As I said in my review for the first book in the Royals series, I am not a royal kind of gal. I’m uninterested in the real royal family over in England and haven’t gravitated toward media options about fake royals either. Not faulting anyone who is into it, but it’s just not me. I’ve noticed (I’m sure everyone has at this point) that writing books about royal families around the world has certainly grown in popularity, even just in the few years since I started blogging!
The first one I can think of off the top of my head is, of course, The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. I got swept up in the hype of this one, despite my actual lack of interest in it, and own the book. ??♀️ I obviously haven’t read it yet and truly don’t know if I ever will at this point, but I know many who adored the book.
Since its publication, I’ve noticed a huge influx of royal-related books come out. For whatever reason, my generation (some people older and younger too, obviously) is so into this topic right now. I’m guessing it’s because we all thought Prince Harry and William were hot and grew up admiring these young royals. Now that they’re even older, got married, and have families of their own, we’re clamoring for more. I say “we” meaning my group of peers… but not really including me.
H o w e v e r, there have been a few royal things lately that HAVE grabbed my attention and I’m wondering if I am having a royal change of heart in some ways? I started this post by alluding to Prince Charming and Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins. I loved both of those books. The series opened with Daisy, who was totally uninterested in royal things. She had the whole shebang forced on her, though, when her sister dates and gets engaged to a royal from Scotland. She has to go overseas for the wedding and be fancy and ~change who she is~ to fit in over there, for the sake of her sister’s new life. Not to mention, she’s constantly baffled by the fact that her sister chose this life for herself. Girl, same.
I enjoyed reading the POV of someone who is reluctant to get caught up in the royal hype. She mirrored my thoughts. From my review:
The synopsis for this book really grabbed me. What would happen if you were the sister of a girl about to marry a prince? I had a feeling that the MC would be slightly bitter and annoyed about all of the royal hullabaloo like I am, so I figured this would either (a) give me matching feels to my own or (b) help me turn a corner on my dislike for anything royal. Either way, I was intrigued.
I think it was a good mix of both results, to be honest. I really enjoyed the companion novel in this series with its f/f romance and Scottish boarding school setting. It all just sort of warmed me up to royal-related stories. I’ve added a lot more to my TBR, which I’ll get to in a second.
To be perfectly honest, my interest in royal things is still fully on the fictional side. I love the idea of reading about fake royalty, sometimes even in fake countries, and seeing how people deal with dating someone so famous and rich. My recent move toward royal romance novels has certainly not led to any interest in the real royal families at all, though. I haven’t started following anything related to William and Kate or Harry and Meghan (although Meghan is easily my favorite of the bunch).
All of that being said, I thought it’d be fun to share some royal-related movies I plan to watch first, because there’s something about a holiday royal romance that speaks to me even more than a standard one.
I actually started The Princess Switch last year and somehow managed to DNF the movie when I ran out of time to finish it one weekend (whoops). It wasn’t my intention at all but I just never ended up finishing?? I will probably pick up right where I left off this holiday season because obviously I remember the trope well enough. I also have been sleeping on A Christmas Prince and its sequel, The Royal Wedding, so I do hope to get to those this year as well.
As for the books, I have to go with an upcoming series that has no covers yet because I am the MOST excited for this, out of all royalish books I’ll be discussing.
Sandhya Menon is writing a series about St. Rosetta’s Academy, to be published starting in 2020. Here’s what we know so far from the tiny Goodreads synopsis, which is really just the announcement: “each book [is] a contemporary fairy-tale re-telling, set at a prestigious boarding school for modern royals. The first book, Of Curses and Kisses, is a spin on Beauty and the Beast and follows an Indian princess who must con her worst enemy, a misanthropic British aristocrat, into falling in love with her in order to restore honor to her family.” So uhhhh, I need this series more than I need the air I breathe. Everything about this is perfect and has me written all over it. The author, the boarding school setting, the fairytale retellings, the possible fake dating/hate-to-love trope… all of it.
And now on to some other royal books on my upcoming TBR!
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
Publishing October 2019
Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.
Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.
Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day. . .or are they?
I have been adding Guillory’s books to my TBR (and enjoyed the one I’ve read!) for a while, and this one really struck me. (Not going to lie, I know this is a placeholder cover, but the ribbon-esque font is so cute and I hope it stays on the final!) I think there’s something particularly intriguing about holiday royal romances, as I mentioned with some of the movies before, so I’m excited to read this around Christmas.
