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Romancing the Throne: A Juicy Young Adult Romance Featuring British Royals and Boarding School Drama

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Scandal, secrets, and heartbreak abound in this juicy, modern girl-meets-prince story—perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer E. Smith. "Maybe sisters aren’t supposed to fall for the same guy, but who can mess with chemistry? A divine romantic comedy" (Brightly.com).

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.

392 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2017

80 people are currently reading
4352 people want to read

About the author

Nadine Jolie Courtney

5 books216 followers
Nadine Jolie Courtney is the author of ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM GIRL (FSG/2019). She is also author of ROMANCING THE THRONE, and—under her maiden name Nadine Haobsh—BEAUTY CONFIDENTIAL and CONFESSIONS OF A BEAUTY ADDICT.

Nadine is a Circassian-American, a Muslim, and a believer that compassion and education can make the world a better place.

Nadine graduated from Barnard College and was formerly a beauty editor at Lucky and Ladies' Home Journal magazines. As a travel, beauty, and royalty writer, her work has appeared in Town & Country magazine, Vanity Fair online, and Vogue online, and she has been profiled in Vogue, Cosmo, the New York Times, and Allure. She is a contributing writer for Angeleno magazine.

As a blonde-haired, green-eyed Muslim of Circassian descent, Nadine was raised to hide the truth about her religion, spending years hiding behind her white-passing privilege. Following the Muslim Ban, she gathered the courage to write a love letter to Islam—a book about a young girl running toward her Islamic heritage, rather than away from it. The resulting book—ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM GIRL—is designed as a tonic for other confused or curious cross-cultural kids, eager to finally embrace their own heritage.

An avowed Anglophile, Nadine has worked for Sarah, Duchess of York, and lived in England, Argentina and Palm Beach managing Carlos Gracida, the most successful polo player in history, favorite of Her Majesty The Queen, and teammate of HRHs Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry—settings and relationships Nadine drew upon while researching and writing ROMANCING THE THRONE.

Nadine is active on Twitter and Instagram, and she encourages readers to drop her a line there to say hello!

She lives in Santa Monica with her husband and her daughter.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah Elizabeth.
5,002 reviews1,411 followers
April 22, 2017
(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

“I love you. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But I don’t know what to do – I’ve never felt this way about anybody.”


This was a YA story about two sisters and a prince.

Charlotte was quite loud at times, and didn’t seem to be shy about voicing her opinion, even when it led to embarrassing scenes. I didn’t like how much she held a grudge either, especially against her sister who was like her best friend!

The storyline in this was set in an alternate world where there was a King of England, which was a little weird! Charlotte was dating Edward (the Prince), but she broke up with him, and got quite upset when her sister then began dating him. This was an okay story, but it did feel quite long, and I didn’t really like it when the sisters were arguing.

The ending to this was a happily ever after.



6.25 out of 10
Profile Image for Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora).
1,009 reviews43.9k followers
August 12, 2017
[Spanish review at the end]

"It's a great reminder that you can't control what happens to you—but you can control how you react to it".

Romancing the Throne is a very light and fast-paced book I'd definitely recommend if you're trying to get out of a reading slump or if you need to relax a bit in between more complex reads.

Here's the story of two sisters, Charlotte and Libby, who are new money thanks to their mother's emerging business and so they've been attending the greatest schools in the UK. Charlotte, who attends Sussex Park, it's doing her best to blend in and has had an enormous crush on Prince Edward since forever, begins dating him. They're doing great until Charlotte's sister, Libby, has to be transferred from her old school onto Sussex Park due to some issues. From here on, Charlotte's gonna be super weird and paranoid about Edward liking her sister and sneaking out with her in secret. That's when the spiral begins and things get out of Charlotte's control.

When I first started reading this book I was expecting to find an epic, yet predictable, romance between the new money girl and hansome Prince Edward. They'd date, kiss, be madly in love, graduate high school, travel together in their leap year, then go to University and, after some years, marry, have children, inherit the throne and live happily ever after. But that wasn't what I found and, in a weird way, it bothered me.

