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Royals #1
Royals
Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.
While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.
While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2018
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46.6k people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,396 reviews
July 24, 2019
Listen. I didn't pick up this book expecting it to rock my world. I wasn't looking for Homer's bloody Odyssey. I was merely curious: it's the first book I've seen in a very long time that's set in Scotland but written by an American author, and it's not historical. It's also not about people going back in time! That was pretty exciting to me, and I wasn't fussed about the "Crown Prince of Scotland" thing, since this is obviously AU. It's a bit weird, yeah, given the history of monarchy in Scotland, and the circumstances in which it came to be removed, but whatever. Like I said, I wasn't expecting Kafka.
After finishing this, I know why I didn't like it. It's because I'm not the target audience. And that's nothing to do with my age (alas, I'm a crusty old fogie of 24). Do you guys remember how much I loved Anna and the French Kiss? I'm still here for that shit. I am still #trash for it. I'm still a sad sack of shit for stories about winsome teenage girls being hurled into unfamiliar situations and falling in forbidden love and bemoaning the fusty old adults who could never understand what it's like to be teens (it's not like we ever attended high school, or anything. What would we know?)
I'm not the target audience for this because it was written solely for an American audience. It's not for Scots, no. The wagon might be flying our flag, but nobody saved a seat for us.
Before anyone comes at me with their "well, actually", let me explain: I was born in a town on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland, then moved to Fife, also Scotland, where I lived until I was 15. I then moved to Canada (southern Ontario, for the scant handful of you who might be mildly interested), and moved back to Scotland when I was 20, to a city in the historic county of Angus. I still live in that city, so I can tell you, with all of my lived experience, that this book may be set in Scotland, but it is not written for a Scottish audience. We're on the wrong side of the glass in this one.
I'm aware that this book isn't meant to be particularly serious, but I can't maintain my integrity and say nothing on this. The crux is this: doing your Serious Research by going on walking holidays with a tour guide is fine, and good for you for knowing what a bothy is, but details like knives in paintings and Pimm's feels like little more than smug window dressing when you couldn't do something as simple as Googling "Scotland tuition fees" or "Scotland health care". "Scotland boys names" would have been another good one. That's the essence of it, right? "I'm very worldly because I know what Pimm's is." Not really, because as a Scottish person living in Scotland, I'd venture that the fucking NHS is a good deal more relevant to all of our lives than a drink mostly sourced in those pompous pop-up bars in Edinburgh that nobody I know would ever go to. (I recently read something that characterised the city I live in as "off the beaten track", which was kooky.)
Exhibit A: Miles and Sebastian are not names that we give our children. I'm not saying that nobody in Scotland has ever been named Miles or Sebastian, but they're overwhelmingly rare. A guy in our office was considering naming his child Sebastian, and everyone laughed at him. He was a good lad and laughed along, but we honestly couldn't believe it. Sebastian? Huh? Besides, if Sebastian were royal, then his name would be Robert or James or maybe John. Even Alexander is a little bit of a stretch, especially for a modern royal. (Some royals have been named Alexander before, but not since the 13th century. Come on, now.)
I know that people whose governments force them to pay out the nose for health care have been told all sorts of horror stories about socialised medicine, and how subpar it is, and how they're better off with bills, but I'm here to scorch you with the tea: it's not. The NHS is life-saving. It's an institution to be protected at all costs. I've already gone into this in my status updates, but forcing "medical bills" to be an issue in this book is a load of shite at best, and insulting at worse. Miles laments that he's in debt to the royal family because his mother had "medical bills" because she "needed specialists", but she didn't. She fucking didn't, Miles. She didn't "need" a private hospital. She didn't "need" to pay for a specialist. The NHS is not some charitable scheme for the poor or a base line from which patients are referred to expensive specialists. It's just...what you do. It's normal. It's health care. If you're sick, go to the hospital, and whatever treatment you require, you'll receive it with no bill at the end. Whether or not to use the NHS is not a conscious choice. It's completely the norm. Medical bills do not cross our minds; it's not "Should I use the NHS?", but "Fuck, my hand got sliced open from a broken bottle of Buckie, I'd better hop along to the hospital and get that seen to. No big deal." What's more, in Scotland, we don't pay for prescriptions either. Get yourself along to the pharmacy, tell them what you need, and they'll give you it. No need to touch your purse.
The NHS is funded by tax. It's a startlingly tiny portion of each person's monthly wage that goes directly from their employer to the NHS; I've never had to "do my taxes" or any of that bureaucratic shit, since the buttons it costs to keep this incredible service running never touches my bank account. I don't miss it. (Unemployed people or people on benefits don't pay for the NHS at all.) And let me tell you - I'm thrilled to pass on that tiny portion of my pay check so that, if I break my leg, have an allergic reaction, or have to have a mastectomy, I don't have a bill at the end of it. The NHS is very far from perfect, with overworked and underpaid staff, some hospitals overcrowded, some waiting lists long, but the NHS is underfunded due to a far higher chunk of my tax being thrown at fucking ridiculous shit like Trident that we don't want, need, or ask for.
This is a tangent, but it irritated me. Don't foist problems like "medical bills" into a setting where they don't exist. Don't fucking smear us with your shit just so that we can seem less foreign to you. Similarly, don't pretend that "tuition fees" are a problem for us. SAAS, the government funding program that allows Scottish students a free four-year degree from a Scottish university, does not grant funding based on the financial background of students. There was nothing stopping Miles from applying for his funding and getting a free degree. I couldn't afford to go to uni in St. Andrews, but that's because accommodation in St. Andrews is too expensive for me. If Miles' issue had been framed this way, I'd accept it. It would resonate a lot more with international readers.
But there are still issues with that. If you can't pay for accommodation etc. off your own back, you can apply for a student loan, and depending on your living situation, you can receive a respectable amount of money to live on during your time as a student. Student loans are generous and you aren't expected to pay a penny back until you're making a good wage. If, after a certain number of years, you're still not able to repay the loan, it's written off. Alba gu bràth, am I right?
It's fine to waffle about the rolling hills and the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (without mentioning the traffic or the heaving crowds, hm) but there's nothing here about modern Scotland that feels even remotely authentic. Drinks being thrown in bars ends with everyone involved getting kicked out, because it's probably going to escalate quickly (not-so-fun-but-actually-true fact: we fight and stab each other a fair amount, though it's worth noting that Glasgow, once known as the was also voted ). Friendly rich people mingling with poor people isn't something that happens either, and the fact that none of the Scots swear in this book is also ridiculous, since swearing is part of our passive and basic vocabulary, even in professional settings. It's so common that it's not noteworthy.
Here's another interesting point: we don't look like the people in this book, either. Glossy shiny hair? Perfectly symmetrical faces? Very straight, very white teeth? Have you ever laid eyes on a white Scottish person? People of Celtic descent in Scotland have a very particular look, which - I mean, "Celtic" is a distinct ethnicity, and since most people in Scotland are white-Celtic, most people share a basic genetic aesthetic. Living amongst Celtic people and being one myself, it's extraordinarily easy to spot people of Celtic ancestry, and let me tell you, I'm not looking for anyone with glossy hair or straight teeth.
This is a weird thing to notice. It's not anything that I could quantify, but I can tell. I can bloody well tell if I'm looking at a Celtic Scottish person. I just know. It's in the angles and the lines. I used to be friends with this Russian girl who, when we travelled together, would make a game out of spotting other Russians. She would whisper to me, "Russian. Russian. There's another one. Russian. Oh, that one's Latvian." I can do the same thing. I can fucking tell, and I swear to you, this book did not do us justice.
