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The Spare
"I'm publicly bisexual now, I'll make all the musical theatre references I please. I'll belt Cole Porter songs prancing on top of this bar if I want to." —His Royal Highness Prince Edward Nicholas William Desmond of Wales, second son of Her Majesty Queen Victoria II of England and the Commonwealth
The second son of the Queen of England has certain responsibilities. Dress well, smile at public events, uphold the family honor, be straight. At sixteen, Edward Kensington had been convinced that hiding his bisexuality was a small price to pay to protect his mother and siblings from yet another tabloid scandal in the wake of his parents’ high-profile divorce. But over ten years later, even a closet the size of Buckingham Palace feels small, and his secrets have only gotten harder to keep. Like being in love with his bodyguard—a man by the name of Isaac Cole.
Then he’s outed by the press.
The official schedule has no time for an identity crisis, even though every member of the royal family seems to be having one at once. Eddie’s estranged father shows up. His sister flirts with the reporter hired to write their grandmother’s biography. His older brother, harboring a secret of his own, is more reluctant than ever to take up public-facing duties, and Her Majesty is considering going out on a date. And now the Public Relations Office has set Eddie the task of finding himself a suitable fiancée.
But when Eddie learns that Isaac returns his decidedly inconvenient feelings, keeping calm and carrying on becomes impossible. Prince Charming never wished harder for a men’s size 12 glass slipper, but life in the spotlight isn’t a fairy tale, and there are some dragons not even a prince can fight alone. For any one of them to steal a happily ever after, the Kensingtons will have to pull together for the first time since the Second World War.
Hold on to your tiaras. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The second son of the Queen of England has certain responsibilities. Dress well, smile at public events, uphold the family honor, be straight. At sixteen, Edward Kensington had been convinced that hiding his bisexuality was a small price to pay to protect his mother and siblings from yet another tabloid scandal in the wake of his parents’ high-profile divorce. But over ten years later, even a closet the size of Buckingham Palace feels small, and his secrets have only gotten harder to keep. Like being in love with his bodyguard—a man by the name of Isaac Cole.
Then he’s outed by the press.
The official schedule has no time for an identity crisis, even though every member of the royal family seems to be having one at once. Eddie’s estranged father shows up. His sister flirts with the reporter hired to write their grandmother’s biography. His older brother, harboring a secret of his own, is more reluctant than ever to take up public-facing duties, and Her Majesty is considering going out on a date. And now the Public Relations Office has set Eddie the task of finding himself a suitable fiancée.
But when Eddie learns that Isaac returns his decidedly inconvenient feelings, keeping calm and carrying on becomes impossible. Prince Charming never wished harder for a men’s size 12 glass slipper, but life in the spotlight isn’t a fairy tale, and there are some dragons not even a prince can fight alone. For any one of them to steal a happily ever after, the Kensingtons will have to pull together for the first time since the Second World War.
Hold on to your tiaras. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
438 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2020
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982 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
May 23, 2020
Consider me conflicted. There is some seriously good writing in The Spare, and scene by scene I lapped it up. But as a whole it’s a strange unwieldy hybrid creature. The blurb sells it as a bodyguard romance, focused on an AU British Prince, Edward, and his long term protector, former SAS Captain Isaac Cole. Their forbidden unrequited love for one another is already established at the start of the book, and early on it promises excellent angst and pining. Eddie is under pressure to keep his bisexuality firmly in the closet and settle on a nice young lady to marry, while Cole would never break the rules of his post. So far so good.
But then the narrative splinters, to variously follow Eddie’s siblings - Arthur and Alex - who are navigating their own love lives; his mother, Queen Victoria and her ex-husband Malcolm Verre; and a number of other side characters. The POV changes come thick and fast, as Eddie and Isaac’s central relationship is pushed further and further off centre. The Spare starts to feel less and less like a romance and more and more like a family saga.