When Charlotte's sister appears and things start to get tense between them I knew what would happen. I knew how the book would obviously end... and I didn't like it. I liked my version better. Anyhow, I kept reading and could help but kind of hate Libby's personality. She was the typical older sister who has never been kissed, knows nothing about relationships and, of course, ends up charming everyone around her without meaning to. The perfect girl.

Another thing I couldn't stand was watching Charlotte go deeper and deeper into her paranoid spiral of mistrust and damnation. Even though she exaggerated everything, I still felt for her and for everything that was getting out of her grasp one second at a time. I wanted her to be well, to be happy and to move past things that weren't worth it from the beginning.

Now, once this whole drama cools down, we get to really see how hard can life for a royal be. And, more so, how difficult are the relationships between people from the high society and their divisions. Romancing the Throne really depicts the infinite number of classes within the rich and wealthy, and the importance they give to the antiquity of your last name, specially in England.

So, even though I didn't like the plot twist and the direction the book was going, I really enjoyed how the story ended for Charlotte. She took control of her own life and started doing things for her and not for what people thought or because it would please the next boy she'd hook up with. That said, I still like better the version of the book I made up in my mind having only read the first few chapters. Sorry not sorry, hahaha.

♥♥♥♥♥

"Es un gran recordatorio de que no puedes controlar lo que te pasa—pero puedes controlar cómo reaccionas a ello".

Romancing the Throne es un libro muy ligero y rápido de leer que definitivamente recomiendo si estás tratando de salir de un parón lector o si necesitas relajarte un poco en medio de dos libros más complejos.

Aquí tenemos la historia de dos hermanas, Charlotte y Libby, que son 'nuevas ricas' gracias al negocio emergente de su madre, y que han estado atendiendo a los mejores institutos del Reino Unido. Charlotte, quien va a Sussex Park e intenta encajar y quien siempre ha estado enamorada del Príncipe Edward, empieza a salir con él. Todo va color de rosa hasta que Libby, la hermana de Charlotte, se transfiere a Sussex Park por algunos problemas en su anterior internado. Desde ese momento, Charlotte empezará a actuar muy raro y a ser paranoica porque piensa que a Edward le gusta su hermana y se están viendo en secreto. Aquí comienza una espiral que le arrebata el control de todo a Charlotte.

Cuando empecé a leer este libro estaba esperando encontrarme con una historia de amor épica, pero predecible, entre la chica 'nueva rica' y el guapísimo Príncipe Edward. Saldrían en citas, se besarían, se enamorarían locamente, se graduarían, viajarían juntos en su año sabático, luego se irían a la Universidad y, después de varios años, se casarían, tendrían hijos, heredarían el trono y vivirían felices por siempre jamás. Pero eso no fue lo que me encontré y, de una manera rara, me molestó muchísimo.

Cuando la hermana de Charlotte aparece y las cosas se empiezan a poner tensas entre ellas, ya sabía qué iba a suceder. Sabía cómo iba a terminar el libro, era obvio... y no me gustaba. De hecho, prefería mi versión. Aún así, seguí leyendo, pero no pude evitar odiar la personalidad de Libby. Ella era la típica hermana mayor a la que nunca han besado, que no sabe nada de relaciones y que, por supuesto, termina enamorando a todo el mundo sin siquiera proponérselo. La chica perfecta.

Otra cosa que no podía soportar era ver a Charlotte cayendo cada vez más hondo en su espiral de paranoia, desconfianza y perdición. Aunque ella exageraba todo, igual me daba mucha pena lo que le sucedía y, aún más, el ver cómo todo se iba escapando del alcance de su mano. Quería que ella estuviera bien, feliz y que superara las cosas que, desde un principio, nunca valieron la pena.