Also, women also do not wear tartan dresses for special occasions. If you're going to an event with traditional dancing, you wear any dress you choose, but perhaps with a tartan sash or other smaller decoration. We do not say "blimey" or "filly" or call people "fit". If what you're going for is authentic colloquial language, that's not a difficult thing to research, either, not when you've got great and easily accessible resources like Scottish twitter. Why on earth it seemed like a good idea to shoehorn Cockney English slang into a book about Scotland is beyond me, though part of me thinks it might be because of my previous point about swearing. You cannot write authentic Scottish dialect without using the word "cunt" which probably isn't appropriate for a YA book, but that's a rod you built for your own back. Go hard or go all the way home, or better yet, don't do it at all. Don't bother with slang if you're going to simultaneously butcher it and point it out like it's a fucking zoo exhibit. When I write, I don't write colloquially, but I do speak colloquially; it's natural. But my colloquial dialect is not unintelligible, or a punch line, or a funny foreign curiosity. But it's a cheap shot, isn't it? It's a dime a dozen. Ha ha, people speak in dialect. Ha ha, Scots is a unique language rooted in 7th century Gaelic. Ha ha, it's a protected piece of Scotland's culture. Ha ha ha!
I'm at the point now where it's just fucking irritating. A short while ago, it really wouldn't have gotten my back up, these narratives where my home and my community are lensed into some sort of bastardised sideshow attraction, where the women are all poisonous harpies and the men are wild untameable beasts, but it's become so prevalent in American pop culture since the explosion of Outlander. This bullshit piss-taking of important cultural cornerstones like kilts and Scottish cuisine and Scots dialects, which as I previously mentioned did stem from Gaelic, a recognised indigenous language that a lot of communities across Scotland are battling to keep alive since it was battered out of us by brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Mocking such cultural markers is upsetting, because while overseas it's just a funny curiosity, it's a different beast within the confines of our island. To the rest of the UK, we're drunks, junkies, spongers, thieves; uneducated, uncivilised, a waste of resources. Gaslighting media will have a field day claiming that Scotland is a drain on UK resources and a social burden, while simultaneously begging us to remain in the union; offensive smear campaigns by Westminster-run media churns outright lies that damage and deride us, and reserved powers (that is, powers over Scotland that are retained by Westminster, not devolved to the Scottish government) continue to cause chaos, including an epidemic of drug deaths and an absolutely appalling welfare system that is killing vulnerable people.
A story like this could not have come at a worse time. We are in the middle of a serious crisis of identity, and when the storm ebbs, we might not wholly recognise our own home. Across the whole of the UK, the tectonic plates beneath us are shifting, and books like this - which, to some people overseas, are among their sole impression of a country they don't understand - can engender distasteful ideas about who we are and what we're doing. This is not a narrative I'm comfortable reading about: one that trivialises us, smears us, and mocks us. It's not funny, and that's the crux of it. It's not funny in the slightest.
But let me make myself clear. If you're not Scottish, and you want to write about modern Scotland, do it. Do it, and don't hold back. But if you're going to, don't speak to someone who knows someone who went once. Steer clear of the beaten path. Go to Dunfermline or Dundee or Glenrothes; go to Musselburgh or East Kilbride. The curtain is there, but there's nothing stopping you from peeking behind it. Go somewhere real and speak to some real people about real things that are happening. Have an authentic experience and write about that. Because this just isn't good enough.
After finishing this, I know why I didn't like it. It's because I'm not the target audience. And that's nothing to do with my age (alas, I'm a crusty old fogie of 24). Do you guys remember how much I loved Anna and the French Kiss? I'm still here for that shit. I am still #trash for it. I'm still a sad sack of shit for stories about winsome teenage girls being hurled into unfamiliar situations and falling in forbidden love and bemoaning the fusty old adults who could never understand what it's like to be teens (it's not like we ever attended high school, or anything. What would we know?)
I'm not the target audience for this because it was written solely for an American audience. It's not for Scots, no. The wagon might be flying our flag, but nobody saved a seat for us.
Before anyone comes at me with their "well, actually", let me explain: I was born in a town on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland, then moved to Fife, also Scotland, where I lived until I was 15. I then moved to Canada (southern Ontario, for the scant handful of you who might be mildly interested), and moved back to Scotland when I was 20, to a city in the historic county of Angus. I still live in that city, so I can tell you, with all of my lived experience, that this book may be set in Scotland, but it is not written for a Scottish audience. We're on the wrong side of the glass in this one.
I'm aware that this book isn't meant to be particularly serious, but I can't maintain my integrity and say nothing on this. The crux is this: doing your Serious Research by going on walking holidays with a tour guide is fine, and good for you for knowing what a bothy is, but details like knives in paintings and Pimm's feels like little more than smug window dressing when you couldn't do something as simple as Googling "Scotland tuition fees" or "Scotland health care". "Scotland boys names" would have been another good one. That's the essence of it, right? "I'm very worldly because I know what Pimm's is." Not really, because as a Scottish person living in Scotland, I'd venture that the fucking NHS is a good deal more relevant to all of our lives than a drink mostly sourced in those pompous pop-up bars in Edinburgh that nobody I know would ever go to. (I recently read something that characterised the city I live in as "off the beaten track", which was kooky.)
Exhibit A: Miles and Sebastian are not names that we give our children. I'm not saying that nobody in Scotland has ever been named Miles or Sebastian, but they're overwhelmingly rare. A guy in our office was considering naming his child Sebastian, and everyone laughed at him. He was a good lad and laughed along, but we honestly couldn't believe it. Sebastian? Huh? Besides, if Sebastian were royal, then his name would be Robert or James or maybe John. Even Alexander is a little bit of a stretch, especially for a modern royal. (Some royals have been named Alexander before, but not since the 13th century. Come on, now.)
I know that people whose governments force them to pay out the nose for health care have been told all sorts of horror stories about socialised medicine, and how subpar it is, and how they're better off with bills, but I'm here to scorch you with the tea: it's not. The NHS is life-saving. It's an institution to be protected at all costs. I've already gone into this in my status updates, but forcing "medical bills" to be an issue in this book is a load of shite at best, and insulting at worse. Miles laments that he's in debt to the royal family because his mother had "medical bills" because she "needed specialists", but she didn't. She fucking didn't, Miles. She didn't "need" a private hospital. She didn't "need" to pay for a specialist. The NHS is not some charitable scheme for the poor or a base line from which patients are referred to expensive specialists. It's just...what you do. It's normal. It's health care. If you're sick, go to the hospital, and whatever treatment you require, you'll receive it with no bill at the end. Whether or not to use the NHS is not a conscious choice. It's completely the norm. Medical bills do not cross our minds; it's not "Should I use the NHS?", but "Fuck, my hand got sliced open from a broken bottle of Buckie, I'd better hop along to the hospital and get that seen to. No big deal." What's more, in Scotland, we don't pay for prescriptions either. Get yourself along to the pharmacy, tell them what you need, and they'll give you it. No need to touch your purse.
The NHS is funded by tax. It's a startlingly tiny portion of each person's monthly wage that goes directly from their employer to the NHS; I've never had to "do my taxes" or any of that bureaucratic shit, since the buttons it costs to keep this incredible service running never touches my bank account. I don't miss it. (Unemployed people or people on benefits don't pay for the NHS at all.) And let me tell you - I'm thrilled to pass on that tiny portion of my pay check so that, if I break my leg, have an allergic reaction, or have to have a mastectomy, I don't have a bill at the end of it. The NHS is very far from perfect, with overworked and underpaid staff, some hospitals overcrowded, some waiting lists long, but the NHS is underfunded due to a far higher chunk of my tax being thrown at fucking ridiculous shit like Trident that we don't want, need, or ask for.
This is a tangent, but it irritated me. Don't foist problems like "medical bills" into a setting where they don't exist. Don't fucking smear us with your shit just so that we can seem less foreign to you. Similarly, don't pretend that "tuition fees" are a problem for us. SAAS, the government funding program that allows Scottish students a free four-year degree from a Scottish university, does not grant funding based on the financial background of students. There was nothing stopping Miles from applying for his funding and getting a free degree. I couldn't afford to go to uni in St. Andrews, but that's because accommodation in St. Andrews is too expensive for me. If Miles' issue had been framed this way, I'd accept it. It would resonate a lot more with international readers.
