What do you think?
Rate this book
Royal We #2
The Heir Affair
Making it up the aisle was the easy Rebecca "Bex" Porter must survive her own scandals and adjust to royal British life in this "positively delicious" follow-up to The Royal We that's "just as fun, charming, and delightful as the first" (Taylor Jenkins Reid).After a scandalous secret turns their fairy-tale wedding into a nightmare, Rebecca "Bex" Porter and her husband Prince Nicholas are in self-imposed exile. The public is angry. The Queen is even angrier. And the press is salivating. Cutting themselves off from friends and family, and escaping the world's judgmental eyes, feels like the best way to protect their fragile, all-consuming romance.But when a crisis forces the new Duke and Duchess back to London, the Band-Aid they'd placed over their problems starts to peel at the edges. Now, as old family secrets and new ones threaten to derail her new royal life, Bex has to face the emotional wreckage she and Nick left with the Queen, with the world, and with Nick's brother Freddie, whose sins may not be so easily forgotten—nor forgiven.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2020
1326 people are currently reading
39776 people want to read
About the author
Heather Cocks
7 books1,450 followersHeather Cocks is a die-hard sports fan, a Leo, an ex-reporter, a Notre Dame grad, a dual citizen of the U.S. and U.K., a sandwich enthusiast, and a former producer for America's Next Top Model.
Together, Heather and Jessica Morgan skewer celebrity fashion crimes on their popular blog, Go Fug Yourself, which draws millions of monthly readers and made Entertainment Weekly's Must List. They have covered New York Fashion Week for Cosmopolitan and New York magazine, and have written two young adult novels, Spoiled and Messy. The Royal We, their debut contemporary fiction novel, comes out April 7.
Together, Heather and Jessica Morgan skewer celebrity fashion crimes on their popular blog, Go Fug Yourself, which draws millions of monthly readers and made Entertainment Weekly's Must List. They have covered New York Fashion Week for Cosmopolitan and New York magazine, and have written two young adult novels, Spoiled and Messy. The Royal We, their debut contemporary fiction novel, comes out April 7.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,516 reviews
October 24, 2021
Well, it took more time for me to finish it because I had to turn back and read the first book to capture the main idea and soul of the book, meeting with characters, their struggles, dilemma ext.
But as far as I see, the authors are real clairvoyants because they can truly see the future. They already guessed an American girl’s introducing to the royal family before Meghan and Harry hit the road and move to Canada ( now we welcomed them to California!)
We were introduced to Bex and Nick’s story at the first book: “Royal We”: Price Nicholas is Great Britain’s future king falls in love with American girl: Rebecca Porter (we call her “Bex’, we’re in more friendly terms.) comes to Oxford, seeking adventure and she finds herself in tempting relationship with her prince charming. (Don’t worry, we don’t have seven dwarfs in this story!) But as soon as she finds herself into this mess: scandalous life, chasing by paparazzis, ugly alligator cries of ex-girlfriends ( they look like better future queen candidates. No offence Bex!) and problematic, sexy bad boy brother Freddie, she realizes she already ate more than she chew. But at the first book, she finds her HEA and marries with hot prince.
Now we’re reading the sequel: Heir Affair; and we think: Bex and Nick already won the war against the challenging struggles and earned their happy family life. Nope, you couldn’t be wrong. This book reminded me of binge watching Crown series with less politics and schemes but more romance, angst, and extreme drama!! There is so much drama in this story make you want to scream and cry out loud resembles telenovelas that the main characters always deal with heavy problems. There is too much heartbreaking, misunderstanding, resentment, crying, cursing (cursing part comes from me)!
This time: lovers deal with the scandalous story about Bex and Nick’s problem child brother Freddie (I think I’m so happy to get a closer look about his life and past story) erupts at the news during live broadcast of ceremony.
This book consists of so many heavy tragedies, traumatic scandals. It is more depressing, dark and heart wrenching. If you adore angst, heartbreaking, heavy drama, this is great fit for you. But I think it was a little heavy for my taste because I’d like to read something more promising and feel-good romance kind of softer novel during this pandemic break.
I still enjoyed the story and after reading the first book I already connected with the characters and rooted for them so it was impossible for me to give less than 4 stars to this story. I loved the first installment more and too much drama, long chapters are the weakest parts of the book but the writing, characterization and intriguing progression, the unconditional love between Bex and Nick were the greatest part to give me hope and keep reading.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sharing this lovely sequel for me in exchange my honest review.
But as far as I see, the authors are real clairvoyants because they can truly see the future. They already guessed an American girl’s introducing to the royal family before Meghan and Harry hit the road and move to Canada ( now we welcomed them to California!)
We were introduced to Bex and Nick’s story at the first book: “Royal We”: Price Nicholas is Great Britain’s future king falls in love with American girl: Rebecca Porter (we call her “Bex’, we’re in more friendly terms.) comes to Oxford, seeking adventure and she finds herself in tempting relationship with her prince charming. (Don’t worry, we don’t have seven dwarfs in this story!) But as soon as she finds herself into this mess: scandalous life, chasing by paparazzis, ugly alligator cries of ex-girlfriends ( they look like better future queen candidates. No offence Bex!) and problematic, sexy bad boy brother Freddie, she realizes she already ate more than she chew. But at the first book, she finds her HEA and marries with hot prince.
Now we’re reading the sequel: Heir Affair; and we think: Bex and Nick already won the war against the challenging struggles and earned their happy family life. Nope, you couldn’t be wrong. This book reminded me of binge watching Crown series with less politics and schemes but more romance, angst, and extreme drama!! There is so much drama in this story make you want to scream and cry out loud resembles telenovelas that the main characters always deal with heavy problems. There is too much heartbreaking, misunderstanding, resentment, crying, cursing (cursing part comes from me)!
This time: lovers deal with the scandalous story about Bex and Nick’s problem child brother Freddie (I think I’m so happy to get a closer look about his life and past story) erupts at the news during live broadcast of ceremony.
This book consists of so many heavy tragedies, traumatic scandals. It is more depressing, dark and heart wrenching. If you adore angst, heartbreaking, heavy drama, this is great fit for you. But I think it was a little heavy for my taste because I’d like to read something more promising and feel-good romance kind of softer novel during this pandemic break.
I still enjoyed the story and after reading the first book I already connected with the characters and rooted for them so it was impossible for me to give less than 4 stars to this story. I loved the first installment more and too much drama, long chapters are the weakest parts of the book but the writing, characterization and intriguing progression, the unconditional love between Bex and Nick were the greatest part to give me hope and keep reading.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sharing this lovely sequel for me in exchange my honest review.
Read
July 10, 2020A sequel to The Royal We! C’mon. It doesn’t get any better. Nick and Bex’s relationship with the monarchy is somehow even messier than before but just as delightful. Perfect escapism, so much fun. If you liked The Royal We, this is a no-brainer.
July 6, 2020
Thank you Grand Central Publishing for a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Trigger Warning: on page miscarriage, talk of marital infidelity, talk of death and injury from war
Let me start this off by saying I really wanted to like this book. Like, REALLY wanted to love it.
I just read The Royal We last week and adored it. I rated it 5 stars! But this one...
The Royal We had insane drama, but I ended that book feeling happy and hopeful. And while that was what the authors wanted you to feel here, instead I left this book feeling anger and annoyance. Honestly, I'm just so angry.
What I liked
1. There is no denying that the writing is fabulous. It keeps me engaged, it's easy to read, but never does it feel juvenile. Even when I was furious, I was speeding through it.
2. There were some really cute moments! All of the Cubs game moments were just incredible (and I say that as a Mets fan)!
3. There were some really cute Bex and Nick moments (Cubs game obvs) and I really do think we got to see them grow together and work through some stuff.
4. I grew to really love Queen Eleanor (for the most part).
5. As always, Gaz was amazing.
That's honestly it. Five minor things. And five things that weren't that prevalent to be honest.
