Skip to main content

Fictitious Royals

March 24, 2022

I am a sucker for a story with royalty in it. I don’t exactly know why. Maybe it’s because in this country we don’t have a king or queen. But if there is a royal and a meet cute of any kind, I will show up for it every time. Here are some of the good ones that have come across my desk lately:

This book is the perfect combination of things I love: baking and fictional stories about royals. If you watch The Great British Baking Show (or Bake Off as they like to call it), then you have to read this one. Sylvie was a former contestant who beaned Dominic (aka the Paul Hollywood judge) in the head with a glittery unicorn hoof when she was on the show. Now, she’s back as a judge. Not only that, but a royal granddaughter is getting married, and the battle is on to see if she’ll choose Sylvie’s fun-loving, colorful cake or Dominic’s more classic, white masterpiece for the big day. There was more depth here than I expected, so I’m really glad to see this is going to become a series because there are so many good characters to love.

When I read the first book in the series, The Royal We, I fell in love. This was basically the fictional story of Kate and William’s courtship. Then I went about my life, not knowing that a sequel was in the works. But lo and behold, somewhere in the muck that was 2020, this magical tome appeared. I didn’t find it until almost a year later, but it was still highly enjoyable. So the wedding of Bex and Prince Nicholas didn’t quite go to plan and we pick up with them hiding – in disguise as Margot and Steve – running an Airbnb bookshop in Scotland. When they finally face reality, they have to face the Queen’s unexpected illness, the trials of trying to have a baby, and the fact that Nicholas’s brother Freddie may now be the favorite. I certainly hope there are more books coming in this series, because I can’t get enough. Maybe next time I won’t have to wait an extra year to find it.

As this post will attest, I’m always up for a good book about royalty. However, this one is not about the royals themselves. It’s about their bodyguard (and cue Whitney Houston…). Piper and her mom live in the old guest house on a small island in British Columbia, Canada. When the British royals (think fictional versions of Harry and Megan) move into the big house, their lives turn upside down. Sure, it's fun to be neighbors to the Duke and Duchess, but the paparazzi that follow are not as fun. Good thing handsome PPO Harrison Cole is on the scene to keep all parties protected. I’ll be honest, this one took me a little bit to get into, and every time Piper mentioned the island, I pictured something more in the Florida Keys. But once I got into the story, it held my attention. Apparently Halle has written lots of books. I may have to go back and read some others of hers.

I loved this one. It was cute and funny. Carter is just working his everyday life as an event planner when he meets the Crown Prince Edgar of England. They fall in love at Carter’s sister’s wedding, but life gets bumpy because of who Edgar is. My favorite part was where Carter has a bit of an issue when The Royals visit the set of The Ersatz Great British Bake Off as guest judges. I won’t spoil it here, but you won’t want to miss it. Right now this is only a standalone, but I’d show up if this became a series. I guess we’ll have to think happy thoughts so it does.

So those are my princes and princesses. I hope you fall in love with them as much as I have. I can’t wait to find my next Royal story. If you know of any, feel free to post them in the comments. 

Happy royalizing…

:) Amanda

Panda cub avatar

Amanda

Amanda is a classically-trained pianist who loves to read. Like any good librarian, she also has two cats named after Italian cities. Amanda spends her free time sitting in Nashville traffic, baking, and running the Interlibrary Loan office at the Nashville Public Library.

Genre / Topics

Age Groups