I heard about this book by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan when it came out earlier this year. I’m not really into romances, but the concept intrigued me and I heard nothing but good things about it. For some reason, it caught my attention recently and I impulsively ordered it from the library.
I’M SO GLAD I DID!
This book was so much fun! It’s a fictional romance using Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship as inspiration. In this version, the main character/narrator, Rebecca (Bex) Porter, is an American from Iowa. She and her twin sister are going to Cornell, but Bex has decided to do a semester abroad at Oxford. Lucky for her, the person she switched with just happens to live on the same floor as none other than Prince Nicholas, second in line for the throne of England.
I cannot express how much I enjoyed watching these two fall in love! As with so many romances (real and fictional), they started as friends. Bex introduces Nick to American junk food and a truly horrible supernatural American soap opera called Devour, which they take to watching in marathon format in the middle of the night in Bex’s room.
It doesn’t take very long for this couple to get together. The challenge is not in getting together, it’s in staying together when one is a member of one of the most powerful families in the world and under constant scrutiny. Nick wants to announce their relationship to the world, but he says he can’t get permission from his family to do so. Meanwhile, he’s attending various public functions without Bex, usually with another gorgeous member of the British aristocracy instead. It drives Bex crazy and eventually drives them apart.
The next part of the book was the part I didn’t like so much. They spent about two years apart and they barely even spoke for that time, much less remained friends. Everything they saw or heard about each other came from the press and we all know how reliable that is. Then Bex’s dad dies, and after mourning for a few weeks, she returns to London to find Nick in her apartment, because he still had his key.
Seriously?
Leaving aside how inappropriate I found it to use a beloved parent’s death as the catalyst for two romantic characters to get together, why does Nick still have a key to her apartment after two years? And why was Nick so upset by Mr. Porter’s death? I understand Nick liked him, and that’s great, but he met the man what? Twice? And hadn’t seen or spoken to him at all in two years, so yeah, he does not get to be that upset. He can feel bad for Bex for her loss, but he does not get to be all weepy three weeks after someone else’s dad dies.
I felt like the rest of the book kind of dragged from there, and I’m not even sure why because there was certainly drama aplenty. Shortly after getting back together, Nick and Bex got engaged, whether the royal family likes it or not, and at that point Bex’s princess training begins. That strains her relationship with Nick again, but they get through it (by the skin of their teeth) and get to live happily ever after (presumably). I was super happy for Bex that she ended up getting the low-key wedding she had always wanted. It was romantic and perfect and I loved it!
I really loved a lot of things about this book. Of course I loved Nick and Bex, their sense of humor, and their relationship, but I loved all the side characters, too. I loved Bex’s parents and her twin sister, Lacey, even when I wanted to reach into the book and strangle her (and, sometimes, strangle Bex for always giving in to her). I especially loved Nick’s younger brother, Freddie, and his seemingly unfailing playfulness. There were even some romances between side characters that had me going “Finally!” when they got together.
Clive’s betrayal at the end couldn’t have hurt Bex or Nick more than it hurt me. I literally said his name with a disbelieving whimper when I realized what he had done. I still don’t understand how he could have done that to them.
I also appreciated the way the book created a royal family and history that was very similar to that of the real current royal family, while still being unique. Nick’s mother is still alive, but has been forever changed (and not for the better) by the relentless paparazzi she had to deal with when she married Nick’s father, Richard (who is every bit the arsehole Prince Charles appears to be). This causes Nick to be understandably afraid of exposing Bex to the press, but it’s not the press that drive her crazy, it’s the royal family that wants to control literally every move she makes.
I also appreciated the way the book portrayed the press. It opens with a segment from The Bexicon, a book written during Bex’s and Nick’s engagement and published right before the wedding. The romantic picture it paints is so far from the truth, it’s hilarious. The Bexicon gets referenced at various points throughout the book to point out the differences between what actually happened between Nick and Bex and what the public thinks happened. The Bexicon is an extreme example, but the press continue to make outlandish claims throughout the story and I’m pretty sure I put this book down with even less trust for the press than I had to begin with (not that that’s saying much).
What did you guys read this week? Anything that pleasantly surprised you? I want to hear all about it!
Photo credit: nothingtoomuch1 / Foter.com / CC BY