But there are still issues with that. If you can't pay for accommodation etc. off your own back, you can apply for a student loan, and depending on your living situation, you can receive a respectable amount of money to live on during your time as a student. Student loans are generous and you aren't expected to pay a penny back until you're making a good wage. If, after a certain number of years, you're still not able to repay the loan, it's written off. Alba gu bràth, am I right?
It's fine to waffle about the rolling hills and the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (without mentioning the traffic or the heaving crowds, hm) but there's nothing here about modern Scotland that feels even remotely authentic. Drinks being thrown in bars ends with everyone involved getting kicked out, because it's probably going to escalate quickly (not-so-fun-but-actually-true fact: we fight and stab each other a fair amount, though it's worth noting that Glasgow, once known as the was also voted ). Friendly rich people mingling with poor people isn't something that happens either, and the fact that none of the Scots swear in this book is also ridiculous, since swearing is part of our passive and basic vocabulary, even in professional settings. It's so common that it's not noteworthy.
Here's another interesting point: we don't look like the people in this book, either. Glossy shiny hair? Perfectly symmetrical faces? Very straight, very white teeth? Have you ever laid eyes on a white Scottish person? People of Celtic descent in Scotland have a very particular look, which - I mean, "Celtic" is a distinct ethnicity, and since most people in Scotland are white-Celtic, most people share a basic genetic aesthetic. Living amongst Celtic people and being one myself, it's extraordinarily easy to spot people of Celtic ancestry, and let me tell you, I'm not looking for anyone with glossy hair or straight teeth.
This is a weird thing to notice. It's not anything that I could quantify, but I can tell. I can bloody well tell if I'm looking at a Celtic Scottish person. I just know. It's in the angles and the lines. I used to be friends with this Russian girl who, when we travelled together, would make a game out of spotting other Russians. She would whisper to me, "Russian. Russian. There's another one. Russian. Oh, that one's Latvian." I can do the same thing. I can fucking tell, and I swear to you, this book did not do us justice.
Also, women also do not wear tartan dresses for special occasions. If you're going to an event with traditional dancing, you wear any dress you choose, but perhaps with a tartan sash or other smaller decoration. We do not say "blimey" or "filly" or call people "fit". If what you're going for is authentic colloquial language, that's not a difficult thing to research, either, not when you've got great and easily accessible resources like Scottish twitter. Why on earth it seemed like a good idea to shoehorn Cockney English slang into a book about Scotland is beyond me, though part of me thinks it might be because of my previous point about swearing. You cannot write authentic Scottish dialect without using the word "cunt" which probably isn't appropriate for a YA book, but that's a rod you built for your own back. Go hard or go all the way home, or better yet, don't do it at all. Don't bother with slang if you're going to simultaneously butcher it and point it out like it's a fucking zoo exhibit. When I write, I don't write colloquially, but I do speak colloquially; it's natural. But my colloquial dialect is not unintelligible, or a punch line, or a funny foreign curiosity. But it's a cheap shot, isn't it? It's a dime a dozen. Ha ha, people speak in dialect. Ha ha, Scots is a unique language rooted in 7th century Gaelic. Ha ha, it's a protected piece of Scotland's culture. Ha ha ha!
I'm at the point now where it's just fucking irritating. A short while ago, it really wouldn't have gotten my back up, these narratives where my home and my community are lensed into some sort of bastardised sideshow attraction, where the women are all poisonous harpies and the men are wild untameable beasts, but it's become so prevalent in American pop culture since the explosion of Outlander. This bullshit piss-taking of important cultural cornerstones like kilts and Scottish cuisine and Scots dialects, which as I previously mentioned did stem from Gaelic, a recognised indigenous language that a lot of communities across Scotland are battling to keep alive since it was battered out of us by brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Mocking such cultural markers is upsetting, because while overseas it's just a funny curiosity, it's a different beast within the confines of our island. To the rest of the UK, we're drunks, junkies, spongers, thieves; uneducated, uncivilised, a waste of resources. Gaslighting media will have a field day claiming that Scotland is a drain on UK resources and a social burden, while simultaneously begging us to remain in the union; offensive smear campaigns by Westminster-run media churns outright lies that damage and deride us, and reserved powers (that is, powers over Scotland that are retained by Westminster, not devolved to the Scottish government) continue to cause chaos, including an epidemic of drug deaths and an absolutely appalling welfare system that is killing vulnerable people.
A story like this could not have come at a worse time. We are in the middle of a serious crisis of identity, and when the storm ebbs, we might not wholly recognise our own home. Across the whole of the UK, the tectonic plates beneath us are shifting, and books like this - which, to some people overseas, are among their sole impression of a country they don't understand - can engender distasteful ideas about who we are and what we're doing. This is not a narrative I'm comfortable reading about: one that trivialises us, smears us, and mocks us. It's not funny, and that's the crux of it. It's not funny in the slightest.
But let me make myself clear. If you're not Scottish, and you want to write about modern Scotland, do it. Do it, and don't hold back. But if you're going to, don't speak to someone who knows someone who went once. Steer clear of the beaten path. Go to Dunfermline or Dundee or Glenrothes; go to Musselburgh or East Kilbride. The curtain is there, but there's nothing stopping you from peeking behind it. Go somewhere real and speak to some real people about real things that are happening. Have an authentic experience and write about that. Because this just isn't good enough.
May 4, 2019
4.5*
ADORABLE and so, so fun!!!
ADORABLE and so, so fun!!!
August 11, 2018
How come most US authors never bother to learn about the countries they're writing about? This devil-may-care attitude is so fucking exhausting and I know for a fact that most US readers couldn't care less but... aren't you tired of being fed the bare minimum? Especially when the main conflict itself [medical bills] doesn't make any kind of sense in a Scotland context. Way to transfer a US issue into another country and thoroughly failing? In the end there's always this weird sentiment that other countries are somewhat similar to the US when... they're really not.
July 3, 2019
1.) Prince Charming ★★★★�
2.) Her Royal Highness ★★★★.5
-----------------------------------------------
I'M OBSESSED.
2.) Her Royal Highness ★★★★.5
-----------------------------------------------
I'M OBSESSED.
August 27, 2019
This is the ultimate feel-good book. It's cute, it's down to Earth, it's a gleaming royal setting, and the cast of characters is so fun. The main character Daisy is sarcastic and witty in a way that resembles a real teenager but doesn't come off as corny. The book is packed with action and twists, almost within every chapter. There's never a good place to put this book down because something new is always occurring. I loved how easy and feel-good this book seemed, but it also had roots of relatable problems like having a sibling who outshines you and handling being the second best and learning not to take others' false judgments of you to heart. This book could have been drawn out to fill some of the time in the time skips or establish the romance better, but I think the shortness of the book is actually what made it so simple and sweet. I wasn't planning on reading this one and intended to just jump into the sequel because it has a f/f romance, but I'm so glad I picked this up and I'll definitely be investing in a copy of the newer paperback version that was updated to match the sequel.
May 8, 2018
Thoughts while reading:
1. The premise just makes me want to watch 'Made of Honour'
2. It's been two hours and all I've done is watch 'Made of Honour'
3. Daisy is making this all about her and that's selfish as heck.
4. Should I pick up the Princess Diaries again?
5. When's the 'Outlander' reference coming?
6. *two pages later* Whoop, there it is.