What I didn't like
Potential SPOILERS ahead. I block the real spoilery things that give away plot, but it's possible you might find something I didn't block to be spoilery. You've been warned.
1. I hate how Freddie was so angry at Nick and blaming him for leaving. And Freddie was my favorite character in The Royal We, even though I hated what he did at the end, but wow! He was just infuriating in this book. You screwed up Freddie. Big time. If I was Nick, you'd be dead to me. Yet you have the AUDACITY to act as if you are the harmed party here because you had to deal with the fallout of your actions alone? Take responsibility and stop blaming others. Then I also felt like he was willing to welcome Bex back, but unwilling to forgive Nick, which was ABSURD. Their childish competitions were just ridiculous and made me hate both of them a little. I got where Nick was coming from more, but it pissed me off with him too.
2. I honestly did not feel like Bex had feelings for Freddie in The Royal We. Yes, she felt he was a good kisser, but I never felt like it went deeper than that. But suddenly in this book she is a jealous woman and I was just so confused? And annoyed. You are married to his brother, what is wrong with you?
3. The love triangle. That's it, that's the whole book. The love triangle. I hate love triangles, I really do. But I especially hate them when one couple is already established because it just makes me doubt their love and devotion, and makes me dislike the potential cheater. This was even worse because the pre-existing couple is already married. AND THE OTHER POTENTIAL GUY IS HIS BROTHER. GAG. Honestly, just makes my skin crawl that this plot somehow managed to carry over and take over the ENTIRE book. I get addressing it, obviously it had to happen. But to be so prevalent? No thank you.
4. Freddie's ending relationship.
5. There is not a SINGLE thing I liked about the last 100 or 150 pages. NOT. A. SINGLE. THING. In fact, I was infuriated and uncomfortable the whole time.
6. The whole drama of being expected to start a family. How this plot ended.... I'm so heated even just thinking about it. I despised everything about it.
7. The whole Georgina plot of unearthing her secrets. This just felt SO unnecessary to me. There is so much drama already, why do you need to add this? I get the original part of it, but the information we find out at the end? WHYYYY?!?!?!?
Overall
I really wish that The Royal We was a standalone and I could have just imagined what happened after the dramatic ending and how everything eventually worked out.
Or I wish that this was just about Freddie finding love and we see Nick and Bex as background characters, but not as a huge Nick/Bex/Freddie triange.
Trigger Warning: on page miscarriage, talk of marital infidelity, talk of death and injury from war
Let me start this off by saying I really wanted to like this book. Like, REALLY wanted to love it.
I just read The Royal We last week and adored it. I rated it 5 stars! But this one...
The Royal We had insane drama, but I ended that book feeling happy and hopeful. And while that was what the authors wanted you to feel here, instead I left this book feeling anger and annoyance. Honestly, I'm just so angry.
What I liked
1. There is no denying that the writing is fabulous. It keeps me engaged, it's easy to read, but never does it feel juvenile. Even when I was furious, I was speeding through it.
2. There were some really cute moments! All of the Cubs game moments were just incredible (and I say that as a Mets fan)!
3. There were some really cute Bex and Nick moments (Cubs game obvs) and I really do think we got to see them grow together and work through some stuff.
4. I grew to really love Queen Eleanor (for the most part).
5. As always, Gaz was amazing.
That's honestly it. Five minor things. And five things that weren't that prevalent to be honest.
What I didn't like
Potential SPOILERS ahead. I block the real spoilery things that give away plot, but it's possible you might find something I didn't block to be spoilery. You've been warned.
1. I hate how Freddie was so angry at Nick and blaming him for leaving. And Freddie was my favorite character in The Royal We, even though I hated what he did at the end, but wow! He was just infuriating in this book. You screwed up Freddie. Big time. If I was Nick, you'd be dead to me. Yet you have the AUDACITY to act as if you are the harmed party here because you had to deal with the fallout of your actions alone? Take responsibility and stop blaming others. Then I also felt like he was willing to welcome Bex back, but unwilling to forgive Nick, which was ABSURD. Their childish competitions were just ridiculous and made me hate both of them a little. I got where Nick was coming from more, but it pissed me off with him too.
2. I honestly did not feel like Bex had feelings for Freddie in The Royal We. Yes, she felt he was a good kisser, but I never felt like it went deeper than that. But suddenly in this book she is a jealous woman and I was just so confused? And annoyed. You are married to his brother, what is wrong with you?
3. The love triangle. That's it, that's the whole book. The love triangle. I hate love triangles, I really do. But I especially hate them when one couple is already established because it just makes me doubt their love and devotion, and makes me dislike the potential cheater. This was even worse because the pre-existing couple is already married. AND THE OTHER POTENTIAL GUY IS HIS BROTHER. GAG. Honestly, just makes my skin crawl that this plot somehow managed to carry over and take over the ENTIRE book. I get addressing it, obviously it had to happen. But to be so prevalent? No thank you.
4. Freddie's ending relationship.
5. There is not a SINGLE thing I liked about the last 100 or 150 pages. NOT. A. SINGLE. THING. In fact, I was infuriated and uncomfortable the whole time.
6. The whole drama of being expected to start a family. How this plot ended.... I'm so heated even just thinking about it. I despised everything about it.
7. The whole Georgina plot of unearthing her secrets. This just felt SO unnecessary to me. There is so much drama already, why do you need to add this? I get the original part of it, but the information we find out at the end? WHYYYY?!?!?!?
Overall
I really wish that The Royal We was a standalone and I could have just imagined what happened after the dramatic ending and how everything eventually worked out.
Or I wish that this was just about Freddie finding love and we see Nick and Bex as background characters, but not as a huge Nick/Bex/Freddie triange.
March 5, 2023
I like to think of myself as a modern woman, with modern, high-minded notions of femininity, sex, and relationships. Someone who's long since disabused herself of idealistic, archaic ideas like that of having a "soulmate," living "happily ever after," and needing a man to be happy. In layman's terms, I'm a strong, independent woman who don't need no man (but wouldn't mind too terribly having one given he doesn't get in the way of my goals). But make no mistake, if Oscar Isaac suddenly woke up one morning, no longer wanting to be with his beautiful wife, and asked me to run away with him, you can bet your ass that I wouldn't hesitate before fucking off into the sunset with him, ambitions be damned.
Hey. What can I say? A modern woman I may be, but I still have needs. ""Nobody's perfect." -Hannah Montana" -Me
All that is my way of saying that I'm a sucker for a good Cinderella story—whether Prince Charming be an actual prince, just a duke or other lowly royal, a heartthrob rock star, or a famous actor makes no matter to me; I eat that shit for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper just the same. And so it shouldn't be hard to believe that I was head-over-heels for the first book in the series, The Royal We. Even though I only just discovered it this year, when I heard there would be a sequel, I couldn't wait to get my man-hands on it, and disappoint it did not.
The Heir Affair picks up right where The Royal We left off: with Bex and Nick as newlyweds on their honeymoon, hiding out from the world and the fallout from former-friend Clive's exposé on Bexit—a.k.a. that little incident where Freddie (Nick's lil' bro, resident ho, and officially The Spare™) and Bex were caught copulating (but not actually copulating) behind Nick's back. But before they can even say "royal cuckold," the Queen tricks Nick and Bex into coming out of hiding and, back in reality, they are forced to confront everything they've been dodging since the wedding, and then some.
Like the first book in the series, the sequel also covers many years in Nick and Bex's relationship and is chock-full of drama, just drama of a different sort. This is very much a story of what happens after the happily ever after, especially when that happily ever after hasn't started off on the happily-est of notes. If you're anything like me and weren't a huge fan of the whole Freddie/Bex/Nick love triangle subplot (love triangles are sooo 2008—and sorry, Fergie—but that's no longer a good thing), you'll probably be disappointed to learn that that situation has not just worked itself out by the start of this book, but rather is back with a vengeance and given main-plot status. Bygones are not let be bygones, the hatchet has not been buried, the water is not under the bridge, etc. The whole sequel seems to revolve around the aftermath of that one moment of weakness in some form or another, in both big and small ways. There were a lot of uncomfortable moments, and it definitely got repetitive and was a bit nauseating, especially since I didn't fancy that particular storyline to begin with.
