Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:
Synopsis for The Royal We (from Goodreads):
“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.
Series: Royal We
Author: Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
# of Books: 2 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Heat Rating: Toasty
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: April 2015 – July 2020
Source & Format: Public Library–Audiobook
Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:
This book seemed to be everywhere when it was first released but I’m pretty sure it was Cristina’s review @ Girl In the Pages that had me adding this to my TBR. I love anything to do with Royalty–not just the British Monarchy–so this modern romance was right up my alley. I’m glad I put off reading it for so long though because waiting 4+years for the sequel would have sucked but I was eager to dive in when I saw my library had the audiobooks.
The Concept / The World:
I keep up with the happenings of the British Royal Family so I loved the little allusions to real life royals throughout. However, that also made parts of this seem unoriginal, especially given the events of the British Monarchy in the last 3 years. But I still enjoyed these characters nonetheless.
I mean, to be fair, The Royal We was written and published before Prince Harry publicly started dating Meghan Markle so I imagine that if I read this book when it came out, the ideas would have been “fresher” to me. I did feel like things do take a more original turn as the series progressed and we got more into the personal lives of all the characters.
The Plot:
These books are really long and they often remind you of that. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the number of pages. In a positive light: I can appreciate that this story isn’t something that happens in a few weeks but takes years to develop. In a more negative light: I often felt like we rehashed the same stuff repetitively or dwelled too long on some aspects.
HOWEVER, I can appreciate that this series has a realistic tone to it when it comes to the plot and how the characters react to it. I think we equate royalty with fairy tales and happily ever after and place them on a pedestal of an ideal lifestyle. But it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows (look at Harry and Meghan) and this book reminds us that they are human too with their own set of challenges.
The Characters:
As I said above, these characters are human and it is nice to read such a character driven story as you watch them navigate live and the challenges presented to them. They aren’t flawless and it’s evident throughout the series. I found my frustrations as a reader volleyed between all the characters at some point or another for some of their actions. But stepping back, I can appreciate that they did the best they could and yeah, they make some mistakes.
The Romance:
I really liked the depth we explored with Bex and Nick’s relationship. This isn’t some quick romance but one with a lot of parts to it and real life thrown in along the way. It’s a complex relationship to say the least. The title of the series is aptly named “Royal We” because their relationship encompasses many different people in it when all is said and done. It’s an interesting dynamic to watch unfold.
My Audiobook Experience:
I often struggle with audiobooks that are over 12 hours long (I have a short attention span because I could read the book myself in half the time) and this series clocks in around 18 hours each. But I listened to it at 1.5-1.75x and that helped a bit. I think in a character driven story like this, that hearing the characters’ emotions as they go through the ups and downs helped bring them to life in a way that I might have missed by simply reading the book.
Series Rating: 3.5/5
The Royal We 4/5 | The Heir Affair 3/5
If you want a lighter, happy go lucky romance, maybe this isn’t for you. But if you enjoy character driven stories–particularly about royalty–this is a great series for you to grab.
Read if You Like: royalty, contemporary romances, character driven stories
Avoid if You: want erotica, dislike long books
- Royally Screwed by Emma Chase (Royally Series #1)
- American Royals by Katharine McGee (American Royals Series #1)
- Twisted Games by Ana Huang (Twisted Series #1)
Ahhh I’m so glad you enjoyed this series (and thank you for the shout out!) I agree, we can often equate modern day royalties to fairy tales, so it was nice to see this story show the difficult, human, unpleasant side of it too!
I was really impressed by the realism this series was grounded in. A lot of the modern contemporary romances I read can be very cheesy and more happy-go-lucky than this series was which was refreshing!