7. Miles is 100% the love interest.
8. Why are we pretending Seb is a love interest?
9. I need a Princess Diaries 3 movie before I die.
10. Genovia, Genovia, forever will your banner reign.
11. MONTERS
12. Missed opportunity for an outfit montage, regardless of cliches.
13. Horse riding, of course.
14. Seb's a different person in every scene.
15. Would love a book about Princess Flora
16. Papa-paparazzi
17. FAKE DATING PLOT?? YES PLEASE!
18. Ooh, real dating plot.
19. What the heck, Seb?
20. Where's the royal couple in all of this? What are they doing?
21. The ending is the equivalent of the foot pop.
22. I love royalty books. This was great. Yeah.
1. The premise just makes me want to watch 'Made of Honour'
2. It's been two hours and all I've done is watch 'Made of Honour'
3. Daisy is making this all about her and that's selfish as heck.
4. Should I pick up the Princess Diaries again?
5. When's the 'Outlander' reference coming?
6. *two pages later* Whoop, there it is.
7. Miles is 100% the love interest.
8. Why are we pretending Seb is a love interest?
9. I need a Princess Diaries 3 movie before I die.
10. Genovia, Genovia, forever will your banner reign.
11. MONTERS
12. Missed opportunity for an outfit montage, regardless of cliches.
13. Horse riding, of course.
14. Seb's a different person in every scene.
15. Would love a book about Princess Flora
16. Papa-paparazzi
17. FAKE DATING PLOT?? YES PLEASE!
18. Ooh, real dating plot.
19. What the heck, Seb?
20. Where's the royal couple in all of this? What are they doing?
21. The ending is the equivalent of the foot pop.
22. I love royalty books. This was great. Yeah.
January 16, 2019
This was a lot of fun! A little angstier than I usually enjoy but it was mega charming and I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK BC QUEER ROYAL LADIES HAVE MERCY
September 1, 2021
the history buff in me just sighed so loud at "the crown prince of Scotland"
but fuck it lmao give me some princes and let me binge this shit
but fuck it lmao give me some princes and let me binge this shit
March 5, 2020
4 stars
Royals was a fun and sweet YA romance that kept smile on my face. After reading Her Royal Highness earlier this year, I wanted to read the first book in the series. I loved Daisy and Miles. Either book can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but it was great to see Flora in this one. Also, I’m dying for a Sebastian book! If you’re looking for a swoony, charming, slow burn romance with that fake-dating troupe we all love, check this one out!
Royals was a fun and sweet YA romance that kept smile on my face. After reading Her Royal Highness earlier this year, I wanted to read the first book in the series. I loved Daisy and Miles. Either book can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but it was great to see Flora in this one. Also, I’m dying for a Sebastian book! If you’re looking for a swoony, charming, slow burn romance with that fake-dating troupe we all love, check this one out!
May 24, 2019
Very cute. Just what I wanted out of a YA royal romance.
Audiobook review: 5 stars. The narrator handled a variety of accents well.
Audiobook review: 5 stars. The narrator handled a variety of accents well.
February 23, 2022
This was a cute, light read about Daisy, a teen from Florida, whose sister is engaged to a prince from Scotland. Daisy and her family travel to Scotland in advance of the wedding and drama with the paparazzi ensues, along with drama with the royal family as they attempt a cover-up. This was a fast read, had all the usual “American tourist in Scotland� tropes, and I enjoyed the characters.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
July 24, 2019
What a FUN read!! It was full of humor, laugh-out-loud moments which is very rare for me as a reader, real, authentic fangirl conversations between best friends, and shenanigans that reminded me of a 2010 type of YA contemporary in the best way possible! It filled me with nostalgia for those feel-good, light-hearted reads that just put a smile on your face and make you feel warm inside.
April 14, 2018
3 stars!!!
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
Arc #2
Well I thought this book was going to be difficult difficult lemon difficult but alas! It turned out to be easy peasy lemon squeezy (thank god for that)!
I kind of struggled to like it in the first six chapters because I was annoyed with Daisy's relationship with her family but after that chapter I surprisingly enjoyed this book. It was a cliche young adult contemporary romance but it still managed to hook my attention.
The plot was okay and so were the characters in this book. The problem about it is the lack of conflict and confrontation scenes between the characters, especially at the falling action and the end of the story. I think that the book didn't end really well because none of the conflicts in the book were solved properly.
The characters were dynamically written which was one of the reasons why this book entertained me. Daisy is considered as an average girl with a perfectly normal life until she was forced to flew out of the country for her soon-to-be princess older sister. Her character was fu because she has a good sense of humor and a chill attitude. She wants her life to be the way it used to be but a lot of unexpected things came her way which once again forced her to step out of her comfort zone. She met Miles along the way and you know how the story goes, the "hate-to-love" relationship (but milder hate in here) which is by the way not new to people but something about them made me want to read everything in just one sitting.
All in all, this book is a quick and easy read that we need sometimes to lighten our mood. The story lacks some important explanations which would have made this book better. The humor and the lightness of this book would help readers to relax and enjoy.
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
Arc #2
Well I thought this book was going to be difficult difficult lemon difficult but alas! It turned out to be easy peasy lemon squeezy (thank god for that)!
I kind of struggled to like it in the first six chapters because I was annoyed with Daisy's relationship with her family but after that chapter I surprisingly enjoyed this book. It was a cliche young adult contemporary romance but it still managed to hook my attention.
The plot was okay and so were the characters in this book. The problem about it is the lack of conflict and confrontation scenes between the characters, especially at the falling action and the end of the story. I think that the book didn't end really well because none of the conflicts in the book were solved properly.
The characters were dynamically written which was one of the reasons why this book entertained me. Daisy is considered as an average girl with a perfectly normal life until she was forced to flew out of the country for her soon-to-be princess older sister. Her character was fu because she has a good sense of humor and a chill attitude. She wants her life to be the way it used to be but a lot of unexpected things came her way which once again forced her to step out of her comfort zone. She met Miles along the way and you know how the story goes, the "hate-to-love" relationship (but milder hate in here) which is by the way not new to people but something about them made me want to read everything in just one sitting.
All in all, this book is a quick and easy read that we need sometimes to lighten our mood. The story lacks some important explanations which would have made this book better. The humor and the lightness of this book would help readers to relax and enjoy.
November 17, 2024
Middle of the road- 🤷🏼♀� Not the best, but not the worst. 😜
April 19, 2022
okay so i, a scot, read the scottish royalty book. was it good? not particularly. did the author research the country she chose to write about? no. but did i have a good laugh and vlog it? you bet i did. watch it
June 5, 2018
I am trash for a royalty story, especially with the Royal Wedding approaching (when this review is posted the wedding will have already happened). I am an absolute nut about royalty, I don’t know why. Well, I do, but it’s literally just because my family has raised me this way. So, when I saw this book called Royals floating around on ŷ I knew I had to pick it up. I’m so glad I did as well, this was one of the funniest and unrealistic books I have ever read. Now, don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it immensely. I saw someone say this is Pippa Middleton’s side, which I thought was excellent.
What is Royals about though? This book follows Daisy, a girl from a middle of nowhere town who works at a rip off of Walmart. A very normal life. One little problem, her sister is dating the crown prince of Scotland, Alex. Not only that, her sister is now engaged to the crown prince of Scotland. And with a scandal initiated by Daisy’s ex-boyfriend she is shipped off to Scotland for the summer in order for her to be more manageable. This also means she has to change her own look, from her Little Mermaid like hair to her style. Adding on to that is cancelling her summer plans with her best friend, an actual pain in the ass. Unfortunately, the fun doesn’t end there for sweet Daisy because going to Scotland means a group known as the Royal Wreckers now surrounds her, lead by the crown prince’s very own younger brother, Seb. There is a mess between Daisy and these boys, particularly her brother in law (aka the media trying to say there’s something happening between them, ick). This basically means that now Daisy has to have a fake boyfriend with the boy she can’t stand from the group, Miles. Humour is everywhere in this novel, especially with Daisy and Miles� interactions. There is never shortages of laughter. There is also never a shortage of drama, if you aren’t into rich privilege drama then I think this will not be the book for you at all. However, if you want a fun book and can bypass the drama this is for you!