We also see a lot less of Bex and Nick's Oxford friends and Bex's twin sister Lacey—and, I must say, what a fine name she has!—in the sequel than in The Royal We, which is a damn shame considering Lady Bollocks is like Sarah Silverman, only British and actually funny. But on the bright side, less time with friends leaves more for the Queen and the Queen Mother, who were the real stars of the sequel, if you ask me. (Also, I stand with the Queen Mother: Team Idris Elba all the way.)
All in all, The Heir Affair doesn't disappoint, though it does have its disappointing moments, not unlike The Royal We. I liked the first book better, but that was to be expected, since rarely do I ever think sequels are as good as their predecessors—not to mention that it's much easier to love a book about falling in love than it is to love one about the everyday humdrum of being and staying in love. Nevertheless, I finished the book happy with it for what it was rather than disappointed with it for what it wasn't, and I think other fans of the first book will walk away from the second feeling the same way as I did—and in the end, that's all I really ask of sequels.
Brief personal aside: The scene where the Queen, Queen Mother, Bex, and Lacey watch the Cubs win the World Series—and, by extension, all the Bex/Queen/Queen Mother baseball moments—was a major highlight for me and was such a pleasure to read. I was actually in Wrigleyville on that historic night, so that part brought back some fond memories for me and really captured all the highs & lows of that final game, with all the excitement & anxieties that came along with it.
Hey. What can I say? A modern woman I may be, but I still have needs. ""Nobody's perfect." -Hannah Montana" -Me
All that is my way of saying that I'm a sucker for a good Cinderella story—whether Prince Charming be an actual prince, just a duke or other lowly royal, a heartthrob rock star, or a famous actor makes no matter to me; I eat that shit for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper just the same. And so it shouldn't be hard to believe that I was head-over-heels for the first book in the series, The Royal We. Even though I only just discovered it this year, when I heard there would be a sequel, I couldn't wait to get my man-hands on it, and disappoint it did not.
The Heir Affair picks up right where The Royal We left off: with Bex and Nick as newlyweds on their honeymoon, hiding out from the world and the fallout from former-friend Clive's exposé on Bexit—a.k.a. that little incident where Freddie (Nick's lil' bro, resident ho, and officially The Spare™) and Bex were caught copulating (but not actually copulating) behind Nick's back. But before they can even say "royal cuckold," the Queen tricks Nick and Bex into coming out of hiding and, back in reality, they are forced to confront everything they've been dodging since the wedding, and then some.
Like the first book in the series, the sequel also covers many years in Nick and Bex's relationship and is chock-full of drama, just drama of a different sort. This is very much a story of what happens after the happily ever after, especially when that happily ever after hasn't started off on the happily-est of notes. If you're anything like me and weren't a huge fan of the whole Freddie/Bex/Nick love triangle subplot (love triangles are sooo 2008—and sorry, Fergie—but that's no longer a good thing), you'll probably be disappointed to learn that that situation has not just worked itself out by the start of this book, but rather is back with a vengeance and given main-plot status. Bygones are not let be bygones, the hatchet has not been buried, the water is not under the bridge, etc. The whole sequel seems to revolve around the aftermath of that one moment of weakness in some form or another, in both big and small ways. There were a lot of uncomfortable moments, and it definitely got repetitive and was a bit nauseating, especially since I didn't fancy that particular storyline to begin with.
We also see a lot less of Bex and Nick's Oxford friends and Bex's twin sister Lacey—and, I must say, what a fine name she has!—in the sequel than in The Royal We, which is a damn shame considering Lady Bollocks is like Sarah Silverman, only British and actually funny. But on the bright side, less time with friends leaves more for the Queen and the Queen Mother, who were the real stars of the sequel, if you ask me. (Also, I stand with the Queen Mother: Team Idris Elba all the way.)
All in all, The Heir Affair doesn't disappoint, though it does have its disappointing moments, not unlike The Royal We. I liked the first book better, but that was to be expected, since rarely do I ever think sequels are as good as their predecessors—not to mention that it's much easier to love a book about falling in love than it is to love one about the everyday humdrum of being and staying in love. Nevertheless, I finished the book happy with it for what it was rather than disappointed with it for what it wasn't, and I think other fans of the first book will walk away from the second feeling the same way as I did—and in the end, that's all I really ask of sequels.
Brief personal aside: The scene where the Queen, Queen Mother, Bex, and Lacey watch the Cubs win the World Series—and, by extension, all the Bex/Queen/Queen Mother baseball moments—was a major highlight for me and was such a pleasure to read. I was actually in Wrigleyville on that historic night, so that part brought back some fond memories for me and really captured all the highs & lows of that final game, with all the excitement & anxieties that came along with it.
May 29, 2025
This was the best sequel I’ve ever read. The characters were beautifully consistent even as they grew and took on new adventures and I savored every moment of being back with Bex, Nick, Freddie and the whole gang. Also, side note— a certain baseball chapter absolutely brought me to the happiest of tears! 😍😍😍
September 9, 2020
It's wild to think how much things have changed since Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan published the first book in this series. Back in 2015, the idea of an American marrying into the royal family was the stuff of wishful fan fiction; it's now 2020, and not only did a very cool American become part of The Firm, she and her royal husband also left The Firm with more flair than even the most imaginative among us could've dreamt up. What. A. World.
The Heir Affair is just as dishy as its predecessor, and personally, I liked the storylines in this one even better. The drama level was at an 11 (I kept internally—and sometimes externally—screaming at some of the storylines), and in these dark times, I was 100% here for it. While I had my misgivings about Bex and Nick as a couple in The Royal We, I came to really love them both in this sequel, and we also got to see more three-dimensional sides of more people in their orbit.
My only real issue with this book is the same problem I had with The Royal We: It could stand to be 100 pages shorter. But honestly, we're in the middle of a global pandemic as I write this, and I think we could all use an extra 100 pages of high-key drama and escapism. Not to mention, if the past six months of watching the royal family shit itself have shown us anything, it's that often the truth is even stranger than fiction.
The Heir Affair is just as dishy as its predecessor, and personally, I liked the storylines in this one even better. The drama level was at an 11 (I kept internally—and sometimes externally—screaming at some of the storylines), and in these dark times, I was 100% here for it. While I had my misgivings about Bex and Nick as a couple in The Royal We, I came to really love them both in this sequel, and we also got to see more three-dimensional sides of more people in their orbit.
My only real issue with this book is the same problem I had with The Royal We: It could stand to be 100 pages shorter. But honestly, we're in the middle of a global pandemic as I write this, and I think we could all use an extra 100 pages of high-key drama and escapism. Not to mention, if the past six months of watching the royal family shit itself have shown us anything, it's that often the truth is even stranger than fiction.
November 25, 2020
4.5 stars.
Royals—they’re more screwed up than we are!!
In The Heir Affair , Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's sequel to the enjoyably soapy The Royal We , Prince Nicholas of Wales has just married Bex Cooper when scandal breaks, turning the fairytale wedding into a nightmare. The Queen is angry, the public is outraged, and they go into a self-imposed exile and try to live a “normal” life for a while, imagining what it might be like not to have the weight of public expectation smothering you every day.
But when a crisis forces them back home and back into their expected roles, they have to mend a lot of relationships that were harmed, particularly with the Queen, as well as Nick’s father and his brother, Freddie, whose stock seems to have risen while Nick and Bex were away. They also have to contend with a critical press that watches their every move, waiting for another hint of scandal.