Ahora, una vez todo el drama se deja un poco de lado, podemos ver lo difícil que puede ser la vida de la realeza. Y, más aún, podemos ver lo difíciles que son las relaciones entre las personas de la alta sociedad con sus divisiones. Romancing the Throne realmente plasma la cantidad infinita de clases que hay dentro de los ricos y poderosos, y la importancia que le dan a la antigüedad que tenga tu apellido, sobre todo en Inglaterra.

Aunque no me gustó el giro de trama y la dirección que el libro tomó, realmente disfruté cómo terminó la historia para Charlotte. Tomó el control de su vida y empezó a hacer las cosas por ella misma y no por lo que la gente fuera a pensar, ni por complacer al siguiente chico con el que saldría. Dicho eso, me sigue gustando más la versión del libro que me imaginé cuando sólo había leído unos cuantos capítulos. Lo siento... nah, no es cierto, no me arrepiento, jajaja.
Profile Image for Jilly Gagnon.
Author 9 books430 followers
January 10, 2017
What a charming, unique romance for all of us royals-obsessed Americans!

A roman a clef to the Middleton sisters (with the twist that Charlotte (Pippa), the younger sister, dated Edward (Wills) first!), it's juicy, plotty, and delicious FUN.

Perfect beach read, whether or not you have a beach at hand!
Profile Image for Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} .
1,239 reviews1,746 followers
October 20, 2019
This was so cute!!!! Just what I needed at the moment.

I usually go for spooky books at this time of the year, but I got bored of the same genre, so I decided to go for something light and fluffy and this book has been on my shelf for two years. So me reading this book was meant to be.

I mean, what's there not to like:
Royalty -> check
Drama -> check
Family dynamic -> check
Prep school -> check

I wouldn't say this book is perfect but it had lot of good moments, I enjoyed it from the beginning til the end, I finished it in less than a day. Although at times the plot had gotten weird and cliché but I didn't mind it
Profile Image for Christina.
Author 6 books407 followers
February 10, 2017
What a fun, fluffy, flirty romp! Perfect for fans of The Royal We and all things UK!
Profile Image for Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday).
2,069 reviews1,037 followers
Read
May 29, 2017
As a huge Anglophile, I really enjoyed this story about sisters who date the future king of England at boarding school. (Yes, there's technically a triangle, but the prince's relationship with one sister ends before he takes up with the other.)

Charlotte's the younger sister. She's outgoing and obsessed with fashion, make-up, and her phone. Older sister Libby is shyer and more serious. Edward, who is about to take up official duties as a royal. has the weight of the world on his shoulders. (Can you see where this is going?) The two girls are close ... until they have a huge row over Edward. They're also commoners, the daughters of an upper-upper-middle-class shoe entrepreneur. Are you getting a Middleton vibe here? Jolly clever of you to figure that out!

For me, this was a fun, fluffy read. I love boarding school stories and sister stories and am mourning the (probable) end of Ladies of London.

Fans of all things British and royal should check this one out. Triangle-haters may want to proceed with caution. While two sisters dating the same guy is a little weird, I really didn't find that a sticking point. I mean, it happens with brothers in YA all the time...

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The FTC would like you to know that the publisher provided me a free advance copy of this book, that free books can be enjoyable or not, and other readers may disagree with my opinion.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
2,323 reviews
May 30, 2017
3.5/5 stars

Romancing the Throne is a standalone YA contemporary romance. This is my first book by this author.

I am not sure how to rate this book. I was looking for a cute, quick YA romance that was set in Britain and that featured two sisters and a prince. However, since I hate spoilers I did not read the entire book blurb before reading the book. So I did not know that the book featured a love triangle. I don't dislike love triangles. But the fact that this one featured two sisters did not sit well with me. In fact I hated this plot point so much that it made me want to stop reading the book.

I did enjoy the rest of the story. And I am happy that I kept reading. The cover and the end of the book blurb definitely give a strong indication about the love triangle aspect. So most readers will likely be aware of this fact before they start the book.

