My friend Karen lent The Royal We to me to read, so I expected to enjoy it because she had liked it. What I didn’t expect was to be drawn in and have such an emotional connection to the story.

“American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy-tales. Her twin sister Lacey was always the romantic, the one who daydreamed of being a princess. But it’s adventure-seeking Bex who goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall – and thus Bex who accidentally finds herself in love with the eventual heir to the British throne. Nick is everything she could have imagined, but Prince Nicholas has unimaginable baggage: grasping friends, a thorny family, hysterical tabloids tracking his every move, and a public that expected its future king to marry a native. On the eve of the most talked-about wedding of the century, Bex reflects on what she’s sacrificed for love — and exactly whose heart she may yet have to break.”

This is no schmaltzy romance novel. It has a surprising depth to it. One thing that I really liked about it is that Bex and Nick’s relationship progressed in an authentic manner. They started out as friends and it took them both a long time to admit deeper feelings.

I imagine most readers will think of Catherine and William as they read The Royal We and I imagine there are some similarities.  Cocks and Morgan capture well, I think, the pressure of someone born the heir must experience. Their life is to a large extent predestined.  There’s no asking “what do you want to be when you grow up?” because there is o only one answer, Monarch, whether or not you actually want it.

And then imagine someone not at all accustomed to the public eye, whose every move becomes a subject of intense scrutiny. You’re marrying the person, yes, but you are also marrying the institution of the Monarchy.

Throw into that a deep love for the other person.  That is, I think, what struck me most with this story.  I believe Bex and Nick were deeply, irrevocably, in love with each other. They were each other’s person.   And that is the premise of The Royal We. And we get to read their story.  We get to see the high points and the low points. We get a heartbreaking moment. We get WTF moments. We get “Girl, what are you THINKING?!” moments.

I enjoyed reading The Royal We.  I teared up more than once.  I laughed out loud.  I felt the characters were authentic and relatable, even the person behind the title.

My only real complaint with the book is that the ending is ambiguous.  I know what I want to happen. I know what I think might be more likely to happen.  I’m wondering if it is a set up for a potential sequel some day?

If  you like chick lit or  romance, I think this is one you should definitely put in  your to-read queue, especially with spring break and summer vacations coming up.