As time passes and Nick throws himself back into the life of the heir to the crown, the couple must also deal with the strains on their own relationship, as well as the new pressure of producing their own heir. And when shocking secrets emerge, they have to decide exactly what path to follow for their future.
I really enjoyed this, perhaps even a little more than The Royal We . I love drama and family dysfunction, and when you combine that with royal intrigue, I’m totally there for it.
It felt like this may have been the end of this series but I hope not. I’d love to see what happened to these characters after the book ended. So here's a gentle plea: please bring back Bex and Nick!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Royals—they’re more screwed up than we are!!
In The Heir Affair , Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's sequel to the enjoyably soapy The Royal We , Prince Nicholas of Wales has just married Bex Cooper when scandal breaks, turning the fairytale wedding into a nightmare. The Queen is angry, the public is outraged, and they go into a self-imposed exile and try to live a “normal” life for a while, imagining what it might be like not to have the weight of public expectation smothering you every day.
But when a crisis forces them back home and back into their expected roles, they have to mend a lot of relationships that were harmed, particularly with the Queen, as well as Nick’s father and his brother, Freddie, whose stock seems to have risen while Nick and Bex were away. They also have to contend with a critical press that watches their every move, waiting for another hint of scandal.
As time passes and Nick throws himself back into the life of the heir to the crown, the couple must also deal with the strains on their own relationship, as well as the new pressure of producing their own heir. And when shocking secrets emerge, they have to decide exactly what path to follow for their future.
I really enjoyed this, perhaps even a little more than The Royal We . I love drama and family dysfunction, and when you combine that with royal intrigue, I’m totally there for it.
It felt like this may have been the end of this series but I hope not. I’d love to see what happened to these characters after the book ended. So here's a gentle plea: please bring back Bex and Nick!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
November 11, 2020
Freddie got shafted.
Nick and Bex got shafted.
I feel like I got shafted.
I’m going to sit on this one a while before rating and reviewing.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Four days later:
Okay. I've finally decided to rate and review this book, since even days after the fact, thinking about this book and how things end up for our characters makes me sad.
Every single thing that happens to Freddie in this book broke my heart.
But! I could have put up with almost anything because I grew to care for these characters and their disastrous lives and relationships so much. But it seems I could not put up with Freddie being used and abused and thrown away.
2 stars
Nick and Bex got shafted.
I feel like I got shafted.
I’m going to sit on this one a while before rating and reviewing.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Four days later:
Okay. I've finally decided to rate and review this book, since even days after the fact, thinking about this book and how things end up for our characters makes me sad.
Every single thing that happens to Freddie in this book broke my heart.
But! I could have put up with almost anything because I grew to care for these characters and their disastrous lives and relationships so much. But it seems I could not put up with Freddie being used and abused and thrown away.
2 stars
March 17, 2019
LISTEN HERE. I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved the first book, much less how many times I've reread it. I don't have free time not because I'm a busy person, but because I spend most of it rereading the The Royal We anyways. Freddie? Bex? Nick? I'm invested in their lives, thankyouverymuch, and now I get to be even more invested in them? Seriously though, this book sounds (and fingers crossed it is-) like it's going to be more focused on Freddie who's one of my favourite characters.
In summary, I just KNOW it's going to be 5 stars, and will be placing myself in an artificial coma until 2020. Thank you.
In summary, I just KNOW it's going to be 5 stars, and will be placing myself in an artificial coma until 2020. Thank you.
August 8, 2020
The Heir Affair picks up with The Royal We left off, so if you haven't read The Royal We yet, you'll want to read that before reading this one or you'll be totally lost, and will be missing a lot of context.
I was excited to jump back into the world Bex, Nick, Freddie, and their friends. The first book ended on a note that left the ending open for readers to use their imagination, but also left it closed enough to where a sequel wasn't necessary, so I was very excited to learn there was a sequel coming out.
While The Royal We was filled with lighthearted romance and friendship with a little drama thrown in, The Heir Affair felt the opposite. Overall, the sequel took a darker turn, and focused more on family drama, strained relationships, and marital hurdles. I really felt for Bex, as it seemed like she couldn't catch a break. While that was not what I expected going into the book, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Based on the way things ended in book one, it was to be expected that things wouldn't be totally peachy-keen in book two. That said, it felt like the book could have been a little bit shorter. Some of the main plot points seemed to stretch on a little too long, and could have been resolved in a quicker, more concise manner, while still getting the same emotions across to the reader.
That said, I still enjoyed The Heir Affair as a nice summer read, and would recommend this to anyone who read and enjoyed the first book. If you haven't read the first book, but are interested in the Royal Family and their relationships, definitely pick this series up! I ended up rating this one 4 stars. I'd like to thank Grand Central Publishing for my copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest, unbiased review.
I was excited to jump back into the world Bex, Nick, Freddie, and their friends. The first book ended on a note that left the ending open for readers to use their imagination, but also left it closed enough to where a sequel wasn't necessary, so I was very excited to learn there was a sequel coming out.
While The Royal We was filled with lighthearted romance and friendship with a little drama thrown in, The Heir Affair felt the opposite. Overall, the sequel took a darker turn, and focused more on family drama, strained relationships, and marital hurdles. I really felt for Bex, as it seemed like she couldn't catch a break. While that was not what I expected going into the book, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Based on the way things ended in book one, it was to be expected that things wouldn't be totally peachy-keen in book two. That said, it felt like the book could have been a little bit shorter. Some of the main plot points seemed to stretch on a little too long, and could have been resolved in a quicker, more concise manner, while still getting the same emotions across to the reader.
That said, I still enjoyed The Heir Affair as a nice summer read, and would recommend this to anyone who read and enjoyed the first book. If you haven't read the first book, but are interested in the Royal Family and their relationships, definitely pick this series up! I ended up rating this one 4 stars. I'd like to thank Grand Central Publishing for my copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest, unbiased review.
December 19, 2020
Everything I hated about this book is a spoiler but oh my god there were so many things I hated.
A comprehensive list:
A comprehensive list:
August 12, 2020
The Heir Affair is a great continuation of The Royal We. All the characters you love and hate return. There is more scheming and secrets. Read it to find out what is next for Bex and Nick. I highly recommend The Heir Affair to anyone that enjoyed The Royal We. If you haven’t and want a scheming American commoner falls in love with a prince story I recommend starting with The Royal We.
Christine Lakin did a great job narrating. Her voice is perfect for the story.
Christine Lakin did a great job narrating. Her voice is perfect for the story.
April 10, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this eARC.
This book was a lot. Like what on earth did I actually just read?
The Heir Affair picks up where we left off in The Royal We. Nick and Bex are hiding out after the disastrous wedding in a teeny town in Scotland, aptly named Wigtown as both of them are sporting particularly heinous wigs in an effort to remain undetected. Fun fact, Wigtown is in fact a real place and it looks delightful! Anyways, back to the story. The rest of the book revolves around Bex and Nick adjusting to married life and dealing with whatever happened with Freddie in the last book. Freddie and Nick spend much of the book at odds, over again the nonsense that happened with Freddie and Bex in the previous book. That whole thing never made any sense to me, on top of being insanely cringey (if I have to read ‘killer’ one more time I’ll scream), their relationship/feelings never felt like it was actually there, which made the fact that Bex acted like a jealous twit for a good portion of this book really strange.
There was an insane amount of crazy unrealistic batshit crazy dialogue, but that dear reader, is for you to discover on your own. There were certainly parts of the book that I enjoyed, and I can see how others might enjoy it, but I really don’t think it’s for me. Which is a shame as British rom-com chick-lit is like my number 1 guilty pleasure, but oh well. I think the books main problem is that none of the characters make sense, like what is Bex’s deal and how is she constantly making pretty much the same mistakes over and over with only slight variations on the theme. Also the plot was completely bonkers, like the Queen and baseball?? I’m not going to even get into the meat of the bonkers plot as I don’t want to spoil anything, but rest assured it is insane. The dialogue is ridiculous, which is at times definitely the point, but others I’m not quite sure.
