A Royal Double Review! The Royal We and The Heir Affair

You should all know that I’m trash for royal romances by now.

If not, then read below for the book that started it all for me (okay, not really, but it solidified it and made me accept my flaws in all their glory): The Royal We. After reading book 2 (I doubt there will be a book 3, as most everything seems fairly wrapped up, but I can hope), I can easily say that I really, really love this dishy alternate England that Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan created.

Read for joy, and read for delightful trashing on the English royal family.

The Royal We

🌺🌺🌺🌺/5

Bex never wanted to marry the prince, but here she is—on her wedding day. To the future king of England. How’d she get here? And who is blackmailing her?

I first read this in 2016, and I loved it.

But I also remembered very little of what happened, beyond Bex being depressed and getting princess-lessons and not much else, and so when I was approved for the ARC of The Heir Affair, I knew that I’d have to reread this.

And I still loved it, although not to five-stars. It’s a solid four star read—enjoyable and fun, but also why the fuck was I rooting for Nick and Bex?

This book is shameless Kate Middleton fanfiction, and I loved every minute of it. It took Kate Middleton’s story and was like, What if she was an American? (this was written before Meghan Markle—who is just fabulous—came on the royal scene). What if she was just an average person who happened to fall for a prince of England?

It tackles the waiting for royal recognition, the relentless hounding of paparazzi and social media, and a lot of the things that possibly go down in The Firm amongst the senior royals along with lots of other shit. This time around, I definitely didn’t really see the appeal of Nick to Bex. It seemed like Bex kept on going on and on about how much she loved Nick, who was emotionally distant and always kept her at arm’s length (except when it was just the two of them). Nick’s trauma was a lot to handle, and he really, really needed to get that shit looked into.

But I definitely found myself rooting for Bex and Freddie, Nick’s younger brother and totally-not-a-stand-in-for-Prince-Harry. Their chemistry was off the charts, and I…well, just read it for yourself.

The Heir Affair

🌺🌺🌺🌺/5

After the tumultuous Royal Wedding That Was, Bex and Nick are in hiding. Hiding from the angry public, who feel betrayed by Bex the Scoundrel, and hiding from the wrath of the Queen. But you can’t run from your family, and you can’t run forever, and so Bex and Nick slap a band-aid on their fragile romance and start their return to public life. Can they make it? Do they even want to?

While I adoredThe Royal We, I liked this one even better!!

Bex is forced to adapt to her out and open relationship with Nick and handling the aftermath of the previous book’s revelations, and she discovers what it means to be a royal Duchess who has royally pissed off the queen.

Speaking of Eleanor, she really took the lead in this book. Once again, Bex’s relationship with Nick falls to the backside (while paradoxically being at the forefront?) as she and the Queen begin what has got to be the weirdest relationship in the entire world. I loved it, and I loved Eleanor, despite her being…well, the Queen of England and absolutely one of the Worst People in the Word.

And I loved how Bex handled her relationship with Eleanor—that silent stand-off was fucking hilarious. The brass balls of reading a Playboy magazine and clicking a pen for fifteen minutes straight in the presence of the Queen of England is just…wow.

Anywho, in this one Bex navigates life as a Duchess, with the help of her friends—her friends whose trust she needs to win back after the secrets of the first book. I still love Gaz (who is just precious), but Lady Bollocks takes the win in this book. She’s just utterly fantastic, and I love how ruthless and competent she is in keeping everything together. Binders upon binders upon binders.

Upon returning from self-imposed exile, Bex and Nick are given Eleanor’s late sister’s suites to live in. Georgina’s life is an allegory for Princess Margaret, and she’s depicted as a hoarder, partier and heavy smoker…who also has an illicit Sex Den basement hidden in her closet. But there is more to Georgina than Bex ever imagined, and as she and Nick go through the late princess’s many possessions, they begin to realize that the Royal Family’s royal secrets are darker than they ever could have imagined.

So that’s a super cryptic way of putting it, but I really don’t want to give any more spoilers away.

Shit goes dooooooooown.

Let’s just say that this one tugged my heartstrings in multiple directions, that I still want to kill Clive, that Freddie is always and forever #1, and that I am ride or die for @KingIdrisEbla.

Oh, and go Cubs!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

The Heir Affair releases July 7, 2020, from Grand Central Publishing.