Even better is that there is both a f/f and m/m side relationship. Obviously, I want to see these highlighted in the sequel. I mean I really want the sequel to be the story of Princess Flora. If I don’t get that I will be crying.
Anyway, let’s jump into my overall likes and dislikes of Royals by Rachel Hawkins.
L I K E S
� MILES AND DAISY ARE THE CUTEST
These two, oh my God. I am a sucker for a good enemy to lover’s romance. It’s a little bit of a mess. This was perfect for that. There isn’t much to say on the duo apart from the fact that the build to their relationship was well executed, if not a bit too fast in areas. I just gushed over them and I adored the banter between them, I wish there had been some more development to their actual relationship but not much I can do there.
� NORMAL SIBLING RELATIONSHIP
I can’t say I ever think I think of the siblings when there is a ‘normal� girl marrying into a royal family. However, that’s probably because I’m an older sister and my little sister is the definition of a turd � though, I could see our relationship in Daisy and Eleanor. The whole family dynamic was actually very similar to my own families in some way. My mum and sister are always making jokes and doing things I deem ‘inappropriate� � much like Eleanor does to her family in Royals. However, to add a dislike to this, I do wish the relationship between sisters had some more on page time. I feel it could have significantly added to the characters depth.
� ROYAL STORIES ARE MY FANTASY
I said this in my reviews for A Princess in Theory and The Princess Trap (both books I highly recommend) but I love royal stories. As a young girl I held onto that dream I would be a princess a bit longer than others, I think it was because of my personal home life that I wanted to be whisked away. Who knows. I just love royalty. This story was enough to help me in those final weeks wait for the Royal Wedding between Harry and Meghan. So, basically, what I’m saying is this is my one of my new favourites.
D I S L I K E S
� DRAMA FELT ICKY SOMETIMES
I think it was the fact that the alcoholism on the page was never challenged. There is a lot of alcohol mentions anyway, which already had me a bit uneasy with the text. However, the biggest problem is definitely the drama that comes from the Crown Prince’s brother Seb. I felt that he was really just there to make drama and do nothing else. His whole personality was that of clear privilege and it was really frustrating to read his interactions with Daisy or any girl because they would all bend over backwards at first for this turd. I’m sure there is a lot more depth to him though that will no doubt be in the sequel, knowing my luck the sequel will be him being the love interest. Yuck.
� WHY WASN’T THIS LONGER
Ultimately, I just wished Royals was longer. I felt it ended just when it was getting good, which I guess is the point and a reason for me to pick up the sequel. It just felt like it could have done with an extra 50 pages at times to really establish a relationship between characters or the family dynamic. I’m not sure how to even really put it into words.
Overall, Royals really hit that sweet spot I needed of contemporary fun and royalty. It was the perfect mix for me, personally, but I can definitely see why others wouldn’t like it. I’m beyond excited for the sequel and can’t see what else is in store for these characters!
May 17, 2018
At long last, we have an heir to the Princess Diaries throne! Rachel Hawkins (whose Twitter feed, might I add, is sheer delight) has given us a modern day story about the ups and downs of being a teen . . . and what happens when those ups and downs clash with royal protocol! I shan't say any more, but if you love the Princess Diaries and/or are obsessed with the British royals (check and check for me!), this is your book.
February 28, 2020
ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE!
The cover is pretty. Momo you can stop reading at this point.
The writing style is absolutely terrible and incredibly annoying, it feels like the book was written by a 12 year old. The attempts at humor are very juvenile and cringey at best.
The author said FUCK IT to doing a basic amount of research about the country she is using as a setting for this book. The love interest, Miles is in the pocket of the royal family and does everything he is told to do because they are paying his college tuition and they paid his mother's medical bills. First of all, colleges offer scholarships, so he could have gone to college anyway, or he could have gone to a community college, so that part of his reason for being a puppet is out. Second, BASIC GOOGLE SEARCH could have told the author that the health care system in Europe is not like it is in America, people in Europe do not go into massive debt to pay off medical bills, ever, whatever the illness. So that part of his reason is also not valid whatsoever. At the start of the book there is an online tabloid that posts an article in which they call Daisy a whore and post a link to her facebook profile and since Daisy is a 17 year old girl and not a public figure those two things - doxing and defamation of character - are very much illegal and the tabloid can get sued for it. But is that option mentioned in this book? Nope. Because the author doesn't care about accuracy in her book apparently. Instead the PR team of the royal family decide that Daisy needs to clean up her act and they ship her off to Scotland to mingle with Ellie and Alex's friends. Okay so we all know that Scotland doesn't have a queen, and in this book it does, but how is Scotland still part of UK in this book? If there are two queens, one in England and the other in Scotland how can Scotland still be part of the United Kingdom? ZERO FUCKING SENSE. While I'm on the subject, the queen is apparently a kleptomaniac in this book, and her kleptomania is so strong that people are scared she will start taking their stuff when she comes to visit. This is a quote from a guy whose family owns a castle and he is a friend of Sebastian (the younger prince):
Daisy is a terrible person but this book is justifying her being a shitty human being all the time and I just don't get it. Ellie and Alex (the older prince) tell Daisy and their parents that they are getting married after 2 years of dating and for some reason this is a huge shock to Daisy. HOW DID SHE NOT EXPECT THAT AFTER 2 YEARS?? Anyway, Daisy's reaction is to attack Ellie for not thinking about how her marrying the guy she loves will affect Daisy's own life. WHAT A SELFISH FUCKING BITCH! How about you be happy for your sister you horrible little cretin?? Anyway for the whole book Daisy is blaming Ellie for everything and is constantly whining how everything is about Ellie boohoo Daisy's life sucks and Ellie is such a terrible person for wanting to be happy. At one point Daisy's best friend Isabel (Isa) comes to Scotland and on her way to Scotland, Ben (Isabel's boyfriend) sends her an email in which he breaks up with her and Daisy blames Ellie for it! Instead of blaming the shitty boyfriend for being a shit, Daisy is thinking about how she likes Ben and how Ellie is terrible:
One more example of Daisy being a terrible terrible person is how she behaved toward Sebastian (who is also not a great person but whatever). The queen wants Sebastian to hook up with some girl called Tamsin but Daisy sees Tamsin making out with Flora (Sebastian's sister) and AFTER she sees that she tells Sebastian that he should pursue Tamsin and that Tamsin is really into him and he should give her a chance blah blah blah. SHE FUCKING KNOWS TAMSIN IS WITH SEBASTIAN'S SISTER! And he finds out about Flora and Tamsin being an item about 20-30 pages from the end of the book and he confronts Daisy about it, but she starts attacking him and everyone is on her side. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?? She basically told him to try and steal his sister's girlfriend and then she is acting all holier-than-thou.
The romance is absolutely awful as well. The love interest Miles is Sebastian's friend and Daisy and he start off on the wrong foot because of course this book has to have that hate to love trope. Which I wouldn't mind if it was done well, which it wasn't in this book. So there was a tabloid before Daisy even met Alex's family in which Michael (Daisy's ex-boyfriend) said how Daisy dumped him to shag Sebastian. Again, this was before Daisy even met Sebastian. And Sebastian apparently read it and believed it and the night they first met goes to her room, gets drunk and kisses her. Miles stops by to take Sebastian to his own room and accuses Daisy of being a gold digger because he also read that one tabloid article. The queen and Flora also hate Daisy because of that same article. Which makes zero sense but whatever. After that first meeting between Miles and Daisy they have zero meaningful interactions, there is no buildup to their romance, we don't see them interact or learn more about each other. She basically hates him until she suddenly turns into a damsel in distress and he has to save her from a horse and she starts swooning. At that point there were maybe 4-5 scenes with them sniping at each other. After that point there is "cute banter" but not really. And they maybe have 7-8 interactions in the whole book. But they are in love because the book demands it. And that "romance" part started maybe 70 pages from the end.