The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory
Published October 2018
Princess Theodora Isabella Victoria of Drieden of the Royal House Laurent is so over this princess thing.
After her fiancé jilted her on their wedding day, she’s finally back home after spending four months in exile—aka it’s back to press conferences, public appearances, and putting on a show for the Driedish nation as the perfect princess they expect her to be. But Thea’s sick of duty. After all, that’s what got her into this mess in the first place.
So when she sneaks out of the palace and meets a sexy Scot named Nick in a local bar, she relishes the chance to be a normal woman for a change. But just as she thinks she’s found her Prince Charming for the night, he reveals his intentions are less than honorable: he’s the brother of her former fiancé, a British spy, and he’s not above blackmail. As Thea reluctantly joins forces with Nick to find out what happened the day her fiancé disappeared, together they discover a secret that could destroy a centuries-old monarchy and change life as they know it.
Funny, fast-paced, and full of more twists and turns than the castle Thea lives in, The Royal Runaway is a fresh romantic comedy that will leave you cheering for the modern-day royal who chucks the rulebook aside to create her own happily-ever-after.
Unique royal stories are always going to grab me more, so this one about a princess getting out of the castle and uncovering some secrets about the monarchy sounds fascinating! The “fresh romantic comedy” part sounds really true.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Published May 2019
A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
I probably don’t need to even include this one on here because everyone’s obsessed with it and have been buzzing for months, but it’s now high on my TBR. I’m giving in to the hype and have this out from the library as of right now! To be honest, I’m reading the synopsis right now for possibly the first time? But it sounds cute! Fake dating yasssss.
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Publishing September 2019
What if America had a royal family? If you can’t get enough of Harry and Meghan or Kate and William, meet American princesses Beatrice and Samantha.
Two princesses vying for the ultimate crown.
Two girls vying for the prince’s heart.
This is the story of the American royals.When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne. Like most royal families, the Washingtons have an heir and a spare. A future monarch and a backup battery. Each child knows exactly what is expected of them. But these aren’t just any royals. They’re American. And their country was born of rebellion.
As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she’s breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.
The duty. The intrigue. The Crown. New York Times bestselling author Katharine McGee imagines an alternate version of the modern world, one where the glittering age of monarchies has not yet faded–and where love is still powerful enough to change the course of history.
I like the idea of American royals! It sounds like a really fun alternate world/history for the country. I love Katharine McGee from her first series and am definitely reading this because she wrote it. I hope to get my hands on an early copy because I’m pumped about it, but either way – I’ll be reading this as soon as I can.
Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud
Publishing July 2019
Fiercely independent and smart, Zora Emerson wants to change the world. She’s excited to be attending a prestigious summer program, even if she feels out of place among her privileged, mostly white classmates. So she’s definitely not expecting to feel a connection to Owen, who’s an actual prince of an island off the coast of England. But Owen is funny, charming…and undeniably cute. Zora can’t ignore the chemistry between them. When Owen invites Zora to be his date at his big brother’s big royal wedding, Zora is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, along with her family and friends. Everyone is talking about her, in real life and online, and while Owen is used to the scrutiny, Zora’s not sure it’s something she can live with. Can she maintain her sense of self while moving between two very different worlds? And can her feelings for Owen survive and thrive in the midst of the crazy? Find out in this charming romantic comedy that’s like The Princess Diaries for a new generation.
Since you have had this royal epiphany, you MUST read Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm!
OH MY GOD THAT ONE SHOULD BE ON HERE! Totally forgot!!
LAUREN HOW HAVE YOU NOT SEEN A CHRISTMAS PRINCE YET??????
I am total trash for anything royalty related, and it’s been that way since I discovered Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries series in 4th grade lol. I think I’ve read every popular YA book with a fictional royal theme out there and have the ones not released yet on my TBR. It’s one of my favorite fictional tropes and I’m glad to see you are slowly warming up to it!
[…] This is primarily because I don’t love the real-life royals, compared to other people, but I HAVE turned a corner on fictional royal romance. I’ve loooooved a few books/series on the topic and have been opening myself up to them a lot […]