The book is about two sisters Charlotte and Libby. Charlotte is almost 17 years old and she is the narrator of this story. Libby is almost 18. The book is set in the UK. Both girls go to boarding school. They grew up middle class until their mom's shoe business took off and now they have money.

All of the people that Charlotte hang out with have a lot of money (think mega rich). Libby is a great student, while Charlotte is the athletic one.

I guess most/many students in Britain take a gap year year before going to university. Or only the rich ones? This wasn't really explained but we are just told that is what all these students will do (I was assuming that Charlotte's sister Libby would be going to university the next year, but it is just casually mentioned towards the end of the book about the gap year). The book is set in Britain, but it's being published in the US. So I wish that there had been more clarification. Also it is mentioned very early on that Charlotte plays hockey. I would assume that most people in the US and Canada would think that this meant ice hockey. That is what I thought the author meant until part way through the book when it became clear that they were referring to field hockey. I would have loved this clarification right away. I also found it confusing because I thought that Charlotte only played field hockey. But then towards the end she was running track. I'm not sure if all of the girls on the field hockey team also run track, so I was a bit confused.

What I wanted from this book was something light and fun. I thought it would be like Kate and Pippa Middleton. I really thought that I was going to be reading a love story where a girl falls in love with a prince. I just found it so unappealing to have her sister fall for the prince too. I am unsure if I would have felt differently if I had known about the love triangle before reading the book.

There were definitely a lot of enjoyable aspects of this story. I really liked Charlotte as the narrator.
And I really liked her parents and grandmother. I also liked Charlotte's rich friends even if some of them were snobby. I loved Robert, and I really enjoyed some of the places Charlotte visited. I also found it very interesting to read about their boarding school.

The last part of the book was the strongest for me. There was a few things that I was not expecting. And I enjoyed the direction that the story took.

Spoiler thoughts:


Overall, I did end up enjoying the story. How to rate the book? I would almost rate it a 4. I ended up enjoying it. It was quick and it was fun. However besides the love triangle I was a bit disappointed with the epilogue. It was more about Libby. I wanted it to focus more on Charlotte. If Libby had been a narrator then it would have worked for me. But since Charlotte was the narrator I really wanted to have the focus be Charlotte.




Thanks to edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books for allowing me to read this book.
Profile Image for Scrill.
412 reviews236 followers
dnf
August 29, 2017
Nope. Nope. Nope. I gave it 3 chapters. I can't read a book about social climbing and superficial stuff, it honestly just made me feel awful.

Buddy read with Emi. Expectations not high, but not everything has to be oh so serious. Hoping this jump starts her out of her reading slump either way.
Profile Image for Amanda Searcy.
Author 2 books82 followers
February 7, 2017
Fun and light—but also with a deep side. Yes, it's about a royal romance, but at its core it's really a story about sisters. This is your summer beach read!
7 reviews
January 13, 2020
This book hooked me right away, and I think it helped me capture a snapshot of the books I truly like to read. I read this book in 3 days, since it was so addictive. I usually don't enjoy books about the classic schoolyard "triangle love relationship", this book added a twist to the traditional version which I enjoyed. If you like to read about the categories: royalty, love, or sisters, I would recommend this book. I liked this book because it involved a lot of betraying. When someone is betrayed, you as the reader is just waiting for their reaction. After one reaction comes the other reaction. This then leads to much more drama, which then gets parents and principals involved. A stunning novel by Nadine Jolie Courtney.
Profile Image for Stacee.
3,034 reviews758 followers
Read
May 22, 2017
DNF at 23%

I was intrigued by this synopsis, but within the first chapter, I knew it wasn't going to work for me.

I couldn't stand to be in Charlotte's head. She comes across as shallow and her main goal in life is marrying Prince Edward, who goes to her school. Her inner monologue is all about selfies and make up and what heels she needs to wear. It got super old, super fast.

I'm not rating it because I understand that I am not the demographic and maybe teens will be all over this. Plus, I did read the last couple of chapters and the ending was interesting, but I couldn't be bothered to see how it got there.