Which is not a bad thing at all, and I admired the care Miranda Dubner took to think through the emotional lives of her wide cast. As I said, on a scene level it often worked really well: intimate, playful, insightful, emotive. It’s on the narrative level that the book suffers, where so many strands of the story get lost or dropped; sometimes picked up again to serve the needs of a moment, other times entirely lost. While some events are given tender examination, others are swept away. In the end it makes it feel both expansive and gappy, in a way that steals momentum from the central relationship. It might have better suited being split across three books, one for each royal sibling, allowing the promised richness to fully develop.
All that said, I’m keen to see what Miranda Dubner does next - this promises potentially great things.
But then the narrative splinters, to variously follow Eddie’s siblings - Arthur and Alex - who are navigating their own love lives; his mother, Queen Victoria and her ex-husband Malcolm Verre; and a number of other side characters. The POV changes come thick and fast, as Eddie and Isaac’s central relationship is pushed further and further off centre. The Spare starts to feel less and less like a romance and more and more like a family saga.
Which is not a bad thing at all, and I admired the care Miranda Dubner took to think through the emotional lives of her wide cast. As I said, on a scene level it often worked really well: intimate, playful, insightful, emotive. It’s on the narrative level that the book suffers, where so many strands of the story get lost or dropped; sometimes picked up again to serve the needs of a moment, other times entirely lost. While some events are given tender examination, others are swept away. In the end it makes it feel both expansive and gappy, in a way that steals momentum from the central relationship. It might have better suited being split across three books, one for each royal sibling, allowing the promised richness to fully develop.
All that said, I’m keen to see what Miranda Dubner does next - this promises potentially great things.
April 21, 2020
There's a lot of good things in this book. The sentence-level writing is good, and there's a lot of great descriptions of emotion, but at the story level, it falls apart. I purchased this book because it sold itself as being my catnip, a bodyguard and protectee au with a bisexual main character. What I got wasn't that. The Spare is more like four novels shoved together into one, meaning it feels scattered and unfocused, and Eddie and Isaac's story simply falls by the wayside by fifty percent of the way through and is wrapped up neatly through the Queen's scheming right at the end, almost as an afterthought to the m/f secret baby romance that takes over the narrative. That's a plot I like just fine, but not the one I signed up for.
About a third of the way through the novel there's a graphic sex scene that feels cobbled together from other scenes. Eddie and Isaac shower together and return to his bedroom and climb on his bed, but then a packet of lube crinkles in the pocket of Isaac's trousers. He just got out of the shower, he's not wearing trousers. There are misplaced limbs during the scene, and Isaac doesn't come by the end, he doesn't even seem to remember he has a hardon. He doesn't get off for the rest of the novel, because that's the only sex scene. It's like someone was writing a fanfic and the smut chapter didn't get as many comments as the other chapters so the author decided not to include any more.
I appreciated to a degree the number of POV characters, which lent sympathy to them and helped flesh them out into real people, but there are so many subplots that they meander off into dead ends or get dropped. What was the point of the Alex/Daniel enemies to lovers (kind of) plot that gets a few mentions, but Daniel essentially disappears after the big interview?
Also there's some weirdness because when we first see Gwen, she seems to be Alex's bff, but then it changes to being that she was Eddie's bestie and it's as if she barely knows Alex. That was very confusing and even multiple rereads of the chapter she and Alex meet up didn't shed light on anything.
I'm not even going to touch on Victoria and her thing with the tech guy.
I end up not being able to recommend this book. After a very strong first third, it falls apart narratively. Isaac disappears for a huge chunk of the book and there's barely any pining from Eddie and nothing from Isaac's POV. It left me unable to see this story as a romance, as the main couple simply don't have enough interactions to make me believe they're in love. Eddie's bisexuality seems to be an afterthought, in there simply so we can get a fake dating then almost marriage plot that ends up having little to do with the main romance. While bisexuality is very much a spectrum on who you're sexually and romantically attracted to, Eddie never tells people when they insinuate that he won't be happy having a romantic relationship with a woman that they're wrong. Bisexuality is not valid only when that person ends up with someone of the same gender.