This book was a lot. Like what on earth did I actually just read?
The Heir Affair picks up where we left off in The Royal We. Nick and Bex are hiding out after the disastrous wedding in a teeny town in Scotland, aptly named Wigtown as both of them are sporting particularly heinous wigs in an effort to remain undetected. Fun fact, Wigtown is in fact a real place and it looks delightful! Anyways, back to the story. The rest of the book revolves around Bex and Nick adjusting to married life and dealing with whatever happened with Freddie in the last book. Freddie and Nick spend much of the book at odds, over again the nonsense that happened with Freddie and Bex in the previous book. That whole thing never made any sense to me, on top of being insanely cringey (if I have to read ‘killer’ one more time I’ll scream), their relationship/feelings never felt like it was actually there, which made the fact that Bex acted like a jealous twit for a good portion of this book really strange.
There was an insane amount of crazy unrealistic batshit crazy dialogue, but that dear reader, is for you to discover on your own. There were certainly parts of the book that I enjoyed, and I can see how others might enjoy it, but I really don’t think it’s for me. Which is a shame as British rom-com chick-lit is like my number 1 guilty pleasure, but oh well. I think the books main problem is that none of the characters make sense, like what is Bex’s deal and how is she constantly making pretty much the same mistakes over and over with only slight variations on the theme. Also the plot was completely bonkers, like the Queen and baseball?? I’m not going to even get into the meat of the bonkers plot as I don’t want to spoil anything, but rest assured it is insane. The dialogue is ridiculous, which is at times definitely the point, but others I’m not quite sure.
January 24, 2021
WOW there was a lot happening in this one. Also, love triangles are stupid but the one in here is REALLY stupid
July 9, 2020
I wish I loved this book as much as some other people did, but I just didn't. After waiting years for this sequel and rereading the first one many, many times, this book not only fell flat, but it somehow has ruined the first book for me, knowing that this is what becomes of those characters I fell in love with.
I think my problems are mostly based around the feeling that this book lacked the heart and escapist nature that the first book had in spades. This book was weighted down with too many shallow plots that dragged on, while the more important plots lacked imagination and sufficient detail to really grip me. I felt that Nick was fleshed out much better in this book, but I spent most of it feeling bad for him. Bex seemed to lack the robust character and personality from the first book. But the biggest victim of this story was poor Freddie, whose storyline was unfair and deeply chaotic and poorly thought-out. He deserved better than he got, and his fun personality from the first book barely made an appearance behind his new, more sullen one.
But my biggest criticism is far and away the story arc that occurs between Bex, Nick, and Freddie towards the end of the book, and without spoiling a major plot point, they come to an odd arrangement that I really hated. It left me feeling deeply uncomfortable in the encounters between the main characters and hurt me to watch all of the characters have to suffer through something so unfair and awkward. It made a book that should be a guilty pleasure into a dark and disturbing family situation, and then had the nerve to brush over how the characters felt about the situation, instead passing it off as a solution that everyone could be comfortable with. I unfortunately was not as comfortable with the situation as they pretended to be since the authors never took the time to make the readers really understand.
Overall, it really disappointed me and ruined some of these beloved characters for me. There were some good moments, but those were far outweighed by the uncomfortable and dark moments that clogged up the plot.
I think my problems are mostly based around the feeling that this book lacked the heart and escapist nature that the first book had in spades. This book was weighted down with too many shallow plots that dragged on, while the more important plots lacked imagination and sufficient detail to really grip me. I felt that Nick was fleshed out much better in this book, but I spent most of it feeling bad for him. Bex seemed to lack the robust character and personality from the first book. But the biggest victim of this story was poor Freddie, whose storyline was unfair and deeply chaotic and poorly thought-out. He deserved better than he got, and his fun personality from the first book barely made an appearance behind his new, more sullen one.
But my biggest criticism is far and away the story arc that occurs between Bex, Nick, and Freddie towards the end of the book, and without spoiling a major plot point, they come to an odd arrangement that I really hated. It left me feeling deeply uncomfortable in the encounters between the main characters and hurt me to watch all of the characters have to suffer through something so unfair and awkward. It made a book that should be a guilty pleasure into a dark and disturbing family situation, and then had the nerve to brush over how the characters felt about the situation, instead passing it off as a solution that everyone could be comfortable with. I unfortunately was not as comfortable with the situation as they pretended to be since the authors never took the time to make the readers really understand.
Overall, it really disappointed me and ruined some of these beloved characters for me. There were some good moments, but those were far outweighed by the uncomfortable and dark moments that clogged up the plot.
April 3, 2022
I'm not sure what to do with this story. It's British Royal fanfiction, but the Kate, Wills, and Harry characters bear no resemblance to the real royals except for hair color.
I enjoyed the writing style in places (I think because two people wrote it, the prose seemed different from scene to scene). I enjoyed a backstage peek into royal life - for awhile. It eventually got monotonous.
Unfortunately I never warmed up to the characters. Or the plot. The H/h are married but their relationship is marred by distrust, lies and a general discomfort with royal life. The love triangle between the heroine and the two brothers was ridiculous. The infertility storyline was depressing. The ethics of the entire family were shaky. And even though the book is long, the plot thread of the evil tabloid columnist was never really resolved.
My takeaway? Why the heck does the UK need a royal family -and why did I read about this amoral fictional family?
I enjoyed the writing style in places (I think because two people wrote it, the prose seemed different from scene to scene). I enjoyed a backstage peek into royal life - for awhile. It eventually got monotonous.
Unfortunately I never warmed up to the characters. Or the plot. The H/h are married but their relationship is marred by distrust, lies and a general discomfort with royal life. The love triangle between the heroine and the two brothers was ridiculous. The infertility storyline was depressing. The ethics of the entire family were shaky. And even though the book is long, the plot thread of the evil tabloid columnist was never really resolved.
My takeaway? Why the heck does the UK need a royal family -and why did I read about this amoral fictional family?
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 21, 2020
After the tumultuous Royal Wedding That Was, Bex and Nick are in hiding. Hiding from the angry public, who feel betrayed by Bex the Scoundrel, and hiding from the wrath of the Queen. But you can't run from your family, and you can't run forever, and so Bex and Nick slap a band-aid on their fragile romance and start their return to public life. Can they make it? Do they even want to?
While I adored The Royal We, I liked this one even better!!
Bex is forced to adapt to her out and open relationship with Nick and handling the aftermath of the previous book's revelations, and she discovers what it means to be a royal Duchess who has royally pissed off the queen.
Speaking of Eleanor, she really took the lead in this book. Once again, Bex's relationship with Nick falls to the backside (while paradoxically being at the forefront?) as she and the Queen begin what has got to be the weirdest relationship in the entire world. I loved it, and I loved Eleanor, despite her being...well, the Queen of England and absolutely one of the Worst People in the Word.
And I loved how Bex handled her relationship with Eleanor—that silent stand-off was fucking hilarious. The brass balls of reading a Playboy magazine and clicking a pen for fifteen minutes straight in the presence of the Queen of England is just...wow.
Anywho, in this one Bex navigates life as a Duchess, with the help of her friends—her friends whose trust she needs to win back after the secrets of the first book. I still love Gaz (who is just precious), but Lady Bollocks takes the win in this book. She's just utterly fantastic, and I love how ruthless and competent she is in keeping everything together. Binders upon binders upon binders.
Upon returning from self-imposed exile, Bex and Nick are given Eleanor's late sister's suites to live in. Georgina's life is an allegory for Princess Margaret, and she's depicted as a hoarder, partier and heavy smoker...who also has an illicit Sex Den basement hidden in her closet. But there is more to Georgina than Bex ever imagined, and as she and Nick go through the late princess's many possessions, they begin to realize that the Royal Family's royal secrets are darker than they ever could have imagined.