**Huge thanks to Katherine Tegen Books for providing the arc free of charge**
Profile Image for Jessie Leigh.
2,099 reviews908 followers
May 26, 2024
This had the potential to be a fun read, reminiscent of The Royal We. Instead, it is an aggressively average contemp set in England with characters who somehow talk like Californians (calling the Crown Prince "dude"?).

The plot is formulaic, the characters stick to their expected roles and easily predicted outcomes. Meh.
Profile Image for Jillian.
500 reviews1,967 followers
September 15, 2017
it wasn't amazing, but it was enjoyable fluff. it could have gone deeper especially with the sister issues but i wasn't expecting too much. also i sort of wish (and sort of thought) this was going to be in libby's POV not charlotte's POV before i started it so that threw me off. overall, i liked it.
Profile Image for Giselle.
1,123 reviews907 followers
July 24, 2017
Two sisters who are into the same Prince. Meh. I dislike the narration of the main character because she seemed too shallow for me. I also hated how these characters were supposed to be British, but sounded like Americans instead.

This was all substance from what I read, and I'm not wasting any more time on something I'm not enjoying.

----

So I have this thing where I can't let a book go wondering if it'll get better, soooo I picked it back up and skim read. It got sooooo much better. Better development of the characters too! Full review TK
Profile Image for Bookevin.
942 reviews803 followers
January 26, 2018
DNF at page 145.

I just can't take it anymore. The writing is sub-par and the characters—who border on vapid—seem like they only know the words "hot" and "awesome".

And don't get me started on how AMERICAN this book sounds, especially when it's set in England and the characters are English. Girl.
Profile Image for SARAH.
147 reviews175 followers
January 6, 2026
I need to remind myself to stop picking up random books my library has available. This was one of the worst books I've ever read.

The premise of this book is the average 2013 teenage dream. One sister meets the Prince of England, makes out with him and falls in love. Only for the other (not like other girls) sister to fall in love with him and marry him. woo hoo

Did I do a good job summarizing this?

No, I did not because I am in fact pissed, so leave me alone.



My expectations for authors has lowered so much it's not even funny. I can't take it anymore, please, if you are an author writing about a real place or topic, please, please, please do your research, I cringe at the absurdity and cluelessness of a book that is so blatantly not researched. It really isn't that hard, do your research.

First, why is every character in this book either clueless or plain stupid? This whole book is so unrealistic. Tell me why the characters are speaking like an American would, they're supposed to be in ENGLAND. Not only that but they're speaking as if they're stuck in 2013, please (for reference this was published in 2017) get with the times.

Like I understand it's a fictional romance, but it takes place on earth and it really isn't that hard to combine a couple a brain cells and make the story realistic.



[SPOILERS BELOW]

Also what happened to Robert at the epilogue?

As for the whole app extravaganza, I think creating and launching an app over the span of three ish months is hard, especially with no background in technology. The whole beauty app idea just sounded so rushed (and again very 2013). It was as if the author felt bad for Charlotte because she never ended up with Edward (the prince).

The book's 'plot twist,' (Flossie giving information to the newspaper and thus ruining Charlotte and Livvy's reputation), was expected. Flossie (what kind of name even is that?), was so obviously suspicious and such a mean girl.

Lastly, I hate that the author wrote a romance book and doesn't even include POVS of the love interests, just a POV of a jealous sister who's way too annoying. Edward and Livvy's relationship was way too one-sided but I mean it's better two pieces of plain bread together (Livvy and Edward) than a piece of plain bread and rotten bread together (Charlotte and Edward).

[SPOILERS END]

My brain is filled with so much hatred for this book that I know absolutely nothing redeeming about this book. I don't like to judge other people's reading tastes. In fact I hate doing that. But you know, you can be honest if the author paid you to rate this five stars?
Profile Image for Sophie.
1,441 reviews554 followers
December 28, 2019
This book was immediately on my radar as soon as the first mention of it was had on Twitter. As you might know, a book with some form of royalty in it is bound to be one I want, so I preordered this book as soon as I could, and waiting quite impatiently for my copy to arrive.

