Review: The Royal We

The Royal We

By Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Published: April 7, 2015

"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next."

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

My review:

If you like reading about the British Royals, you'll enjoy this book. It is inspired by the "fairy tale romance" of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The cover even designed to remind readers of William and Kate. In this fictitious story however Prince Nicholas meets an intriguing American girl at college. They become friends and gradually fall in love. It isn't a fairy tale though as Bex is now under the pressure of paparazzi and the disapproval of the Royal Family as well as the expectations of dating or marrying a royal heir. 

Things definitely become darker as Bex realizes what she is in for and I liked that the book portrayed the ups and downs of her relationship with Nick and trying to juggle that with her own dreams and personality. I liked Bex though I think she does make some big mistakes (she could be a little self destructive with alcohol and partying). She has a rough time of adjusting to the spotlight and her relationship with her twin sister Lacey doesn't help matters. I didn't like Lacey as a character. She is the one character who I had a hard time with. She is supposedly smart enough to get into medical school but  in my opinion she is portrayed as an empty headed fame seeker. Bex is supposed to be the more sporty one though she is smart enough to attend Oxford through an exchange program. 

I thought the authors did a good job of showing the difficulties that Nick faces with the constant pressure of the public eye and the responsibilities of being the heir. He isn't sure he can completely trust any of his friends and even his dating life is complicated. I wasn't always happy with how he treated Bex. The two of them definitely had communication issues. I thought that was a realistic portrayal of their relationship and the struggles they had to overcome.

This was a fun book even though it had some darker moments. It is classified as a "New Adult" novel though it isn't like the kind of book I'd typically consider New Adult. It almost had a chick lit vibe at times.  I thought it was a "realistic" portrayal of a love story between a prince and an American commoner. I enjoyed picking up similarities between this fictional couple's story and the real British royals. I think readers who are interested in the British royal family and fans of movies like The Prince and Me will like this book too. 

Note: I received an ARC for review purposes courtesy of the publisher and Edelweiss