had great chemistry with each other.

I initially didn’t get why Farron was so hateful towards Tore but I got why he might feel the way he did. Tore being incredibly nice to Farron the whole time made it so funny cause it would piss Farron off more 😂

I would definitely recommend this for fans of RW&RB, but much like RW&RB this is almost a fantasy book. Like we know nothing like this will happen in real life but it’s a great escape from reality.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

"She's the Man" meets "The Prince and Me" meets "Red White and Royal Blue"! Enemies to lovers never gets old. This book is written in dual first person following Tore, a Norwegian Prince studying abroad in the USA to play college soccer, and Farron, captain of said soccer team. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. Tore is sweet, charming, and you can't help but love him. On the other hand, I had trouble liking Farron. Although, he has his reasons for being mean and cold, it just seemed unwarranted at times, His jealousy was a bit unbecoming for the captain of a college team, but he eventually comes around and you see a different side to him. Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you are big fans of Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston then I recommend giving this book a go!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

4.75⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this lovely book and for the opportunity to read it as an arc.

That being said, this was such a cute read with emotional and heartfelt moments. Both characters felt like they were real humans, with real struggles and emotions. Starting with Tore, he’s the most sunshine boy I ever met and I swear I want him for myself😭❤️
His dynamic as a prince in disguise on an Ohio State university was interesting yet nothing new but the way it was written gave me fresh energy. ✨

Something I wish we got more is moments in Norway and more about Tore’s background, his life and how he and Farron lived after getting together. 😩
Then we have Farron, the broken boy who works at Walmart and has a vendetta against rich people💀, and who he ends up falling for? You guessed right, our bright boy who is not only rich but also the sweetest person on earth.
Farron is a character I wish we got more chapters of, I wanted to see more about his struggles and his family, especially the conflict between his dad’s side.

Other than that, I really love the whole grumpy sunshine part of this book, because you see two different people fighting each other and finding out they want those same people close by for some reason. Even tho it was a little earlier than I’m used to bc I wanted more push and pull from them, the writing made it feel like months have happened and hundreds of chapters passed but it was merely the 40% mark.

One thing I really hope we get in next books from this author is more heartfelt and emotional moments between the couples, more scenes with them together in bed just chilling and talking about the future or their fears, bc it’s something we didn’t get here and I wish we did. And last but not least, man my heart hurt for Tore, he was doomed from the start and I felt his struggles with his feelings toward Far.

Thank you for the arc Nora and I need this to be a series to get Floris’s, Grant’s and Nils’s stories 🙌🏻🥰🤗

This Norwegian prince meets grumpy soccer captain romance totally dragged me in from page one! 🔥

Tore Haakon von Glücksberg just wants a year of freedom from his royal duties, so he makes a pact with his friends to escape to America and be a regular college student. No crown, no responsibilities - just "Tore" playing the sport he loves. And OF COURSE he joins the soccer team where he meets Farron who is basically if "trust issues" and "bad attitude" had a baby... but make it hot.

The chemistry between these two? EXPLOSIVE! They start off absolutely hating each other (classic), but that tension quickly transforms into something way more interesting. Their enemies-to-lovers journey was hands down the best part of the book - watching them go from clashing on the field to being completely obsessed with each other was the chef's kiss.

What made me happy me was how the author handled their sexual identity journeys. Both guys initially identify as straight, but their attraction develops naturally without making their coming-to-terms process the entire plot. For a new adult book, I really appreciated this approach - they realize they're into each other, deal with it, and move on with their lives.

The pacing was super quick (sometimes a bit too quick), which kept me entertained but occasionally left me wanting more development, especially for Tore. Sometimes I wanted to be like "slow down bestie, let me enjoy this moment!" But also I finished it in one sitting so who am I to judge?? We get to see a lot of Farron's life outside their relationship - his family dynamics and personal struggles - but Tore's character felt less developed beyond the whole "prince wanting normal life" setup. Besides one wedding scene at the beginning, we don't get many glimpses into his world.

Yes, it's trope-heavy and you can see the third-act breakup coming from miles away, but honestly? Sometimes that's exactly what you want in a romance! It was fun, steamy, and had me flying through the pages. It was a comfort food romance for me.