So that's a super cryptic way of putting it, but I really don't want to give any more spoilers away.
Shit goes dooooooooown.
Let's just say that this one tugged my heartstrings in multiple directions, that I still want to kill Clive, that Freddie is always and forever #1, and that I am ride or die for @KingIdrisEbla.
Oh, and go Cubs!
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
While I adored The Royal We, I liked this one even better!!
Bex is forced to adapt to her out and open relationship with Nick and handling the aftermath of the previous book's revelations, and she discovers what it means to be a royal Duchess who has royally pissed off the queen.
Speaking of Eleanor, she really took the lead in this book. Once again, Bex's relationship with Nick falls to the backside (while paradoxically being at the forefront?) as she and the Queen begin what has got to be the weirdest relationship in the entire world. I loved it, and I loved Eleanor, despite her being...well, the Queen of England and absolutely one of the Worst People in the Word.
And I loved how Bex handled her relationship with Eleanor—that silent stand-off was fucking hilarious. The brass balls of reading a Playboy magazine and clicking a pen for fifteen minutes straight in the presence of the Queen of England is just...wow.
Anywho, in this one Bex navigates life as a Duchess, with the help of her friends—her friends whose trust she needs to win back after the secrets of the first book. I still love Gaz (who is just precious), but Lady Bollocks takes the win in this book. She's just utterly fantastic, and I love how ruthless and competent she is in keeping everything together. Binders upon binders upon binders.
Upon returning from self-imposed exile, Bex and Nick are given Eleanor's late sister's suites to live in. Georgina's life is an allegory for Princess Margaret, and she's depicted as a hoarder, partier and heavy smoker...who also has an illicit Sex Den basement hidden in her closet. But there is more to Georgina than Bex ever imagined, and as she and Nick go through the late princess's many possessions, they begin to realize that the Royal Family's royal secrets are darker than they ever could have imagined.
So that's a super cryptic way of putting it, but I really don't want to give any more spoilers away.
Shit goes dooooooooown.
Let's just say that this one tugged my heartstrings in multiple directions, that I still want to kill Clive, that Freddie is always and forever #1, and that I am ride or die for @KingIdrisEbla.
Oh, and go Cubs!
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
July 7, 2020
Bex and Nick are newly wed and the wedding was about as dramatic as we expected. Clive, holding true to his word, completely sold out on his long friendship with the royal family. Feeling utterly overwhelmed and in a state that could be called anything but wedded bliss, Bex and Nick decide to flee.
Meet Steve and Margot. No cares in the world. No commitments. Certainly not followed by the paparazzi. Nick and Bex embrace their alter egos full swing and for a full several months. That is until the Queen has a health scare and they race back to be by her side.
With Queen Eleanor’s health in jeopardy, the eyes are on the throne more than ever. Compromising their relationship with the country and with their family by running from their problems, Bex and Nick must make amends.
But the country isn’t ready to forgive or to forget, especially with Clive spearheading a campaign against not only the royal couple, but specifically against Bex’s womb. After a miscarriage, the royal couple struggles to conceive and though they may be in line to inherit the throne, they aren’t immune to the struggles that come to many families.
Full of drama, love affairs, and family secrets, this was a sequel that hit every box. Though it was overly long like the first, ultimately I laughed, I cried, and I felt fulfilled at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Meet Steve and Margot. No cares in the world. No commitments. Certainly not followed by the paparazzi. Nick and Bex embrace their alter egos full swing and for a full several months. That is until the Queen has a health scare and they race back to be by her side.
With Queen Eleanor’s health in jeopardy, the eyes are on the throne more than ever. Compromising their relationship with the country and with their family by running from their problems, Bex and Nick must make amends.
But the country isn’t ready to forgive or to forget, especially with Clive spearheading a campaign against not only the royal couple, but specifically against Bex’s womb. After a miscarriage, the royal couple struggles to conceive and though they may be in line to inherit the throne, they aren’t immune to the struggles that come to many families.
Full of drama, love affairs, and family secrets, this was a sequel that hit every box. Though it was overly long like the first, ultimately I laughed, I cried, and I felt fulfilled at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
August 10, 2020
3.5 stars
I liked this book, although not as much as I liked its predecessor.
I was really rooting for Bex and Nick throughout, but I was also annoyed throughout much of the book. Bex kept trying to reestablish her friendship with Freddie, but he needed some time and distance (understandably). There were moments where it seemed like Bex felt slighted that Freddie wouldn’t open up to her about his love life, for example, that irked me because it struck me as being selfish of her, and insensitive to both Freddie and Nick. She knew how Freddie felt about her and kept trying to act as though things were the way they were before, but both Freddie and Nick were uncomfortable with that.
I also think there is some dynamic at play where one person has feelings for anther person who, perhaps unintentionally, takes advantage of those feelings. I don’t know how to really put it into words but I kept thinking that when it came to Freddie, Bex had some upper hand in their relationship because of everything that had happened between them. And yet when Freddie made it clear that he needed time and space, Bex was hurt. It didn’t really seem to me that she was able to take his or Nick’s feelings into consideration. And when it seemed like Freddie was getting involved with someone and it was turning into a relationship, Bex got very judgmental about it, in a way that made me wonder if she was jealous – even though she was married to Nick and kept insisting that she didn’t feel that way about Freddie. Towards the end of the book, her mom tells her that she basically has to let Freddie go, and I had wanted someone to yell that at Bex throughout the entire book! She came off as annoying and jealous every time Freddie was around and I did not like it or enjoy it.
My heart went out to Nick, who clearly loved Bex but had felt betrayed by both her and Freddie. I was most interested in seeing how the brothers would heal their relationship (or not) as the story went on. Not that Nick didn’t make some infuriating decisions either – there were moments where I wanted to yell at him, to get him and Bex to just talk to each other.
The Queen was a fascinatingly aggravating yet sympathetic character, and she ended up being my favourite person in the book.
The thing that really got to me about this book, though, was the use of Freddie as a donor for Bex and Nick’s baby. I was baffled. BAFFLED. When the idea was first raised, I thought that it was absurd and that there was no way it would actually happen. And at first everyone was equally aghast (well, except the Queen). And then when they all started to get on board with the idea, I just – I couldn’t – I think I still can’t quite wrap my mind around it. I was really struggling with that part of the story. I just didn’t understand how they would think it’s a good idea for Freddie to basically father a child with his sister-in-law, who he had been in love with, and whose actions (along with hers) jeopardized his relationship with Nick, Bex’s marriage, and the monarchy’s public image. It was too weird for me and made me way too uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just me…And this is minor compared to the rest, but I was also hoping that we would see Clive get some sort of comeuppance for his betrayal, but no such luck.
All in all, this was a good, entertaining follow up to The Royal We, although I think it was overlong and dragged at times (and despite the THING that boggled my mind).
I liked this book, although not as much as I liked its predecessor.
I was really rooting for Bex and Nick throughout, but I was also annoyed throughout much of the book. Bex kept trying to reestablish her friendship with Freddie, but he needed some time and distance (understandably). There were moments where it seemed like Bex felt slighted that Freddie wouldn’t open up to her about his love life, for example, that irked me because it struck me as being selfish of her, and insensitive to both Freddie and Nick. She knew how Freddie felt about her and kept trying to act as though things were the way they were before, but both Freddie and Nick were uncomfortable with that.
I also think there is some dynamic at play where one person has feelings for anther person who, perhaps unintentionally, takes advantage of those feelings. I don’t know how to really put it into words but I kept thinking that when it came to Freddie, Bex had some upper hand in their relationship because of everything that had happened between them. And yet when Freddie made it clear that he needed time and space, Bex was hurt. It didn’t really seem to me that she was able to take his or Nick’s feelings into consideration. And when it seemed like Freddie was getting involved with someone and it was turning into a relationship, Bex got very judgmental about it, in a way that made me wonder if she was jealous – even though she was married to Nick and kept insisting that she didn’t feel that way about Freddie. Towards the end of the book, her mom tells her that she basically has to let Freddie go, and I had wanted someone to yell that at Bex throughout the entire book! She came off as annoying and jealous every time Freddie was around and I did not like it or enjoy it.
