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    How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals
    How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals
    How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals
    Audiobook10 hours

    How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals

    Written by Alyssa Cole

    Narrated by Karen Chilton

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    An arranged marriage leads to unexpected desire, in the first book of Alyssa Cole’s

    Runaway Royals series…

    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.

     

    Editor's Note

    Best romance of the year…

    One of the best romance books of 2020, according to Publishers Weekly, which writes: “[Alyssa] Cole subverts both expectations and gender roles with the smart, sexy contemporary romance that opens her Runaway Royals series. Anxious King Sanyu II has no desire to rule, but ambitious commoner Shanti Mohapti has enough political acumen for the both of them. Their unlikely arranged marriage strikes a delicate balance of politics and passion that is sure to delight.” A steamy read from the author of “An Extraordinary Union” where politics actually bring people together.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateDec 1, 2020
    ISBN9780062933980
    How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals
    Author

    Alyssa Cole

    Alyssa Cole is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers and romance (historical, contemporary, and sci-fi). Her books have received critical acclaim from Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her many pets.

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    Reviews for How to Catch a Queen

    4/5

    144 ratings11 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a delightful and enjoyable read. The dynamics between the characters are perfect, and the story flows incredibly well. The book combines romance, humor, and a touch of suspenseful mystery, keeping readers engaged throughout. The Afro-futurist themes add a unique and captivating element to the story. The narrator does a great job in bringing the characters to life. Overall, this book is highly recommended for those seeking a heartwarming and entertaining read.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Shanti's story has elements of Queen Esther in it, which really connected with me. Once again, Alyssa Cole has drafted a story that makes the trials of running a country relatable and sexy. Nice to have glimpses of characters from the Reluctant Royals series as well!
    • 5/5
      I truly enjoyed this book. The actual writing as well as the dynamics between the characters were perfect. I literally cried at the end as I felt so invested in this story. Thank you, I will look for another book by this author immediately.
    • 5/5
      SUCH fantastic storytelling from Alyssa Cole as usual. Cole is so good at giving us romance of every heat setting and a bit of suspenseful mystery. Shante and her mans were frustrating to the max but in a way that was so human and realistic that I couldn't do anything but watch and hope, which was as nerve-wracking for me to do as it was them!
    • 5/5
      The story was enjoyable and the narrator did a good job
    • 4/5
      At first I couldn't get into the story because it's pretty heavy on the political side of things which the new king needs to be monitoring because Queens are seen and not heard in How To Catch A Queen.

      That is until Shanti comes with her boss woman vibes and breaks through the old traditions with the grace of a Queen and a heart of a warrior. Sanyu actually has no idea what's about to hit him. He thinks he knows how to play the role of King with a new wife every 4 months but he never expected the bride he received through RoyalMatch.com.

      These two are so funny and as the story moves along and the characters get to know each other, they started to melt my heart. There's banter, steam and tension! I listened to the audio as well and the narrator is so sassy, I love it.

      If your looking for a

      Royal romance
      Arranged marriage
      Enemies to lovers

      Then you've found it.
    • 4/5
      This was so fun. I loved the Reluctant Royals series, so when I saw this start of a new series, I knew I had to try it! First off the cover is gorgeous, I don't feel like there's enough yellow and orange covers out there. Second, I almost died laughing when the heroine was compared to a sexy Pikachu. It was a little slower than I typically like my romance - there was quite a bit of them by themselves at the beginning before we got to any real interactions (or to anything beyond a regular interaction), but otherwise I really enjoyed it and I'm excited for the second one!
    • 5/5
      This book will probably go down as one of my fave reads of 2021. The Afro-futurist themes were so incredible as someone who calls the Continent home. Loved the relationship between the king and Queen. The flow of the story was incredible. The narrating was awesome too!
    • 5/5
      It's stunning, beautiful, sexy, progressive, hilarious, and everything else that makes an Alyssa Cole novel an instant must read. Go read the previous series if you haven't, then sprint right on back and start reading the RUNAWAY ROYALS series. You will not regret it.

      Pre-release review: I know this doesn't come out until next spring but 'RELUCTANT ROYALS' SPIN-OFF, FUCK YES, I AM SO AMPED, GONNA PRE-ORDER IT RIGHT NOW IDGAF HOW LONG I MUST WAIT
    • 4/5
      I'm really bad at reading romance: even while accepting of course there's going to be an HEA on the romance front I'm still thoroughly tensing myself expecting a) the Dark Past mystery to involve precisely the murders repudiated by the "Bluebeard plus Scherezade minus the murders" tagline that sold me on this (okay, I was also sold on it by the fact that it's set in one of a whole *bunch* of African Ruritanias) and b) the imminent revolution on the part of either the general population or the council of advisors which Our Heroes are vaguely but (in my tense opinion while reading) wildly insufficiently concerned about.

