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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I saw The Royal We on a ton of blogs a couple of months ago and I instantly knew I had to read it. I’ve always had a slight fascination with the royal family. Yes, I know this book is purely fiction, but how can you resist? It’s not like we’ll ever know the whole story of Will and Kate’s early days. This book will satisfy some of that nosiness we all feel and keep you entertained the whole time.
Bex was really a fabulous main character. She’s one of those girls that we can all see a little of ourselves in. She’s the typical girl next door who meets and falls in love with a prince. We all love that story line. Nick was pretty great too, although maybe not as dreamy as I would have liked. All the side characters are very well fleshed out. There were some great friendships! I hated Lacey. Really, I hated her. Maybe I was supposed to like her in the beginning and at the end, but she was a spoiled brat the entire book. She really had no redeeming qualities. Even though I disliked her so much, it’s always nice when an author can make me feel that strongly for a character.
At the heart of the story, The Royal We is really just a romance like any other. Nick and Bex have their fair share of problems just like any normal couple. It was fun and sometimes heartbreaking watching them find their places in each others lives. I think their romance, fiction in so many ways, still reads like a very realistic relationship. That makes it so easy to love The Royal We.
The audiobook for The Royal We is very well done. Christine Lakin does an amazing job with Bex. She really brings her to life and puts so much heart into the story.
I really adored this book and I now know why there’s so much buzz about it. If you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it. It would be the perfect book to end the Summer.
Bex was really a fabulous main character. She’s one of those girls that we can all see a little of ourselves in. She’s the typical girl next door who meets and falls in love with a prince. We all love that story line. Nick was pretty great too, although maybe not as dreamy as I would have liked. All the side characters are very well fleshed out. There were some great friendships! I hated Lacey. Really, I hated her. Maybe I was supposed to like her in the beginning and at the end, but she was a spoiled brat the entire book. She really had no redeeming qualities. Even though I disliked her so much, it’s always nice when an author can make me feel that strongly for a character.
At the heart of the story, The Royal We is really just a romance like any other. Nick and Bex have their fair share of problems just like any normal couple. It was fun and sometimes heartbreaking watching them find their places in each others lives. I think their romance, fiction in so many ways, still reads like a very realistic relationship. That makes it so easy to love The Royal We.
The audiobook for The Royal We is very well done. Christine Lakin does an amazing job with Bex. She really brings her to life and puts so much heart into the story.
I really adored this book and I now know why there’s so much buzz about it. If you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it. It would be the perfect book to end the Summer.
This book was a trip and a half and I loved it. One of my favorite genres is "take a real person that I really like, change subtle details about them, and write a finely crafted novel that just toes the line of libel". Curtis Sittenfeld did it with Laura Bush in one of my favorite novels, and Heather Cocks did the same thing with Will and Kate here.
Also, funny story: I discovered that this book existed while trying to find read-alikes for Red, White, & Royal Blue on NoveList while I was at work. Usually, when a book interests me while I'm working in the children's department, I'll just call upstairs to the reference desk and ask them to send it down to me, but this one had the author's last name as the call number. I just knew I'd either start giggling or stammering while trying to spell it, so I had to go get it myself during my break.
Also, funny story: I discovered that this book existed while trying to find read-alikes for Red, White, & Royal Blue on NoveList while I was at work. Usually, when a book interests me while I'm working in the children's department, I'll just call upstairs to the reference desk and ask them to send it down to me, but this one had the author's last name as the call number. I just knew I'd either start giggling or stammering while trying to spell it, so I had to go get it myself during my break.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
This was utterly delightful. Witty, charming, romantic and full of real emotional weight.
I volunteer to claim Freddie, btw.
I volunteer to claim Freddie, btw.
This book reads like a rom com and would be a good beach read, but it’s not shallow. It exceeded my expectations. I loved the dry humor and most of the characters I wanted to shake and then give them a hug, but i loved that they weren’t one dimensional. It’s fun and cute and spoke to my emotional sappy heart, but also made me think about deeper things like forgiveness and sacrificial love and family
Update: reread two years later, just as good
Update: reread two years later, just as good
I just have to echo that this is 100% Kate Middleton fan fiction and I enjoyed the HELL out of it.
On re-read this had so much more drinking than I remember? I don’t know if that’s a criticism per se, but it took me out of the story a bit.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You know, I pride myself on not being what some would call a "book snob". Sure, I like my classics and literary fiction as much as anyone else, but I also take a great deal of enjoyment from fast-paced, entertaining and light books. Sometimes I just want some YA fantasy or fluffy chick-lit; you know what I'm saying?
So I looked past this book's appearance (as an obvious William & Kate fanfic) to the positive reviews and all the good things this could possibly be - hilarious, silly, enjoyable, Bridget Jones/Lou Clark-style fun. I think I'd already shelved this under "guilty pleasure" when I picked it up and imagined the faux-embarrassed positive review I would write.
Well, I got it so wrong.
I'm not going to judge this book for basically being a retelling of the William/Kate romance with Rebecca instead being an American student at Oxford. Nor will I judge it for not being deep and offering new perspective - honestly, no one should be going into this book expecting that. And I'll totally ignore the rather comical British stereotyping.
But I can't ignore that this was just a boring, flat romance. Literally the only selling point this book as is that it offers lighthearted entertainment and cute romancing, but damn, these characters are so bland. The book isn't funny or even a "hide it under your pillow" kind of guilty pleasure. Here's a horrifying thought for you: [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] was more entertaining than this book.
Both Bex and Nick are one-dimensional and have no personality. At all. They're two beautiful, white people, who are so nice, polite and dull that I'm genuinely very surprised to see they have so many fans. The "angst" of their relationship is centred around the fact that Nick is heir to the throne, but the actual romantic tension and/or angst between them is non-existent.
Most surprisingly, the plot moves very slow. This is an almost 500-page novel and a lot of that features drunken college nights (pretty tame ones at the local pub, I might add) and platonic TV-watching in Bex or Nick's rooms.
I wanted to giggle and swoon. Instead, I was yawning and skimming towards the end.
So I looked past this book's appearance (as an obvious William & Kate fanfic) to the positive reviews and all the good things this could possibly be - hilarious, silly, enjoyable, Bridget Jones/Lou Clark-style fun. I think I'd already shelved this under "guilty pleasure" when I picked it up and imagined the faux-embarrassed positive review I would write.
Well, I got it so wrong.
I'm not going to judge this book for basically being a retelling of the William/Kate romance with Rebecca instead being an American student at Oxford. Nor will I judge it for not being deep and offering new perspective - honestly, no one should be going into this book expecting that. And I'll totally ignore the rather comical British stereotyping.
But I can't ignore that this was just a boring, flat romance. Literally the only selling point this book as is that it offers lighthearted entertainment and cute romancing, but damn, these characters are so bland. The book isn't funny or even a "hide it under your pillow" kind of guilty pleasure. Here's a horrifying thought for you: [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] was more entertaining than this book.
Both Bex and Nick are one-dimensional and have no personality. At all. They're two beautiful, white people, who are so nice, polite and dull that I'm genuinely very surprised to see they have so many fans. The "angst" of their relationship is centred around the fact that Nick is heir to the throne, but the actual romantic tension and/or angst between them is non-existent.
Most surprisingly, the plot moves very slow. This is an almost 500-page novel and a lot of that features drunken college nights (pretty tame ones at the local pub, I might add) and platonic TV-watching in Bex or Nick's rooms.
I wanted to giggle and swoon. Instead, I was yawning and skimming towards the end.