In Romancing the Throne, we have two sisters, Libby and Charlotte, who are attending a glamorous English boarding school, that the Crown Prince of England, Edward, also attends. Both sisters are nothing like one another. Libby, the oldest, is quiet and a bit shy, whereas Charlotte is always the centre of attention, and part of an elite group of British teens. Lotte sees it as her duty to bring Libby out of her shell, and incorporate her in her friendship group, but that soon brings Libby into Edward's radar, and because both are so alike, they end up falling for one another. However, Lotte has decided from day 1 that her goal in life is to marry Edward, and even if Libby is her sister, she won't let that get in the way.

This book could've been so good, but, it wasn't. Lotte was a dreadful main character, who made me want to DNF the book neigh on every few pages - if I'm being honest, I don't know why I didn't. Libby was someone I probably could've related to more, and if the book had been in her PoV, I likely would've given the book a higher rating. Because their family is 'new money', middle class, Lotte sees this as an issue, and needs to shake off the stigma (a la Caroline Bingley in P&P). So, she surrounds herself with the well to do, trying to fit in, and she doesn't, partly due to her family, but mainly due to her crassness. All she cares about is marrying well, and the best marriage she could make is Edward. She doesn't even really like him, though, only likes his title, and there was just no chemistry between them. Whenever Edward was busy, dealing with being a working Royal, or other family obligations, she would just complain, not what a good Princess or Queen should do. Libby and Edward were such a good fit, and she would be the perfect companion for Edward, which quickly becomes apparent.

My main issue with the book is that it's dead clear that the author is American, as even though it's completely set in England, with English characters, nothing about it felt authentic. Sometimes, I wish authors wouldn't write about England or Britain without actually doing some research, and not just expecting everything to be the same as in America.

All in all, Lotte was awful, Libby a sweetheart, and this book could've done well, but ultimately failed.
Profile Image for Josie.
166 reviews4 followers
May 30, 2017
3.5/5 Stars

Do you have royal fever as bad as I do? If so, you'll want to pick up this summery chicklit/Brit-lit by Nadine Courtney, Romancing the Throne. I typically love these royal-type romance novels, and don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy this read, however, for me, this one started off excellent and ended on a fairly high point as well however the middle sort of lost me. Definitely a book that includes themes of family, romance, royals, self discovery, betrayal, etc and what a fun twist to have it loosely based on the royals we all have grown to adore (with some fictional twists of course)!

For those who care, do note that this has a love triangle (yay/boo) but the twist is this love triangle is between the prince and the sisters. That one threw me a bit off. I'll admit I'm a huge fan of two guys fighting for the affection of one guy, but this whole two girls fighting for a single guy, only for it to be with your sister whom you adore...eh. I donno. On the up side, the relationship between the two sisters really did melt my heart. They seriously are adorable and family is family is family.

Any way you slice it, this is a quick summery read filled with romance, princes and all things England! Cheers!
Profile Image for Wellness Kids.
1 review
August 6, 2016
A thrilling ride amongst the elite! would highly recommend!!! A page turner for sure
Profile Image for Kayla K. .
356 reviews11 followers
April 14, 2017
*3.5 Stars*