I also wonder if this book had an editor because there was a lot of inexcusable grammar errors.
To summarize, I should have DNFed this crap the moment I read this in chapter 4, page 30-something:
or this, also in chapter 4:
chapter 4 as well:
WORST SISTER EVER AND WORST BOOK EVER!
The cover is pretty. Momo you can stop reading at this point.
The writing style is absolutely terrible and incredibly annoying, it feels like the book was written by a 12 year old. The attempts at humor are very juvenile and cringey at best.
The author said FUCK IT to doing a basic amount of research about the country she is using as a setting for this book. The love interest, Miles is in the pocket of the royal family and does everything he is told to do because they are paying his college tuition and they paid his mother's medical bills. First of all, colleges offer scholarships, so he could have gone to college anyway, or he could have gone to a community college, so that part of his reason for being a puppet is out. Second, BASIC GOOGLE SEARCH could have told the author that the health care system in Europe is not like it is in America, people in Europe do not go into massive debt to pay off medical bills, ever, whatever the illness. So that part of his reason is also not valid whatsoever. At the start of the book there is an online tabloid that posts an article in which they call Daisy a whore and post a link to her facebook profile and since Daisy is a 17 year old girl and not a public figure those two things - doxing and defamation of character - are very much illegal and the tabloid can get sued for it. But is that option mentioned in this book? Nope. Because the author doesn't care about accuracy in her book apparently. Instead the PR team of the royal family decide that Daisy needs to clean up her act and they ship her off to Scotland to mingle with Ellie and Alex's friends. Okay so we all know that Scotland doesn't have a queen, and in this book it does, but how is Scotland still part of UK in this book? If there are two queens, one in England and the other in Scotland how can Scotland still be part of the United Kingdom? ZERO FUCKING SENSE. While I'm on the subject, the queen is apparently a kleptomaniac in this book, and her kleptomania is so strong that people are scared she will start taking their stuff when she comes to visit. This is a quote from a guy whose family owns a castle and he is a friend of Sebastian (the younger prince):
"...if the king or queen were visiting your house, they might see something they wanted, and they'd take it. So it behooved hosts to fill their house with extra knickknacks or objets d'art, so they could give away something less valuable or sentimental."
Daisy is a terrible person but this book is justifying her being a shitty human being all the time and I just don't get it. Ellie and Alex (the older prince) tell Daisy and their parents that they are getting married after 2 years of dating and for some reason this is a huge shock to Daisy. HOW DID SHE NOT EXPECT THAT AFTER 2 YEARS?? Anyway, Daisy's reaction is to attack Ellie for not thinking about how her marrying the guy she loves will affect Daisy's own life. WHAT A SELFISH FUCKING BITCH! How about you be happy for your sister you horrible little cretin?? Anyway for the whole book Daisy is blaming Ellie for everything and is constantly whining how everything is about Ellie boohoo Daisy's life sucks and Ellie is such a terrible person for wanting to be happy. At one point Daisy's best friend Isabel (Isa) comes to Scotland and on her way to Scotland, Ben (Isabel's boyfriend) sends her an email in which he breaks up with her and Daisy blames Ellie for it! Instead of blaming the shitty boyfriend for being a shit, Daisy is thinking about how she likes Ben and how Ellie is terrible:
"You're important to me, Isa, and things that are important to you are important to me. No matter what's going on with my sister."
My sister.
Who's the reason I'm here this summer.
Which, in turn, makes her the reason Isa is here this summer. Would Ben still have sent that email if we'd gone to Key West like we planned?
One more example of Daisy being a terrible terrible person is how she behaved toward Sebastian (who is also not a great person but whatever). The queen wants Sebastian to hook up with some girl called Tamsin but Daisy sees Tamsin making out with Flora (Sebastian's sister) and AFTER she sees that she tells Sebastian that he should pursue Tamsin and that Tamsin is really into him and he should give her a chance blah blah blah. SHE FUCKING KNOWS TAMSIN IS WITH SEBASTIAN'S SISTER! And he finds out about Flora and Tamsin being an item about 20-30 pages from the end of the book and he confronts Daisy about it, but she starts attacking him and everyone is on her side. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?? She basically told him to try and steal his sister's girlfriend and then she is acting all holier-than-thou.
The romance is absolutely awful as well. The love interest Miles is Sebastian's friend and Daisy and he start off on the wrong foot because of course this book has to have that hate to love trope. Which I wouldn't mind if it was done well, which it wasn't in this book. So there was a tabloid before Daisy even met Alex's family in which Michael (Daisy's ex-boyfriend) said how Daisy dumped him to shag Sebastian. Again, this was before Daisy even met Sebastian. And Sebastian apparently read it and believed it and the night they first met goes to her room, gets drunk and kisses her. Miles stops by to take Sebastian to his own room and accuses Daisy of being a gold digger because he also read that one tabloid article. The queen and Flora also hate Daisy because of that same article. Which makes zero sense but whatever. After that first meeting between Miles and Daisy they have zero meaningful interactions, there is no buildup to their romance, we don't see them interact or learn more about each other. She basically hates him until she suddenly turns into a damsel in distress and he has to save her from a horse and she starts swooning. At that point there were maybe 4-5 scenes with them sniping at each other. After that point there is "cute banter" but not really. And they maybe have 7-8 interactions in the whole book. But they are in love because the book demands it. And that "romance" part started maybe 70 pages from the end.
I also wonder if this book had an editor because there was a lot of inexcusable grammar errors.
To summarize, I should have DNFed this crap the moment I read this in chapter 4, page 30-something:
"Are you sure about this?" I ask, and everyone's head turns toward me. I look at Ellie, and... oh wow, I never understood the "glaring daggers" thing, but those are some sharp eyeballs.
Maybe that wasn't exactly the best thing to say when your sister tells you she is engaged, but I can't help it.
or this, also in chapter 4:
Leaning back in my chair, I fold my arms over my chest. I like Alex---I do. He's a genuinely nice guy, but he comes with a lot of baggage, and I can never escape the feeling that it's more than a little unfair that I'm going to have to carry some of the weight, just so Ellie can be a princess.
chapter 4 as well:
"Well life isn't always fair," she says,"and I'm dreadfully sorry my falling in love with a wonderful man is an inconvenience to you."
I snort. "Oh, right, because you'd've fallen for Alex even if he worked at the Sur-N-Sav, I'm so sure."
Ellie's eyebrows nearly shoot up into her hairline. "What is that supposed to mean?"
WORST SISTER EVER AND WORST BOOK EVER!
April 11, 2018
Sometimes you need a good fluffy contemporary to balance out the heavier books you read, and Royals by Rachel Hawkins fits that bill perfectly. It also comes at the perfect time just before Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in May 2018.
The book draws definitely inspiration from Prince William and Prince Harry. In the book, Daisy's sister met the prince at university just like Will and Kate and her sister is an American just like Meghan. But in this book, the royals are the fictionalized royals of Scotland. As a reader, you definitely have to employ your suspension of disbelief that there really is no royal family in Scotland. What makes it a little confusing is when Scottish characters are referred to as British or show British traits. Almost like the book was set in England but then changed.
But even with that problem, I did really enjoy reading the book. I was able to finish it in a couple days. Daisy is a really great and likable main character. I really liked her sarcastic tone and that she would have no filter. But it wasn't in an obnoxious way. The romantic aspect is also done well and had me wanting more. There will be a sequel to this book and I can't wait to see what Daisy will get up to in the next book.
*Book received through the Amazon Vine Program*
The book draws definitely inspiration from Prince William and Prince Harry. In the book, Daisy's sister met the prince at university just like Will and Kate and her sister is an American just like Meghan. But in this book, the royals are the fictionalized royals of Scotland. As a reader, you definitely have to employ your suspension of disbelief that there really is no royal family in Scotland. What makes it a little confusing is when Scottish characters are referred to as British or show British traits. Almost like the book was set in England but then changed.
