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algae429's review against another edition
4.0
Ended up being more addicting that I thought it would be. I ignored other responsibilities (who needs dinner?) to read one more chapter.
xanthe's review
3.0
I picked this up to read in hopes of some fluff in honor of the recent royal engagement and was a bit surprised at how much of a downer it ended up being. Instead of a fun, frothy read, this seemed to be an indictment of how terrible the royal family is for relationships and authenticity and indictment of the media circus that surrounds them. The main character, Bex, repeatedly gives up control over her own choices and eventually her own appearance and body as she falls further and further into the machinery of the royal family's reputation machine. The romance parts were lovely, as Bex and her Prince (someday King) repeatedly come together and profess their love to be worth any obstacles, but they always seem to have a desperation to them, defiance in the face of misery. Yikes. I can see that other people found it much more swoon-worthy than I did, but I was left uncomfortable with the feeling that Bex and her Prince were both trapped and unhappy - but together!
kellyhager's review
5.0
I absolutely adored this book. I am a huge fan of the real royal couple---I was the person who DVRed their wedding and waited anxiously for both of the royal births. So I am absolutely this book's target audience.
While Nicholas and Bex aren't exactly William and Kate (Bex is American, for one), there are definitely parallels (hello Ginger Prince Brother!).
This book is just a fun read, although there are also a lot of emotional depths here. It's a perfect vacation read, but at the same time, it's not so shallow that you'll feel guilty for reading it.
I'm hoping that there will be a sequel. (There HAS TO BE, right?) I'm also holding out hope for companion novels and, if so, the first one should be on Prince Freddie.
Highly recommended.
While Nicholas and Bex aren't exactly William and Kate (Bex is American, for one), there are definitely parallels (hello Ginger Prince Brother!).
This book is just a fun read, although there are also a lot of emotional depths here. It's a perfect vacation read, but at the same time, it's not so shallow that you'll feel guilty for reading it.
I'm hoping that there will be a sequel. (There HAS TO BE, right?) I'm also holding out hope for companion novels and, if so, the first one should be on Prince Freddie.
Highly recommended.
cully630's review
3.0
So this is like 3.5 stars. i loved the characters (main and secondary) but there was so much back and forth and so much going on. Also it was super weird to me that for a circle of friends they all dated the same people at different times. The book felt REALLY long. It did cover 8 years so maybe thats why but it could have been condensed in my opinion. There’s a cliffhanger so that was annoying.
marieblmgn's review
3.0
Truthfully, I had a hard time getting attached to the characters and thought the pacing was way off. Still entertaining enough for me to finish it but not a particularly memorable read for me.
paulieg's review
3.0
Three and a half stars that I guiltily can't justify rounding up to four, even though I really enjoyed this alternate-history that charts a relationship very similar to real life royals Will & Kate. Future-King Nick & Rebecca "Bex" Porter (an American!) meet at Oxford, beginning a tumultuous 8-year romance that teases the possibility of a royal wedding. While technically a romance novel in that the central love relationship is vital to the story, the structure and tone of THE ROYAL WE is very much contemporary-mainstream, with the writing voice reminding me a lot of David Nicholls' (ONE DAY, US). Nick & Bex take center stage, but they are surrounded by a close-knit group of quirky undergraduate chums who are destined to star in their own Richard Curtis film ten years from now. The writing is breezy, assured, and sneakily poignant at perfect intervals. I excitedly planned to list this as one of my favorite reads of the year until right about the mid-point, when it completely flatlined (specifically, the Buckingham Palace party, plus a hundred pages beyond). I came back to the book after setting it aside for a time, and while it eventually regained some momentum, I found every scene went on a little too long, and think the book would read much better if it was 200 pages shorter. Those who are truly royals-obsessed may disagree, and wish for even more behind-the-curtain details of palace life.
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