Author: Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: April 2015
Genre: Chick Lit / Contemporary Romance / New Adult
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: "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 Thoughts: Enjoyable story of an American student studying at Oxford who falls for the heir to the British throne. I enjoyed the parallels this story has to Kate Middleton and Wills. Meeting at university, long-term relationship before the engagement and marriage brouhaha. Of course, Kate is not an American like Bex is, so I enjoyed that twist, but I found it a slight nod to the red-headed spare heir and his American bride. I found it interesting how much my mind noticed just how similar is this story to Kate and Wills as well as similarities of Freddie to Harry. I mean, really, even the cover gives the reader a nod to Kate and Wills before the story even begins. I am sure it’s all fiction, and good fiction at that.
I really liked Bex and Nick as a couple. They start out as friends who enjoy eating American junk food while binge watching episodes of Bex’s favorite television show sent across the pond by Bex’s sister, Lacey. Bex even begins dating one of Nick’s mates, if you can call a shag buddy dating. The blossoming of their relationship from friends to more is a treat to watch, not only because he’s the future King of England and how cool is that?! but also because their relationship is really sweet and I was rooting for these two from the beginning.
I also liked Freddie, the rascal that he is, but his friendship with Bex is special. Through her eyes, we see Freddie as the brother, the second, the flirt, and the one who appears will never measure up in the eyes of their father. The pain and hurt he carries at feeling rejected resonates keenly and you can’t help but feel a lot of empathy for him and understand the masks and personas he hides his true self behind, but Bex sees through him.
I also enjoyed getting a bird’s eye view into the workings of the royal family through Bex’s eyes. I learned they aren’t all that different from any other family. They have their good days and bad days, successes and disappointments, secrets and scandal. The only difference is that their lives are heavily documented all over the tabloids for our entertainment.
I also found the circus that Bex is put through to “train” her for her upcoming roles as Duchess of This That Or The Other as well as Baroness What’s Her Name and Countess So and So were interesting. Things that those of us who live in the commoner’s world would never worry about, such as exiting a car with grace and style, how to hold a flute of champagne or even how to cross one’s legs when sitting.
My Final Verdict: This story ends with some interesting twists so it came as no surprise that there’s a sequel which I will have to read as I’m nowhere ready to see the end of Bex and Nick and hopefully Freddie will get his happily ever after too.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The Royal We from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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