The Prince Falls First

The Crown meets Mariana Zapata in 1970s Europe: a slow-burn, he-falls-first royal romance with the kind of forbidden-tension pining that ruins your sleep schedule.

Welcome to Valleria in the 1970s, where a future king becomes enchanted with the one woman who wants nothing to do with him…

Genevieve Ruffin has one goal: escape her controlling, abusive mother before another season of society balls finishes off what’s left of her spirit. She isn’t looking for love. She isn’t looking for the most eligible man in Valleria. But the moment Crown Prince Gabriel’s gaze catches her across a candlelit ballroom in a backless silver dress, she discovers that the future king of her country has decided he isn’t looking anywhere else.

Gabriel has waltzed with dozens of beautiful women. None of them have ever looked at him like she does—like he’s an inconvenience she can’t quite shake. He’s used to being chased. He has no idea what to do with the only woman in the room who actively avoids him. He only knows he isn’t ready to stop trying.

He falls first. She resists—not out of coyness, but because she’s spent a lifetime surviving people who claimed to know what was best for her. Why should a prince be any different? The palace is just another gilded cage, and she’s already trapped in one.

But Gabriel is persistent in ways no one has ever been persistent for her. He shows up when she’s sick. He hides under her bed to avoid her mother. He brings her water. He listens.

And slowly—dangerously—Genevieve begins to wonder if freedom isn’t a place you run to, but a person you choose.

Set in the glamour and political turbulence of 1970s Valleria, The Prince Falls First is the standalone origin story of the king and queen whose nine children’s love stories unfold in the bestselling Royals of Valleria series. You do not need to have read that series to enjoy this one; this is a standalone novel. 

Tropes & Vibes

• He Falls First royal romance
• Crown Prince hero / commoner heroine
• Slow-burn forbidden tension
• 1970s European jet-set glamour
• Bad-mother escape + found-family palace
• Forced-proximity courtship
• Best-friend confidante (with a heartbreak you’ll feel)
• Earned HEA + epilogue

Heat Level: Explicit (open-door, multiple full scenes)

Tone: Glamorous, emotional, slow-burn, intimate

Series: Standalone novel in the universe of the Royals of Valleria series

Type: Standalone Royal Romance Novel

Ending: HEA

POV: Dual POV, Third Person Past

Content Warnings:

This includes items that are both explicitly included and also implied both on- or off-page. Not all items below are recurring themes throughout the entire book, and may only be brief mentions or implications.

• domestic abuse / parental abuse (verbal and physical: slapping, grabbing, body-shaming, food control and disordered eating, fat-phobia, slut shaming)
• bullying by sibling
• death of a prominent character (not one of the romantic leads)
• mention of deceased family members, grief, and bereavement
• references to past sexual assault 
• dissociative response to past trauma
• unnamed symptoms of depression and anxiety
• drunk driving
• smoking/tobacco use
• drug use 
• mention of military deployment
• car crash with details (violent, gore, gruesome, blood, minor and major injuries)
• stalking / boundary violations / non-consensual surveillance
• racist language and imagery towards South Asians
• class-based contempt / classism
• mention of mistresses / infidelity culture
• workplace harassment / power imbalance / misogyny
• arranged / forced marriage pressure
• explicit sexual content / open-door sex scenes (loss of virginity, dirty talk including breeding-kink and possession-kink references)
• pregnancy / pregnancy anxiety / unplanned pregnancy