There's so much potential in this story, it's too bad most of it got lost.
About a third of the way through the novel there's a graphic sex scene that feels cobbled together from other scenes. Eddie and Isaac shower together and return to his bedroom and climb on his bed, but then a packet of lube crinkles in the pocket of Isaac's trousers. He just got out of the shower, he's not wearing trousers. There are misplaced limbs during the scene, and Isaac doesn't come by the end, he doesn't even seem to remember he has a hardon. He doesn't get off for the rest of the novel, because that's the only sex scene. It's like someone was writing a fanfic and the smut chapter didn't get as many comments as the other chapters so the author decided not to include any more.
I appreciated to a degree the number of POV characters, which lent sympathy to them and helped flesh them out into real people, but there are so many subplots that they meander off into dead ends or get dropped. What was the point of the Alex/Daniel enemies to lovers (kind of) plot that gets a few mentions, but Daniel essentially disappears after the big interview?
Also there's some weirdness because when we first see Gwen, she seems to be Alex's bff, but then it changes to being that she was Eddie's bestie and it's as if she barely knows Alex. That was very confusing and even multiple rereads of the chapter she and Alex meet up didn't shed light on anything.
I'm not even going to touch on Victoria and her thing with the tech guy.
I end up not being able to recommend this book. After a very strong first third, it falls apart narratively. Isaac disappears for a huge chunk of the book and there's barely any pining from Eddie and nothing from Isaac's POV. It left me unable to see this story as a romance, as the main couple simply don't have enough interactions to make me believe they're in love. Eddie's bisexuality seems to be an afterthought, in there simply so we can get a fake dating then almost marriage plot that ends up having little to do with the main romance. While bisexuality is very much a spectrum on who you're sexually and romantically attracted to, Eddie never tells people when they insinuate that he won't be happy having a romantic relationship with a woman that they're wrong. Bisexuality is not valid only when that person ends up with someone of the same gender.
There's so much potential in this story, it's too bad most of it got lost.
May 22, 2020
I've given this an A- at AAR, so that's 4.5 stars rounded up.
I’m not a royal-watcher, and as a rule, I’m not a fan of royal romances. Of those I’ve read (and that isn’t a large number) the only one that really worked for me was Lilah Pace’s His Royal Secret/His Royal Favorite duology, and a big part of that was because the author had taken care to set the story in an AU (alternate) but recognisable contemporary Britain in which all the important things (like the two world wars) still happened, but the royal line had taken a different direction. When I read the synopsis for Miranda Dubner’s début novel The Spare I was intrigued by the storyline and pleased to see that the book is also set in carefully constructed AU. I decided to give it a try, and I’m very glad I did.
HRH Edward Nicholas William Desmond Kensington, second son of Queen Victoria II – and the eponymous spare – arrives, somewhat apprehensively, at the Royal Opera House to attend a performance at which his mother, his sister Alexandra, and various other society luminaries will also be present. Handsome, suave, charming Edward is the real ‘people person’ of the next generation of royals; he’s always been the one to deflect unwanted attention with a quip or able to turn an awkward conversation with a well-placed question or anecdote, and going to a royal gala is nothing he hasn’t done a hundred times before. But this time is different. A couple of weeks earlier, he was forcibly outed when a tabloid printed a photograph of him, taken when he was at university, which clearly shows him in an embrace with another man. This is his first public appearance since the story broke, and while he knows all too well he’s going to be the subject of hushed gossip and hurriedly-stopped conversations, he doesn’t know how bad it’s going to be. He’s bisexual, and his family is aware of it; and while he wanted to come out, he knows there was never going to be a good time for him to do it and has been holding off for the sake of his family, which has suffered enough scandal in the past decade due to his parents’ divorce, the first ever involving a reigning monarch – but the rainbow cat is well and truly out of the bag now and the fallout has to be dealt with.