      Long story short, to the complete no surprise of anyone more used to the genre, they do in all respects live happily ever after. Parts of this are to my taste *excessively* "communication solves all" (I get that the abusive a-hole has trauma but he's also got a superiority complex and a massive power base!) but hey, like the book says, "modeling public confrontation can be effective in populations where people don’t have a strong cultural history of protest”. I recall reading something about women's novels in Nigeria playing a vital role in teaching readers about ... my memory is super fuzzy but like alternatives to living with domestic violence was at least an example I think, and anyway it occurs to me that if we could get guys to read romance maybe we could chip away at toxic masculinity a bit. Except the obvious problem is chipping away at toxic masculinity enough to get them to read romance in the first place. Hm, this plan requires more thought.
    • 4/5
      If you check out my Goodreads feed, you'll see that 2020 has been the year of romance reads as well as re-reads. I've read almost all of the books in the "Reluctant Royals" series by Alyssa Cole and even reviewed and few, so I was delighted to hear that there was a new series coming, the "Runaway Royals." I did an inner dance of joy when I found out that I had received the opportunity to review the first book in this series, How To Catch A Queen, #bookdivaissues. Okay, it might have been an actual dance of joy, but since no one was watching, there's no documentation of it, so let's move on.

      Shanti Mohapti has always wanted to be a queen, not a princess or a royal consort, but a "Queen" that is a helpmate to her husband the King, and a useful resource to her husband's kingdom. She wasn't born to nobility or with great wealth, but she has great intelligence and has studied all of the great African queens, past, and present. She knows she can be useful to a kingdom if only given the chance, thus her profile on royalmatch.com. She isn't overjoyed with her match to Sanyu II of Njaza, but she does feel that she can be useful to him and his kingdom if just given the chance. Sadly, the chance doesn't seem to arise given that Njaza has a somewhat archaic four-month marriage trial for its royalty. The king could change wives every four months if he so desires. The bigger problem is that in Njaza, women, especially Queens, aren't to be heard (or even seen). Shanti's husband didn't want to get married and didn't want the crown or title of king, so he's just marking time until the four-month period is over. Sanyu has been taught that a king never shows weakness and an attraction to his wife is weakness. The problem is that he is attracted to his wife and she does actually have good ideas. With less than a month left in their marriage trial, Sanyu decides to follow the advice of one of his trusted advisors and attempt to get to know his wife. What they both discover just might be the best thing for both of them as well as for the disgruntled and impoverished kingdom.

      How to Catch a Queen is a bit different from the other romances that I've read by Ms. Cole because both Shanti and Sanyu aren't looking for love and adamant about avoiding an emotional attraction at all costs. They do agree to work together to help the kingdom of Njaza. Shanti helps Sanyu gain confidence in his ability to rule and provides him with some fantastic ideas about what the people want and need. In some ways, this was almost an anti-romance romance read (trust me, that will make sense when you read the book). One of my favorite scenes in this book is when Sanyu confronts Shanti about her outside-the-palace forays and admits "I teamwork you." Not "I love you" but "I teamwork you." There's definitely a growing attraction between the two and they're both loathe to admit it. Sweet! I also enjoyed the brief cameo appearances by many of the couples and people we meet in the "Reluctant Royals' series. Yes, there's a lot more going on in this story: political intrigue, unrest in the population, and hidden history to the country of Njaza. If you can't tell, I thoroughly enjoyed How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole and am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series. If you think you're not a romance reader and are looking for something that's a little different to read, then you'll want to grab a copy of How to Catch a Queen. For those of you that have read any of the books in the "Reluctant Royals" series, I encourage you to grab a copy of How to Catch a Queen if you haven't already. I hope y'all enjoy this book as much as I did. Something tells me that it might be time to re-read the "Reluctant Royals" series while I wait for Ms. Cole's next book.

      Happy Reading, y'all!
    • 4/5
      I snagged an eGalley of HOW TO CATCH A QUEEN by @alyssacolelit which is set to release this December 2020. I know! I'm so mean for telling you about it now but #noregrets
      It's the first in a new series called Runaway Royals set in the same world as her delicious Reluctant Royals series. Here's what you need to know without spoilers: cameos of some of our favorite characters! hot sex scenes! clever discussions on race, class, and politics! I adore everything Cole writes and this one does not disappoint as long as you can get past the uncharacteristically slow start (like 3 chapters... normally she hooks me from the first paragraph). Definitely one to look forward to and to give yourself as an early winter present.