A solid 4 out of 5 for the book. I'm definitely curious about Tore's friends and their upcoming American adventures in the next books! If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read with serious sparks, this one's for you.

I absolutely loved The Prince and the Player by Nora Phoenix. Farron and Tore come from completely different worlds, one from poverty, the other from wealth, yet both struggle to define themselves beyond their backgrounds. Their journey from enemies to lovers was beautifully written. While I initially hated how Farron treated Tore, it added so much depth to their relationship and made their love story even more compelling. As a huge fan of Norway, I have to applaud the choice of setting; and the best part? I even learned some Norwegian, ‘jeg elsker deg’. You’ll have to read the book to find out the translation! What a beautiful ending to the story. A brilliant book by Phoenix, and I truly hope we get more in the future to follow Tore and Farron.

the idea of the book was so fun and refreshing! the prince went undercover to US where he played football or soccer (whatever they called it) with the college team. he met the captain with whom he shared an interesting chemistry that soon turned into a relationship.

this book definitely gave vibes of red, white and royal blue book (not sure about the name but you got it). the prince was very elegant, elite and sounded british to me, for whatever reason, even though he wasn’t. captain was cocky, little mean and unreasonable to the prince.

here comes the first thing i didn’t enjoy. i understood that captain was shocked by this “new” guy who came to the team and was not bad at soccer. i also understand that his attraction to prince, scared him, making his character mean and cold. but sometimes it was too unreasonable. prince did nothing wrong to deserve this type of treatment.

secondly, there was tension but not chemistry. they were fun together but i don’t seem them together in the future. i just don’t.

it was nice to see how the royal family overcome rules and were supportive of this new relationship. on the same line, the main conflict wasn’t much of a conflict. i genuinely don’t understand the hate toward the prince. he didn’t do that much? it being a royal change that much about him? he is still the same guy.

The Prince and the Player is a light romance about Tore, a Norwegian prince, deciding to leave his royal life behind for a year and play soccer at a small college in Ohio. There, he meets Farron, the grumpy captain of the team. Farron immediately dislikes Tore because of his wealthy background but, over the course of the soccer season, the two end up developing feelings for one another.

The plot strongly reminded me of the movie The Price and Me and it also had some similarities to Red, White, and Royal Blue (both of which I loved). I am not much of a sports person, so the soccer element was not my favorite, but fans of sports romance would probably appreciate that aspect. I did like the Ohio setting, since that’s where I’m from, but I didn’t especially love the writing style. The dialogue didn’t feel very natural and relied on cliches.

This book was a cute enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine story, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fluffy escape. I’d give it 3.5 stars overall.

This was a fun, sweet story that I enjoyed but think I ultimately wanted more from the boys and their relationship. While I could appreciate their individual struggles with identity, I never felt fully invested in or convinced of their relationship.

I really liked the premise of the book and hope that there are more books in this series.

This was such an amazing story. I fell hard for Tore and Farron.
Prince Tore pleads with his family to allow him a year away to college in the united States. To enjoy some time learning, playing soccer and doing normal things without letting in he is a Prince.
His new teammates repect the player they have learned Tore to be. Aside from the captain, who seems to dislike him for no reason.
Farron is less inclined to accept Tore, after finding out how different their upbringing has been. Nit easily won over, the two find themselves at odds with everything.  You onow what they say how opposites attract. These two have chemistry for days!
A truly addictive , funny, sexy coming out romance. I really loved this story and hope there are more to come.
4.5 stars.

*4.5

The two of them have very different reactions to discovering that they were bi and I loved both of them. Tore just accepted it so easy and went I guess that's what I am now. Farron took a little bit more loving to get there but he realized that he couldn't be without Tore. I just thought they were really cute and I wish the book was longer.

I received an arc through netgalley.

A Norwegian prince that just wants to go play soccer without the constrains of duty and the soccer captain of the team the prince joins? Count me in. This book dragged me in and did not let me go. It was fast paced (maybe too much so at times), which definitely kept me entertained at all times. I loved how the dynamic between Tore and Farron developed, especially as they went from dislike into their “we just have to get it out of our systems” until they finally realized they had fallen for each other.