The Palace communications team is, of course, keen to mitigate the damage, and they suggest Eddie squashes the “ugly rumours” by being seen with a suitable (and carefully vetted) young woman he could believably form a “long connection” with. Even as he knew this was going to be the likely response, and that he has no alternative but to do what is being asked of him – just like he always has – internally, he’s railing against the frustration that he can do nothing about the invasion of privacy he’s suffered, the demand that he continue to deny who he really is – and that he still has to hide the fact that for the last eight years, he’s been in love with a former SAS officer by the name of Isaac Cole. Who happens to be his principal protection officer. His bodyguard.
The first part of the novel offers readers a good insight into the relationship between Eddie and Isaac (although I can’t deny I’d have liked it to have been fleshed out a little more), and offers a bit of their backstory and an explanation for exactly how and why they have become so close. Isaac is every bit as gone for Eddie as vice versa, but he’s never been anything but professional around him, has never overstepped any boundaries… until the night a bomb goes off at a high-profile London club – with Eddie in the middle of it.
I’m not going to give more specifics about the plot, because there’s a lot of it. The synopsis for The Spare talks more about the romance between Eddie and Isaac than about anything else in the book, but after the bombing, the focus widens and it becomes more of a family drama. Eddie and Isaac are at the heart of the story; even when they’re separated for a chunk of the second half, the depth of their longing for one another is always there in the background – but there’s a lot more going on than just their romance. One of the people Eddie has been trying so hard to protect from the media spotlight over the years is his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, who has recently been pretty much ordered to leave the job he loves with the RAF and come back to join the circus (the real royals refer to The Firm; here, it’s The Circus, which is a good alternative!) and who is quiet, reserved and not as well-equipped as Eddie to deal with life in the goldfish bowl of media attention. There’s his sister Alexandra, whom the media has labelled self-absorbed and empty-headed, and his complicated, conflicting feelings about his father, whose addictions and infidelities eventually led to the end of his marriage, but whom Eddie can’t quite bring himself to hate. All these other storylines are really well done and all the characters – from the principal players down to the smallest bit-parts – are superbly fleshed-out, making it easy to become invested in them and their stories. I ended up loving the book, but I realise it may not work as well for others because of the wider focus than one normally expects in a romance.
The author has obviously done her homework (her author’s note is well worth reading), looking into the way the Royal Family works and various customs and protocols (and has adapted some of them in a way that makes them perfectly plausible), but unfortunately this makes the Americanisms – fall, fawcet, trash, diaper, ass – seriously, this sentence: “A bunch of politicians who think I’m an idiot are going to surreptitiously stare at my ass” will make any British person wonder why a bunch of politicians are going to stare at a donkey; using “school” to mean higher education and describing Isaac as a “upperclassman” – stick out like sore thumbs. It’s a shame, when Ms. Dubner has clearly worked very hard on giving the novel the ring of authenticity, to be let down by things like that, but I understand corrections will be made in future editions.
There are places where the book could have done with a stronger editorial hand, a few scenes that didn’t seem to accomplish anything or go anywhere, and perhaps a couple that could have been reserved for later books (the author implies in her author’s note that there could be more to come).
Ultimately however, I really enjoyed The Spare and raced through it in a couple of sittings. It’s sharply observant, especially when it comes to the workings of today’s media and how vicious it can be; it’s funny – the banter is fresh and witty – and there are some incredibly poignant moments, some of them coming from a quarter you’d least expect. The plot does get a bit soapy towards the end, and there was one thing that I side-eyed hard, but in the end, I was enjoying the book so much, I decided to go with the flow.
Part romance, part family drama, The Spare may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it worked well for me in spite of its flaws. I’ll definitely be on the look-out for more from Miranda Dubner.