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.*
Profile Image for Alaina.
7,360 reviews203 followers
August 20, 2017
By looking at the cover of this book, Romancing the Throne, I was immediately intrigued. My first initial thought was...hmm two girls fighting over the same guy (seems cliché but I'm still interested. Would these two girls be best friends, ex-best friends, enemies for life? Who is this guy? Is he new? Is he extremely popular? Well with the word throne that could mean that he's like king of the school (mr. popular of some sort) or he could very well be a prince.
Boy was I slightly disappointed when I found out what this book was about. Romancing the Throne is about two sisters, Charlotte and Libby, and at different points in the book they have each dated the same guy, who is a prince and goes by Edward. So, first off Charlotte is completely shallow and I actually hated her throughout the book. I just don't understand why her main goal is just to marry the prince! UGHHH can I please get a book recommendation where the main character has realistic and achievable goals?!?
Other than that, this book is set in "England" and I say that because not once do you get that English accent in the book. Honestly it should have just been set in America because that would have made more sense...and you know not having a prince.
Profile Image for Gillian.
456 reviews1,139 followers
dnf
September 22, 2017
I was so excited for this. I'm trash for sibling love triangles, and I'm trash for the British royal family, so this sounded perfect for me. However, I realized right off the bat I wasn't going to like the voice of the narrator, which veers between comically over-British and weirdly Californian and doesn't feel believable either way. The second strike was when I realized this is NOT dual POV between both sisters, and is instead only from the POV of the one

This just didn't work for me on any level, unfortunately.
Profile Image for Katie.
2,968 reviews155 followers
July 8, 2017
Another "almost" kind of book. I really appreciated that for once the book was from the point of view of the sister who likes makeup and fashion instead of the "bookish" sister. I also really liked that said makeup/fashion was allowed to like and be good at sports. AND she In other words, not a cliche!

I also thought the prince was the right balance of seeming like a real guy, with some unusual pressures on him.

But the execution just wasn't great. The fight between sister went on far too long and I guess I didn't entirely buy it. And I wasn't very into the writing.
Profile Image for Amanda (Fandomly Bookish).
479 reviews864 followers
April 16, 2017
If you're craving for royals infused with sisters type of drama, then this book is definitely right up your alley. I was really hoping that I would like this one since I'm into Princes, Princesses, Royalty, Throne and all that. But sadly this book...wasn't for me.

Even though, there were a couple of redeeming elements towards the end part of the book and Charlotte's character really changed... One of the situations that happened early on just left a very bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't get pass through it. :(

Profile Image for V ♡.
337 reviews139 followers
May 30, 2017
I was hoping this would be fun but there were too many YA cliches so that took the joy out of it.I mean, a prince and socialites (who are sisters) and love the same guy, talk about the obvious plot.

I was excited to read it because this sounded like a cute YA but it turned out to be boring and honestly I didn't care about the plot that much or the characters.
Profile Image for Marie.
510 reviews217 followers
December 1, 2017
I expected this to be a fun, quick and cute read and it was. A bit of unnecessary drama at times, but I still had a good time reading this :)
Also, I'm late at reviewing this, because I keep forgetting to and my memory is blanking at the moment. Will recover soon with a full review (or, will try to).
Profile Image for Kathy.
6 reviews
August 20, 2017
Great beach read! The story is engaging and fun. I finished it in a few days. And as someone who has a sister, I definitely appreciated and related to the struggles in the sibling relationship. Can't wait to devour the author's next book.
Profile Image for Anna Bright.
Author 4 books967 followers
February 27, 2017
Well, that was just impossibly charming. Sweet and flirty romance-- but a sister story at the bottom of things.
Profile Image for Isabelle✨.
568 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2022
Picked this one up on a whim.

Result:
This is basically teenage Pippa and Kate Middleton x Prince William, albeit with a lot more drinking and smoking than I expected, lol. The main character and her circles enjoy immense privilege (and are super annoying and bratty). Also, I know they're supposed to be British but if I read them in a British accent they just sound 10 times snobbier. Lol!

All in all, it was a fun romp with laughingly stupid moments of craziness at times, and juicy, petty drama at other points. Could probably be described as British Gossip Girl. I mostly skimmed the book. I did enjoy the hint of queer rep though.

Besides the actual book, the author has a unique and interesting background. She is white-passing but is a Circassian Muslim. She was (and probably still is?) a beauty/lifestyle writer and has worked with lots of high profile British figures including Sarah, Duchess of York. Probably how she got inspired to write this.
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