Title: Romancing the Throne
Author: Nadine Jolie Courtney
Genre & Age Group: Contemporary, romance, young adult
Goodreads Synopsis:
Scandal, secrets, and heartbreak abound in this juicy, modern girl-meets-prince story—perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer E. Smith.
For the first time ever, the Weston sisters are at the same boarding school. After an administration scandal at Libby’s all-girls school threatens her chances at a top university, she decides to join Charlotte at posh and picturesque Sussex Park. Social-climbing Charlotte considers it her sisterly duty to bring Libby into her circle: Britain’s young elites, glamorous teens who vacation in Hong Kong and the South of France and are just as comfortable at a polo match as they are at a party.
It’s a social circle that just so happens to include handsome seventeen-year-old Prince Edward, heir to Britain’s throne.
If there are any rules of sisterhood, “Don’t fall for the same guy” should be one of them. But sometimes chemistry—even love—grows where you least expect it. In the end, there may be a price to pay for romancing the throne…and more than one path to happily ever after.
Source: Thanks so much to Indigo Books & Music Inc. for providing me with a physical ARC of this book!
How I Found Out About It: Indigo ARC newsletter
Once I saw the synopsis of this book, I was sold. I love light, fun, modern stories about royalty and family ties, so I had a feeling I’d love Romancing the Throne.
I did really enjoy certain aspects of it, but overall, with all of its aspects tied together, this book just wasn’t a favourite of mine. It was for sure fluffy and cute, but there were still major flaws that I couldn’t really overlook.
To synopsize, this story follows a teen girl named Charlotte, who is competing with her sister Libby for the throne of Britain. The sisters are finally at the same school, so outgoing, frivolous Charlotte decides to introduce shy, reserved Libby to her social circle. With that comes a handsome prince named Edward, who is the throne’s heir. Suddenly, the sisters find themselves fighting over both the throne- and the prince.
When I read books, the universal rule for me is that if I dislike a protagonist, then the book loses major points from me. This book was the perfect example of that. Charlotte was not a favourite main character of mine whatsoever, as she complained on almost every single page of the book and I found her to be rather stuck-up and insensitive. Basically, she was the polar opposite of me, and I prefer reading stories about characters I can actually relate to. For instance, if this book followed shy, sweet Libby instead, I would have enjoyed it that much more.
This was a romance story, but I really disliked that part of it. Here we’ve got a love triangle between the sisters and Prince Edward, and it was so darn annoying! Edward wasn’t that cute, and he wasn’t that memorable, and I did not see sparks fly between him and either of the sisters. I do have to say that I loved Charlotte and Libby’s relationship and how they always stuck up for each other, though! (#SISTERGOALS!)
One thing that I DID immensely enjoy about Romancing the Throne was its plot and royalty premise. When one hears the word “royalty,” they often tend to think of the medieval times and monarchs with their horses, crowns, and thrones. Or, sometimes they even think of fairy tales! I really liked that in this book, all of those stereotypes regarding royalty were smashed, showing us that monarchs are normal people. This book also stayed true to modern times with many mentions of social media and texting, which is something that many contemporaries seem to miss.
All in all, I would definitely recommend Romancing the Throne for those wanting a sweet, fluffy book focusing on sisterhood and royalty, but don’t mind an annoying love triangle. I know this book will put you in a good mood, just like it did for me!☺️
*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Indigo Books & Music Inc. in exchange for an honest review.*
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