I’m not a royal-watcher, and as a rule, I’m not a fan of royal romances. Of those I’ve read (and that isn’t a large number) the only one that really worked for me was Lilah Pace’s His Royal Secret/His Royal Favorite duology, and a big part of that was because the author had taken care to set the story in an AU (alternate) but recognisable contemporary Britain in which all the important things (like the two world wars) still happened, but the royal line had taken a different direction. When I read the synopsis for Miranda Dubner’s début novel The Spare I was intrigued by the storyline and pleased to see that the book is also set in carefully constructed AU. I decided to give it a try, and I’m very glad I did.
HRH Edward Nicholas William Desmond Kensington, second son of Queen Victoria II – and the eponymous spare – arrives, somewhat apprehensively, at the Royal Opera House to attend a performance at which his mother, his sister Alexandra, and various other society luminaries will also be present. Handsome, suave, charming Edward is the real ‘people person’ of the next generation of royals; he’s always been the one to deflect unwanted attention with a quip or able to turn an awkward conversation with a well-placed question or anecdote, and going to a royal gala is nothing he hasn’t done a hundred times before. But this time is different. A couple of weeks earlier, he was forcibly outed when a tabloid printed a photograph of him, taken when he was at university, which clearly shows him in an embrace with another man. This is his first public appearance since the story broke, and while he knows all too well he’s going to be the subject of hushed gossip and hurriedly-stopped conversations, he doesn’t know how bad it’s going to be. He’s bisexual, and his family is aware of it; and while he wanted to come out, he knows there was never going to be a good time for him to do it and has been holding off for the sake of his family, which has suffered enough scandal in the past decade due to his parents’ divorce, the first ever involving a reigning monarch – but the rainbow cat is well and truly out of the bag now and the fallout has to be dealt with.
The Palace communications team is, of course, keen to mitigate the damage, and they suggest Eddie squashes the “ugly rumours” by being seen with a suitable (and carefully vetted) young woman he could believably form a “long connection” with. Even as he knew this was going to be the likely response, and that he has no alternative but to do what is being asked of him – just like he always has – internally, he’s railing against the frustration that he can do nothing about the invasion of privacy he’s suffered, the demand that he continue to deny who he really is – and that he still has to hide the fact that for the last eight years, he’s been in love with a former SAS officer by the name of Isaac Cole. Who happens to be his principal protection officer. His bodyguard.
The first part of the novel offers readers a good insight into the relationship between Eddie and Isaac (although I can’t deny I’d have liked it to have been fleshed out a little more), and offers a bit of their backstory and an explanation for exactly how and why they have become so close. Isaac is every bit as gone for Eddie as vice versa, but he’s never been anything but professional around him, has never overstepped any boundaries… until the night a bomb goes off at a high-profile London club – with Eddie in the middle of it.
I’m not going to give more specifics about the plot, because there’s a lot of it. The synopsis for The Spare talks more about the romance between Eddie and Isaac than about anything else in the book, but after the bombing, the focus widens and it becomes more of a family drama. Eddie and Isaac are at the heart of the story; even when they’re separated for a chunk of the second half, the depth of their longing for one another is always there in the background – but there’s a lot more going on than just their romance. One of the people Eddie has been trying so hard to protect from the media spotlight over the years is his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, who has recently been pretty much ordered to leave the job he loves with the RAF and come back to join the circus (the real royals refer to The Firm; here, it’s The Circus, which is a good alternative!) and who is quiet, reserved and not as well-equipped as Eddie to deal with life in the goldfish bowl of media attention. There’s his sister Alexandra, whom the media has labelled self-absorbed and empty-headed, and his complicated, conflicting feelings about his father, whose addictions and infidelities eventually led to the end of his marriage, but whom Eddie can’t quite bring himself to hate. All these other storylines are really well done and all the characters – from the principal players down to the smallest bit-parts – are superbly fleshed-out, making it easy to become invested in them and their stories. I ended up loving the book, but I realise it may not work as well for others because of the wider focus than one normally expects in a romance.
