Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
Awesomeness Factor: 3/5
My Review in a Nutshell: Royals is a fun, entertaining, quick read that puts a cute twist on the classic princess story.
“He just showed up like a posh vampire I accidentally invited in, then couldn’t make leave.”
Royals follows Daisy, whose sister is engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. When she accidentally gets dragged into a scandal, her summer plans are forgotten as she’s dragged to Scotland to try and get some good press. Throw in a charming asshole, fake dating, plenty of witty dialogue and funny internal thoughts, and you have a fun, quick read.
First, I want to address the setting. Having never been to Scotland, and knowing nothing about it except what Outlander has told me, I do know that this Scotland is very different from real Scotland. It kind of lives in its own version of Scotland and obviously changes history a bit to benefit the plot. As someone who is relatively clueless, this didn’t bother me at all, but if you’re looking for a very true-to-life Scottish book, this isn’t it.
The plot is simple and fun. Girl wants nothing to do with the royal way of life, gets thrown into it, shenanigans ensue. There’s plenty of entertaining scenes that keep the pages turning fast, honestly, you could read this book in one sitting easily. There are a few twists I didn’t see coming. The main relationship isn’t the one you would expect from just reading the premise, and the characters aren’t all cliches. There’s plenty of entertaining drama and the writing style is full of witty lines. Speaking of the writing, that’s what really made me enjoy this book. Rachel Hawkins writes with such a relatable, fun voice and I absolutely adore it. There are so many great lines in this book that will definitely make you laugh.
Finally, the characters. I have to say, they weren’t anything special. I enjoyed Daisy’s POV and her voice, but for the rest of the characters, I just didn’t fall in love with them. I feel like you didn’t get to spend enough time with most of them to really have them stand out. The only characters I actually felt I had enough time to get to know and appreciate were Daisy, Seb, and Ellie. And Miles was just kinda boring? While a lot of the characters did defy the cliches, I feel like Miles just fell flat.
Pros- Great writing style, quick pace, fun narrator, interesting twists
Cons- Some characters feel lacking
Overall- 3.5/5 stars.
Royals is definitely a fun read that will leave you feeling happy and lighthearted but maybe won’t stick with you after that.
Cait Jacobs 