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A Love Letter to Romance and Royalty...and Being Yourself
The Royal We
Fiction
Grand Central Publishing
April 7, 2015
464
"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.
An American Girl and the Royal We
When my book club started thinking about what we wanted to read for Valentines Day, we decided that we wanted something smart and witty, but still breathtakingly romantic. So what could be better than a royal romance, complete with an American heroine, who sweeps an English prince off his feet? We all plowed through The Royal We in a matter of days, and began discussing it eagerly over text, without even waiting for our official meeting. Hence the five star rating!
But first, although I enjoyed this book immensely, let me offer a few caveats. This book is definitely Will and Kate fan fiction. If that would bother you, then this is not the book for you. Although it diverges 
wildly from the real life romance at times, many of the basic elements are there, or only slightly changed. There are also some minor (or major, depending on your point of view) anachronisms regarding British history and culture, which I’m not sure are the result of literary license or lack of research. If you can get over these things, and are the type to enjoy a royal love story, then I can almost promise you will like this book!
The characters are very diverse in temperament, and well developed across the story, which covers their college years through their late twenties. The main character, Bex, is an American who sweeps the heir to the British throne, Nick off his feet when they meet college. Bex also wins over Nick’s friends and brother 
(Freddy), but finds herself perpetually frozen out by Nick’s father and grandmother…the very people whose approval she needs. Add to this the ups and downs of her relationship with her twin sister, Lacey, who actually always wanted to be a princess, and you have a recipe for plenty of twists and angst to make for a fast moving plot. The twists and turn in the story caught me by surprise each time, which I enjoyed since that is not typically the case with “chick lit” type books.
Finally, it is important to get a grasp on the title, and there are several ways to think about it…is the royal we approval from the queen, Lacey trying to keep up with Bex, or the friendship that develops between Nick, Bex, and Freddy…or is it simply the union of Bex and Nick? Each of these questions gives major insight to the core themes of the book, and each character’s breaking point. Ultimately Bex has to confront the truth about herself: from her past, to her desires, to the reality of royal future staring her in the face. In the end of course, there is a royal wedding…just not the one that you spend most of the book anticipating. And as for anticipation, I am now eagerly awaiting the movie version of The Royal We!