The author has obviously done her homework (her author’s note is well worth reading), looking into the way the Royal Family works and various customs and protocols (and has adapted some of them in a way that makes them perfectly plausible), but unfortunately this makes the Americanisms – fall, fawcet, trash, diaper, ass – seriously, this sentence: “A bunch of politicians who think I’m an idiot are going to surreptitiously stare at my ass” will make any British person wonder why a bunch of politicians are going to stare at a donkey; using “school” to mean higher education and describing Isaac as a “upperclassman” – stick out like sore thumbs. It’s a shame, when Ms. Dubner has clearly worked very hard on giving the novel the ring of authenticity, to be let down by things like that, but I understand corrections will be made in future editions.
There are places where the book could have done with a stronger editorial hand, a few scenes that didn’t seem to accomplish anything or go anywhere, and perhaps a couple that could have been reserved for later books (the author implies in her author’s note that there could be more to come).
Ultimately however, I really enjoyed The Spare and raced through it in a couple of sittings. It’s sharply observant, especially when it comes to the workings of today’s media and how vicious it can be; it’s funny – the banter is fresh and witty – and there are some incredibly poignant moments, some of them coming from a quarter you’d least expect. The plot does get a bit soapy towards the end, and there was one thing that I side-eyed hard, but in the end, I was enjoying the book so much, I decided to go with the flow.
Part romance, part family drama, The Spare may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it worked well for me in spite of its flaws. I’ll definitely be on the look-out for more from Miranda Dubner.
April 17, 2020
LOVED this book. Loved that everyone got a POV (something I don’t usually like) but it really worked here to show you that everyone involved had their own lives and their own stuff going on. I want a prequel about Isaac and a sequel about Alex and Daniel, please.
The ending was a little fast for me, but it felt soapy in a good way so I decided to let myself enjoy the ridiculousness.
The ending was a little fast for me, but it felt soapy in a good way so I decided to let myself enjoy the ridiculousness.
April 15, 2020
Man, I'm conflicted about this one. On the one hand: I'm weak for royalty romances, and there's such a delightful cast and built-out AU world here, and the writing is so warm and thoughtful and funny! Narratives about balancing private lives with public expectations! Family who love each other but have to get better about talking to each other! Explorations of queerness! So many of my kryptonites! But on the other: holy cow, the POV shifting and sheer amount of stuff packed into one book.
Off the top of my head, there are at least nine characters who get at least one POV section, which is way too many for me and meant that relationships and plot points and promising opportunities for character development got the short end of the stick, particularly . There was so much going on! I desperately wish this was a series with a book for each romance involved; I would read the shit out of that series!
I also wasn't fully sold, in the end, on the relationship between Eddie and Isaac. I felt like we heard more about how much they meant to each other than we actually saw, like the reader had missed an entire earlier book, especially when . There were far fewer scenes of them actually interacting than I was expecting. There were also some power dynamics inherent in their relationship - prince/bodyguard, older character/younger character who met when the younger one was 18 - that weren't my cup of tea and didn't feel fully addressed for me. I felt like I had a good sense of who Eddie is as a character (and loved him - my boy!), but not as strong of an understanding of Isaac. Finally (big spoilers for the ending) .
Three stars because there's so much potential here - I absolutely loved the writing, was interested in the characters, cackled and highlighted SO many funny and romantic lines, and I love that it was a big family drama with a fun cast! I was sucked in immediately and had high expectations and I couldn't put it down, even if I was a little disappointed, in the end. I'm looking forward to reading more by Miranda Dubner!
Off the top of my head, there are at least nine characters who get at least one POV section, which is way too many for me and meant that relationships and plot points and promising opportunities for character development got the short end of the stick, particularly . There was so much going on! I desperately wish this was a series with a book for each romance involved; I would read the shit out of that series!
