Welcome to the Short N’ Sweet Book Review! For the nine years that I’ve been reviewing books on this blog, I’ve written long, wordy reviews that, let’s be honest, not a lot of people are probably reading. This year I decided to shorten those reviews and get straight to the point – what is this book about, who wrote it, where you can find and a short review on what I loved, liked and maybe thought could be better.
Today’s review is a royally fun, slow burn, sweet romance by the wonderful Karina Halle – The Royals Next Door!
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ABOUT THE BOOK
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.
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Genre: Romance
Pages: 336
Part of a Series?: First in a Series
Release Date: August 31st, 2021
Publisher: Berkeley
Source: Owned EBook
Find the Author: Website / Instagram / Twitter / GoodReads
FIND THE BOOK:
GoodReads / BookShop (support your local indie!) / IndieBound / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Audible / Book Depository / Apple Books / Kobo / Google Play
SHORT N’SWEET REVIEW
The first thing I need to say about this book that I think sort of speaks for itself is that…I haven’t been able to finish a book since August. I’ve been struggling to read anything and everything, even books that I’ve been waiting for it with much anticipation. This being the first book I finished in so many months speaks highly of the book. It did take me awhile to read, I bought it at the end of October and just finished yesterday BUT I did read the last 60% of it yesterday so there’s that!
Immediately I loved both the characters of Piper and Harrison. I think their slow burn romance was wonderful and I loved the build up of it. I like both romances that jump right in or take its time but since I’m writing my own whirlwind romance right now, I appreciated reading this slow, will they, won’t they? I love ANY book that includes modern day royalty and even though it was obviously pure fiction, I loved the humanity that Karina gave Eddie and Monica, who were obviously based off of Harry and Meghan. I love that she made them so human, so real, so in love and made them so kind and welcoming and good friends to Piper, Harrison and Piper’s mother. The book was immediately interesting and immediately you had to know what happened next. I think because it was such a slow burn between the two main characters, I couldn’t help but keep reading, to see WHEN IT WOULD HAPPEN. I also loved the small island life setting and I thought the relationship written between Piper and her mother was done so well. Karina’s book has strong characters and their relationships to each other is what makes the book so great.
As a side note, there is a part in the book – this doesn’t ruin any part of the story – where Piper, a romance book reader and podcaster, defends the romance genre and I love it so much. As a romance reader and writer, I was sitting there, reading it and cheering, PREACH GIRL! Romance gets a lot of flack and its so irritating so I appreciated this small moment in the novel.
RATING:
4 out of 5 Stars