My heart went out to Nick, who clearly loved Bex but had felt betrayed by both her and Freddie. I was most interested in seeing how the brothers would heal their relationship (or not) as the story went on. Not that Nick didn’t make some infuriating decisions either – there were moments where I wanted to yell at him, to get him and Bex to just talk to each other.
The Queen was a fascinatingly aggravating yet sympathetic character, and she ended up being my favourite person in the book.
The thing that really got to me about this book, though, was the use of Freddie as a donor for Bex and Nick’s baby. I was baffled. BAFFLED. When the idea was first raised, I thought that it was absurd and that there was no way it would actually happen. And at first everyone was equally aghast (well, except the Queen). And then when they all started to get on board with the idea, I just – I couldn’t – I think I still can’t quite wrap my mind around it. I was really struggling with that part of the story. I just didn’t understand how they would think it’s a good idea for Freddie to basically father a child with his sister-in-law, who he had been in love with, and whose actions (along with hers) jeopardized his relationship with Nick, Bex’s marriage, and the monarchy’s public image. It was too weird for me and made me way too uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just me…And this is minor compared to the rest, but I was also hoping that we would see Clive get some sort of comeuppance for his betrayal, but no such luck.
All in all, this was a good, entertaining follow up to The Royal We, although I think it was overlong and dragged at times (and despite the THING that boggled my mind).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
did-not-finish-dnf
April 27, 2020DNF at 31%
I had high expectations for the sequel to The Royal We. I’m so sad this was a DNF. It just dragged…I don’t think the story had anywhere else to go and a sequel might’ve been a mistake. It’s also entirely too long. I felt like I was reading the first 30% for ages.
I had high expectations for the sequel to The Royal We. I’m so sad this was a DNF. It just dragged…I don’t think the story had anywhere else to go and a sequel might’ve been a mistake. It’s also entirely too long. I felt like I was reading the first 30% for ages.
July 28, 2020
were these characters as awful and whiny and so self-unaware in the first book? everyone sucks here, i wish i had quit reading 10% into it. learn from my mistake.
July 21, 2020
Loved, loved, loved this return trip to England where we get to see what happens next after Prince Nicholas and Bex's royal wedding. The sequel doesn't disappoint! There are royal rumors, deaths, affairs and so much dishy goodness I couldn't put it down. Such a fun summer read!
July 28, 2020
As a big fan of The Royal We, I can only ask, “Uhm, what happened?” The plot stands still for much of the book, and then as my sister said, “It turned into Days of Our Lives.”
September 13, 2021
**Re-read September 2021. I loved this just as much the second time around. I already have a major book hangover and I only just finished it. I want a third book / Freddie spin-off more than ever. I feel traumatized by everything these authors put Freddie through in this book and I need to make sure he's happy! And obviously, I would love to spend more time with Bex, Nick and the rest of the gang.
------------------------------------------
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
I remember being very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved The Royal We and I was so excited to see it was finally getting a sequel. Much like the first book, it wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be, but it was everything. This is easily my favorite book of the year so far.
I decided to re-read the first book before jumping into The Heir Affair and I’m glad I did. I loved it just as much the second time around, maybe even more. I found myself still getting very anxious or sad at parts, even though I knew how everything turned out, which I think is a real testament to the writing. I am so invested in these characters and I already miss them.
The Heir Affair picks up soon after The Royal We ended. The first book was written to be a standalone and it ended on a very positive note of implied Happily Ever After. However, that’s not quite how things turned out. And really, can we expect anything to be that easy for Bex and Nick? Right as the royal wedding was ending, Clive published his story about Bex and Freddie and the public immediately turned on them. Bex and Nick end up running away from their problems for awhile and get to start married life in their own private bubble, which they’ve always thrived in. Once they have to return to reality, though, they have to face everything they’ve ignored – especially the Freddie of it all.
I would love to tell you that things were easily worked out and it was all cute and funny and happily ever after. And while there was definitely a lot of cute and funny, there is so much more substance to it than that. That means that along with the fun banter and the highs, there were also some real lows. It gave my cold, black heart some FEELINGS and I loved every minute of it, even when I kind of hated what was happening sometimes. There are a lot of layers to this story, but at the forefront are the big three relationships: Bex and Nick, Nick and Freddie, and Bex and Freddie. There is just so much emotion there to unpack and I felt all of it. They each had to work at mending their relationships and coming to terms with their feelings and I think it wrapped up in realistic and satisfying ways, if not quite the neat little bow I like things tied up in.
As I mentioned previously, I absolutely love the characters in this series. I loved seeing Bex’s friends, Cilla, Gaz, and Bea again. We didn’t see quite as much as Cilla as we did in the first book, but both Gaz and Bea had some good subplots. I had absolutely hated Bex’s twin sister, Lacey, in the first book and was kind of hoping she’d be killed off or something here, but she was actually quite palatable in this one. She was the character I wished she was in the first book. I loved watching Bex begin an actual relationship with members of Nick’s family, especially the queen. And of course, my dear Freddie. He grew up so much in this book and while my heart broke for him time and time again, I like to think that he’s found his own happily ever after. I still wouldn’t mind a Freddie spin-off, though. And can I just say that one of my favorite things about this series is that Freddie’s nickname for Nick is Knickers. I love the relationship between these brothers and they really put me through the wringer in this one.
Overall, I absolutely loved The Heir Affair. This review does not even come close to expressing how much. The cute cover and overall storyline may fool you into thinking this is just a light and easy Romance, but it is emotional and intense – in the very best of ways. It’s very character driven and has many threads to connect, but I think the authors did a great job of tying everything together. There were a couple things left a little more open than I like, though, which I have my fingers crossed means that another book will be coming in the future. This is a must read for anyone who’s read The Royal We and if you haven’t started this series yet, you really should.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
------------------------------------------
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
I remember being very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved The Royal We and I was so excited to see it was finally getting a sequel. Much like the first book, it wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be, but it was everything. This is easily my favorite book of the year so far.
I decided to re-read the first book before jumping into The Heir Affair and I’m glad I did. I loved it just as much the second time around, maybe even more. I found myself still getting very anxious or sad at parts, even though I knew how everything turned out, which I think is a real testament to the writing. I am so invested in these characters and I already miss them.
The Heir Affair picks up soon after The Royal We ended. The first book was written to be a standalone and it ended on a very positive note of implied Happily Ever After. However, that’s not quite how things turned out. And really, can we expect anything to be that easy for Bex and Nick? Right as the royal wedding was ending, Clive published his story about Bex and Freddie and the public immediately turned on them. Bex and Nick end up running away from their problems for awhile and get to start married life in their own private bubble, which they’ve always thrived in. Once they have to return to reality, though, they have to face everything they’ve ignored – especially the Freddie of it all.
I would love to tell you that things were easily worked out and it was all cute and funny and happily ever after. And while there was definitely a lot of cute and funny, there is so much more substance to it than that. That means that along with the fun banter and the highs, there were also some real lows. It gave my cold, black heart some FEELINGS and I loved every minute of it, even when I kind of hated what was happening sometimes. There are a lot of layers to this story, but at the forefront are the big three relationships: Bex and Nick, Nick and Freddie, and Bex and Freddie. There is just so much emotion there to unpack and I felt all of it. They each had to work at mending their relationships and coming to terms with their feelings and I think it wrapped up in realistic and satisfying ways, if not quite the neat little bow I like things tied up in.
