Finding Prince Charming
Jamar J. Perry
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published June 10, 2025
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Finding Prince Charming
In this swoonworthy YA romance, an ordinary teenage boy finds himself accidentally fake dating a crown prince.
Tyriq Howell is swearing off of love. After a fight with his cheating ex leads to missing his college scholarship interview, he vows to be done with dating for good. Until Desmond, a boy who works in the scholarship office, approaches with a curious proposal: he’ll get Tyriq another interview if he pretends to be Desmond’s date to a fancy gala in two weeks.
When Tyriq shows up to the gala, he’s shocked when photographers swarm him and Desmond. He’s even more shocked when he finds out that Desmond is Prince Desmond of Catalina. And now that the whole world knows Desmond is gay, he’s front page news.
When the King angrily summons Desmond and his new boyfriend to Catalina, Desmond begs Tyriq to play along. If his father realizes Desmond is serious about coming out, he might finally agree to let Desmond pass the crown to his sister instead. But navigating court politics and pretend relationships is harder than Tyriq imagined-especially when he realizes that he may have accidentally broken his swearing-off-of-love rule.
My Review
I read this on the heels of a really challenging book. I definitely needed a sweet, funny, adorable romance, and this book absolutely delivered those things. Tyriq is such a sweet guy. He’s got great people in his life… except where it comes to love. There, he’s struggling to figure out how to find a relationship that balances taking with giving.
There are a few moments where the plot armor pulls the story forward before we can really parse out whether something is realistic, but honestly, I didn’t look too closely that those details. It was fun getting carried away by the romance and the fun parts of the story, and I don’t think those hiccups represented anything problematic.
I liked Tyriq’s best friend and his mom a lot. His mom is smart and pragmatic. His best friend tells him exactly what she thinks, but she’s really funny, too. Tyriq also has a twin brother, and I enjoyed the ways in which they were alike and very different from one another.
I think I read a middle grade book by Jamar J. Perry last year, and honestly, I wouldn’t have realized this was the same writer. The tone is so light and fun here, whereas his middle grade fantasy was more serious and tense. That strikes me as having some great range. I’m really interested to see what he writes next.
Readers looking for a light rom com for the summer– be sure to put Finding Prince Charming on your reading list!
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. A couple of scenes lead up to sex. There are a couple of details that show the characters leading up to that experience before the scene cuts away.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
Paparazzi follow and pester Desmond, Tyrig and Tyriq’s family. Desmond’s dad displays some homophobia.
Drug Content
None.
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