But even with that problem, I did really enjoy reading the book. I was able to finish it in a couple days. Daisy is a really great and likable main character. I really liked her sarcastic tone and that she would have no filter. But it wasn't in an obnoxious way. The romantic aspect is also done well and had me wanting more. There will be a sequel to this book and I can't wait to see what Daisy will get up to in the next book.
*Book received through the Amazon Vine Program*
May 28, 2018
If you are having 'Royal Withdrawal' after the most recent Royal Wedding, look no further, this book is just what the doctor has ordered as a cure.
I really, really, really enjoyed this novel. It was cute, it was funny, it was sarcastic, and it was equal parts relatable and not relatable. I honestly sped through these pages and could. not. get. enough. Seriously, I wanted the sequel in my hot little hands like...yesterday. Ms. Hawkins, in the nicest way possible, chop to it.
There was a lot of hype surrounding this novel and as such, I was apprehensive. However, after completing it, I fully support the hype and believe that it's well deserved. Everything about this book reads like a modern day tale on being inducted into a Royal family as a "commoner" and includes the struggles of not following a typical tradition. As well, it looks into just how much it impacts the family members of someone who has made the decision to marry into royalty.
This story is definitely told in an entertaining way but there is some moments that have you questioning just how much someone would have to sacrifice for love.
I definitely would recommend this for those that like a realistic contemporary surrounding royalty, but I would also recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun, humorous, and quick read.
***Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***
I really, really, really enjoyed this novel. It was cute, it was funny, it was sarcastic, and it was equal parts relatable and not relatable. I honestly sped through these pages and could. not. get. enough. Seriously, I wanted the sequel in my hot little hands like...yesterday. Ms. Hawkins, in the nicest way possible, chop to it.
There was a lot of hype surrounding this novel and as such, I was apprehensive. However, after completing it, I fully support the hype and believe that it's well deserved. Everything about this book reads like a modern day tale on being inducted into a Royal family as a "commoner" and includes the struggles of not following a typical tradition. As well, it looks into just how much it impacts the family members of someone who has made the decision to marry into royalty.
This story is definitely told in an entertaining way but there is some moments that have you questioning just how much someone would have to sacrifice for love.
I definitely would recommend this for those that like a realistic contemporary surrounding royalty, but I would also recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun, humorous, and quick read.
***Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review***
June 21, 2018
I honestly loved this book. It was a quick, easy read and that's all I was looking for. Granted, some things made me scratch my head, like the healthcare bit. You could tell it was written by an American. I'm Canadian, and it baffles me every day how much people have to pay for things in the States. I was looking up the other day how much it costs to give birth in Ontario, and from everything I've read and the people I've talked to, your biggest expense is paying for parking. Not tens of thousands of dollars for a procedure. I looked it up after reading that part, just out of the sake of curiosity, and no one would be in debt to anyone for medical bills in Scotland. It just seems presumptuous to assume that every other country is going to have the same insane medical bills without doing proper research.
Lack of research (on multiple things, it seems, given other reviews) aside, it was a cute book. I didn't want to read too much into it, because honestly, I know the bare minimum about Scotland. So unless I decide to research every bit of this book for accuracy, I'm going to take it at face value. I loved the romance, hated the queen, wanted to punch the main character a few times until she sorted herself out, and overall had a good time reading.
Lack of research (on multiple things, it seems, given other reviews) aside, it was a cute book. I didn't want to read too much into it, because honestly, I know the bare minimum about Scotland. So unless I decide to research every bit of this book for accuracy, I'm going to take it at face value. I loved the romance, hated the queen, wanted to punch the main character a few times until she sorted herself out, and overall had a good time reading.
May 8, 2018
I wanted silly fun, and was rewarded with silly fun. Warning: you will not enjoy this book unless you fully give yourself up to the silly fun of it all, ignore the selfishness of the MC, and ignore the ridiculousness of a 'Scottish monarchy'.
The last 100 pages really stood out for me, and it took until there, I think, to really get into the groove. The opening is pretty episodic, and the writing can be repetitive, but the end? Oh! There's finally tension and conflict and a fake dating plot and it's wonderful.
I definitely could leave this as a standalone, but we only dipped our toes into royal life, and Ellie and Alex were hardly in this one! I need that wedding. NEED IT. Though, admittedly, not as much as I need a third Princess Diaries movie.
The last 100 pages really stood out for me, and it took until there, I think, to really get into the groove. The opening is pretty episodic, and the writing can be repetitive, but the end? Oh! There's finally tension and conflict and a fake dating plot and it's wonderful.
I definitely could leave this as a standalone, but we only dipped our toes into royal life, and Ellie and Alex were hardly in this one! I need that wedding. NEED IT. Though, admittedly, not as much as I need a third Princess Diaries movie.
April 19, 2019
the royal family doesn't deserve rights but this book does
Rep: wlw and mlm side characters
Rep: wlw and mlm side characters
May 1, 2018
Well, this was cute. And not much else.
I enjoyHawkin's writing style. It's fun and sweet, and really entertaining. It was the reason that I loved Rebel Belle all those years ago.
But, this was no Rebel Belle.
The story, as expected, follows usualYA romance fashion. The story was pretty straightforward:small town girl, thrown into a big city, this time with the added bonus of being thrown into a royal family. You know, the usual.
Sadly, plotwise, it felt like a whole lot of nothing.
The characters go on some outings here and there. They do some stuff. They have some pictures taken by paparazzi. And that's about it, up until the end.
The characters were interestingenough.
It took me a few chapters before I really got into the story, although I did really enjoy Daisy's parents and their side of the family dynamics. I think that my problem was Daisy herself. Daisy and her sister Elle. It just really wasn't a fan of Elle.
Also, there were too many sidecharacters and friends of the royal family that I didn't care at all about.
Miles though was pretty fun. And I am a suckerfor hate-to-love romances.
Overall, the book was OK. It's nothing new, but it was entertaining for a few hours. The book is short and cute, just the kind of light-heartedbook you need to break you out of a slump or for taking a break from more serious things.
The one thing this book has going for it is that it made me laugh.
Do I recommend? Sure. If you want a quick, fun book, go for it!
And lastly, why use Scotland? I know that this is something that has been asked a lot, but like, why? Why not make upa country and give it a king, instead of making Scotland a monarchy all of a sudden? Scotland hasn't had a king in like 300 years or something (don't quote me on that number, but it's something close).
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much, Penguin Random House! All opinions are my own.**
I enjoyHawkin's writing style. It's fun and sweet, and really entertaining. It was the reason that I loved Rebel Belle all those years ago.
But, this was no Rebel Belle.
The story, as expected, follows usualYA romance fashion. The story was pretty straightforward:small town girl, thrown into a big city, this time with the added bonus of being thrown into a royal family. You know, the usual.
Sadly, plotwise, it felt like a whole lot of nothing.
The characters go on some outings here and there. They do some stuff. They have some pictures taken by paparazzi. And that's about it, up until the end.
The characters were interestingenough.
It took me a few chapters before I really got into the story, although I did really enjoy Daisy's parents and their side of the family dynamics. I think that my problem was Daisy herself. Daisy and her sister Elle. It just really wasn't a fan of Elle.
Also, there were too many sidecharacters and friends of the royal family that I didn't care at all about.
Miles though was pretty fun. And I am a suckerfor hate-to-love romances.
Overall, the book was OK. It's nothing new, but it was entertaining for a few hours. The book is short and cute, just the kind of light-heartedbook you need to break you out of a slump or for taking a break from more serious things.
The one thing this book has going for it is that it made me laugh.
Do I recommend? Sure. If you want a quick, fun book, go for it!
