The Royal We

Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan

Rebecca Porter, a.k.a. Bex has her feet firmly planted on the ground. She’s American, neither overly romantic nor glamorous; she loves junk food and beer; and she’s got the brains to have landed herself at Oxford University.

But then her equilibrium is interrupted by Nick, the dude down the hall. Because Nick, the dude down the hall, is also Prince Nicholas, future king of England. He’s intelligent, charismatic, funny — and he’s about to upend her entire world.

This is sort of an alternate reality version of everyone’s favorite royals, William and Kate, or Harry and Meghan. While it could easily have fallen into romantic comedy clichés, it 100-percent does not. It’s an uncompromising look at how damn hard it would be to fall in love with someone like the Princes, who wear such a heavy crown of responsibility and expectation.

Buoyant and fizzy as champagne on the surface, this novel also packs a wallop of genuine emotion. It brings to painful light the endless grasping of the paparazzi, the 24-hour news cycle that revels in tearing down the very people it built up a day ago, and the strain that scrutiny puts on the real people caught in the maelstrom.

As you might expect, there are plenty of frothy, exhilarating, and romantic moments as Bex is inducted into the world of royalty, but they play out in a way that shows just how multi-faceted the situation would be.

There are also humorous, fish-out-of-water incidents that feel authentic, as well as a teary scene as Bex and Nick fight to protect their relationship in the face of the biting British tabloids, back-stabbing frenemies, and the burden of family ties. Forget that stiff upper lip stuff — there’s plenty of feeling here.

Just when you think you know where the story is going, there are plot developments and surprises to remind you that people are unpredictable and complex — even if you’ve seen their faces and heard their voices a thousand times before.

I don’t know why it takes something monumentally destructive to remind you what you want to save. — Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

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