Royals – Rachel Hawkins

Release date: 3 May 2018
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FYI, this book has since been re-released as Prince Charming
Rating

Royals (Royals, #1) blurb:

Meet Daisy Winters.
She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old with mermaid-red hair and a picture perfect older sister who’s just got engaged to the most eligible prince in the world.
Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but after being hounded by the tabloids, she flees to a castle in Scotland with her sister.
Hiding from the flashbulbs is made all the more fun by a dashing boy called Miles who tries to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal. But as a scandal engulfs the Royal Family during the full-beam of a royal wedding build-up, can Daisy rewrite the rulebook to suit herself?

You know, I find it really hard to give out five star reviews these days. Mostly because there are so few books that I think genuinely deserve five actual stars. Take my extreme love for Nevernight. I am not low-key obsessed about that book. I am the opposite of low-key. That book (to me) is a literal masterpiece. This isn’t. However, I laughed, I cried, I hoped, and above all, I loved the characters. And I cannot ask for more than that.

And this book is adorable. Firstly, I was actually crying and at risk of peeing myself from laughing so much while reading this. Secondly, Daisy and her family are some of the greatest characters I’ve read in contemporary fiction for a while. Thirdly, slow-burn, enemies to lovers tropes ARE MY JAM. I will never get enough, as they make me ridiculously happy.

So, the story is your classic love story: Girl’s sister is marrying actual prince. Girl goes to visit castle and meets prince’s brother (prince 2.0). Tabloids assume girl and prince 2.0 are a thing. Girl fake dates prince 2.0’s friend to mislead media. CLASSIC LOVE STORY. But like, only if your name is Harry and/or Pippa and it is 7 years ago. Anyway, basically same/same, except Scotland did leave the UK post Brexit and now they have their own monarchy. (Not really, but also kind-of.) I AM NOT EXPLAINING THIS WELL AT ALL. (Likely because it’s 2am and this is set to auto-post in 6 hours and now I’m just rambling.)

Seventeen-year-old Daisy, aka Lade Daze, our MC for this book, is super cute. She has this nervous word-vomit thing going on, and also this hilarious come-back that she just can’t seem to help from blurting out.

“What did you think of Seb’s club, Daisy?” a reply jumps to my lips before I can stop it.

“Disappointing,” I reply. “Hardly any naked ladies, and only one chimpanzee.”

Daisy’s mouth is legit the greatest thing ever. She is also loud, bright, shy, anxious, and so unapologetically herself that you cannot help but be bowled over by her sincere amazingness.

Ellie is Daisy’s older sister, and a future princess. I feel like she’s really quite stressed about life, but it makes her come across as cold and unfeeling. Which is a shame, because having come from her family, I’m sure she’s a hoot when she’s being herself. Her fiance Alex is the crown prince of Scotland.

Seb is Alex’s younger brother, and the twin to Flora (who has a book coming out soon called Her Royal Highness). Seb and his group of friends have been dubbed by the media as the Royal Wreckers. There’s a bunch of them and they go to prestigious boarding schools and own night clubs and basically do whatever they want. They all come from families with titles and belong in that whole royal life scene. Like it’s membership to an exclusive club.

And then there’s Miles, one of the Royal Wreckers, and Daisy’s mentor on Royalty-101. Miles is stand-offish and comes across as a bit of a bore, but there’s definitely more to him than meets the eye.

Essentially, this story was really sweet and lots of fun. While there was drama, it didn’t feel unnecessarily over the top (unlike some others I read around the same time). It was light-hearted enough to enjoy as a super quick read (just under 300 pages), while also still striking those few poignant moments to give the book some depth. I really, really liked it – in fact, I’d go so far as to say it was one of the best contemporaries I read in 2018. I’d recommend it to fans of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins or Save the Date by Morgan Matson.

Until next time, happy reading ??