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kimberussell's review against another edition
4.0
I've been following the British Royal Family since I was a small girl and my only sources of information were the weekly gossip papers at the grocery store. Now, I follow not only the author's blog Go Fug Yourself, but also quite a few blogs that cover all of Europe's Royals. People, I am THISCLOSE to being able to identify the tiaras worn at fancy dinners.
It goes without saying that I am the target audience for this book, which can only be described as Prince William/Kate Middleton/Prince Harry fan fiction. Except that Rebecca "Bex" (ugh) Porter is an American, there is no Camilla (boo!) and the equivalent of Princess Di (Princess Emma) is alive but had a mental break and is pretty much uncommunicative. Prince Nicholas (Nick) is the heir to the throne, and so very responsible that he is kind of a jerk for half of the book. Prince Frederick (Freddie) is the womanizing, red-headed second son of the Prince of Wales. They meet at Oxford University among a group of friends who basically are the heart of the book. Seriously, the group of friends were my favorite.
I ate this up like a box of Cracker Jack at a baseball game. It was crunchy and sweet and smile-inducing. But that missing fifth star is because this book was a box of Cracker Jack without a prize. Why?
Even if this is leaving an opening for a sequel, I really, really was looking forward to seeing some of those loose ends tied up and was frustrated when they weren't.
Read this book if you love Wills, Kate and Harry. Don't expect a prize and you'll love it to death.
It goes without saying that I am the target audience for this book, which can only be described as Prince William/Kate Middleton/Prince Harry fan fiction. Except that Rebecca "Bex" (ugh) Porter is an American, there is no Camilla (boo!) and the equivalent of Princess Di (Princess Emma) is alive but had a mental break and is pretty much uncommunicative. Prince Nicholas (Nick) is the heir to the throne, and so very responsible that he is kind of a jerk for half of the book. Prince Frederick (Freddie) is the womanizing, red-headed second son of the Prince of Wales. They meet at Oxford University among a group of friends who basically are the heart of the book. Seriously, the group of friends were my favorite.
I ate this up like a box of Cracker Jack at a baseball game. It was crunchy and sweet and smile-inducing. But that missing fifth star is because this book was a box of Cracker Jack without a prize. Why?
Spoiler
I wanted to read about Nick and Bex's *@^!! Royal Wedding! The cover has them smooching in their finery, but the book stops JUST SHORT of that and I was mad, mad, mad. Also, how did Nick and Freddie make up? What happened to Clive? Did Richard wheel Emma down the aisle?Even if this is leaving an opening for a sequel, I really, really was looking forward to seeing some of those loose ends tied up and was frustrated when they weren't.
Read this book if you love Wills, Kate and Harry. Don't expect a prize and you'll love it to death.
dovesfalling's review against another edition
5.0
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.
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
5.0
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
emilygoods's review against another edition
4.0
I just have to echo that this is 100% Kate Middleton fan fiction and I enjoyed the HELL out of it.
bookstagramjo's review against another edition
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
3.75
emleemay's review against another edition
2.0
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.
whineosaur's review against another edition
4.0
Sweet and fun and totally adorable. Great friendships! I didn't love the ending but it was cute.