And lastly, why use Scotland? I know that this is something that has been asked a lot, but like, why? Why not make upa country and give it a king, instead of making Scotland a monarchy all of a sudden? Scotland hasn't had a king in like 300 years or something (don't quote me on that number, but it's something close).
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much, Penguin Random House! All opinions are my own.**
December 28, 2020
This was a guilty pleasure read, especially with the royal wedding just happening, I was really in a ROYAL mood.
If you're looking for a quick and cutesy read, you've found it!
This story is about Daisy, an innocent teen from Florida who just happens to have a sister that gets engaged to the Prince of Scotland and heir to the throne. Daisy lives a pretty normal life but that all gets uprooted when some tabloids start spewing gossip about her which threatens to hurt the royal family. She finds herself in Scotland for the summer in the hopes that the palace will be able to control the story if she's close by. With love interests, sass, secrets and scandals, it truly is an enjoyable read.
I love Rachel Hawkins books, although I do find some of her books really hit or miss for me. I usually like her less well-known books (ex. hex hall series) better than her more well-known series (ex. rebel belle).
What are your guys' favourite Rachel Hawkins books?
If you're looking for a quick and cutesy read, you've found it!
This story is about Daisy, an innocent teen from Florida who just happens to have a sister that gets engaged to the Prince of Scotland and heir to the throne. Daisy lives a pretty normal life but that all gets uprooted when some tabloids start spewing gossip about her which threatens to hurt the royal family. She finds herself in Scotland for the summer in the hopes that the palace will be able to control the story if she's close by. With love interests, sass, secrets and scandals, it truly is an enjoyable read.
I love Rachel Hawkins books, although I do find some of her books really hit or miss for me. I usually like her less well-known books (ex. hex hall series) better than her more well-known series (ex. rebel belle).
What are your guys' favourite Rachel Hawkins books?
June 6, 2018
It was cute, but I really wish the romance had been developed a bit more. ¯\_(�)_/¯
September 18, 2023
when will my sister get engaged to the crown prince of scotland so i have to come and visit her and start fake dating his brother's best friend that i don't like but we end up falling in love?
June 3, 2019
I basically had three 3 as to why I decided to try out this book, despite hearing very mixed things about this.
1. I reeeaaally want to read the sequel which includes a f/f romance (will still read that one b/c duh)
2. I really enjoyed Rebel Belle
3. I wanted something light and FUN (which both Hex Hall and Rebel Belle are) to read.
I did get the light part, but fun, not so much. Mostly some skimming, lots of cringe, and the very occasional half-smile which ups this book to 2.5 stars.
My first problem is, I don't think the author did enough of research on the setting - Schotland - of this book. It felt pretty unrealistic and even I, who have never lived in Scotland, can point out quite a few inaccuracies.
For example (and I'm not the only one to point this one out): medical bills and the fact that one of the characters had to pay them for his mother's treatment. Nope. This is not the US. Scotland, as well as many Europian countries, do not pay medical bills this way, obviously. You do not go into the hospital for surgery or treatment r whatever and then have to pay (steep) prices for it at once. Completely different system and that's simply not how it works. So that small plotline was completely silly.
Really, if the author wasn't interested in enough research, why didn't she set the plot into an imaginary country set in the real world - like Princess Diaries - instead of Scotland. I think this book really is targeted towards very specific audience. I mean, you can read knowing how half assed some parts of this book are and still enjoy it, but even aside for this problem - which might've been easily resolved - I wouldn't have rated this cringe-worthy piece of fluff more than 3 stars.
It was just way too ridiculous and fluffy for me. Maybe pre-teen me would've liked this. Probably yes. But that's because 12 year old me loved modern day princess stories. This me, not so much. I am way too jaded for this kind of story tbh.
I wasn't particularly fond of the MC at the beginning, she just sounded like a typical YA heroine. I do think she has gone through some character development throughout this book when it comes to her making the whole my-sister-is-marrying-a-prince about herself at the beginning, but she was still pretty much a forgettable character. Her sister wasn't any better either.
The 'Royal Wrackers' honestly annoyed me, except for Miles, I must say. I did halfway like the dynamic between him and the MC. It was kind of a hate-to-love or disdain-to-love situation and it was pretty adorable. Maybe the biggest reason why I stuck with this one till the end.
In conclusion, a piece of fluff of a read that you might enjoy if you know up front what you're getting into, but ultimately pretty forgettable. Read instead.
1. I reeeaaally want to read the sequel which includes a f/f romance (will still read that one b/c duh)
2. I really enjoyed Rebel Belle
3. I wanted something light and FUN (which both Hex Hall and Rebel Belle are) to read.
I did get the light part, but fun, not so much. Mostly some skimming, lots of cringe, and the very occasional half-smile which ups this book to 2.5 stars.
My first problem is, I don't think the author did enough of research on the setting - Schotland - of this book. It felt pretty unrealistic and even I, who have never lived in Scotland, can point out quite a few inaccuracies.
For example (and I'm not the only one to point this one out): medical bills and the fact that one of the characters had to pay them for his mother's treatment. Nope. This is not the US. Scotland, as well as many Europian countries, do not pay medical bills this way, obviously. You do not go into the hospital for surgery or treatment r whatever and then have to pay (steep) prices for it at once. Completely different system and that's simply not how it works. So that small plotline was completely silly.
Really, if the author wasn't interested in enough research, why didn't she set the plot into an imaginary country set in the real world - like Princess Diaries - instead of Scotland. I think this book really is targeted towards very specific audience. I mean, you can read knowing how half assed some parts of this book are and still enjoy it, but even aside for this problem - which might've been easily resolved - I wouldn't have rated this cringe-worthy piece of fluff more than 3 stars.
It was just way too ridiculous and fluffy for me. Maybe pre-teen me would've liked this. Probably yes. But that's because 12 year old me loved modern day princess stories. This me, not so much. I am way too jaded for this kind of story tbh.
I wasn't particularly fond of the MC at the beginning, she just sounded like a typical YA heroine. I do think she has gone through some character development throughout this book when it comes to her making the whole my-sister-is-marrying-a-prince about herself at the beginning, but she was still pretty much a forgettable character. Her sister wasn't any better either.
The 'Royal Wrackers' honestly annoyed me, except for Miles, I must say. I did halfway like the dynamic between him and the MC. It was kind of a hate-to-love or disdain-to-love situation and it was pretty adorable. Maybe the biggest reason why I stuck with this one till the end.
In conclusion, a piece of fluff of a read that you might enjoy if you know up front what you're getting into, but ultimately pretty forgettable. Read instead.
April 23, 2018
Super fast and light. A great summer read or something by the pool side to get your mind off things and just enjoy the day.
Everything was solid, though not a ton of depth to make you stop and gasp. It was hilarious and if your a fan of Scotland but know absolutely anything about the UK you’ll love it.
If you are are acquainted with the Uk you might be completely put off by the cultural rewrite?!?! Like def not accurate And that can be super off putting. Other than that. Light fluffly and fun!
Everything was solid, though not a ton of depth to make you stop and gasp. It was hilarious and if your a fan of Scotland but know absolutely anything about the UK you’ll love it.
If you are are acquainted with the Uk you might be completely put off by the cultural rewrite?!?! Like def not accurate And that can be super off putting. Other than that. Light fluffly and fun!
July 4, 2019
This was the first book i picked up whilst on holiday and honestly i bought it on a whim and was not sure about what to expect.
The concept was pretty fun, it centres around a "normal" teen that has to spend the Summer with the Scottish Royal Family when her older sister gets engaged to the crown prince.
The characters are lively and pretty funny but lack any real depth, that being said it was a quick read that held my attention.
Overall a cute story just without any real substance.
The concept was pretty fun, it centres around a "normal" teen that has to spend the Summer with the Scottish Royal Family when her older sister gets engaged to the crown prince.
The characters are lively and pretty funny but lack any real depth, that being said it was a quick read that held my attention.
Overall a cute story just without any real substance.
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