Title: The Royals Next Door
Author: Karina Halle
Genre: Adult Contemporary / Romance
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an earc to read in exchange for a review.
“An ordinary summer goes royally awry when a prince and princess move next door, bringing their handsome bodyguard with them, from New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle.
Piper Evans: elementary school teacher by day–avid romance reader and anonymous podcaster by night. She lives a quiet, reclusive life, taking care of her mother, who struggles with mental illness, avoiding her regrettable ex, who bartends in town, and trying to make inroads in the tight-knit island community that still sees her, five years in, as an outsider.
And she’s happy with how things are–really–until British royals rent the property next to hers and their brooding bodyguard decides she’s a security threat. Piper quickly realizes that one person’s fairy tale is an ordinary woman’s nightmare as a media frenzy takes over the island and each run-in with Harrison Cole is hotter and more confusing than the last. But beneath Harrison’s no-nonsense exterior lies a soft heart, one that could tempt a woman who’s sworn off attachments into believing in white knights.
But when Piper finds herself smack in the middle of a royal scandal that rocks the island she’ll need more than Harrison’s strong arms to shield her–she’ll have to do a little rescuing herself. With careers, hearts, and friendships on the line, Piper and Harrison will have to decide what they’re willing to give up for a chance at their own happily ever after.” (Goodreads)
I wanted to pick this one up after seeing the cover on Instagram. I love illustrated covers and this was no different. It’s beautiful! I will say that I had a hard time connecting to the characters and I don’t think this has anything to do with the book. There are a lot of good things to say about this book.
There is something about royalty life that intrigues people and I can definitely see commonalities between the fictional characters in this book and the actual royal family. I always like reading about different fictional royalty families because authors do a great job of making them stand out from others. Monica and Eddie were good characters and it’s a shame what the media does to people. The media has a way of digging about and creating chaos that doesn’t even involve them. It’s utter madness but its something that is prevalent in our own world and not just the fictional ones.
The main character of the book and neighbor to the royal party is Piper. She is an elementary school teacher who’s hobby is all about romance novels and has her own podcast for it. It’s nice to read about bibliophiles. Her passion for romance is kept under the radar as with many people who read the genre. It definitely has it’s stereotypes and the book brings the conversation into light.
Besides all that, she also helps to take care of her mom who deals with neurological issues. It’s not often I read about mother-daughter bonds but I’m glad it was included because it’s very sweet.
The love interest, Harrison Cole, is a jack-of-all-trades and takes his job quite seriously. He may start off standoffish but he does open up. I can’t say that I ever liked him that much but I think that just stems from not being able to connect from the book in general.
When it came to the plot, it’s filled with romance, plot twists, and growing friendships. The romance is on the steamier side which makes sense for the topic that centers around stereotypes of the romance genre. I don’t have a problem with it but it’s just not what I like about romance books and I know others won’t have this issue. I did like the friendship more and I’m glad there was an epilogue to nicely wrap everything up since it is a standalone.
Overall, this was a good book and I can see a lot of people liking this one.
TheGeekishBrunette 