Review: The Royals Next Door

Title: The Royals Next Door

Author: Karina Halle

Release Date: August 31. 2021

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Find it here: Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

My Review: This book has so much going on, in a really great way. Although it is a Rom-com it is also so much more. It deals with BPD and DPD, and caring for a parent with those disorders, it takes on the criticism of people who read romance novels and shoves that notion aside, and it had a fun romance. Now all that being said there were a few things that I didn't like. The royal couple were kind of blah and not very memorable even though they had a fair amount of story time. I think they should have had less, or been more interesting. It may have been better if it wasn't based on Harry and Meghan because that was distracting. Also all of the side characters, besides the mother, were pretty crappy. The entire island kind of sucked and I think that gave off the wrong vibe for this story. Overall though I still enjoyed it and found it funny.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All opinions are my own.*