Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan dished out Hollywood secrets in their earlier novels, Spoiled and Messy. In The Royal We
, they tackle royal relationships, with a story clearly inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton's romance. At first glance this might sound trite (I almost didn't even start reading it!), but The Royal We is surprisingly thought-provoking, invoking questions of love, privacy and sibling rivalry.American Rebecca "Bex" Porter isn't fascinated by the royals, unlike her twin sister, Lacey. So when Bex arrives in Oxford for a year of study abroad, she doesn't realize at first that Nick, a guy down the hall, is Prince Nicholas, heir to the British throne. (In Bex's defense, it was raining. Otherwise I'm sure she would have.)
Swept up into the dazzling world of the British upper class, Bex finds herself falling for Nick in a big way. But there is a dark side to the glamour: Bex and Nick's every public move is analyzed, the paparazzi are always on their tail, and becoming "the famous twin" is hurting Bex and Lacey's relationship. How much pressure can Bex take? Is the fairytale romance worth the sacrifice?
Told in a friendly, first-person style by Bex, The Royal We is both a compelling love story and an introspective look at how far people will go for fame. A delightful read, sure to please romance readers, royal watchers and Anglophiles alike, The Royal We is nearly impossible to put down. I'm speaking from experience here, I could NOT stop reading it. It's pretty long for a romance actually - around 500 pages, and I finished it in less than 24 hours. My children may or may not have gotten a fair bit of extra screen time during that 24 hours...
Maybe now that Will and Kate have two kids (ahem, I wasn't the only one obsessively stalking Twitter in the lead-up to Princess Charlotte's name reveal, right?), Cocks and Morgan will write a sequel where Nick and Bex are married and trying to navigate raising kids in the royal spotlight! I really hope so, I loved The Royal We so much. 5 stars!
Are YOU a royal watcher?
I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness. And this post contains a few affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!