Going into the book, I thought that Tore and Farron were already out, so I was surprised when early in the book they separately mentioned they were straight. However, I quite liked how the author handled the whole process of the two of them realizing they were in fact not straight, which was surprising. They had their realization, got together, and just went about their lives, not making it in a huge deal or major plot point, especially as this is a new adult book.

Honestly, my only complaint with this book is that it felt like a lot was just left out, especially on the part of Tore and his development as a character. I felt like we got a lot of info about who Farron was and saw his interactions with people outside Tore (especially his family) but that didn’t happen very much at all except at the one wedding scene at the beginning.

Overall, this was a great quick read, and I’d highly recommend it.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this story!

Tore and Farron were amazing characters whose insecurities seemed to mirror/parallel each other perfectly. I loved how they navigated their sexuality together but had completely different journeys.

Overall it was a beautiful, funny, sexy and heartbreaking mm romance that I would highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This book was fun and cheesy and I loved it! I’m a sucker for a royalty romance and a sports romance so I loved that this combined the two. This is a quick and enjoyable read!

This is a cute rivals-to-lovers MM college sports romance (soccer, in this case) that was an easy and fast read. I found it to be pretty typical for this genre with plot and tropes, but it moved a bit too quickly/easily through some of the major plot points which left the story feeling a bit flat overall. There were a few wonky editing choices that took me out of the story from time to time (some repetitive language and the use of “oh gods”, which is odd to see outside of fantasy but maybe it’s a Norwegian thing?). Anyway, it was a solid 3.5 stars for me!

(Also are we going to talk about the fact that the illustration on the cover has the characters backwards? 😬)

This book was definitely a bit trope-heavy, but wow, was it fun!

It follows Norwegian prince Tore Haakon von Glücksberg, who strikes a deal with his friends to spend a year in the U.S., leaving his royal title behind to just be "Tore" for once. While there, he joins the college soccer team (yes, soccer, not football) and crosses paths with his new team captain, Farron—who just so happens to be the grumpiest, moodiest, most defensive guy with a serious chip on his shoulder.

And then? Fireworks. At first, they clash in the most intense, animosity-fueled way, but soon, that tension transforms into something sizzling—off-the-charts chemistry, undeniable attraction, and a full-blown obsession with each other. Hands down, their dynamic was the highlight of the book


Overall, this wasn't anything groundbreaking, and I could see the third-act breakup coming from a mile away. But despite the predictability, it was still an entertaining read! I’m definitely curious to see what’s in store for Tore’s friends in their own U.S. adventures in the next books of the series. 💕

This is a sweet and spicy mm romance which has echoes of Red, White and Royal Blue.

As a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope this was always going to be up my street and the football links were also a big appeal.

I only wish there would be more of Farron and Tore's story because I'm hungry for more!

This was a quick, adorable MM read. I loved the focus on soccer, since this isn't a huge sport for romance books to delve into. It definitely needs more attention! Nora Phoenix did very well with developing the characters and showing the chemistry between Farron and Tore. Though, I did have a bit of an issue with how prejudiced Farron was for most of the book towards people with money.

Overall, a great read! The spice was pretty good and the plot was fun! I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet MM romance.

Thanks to Boldwood for this ARC!

The Prince and the Player was such a sweet romance - I loved how much Tore wanted the chance to live a normal life for a little while outside of his princely duty and the chemistry he had with Farron, the grumpiest soccer team captain with the biggest chip on his shoulder. Love and hate skirt a thin line and I thought this book navigated that well, demonstrating how their tension could blow up either way. I loved the way these boys found common ground and we got to see their relationship develop and deepen and turn into something softer. The book balanced some of its more existential questions pretty well, but they were sometimes a distraction from the real plot. I did find that there were some moments where the author had to really pause and explain things so that the reader had the knowledge they needed; I didn't mind it, but it did make some of the scenes feel a little longer than necessary. All in all, this was a fun read and a little bit of a sports romance fairy tale and it felt like maybe there was a series being set up, which would be delightful!

Solid 4,5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this story!
One sided hatred from the very first glance to heated love and passion. Prince being sunshine and Player being grumpy made me giggling sometimes and saying to myself JUST KISS HIM ALREADY 🫣😂
I would give 5⭐️ but hatred came from prejudges and not actual actions which did not entirely sit with me well ;)