As I mentioned previously, I absolutely love the characters in this series. I loved seeing Bex’s friends, Cilla, Gaz, and Bea again. We didn’t see quite as much as Cilla as we did in the first book, but both Gaz and Bea had some good subplots. I had absolutely hated Bex’s twin sister, Lacey, in the first book and was kind of hoping she’d be killed off or something here, but she was actually quite palatable in this one. She was the character I wished she was in the first book. I loved watching Bex begin an actual relationship with members of Nick’s family, especially the queen. And of course, my dear Freddie. He grew up so much in this book and while my heart broke for him time and time again, I like to think that he’s found his own happily ever after. I still wouldn’t mind a Freddie spin-off, though. And can I just say that one of my favorite things about this series is that Freddie’s nickname for Nick is Knickers. I love the relationship between these brothers and they really put me through the wringer in this one.
Overall, I absolutely loved The Heir Affair. This review does not even come close to expressing how much. The cute cover and overall storyline may fool you into thinking this is just a light and easy Romance, but it is emotional and intense – in the very best of ways. It’s very character driven and has many threads to connect, but I think the authors did a great job of tying everything together. There were a couple things left a little more open than I like, though, which I have my fingers crossed means that another book will be coming in the future. This is a must read for anyone who’s read The Royal We and if you haven’t started this series yet, you really should.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
July 4, 2020
I'm really sad to say that I really did not enjoy this book. I liked the previous book and that's why I picked it up but this one was really disappointing. There are certain choices and circumstances that come about in this book that were so tired and unnecessary. This also has a lot of tropes like miscommunication and cheating. I personally HATE cheating in books and when it happened in the previous book I couldn't love that book as much as I could if there hadn't been cheating. The problem to me with this sequel was that the entire plot was focused on that incident, which drove me mad.
May 17, 2020
(free review copy) Fellow royal romance fans, I didn’t think it was possible to top THE ROYAL WE but I loved this one maybe ten times more. LOVE LOVE LOVE 💕 I inhaled and adored this story but am now heartbroken it’s over 😢 It’s the first book I’ve been actually able to lose myself in since February 2020 and an absolutely heavenly comfort in the hellfire that is America right now in May 2020.
July 19, 2020
This book was... a lot. An oftentimes very enjoyable lot, but boy howdy, there is a lot in there including I just wanted the book to look in the mirror and maybe take one thing off?
July 28, 2020
This is a follow up to The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan of The Fug Girls, fashion bloggers who I follow and really enjoy. The Royal We, and now The Heir Affair, is a thinly disguised alt fan fic of Princes Harry, William, and Kate Middleton. The Royal We pre-dates the arrival of Meghan Markle on the scene so there’s really no fictionalized version of her that appears in either book.
I loved The Royal We so I was excited about The Heir Affair, however, there has been around 5 years between these books and this one picks up almost immediately after the last. That was rather jarring to me as a reader who is used to romance authors doing the heavy lifting of either integrating excellent synopses into the stories for those of us who don’t re-read or just make a series about different couples. I spent about 25-35% stopping and looking for spoilers from the first book until I just gave up on that part and kept reading obliviously.
But I finally bailed on the whole book because I could not handle how the potential triangle between the three from the first book – which ended in MARRIAGE – continues. Bex and Nicholas (William stand-in) are married now and he spends his entire time in a tense one-upping situation with Freddie (Harry’s counterpart). I hated them both by the time I DNF’d because they both come off as whining children. Freddie has no actual reason to be angry – he kissed his brother’s fiance previously and is mad they left for a bit…huh!?! And Nicholas HAS a reason to be mad but he is actually mad because Freddie is doing more than him for a few weeks? I don’t know what was going on there but I hated it.
And really, I’m glad I bailed when I did because what happens later is simply bananas, and not in a ooh FUN way, more in a wtf did I read and why kind of way. To be clear there is no cheating in the half that I read or later on between any of the MCs from what I gather. But I can’t deal with grown adults acting like children in romance these days. I borrowed these CWs from my reviewer friend Melanie at Love in Panels who *did* finish it and it’s a whole lot!
CW: On page miscarriage, inability to conceive, off page affair between minor characters in the past, death of supporting character, injury of major character sustained in military service, off page kidnapping of minor character in the past resulting in fear of going out in public, mental illness of minor character (not seen but referred to), allegations of cheating (untrue)
I loved The Royal We so I was excited about The Heir Affair, however, there has been around 5 years between these books and this one picks up almost immediately after the last. That was rather jarring to me as a reader who is used to romance authors doing the heavy lifting of either integrating excellent synopses into the stories for those of us who don’t re-read or just make a series about different couples. I spent about 25-35% stopping and looking for spoilers from the first book until I just gave up on that part and kept reading obliviously.
But I finally bailed on the whole book because I could not handle how the potential triangle between the three from the first book – which ended in MARRIAGE – continues. Bex and Nicholas (William stand-in) are married now and he spends his entire time in a tense one-upping situation with Freddie (Harry’s counterpart). I hated them both by the time I DNF’d because they both come off as whining children. Freddie has no actual reason to be angry – he kissed his brother’s fiance previously and is mad they left for a bit…huh!?! And Nicholas HAS a reason to be mad but he is actually mad because Freddie is doing more than him for a few weeks? I don’t know what was going on there but I hated it.
And really, I’m glad I bailed when I did because what happens later is simply bananas, and not in a ooh FUN way, more in a wtf did I read and why kind of way. To be clear there is no cheating in the half that I read or later on between any of the MCs from what I gather. But I can’t deal with grown adults acting like children in romance these days. I borrowed these CWs from my reviewer friend Melanie at Love in Panels who *did* finish it and it’s a whole lot!
CW: On page miscarriage, inability to conceive, off page affair between minor characters in the past, death of supporting character, injury of major character sustained in military service, off page kidnapping of minor character in the past resulting in fear of going out in public, mental illness of minor character (not seen but referred to), allegations of cheating (untrue)
July 24, 2020
Things pick up where The Royal We left off. Nick and Bex had a beautiful wedding, well, except for the rumor that put a dark cloud over their ceremony. The rumor was about an alleged affair between Bex and Prince Freddie, Nick's brother. Cue all the drama as the tabloids pick the story up, which was tipped off from one of Nick's former friends. Obviously, this takes away from what should be a fairy tale wedding, so Nick and Bex escape to Scotland to avoid the public, tabloids, and all rumors. However, after going into hiding for awhile, the public starts to get annoyed with them, not to mention the Queen. Who do they think they are escaping all Royal duties and trying to blend in with the public in Scotland? Leave it to the Queen to get them home under false pretenses and then the story continues from there. Bex and Nick must face the music and dance while trying to repair their relationships with just about everyone including the issues within their own marriage. Royal lovers rejoice, because you will take pleasure in revisiting these characters and all their drama in The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan.
Read the rest of my review here: http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...
Read the rest of my review here: http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...
July 31, 2020
I’ve struggled to sum up how I feel about this novel, a sequel to Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan’s The Royal We, which I loved.
On the one hand, I enjoyed The Heir Affair in equal measure (because the Fug Girls are such tremendous writers and seem like the kind of women you want to be your IRL best friends). On the other, there were parts of this book that read slow to me, making me think it would have been a more engaging read had it been 100 pages shorter.
And yet, because I love these authors with my whole heart, I wanted to see what others were saying about this book on GoodReads. My search led me to a review written by prolific reader Lily Herman, who sums up the (mostly) pros and (minimal) cons of this book quite nicely, so I invite you to read her take on this one, which I solidly endorse.
On the one hand, I enjoyed The Heir Affair in equal measure (because the Fug Girls are such tremendous writers and seem like the kind of women you want to be your IRL best friends). On the other, there were parts of this book that read slow to me, making me think it would have been a more engaging read had it been 100 pages shorter.
And yet, because I love these authors with my whole heart, I wanted to see what others were saying about this book on GoodReads. My search led me to a review written by prolific reader Lily Herman, who sums up the (mostly) pros and (minimal) cons of this book quite nicely, so I invite you to read her take on this one, which I solidly endorse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,516 reviews