I also wasn't fully sold, in the end, on the relationship between Eddie and Isaac. I felt like we heard more about how much they meant to each other than we actually saw, like the reader had missed an entire earlier book, especially when . There were far fewer scenes of them actually interacting than I was expecting. There were also some power dynamics inherent in their relationship - prince/bodyguard, older character/younger character who met when the younger one was 18 - that weren't my cup of tea and didn't feel fully addressed for me. I felt like I had a good sense of who Eddie is as a character (and loved him - my boy!), but not as strong of an understanding of Isaac. Finally (big spoilers for the ending) .
Three stars because there's so much potential here - I absolutely loved the writing, was interested in the characters, cackled and highlighted SO many funny and romantic lines, and I love that it was a big family drama with a fun cast! I was sucked in immediately and had high expectations and I couldn't put it down, even if I was a little disappointed, in the end. I'm looking forward to reading more by Miranda Dubner!
April 19, 2020
I wanted to write a killer persuasive review because this book literally just came out and it’s the author’s FIRST ONE EVER and everybody needs to know about it and read it, but I’ve been sitting here looking at the text box for like 5 minutes lost in that post book haze, so here’s some rambling instead! I picked this up because Cat Sebastian recommended it and it looked similar to Red, White, and Royal Blue which I also adore, but it is its own beautiful, funny, charming thing. Eddie and Isaac are heart-breaking and then heart-putting-back-together-again-ing, but also I would read another full length book about literally any side character in here. Or honestly anything else Miranda Dubner wants to write about.
The only minor quibble I had with it is Still 5 stars though! FRIENDS, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK AND THEN COME YELL ABOUT IT WITH ME.
The only minor quibble I had with it is Still 5 stars though! FRIENDS, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK AND THEN COME YELL ABOUT IT WITH ME.
May 4, 2020
I finished this book baffled by who the target audience for it was supposed to be. Obviously, when I read the first few pages, I thought that target audience included me. I've been reading back to back Georgette Heyers for the entirety of lockdown, for godssake. I would have taken an uncritical version of this story provided Jilly Cooper wrote it. Yet, as it started, it seemed set to do some critique, and I was There For It.
April 17, 2020
Well, this was a bit of a ride! There was a lot to like here. Many of the characters were delightful, there were some fun moments and a lot of potential in the set-up. The first half was pretty enjoyable, in spite of the constantly shifting POV (which drove me nuts), but wow that second half was a bit of a mess. There was just far too much going on, so many plot lines and characters crammed in, and it meant that the central romance just didn't work for me. The two of them didn't get a chance to be on the page together. I wanted to root for them to sort their stuff out, but they never really got to. There was all that build up, then just.... nothing. And then there is that ending, which was just utterly bonkers and wholly unsatisfying for me.
It's a pity, because there was a fun story here, but it got mixed in with several other fun stories, none of which really get the chance to shine.
It's a pity, because there was a fun story here, but it got mixed in with several other fun stories, none of which really get the chance to shine.
January 23, 2021
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. It's a 19thc village novel if Kensington Palace were the village; it's a yearning romance, with proper adult difficulties and decision-making and care-taking on both sides; it's a multi-POV where I was pleased to be in each POV and where I cared about the character revelations therein; it's funny without being mindlessly light. It was a flipping DELIGHT and I am soooooo glad to have come across it!!!! (Seriously tho, can I read it again for the first time, I can't even express the pleasure of sinking into something with the realization that it was going to be so good.)
April 22, 2020
As many other reviewers have said, I wanted more from each of the intertwined stories, and the resolution between the two "main" characters felt rushed and incomplete. I think I would have enjoyed this more if spread out into an ongoing series or split and expanded into a book per couple. Either way, I needed a lot more current-day interaction between the two mains.
August 9, 2021
there was so much potential for this plot but i feel like it didn't get explored to the fullest or even at all. But because it was still readable 3 stars.
edit:
i feel like the plot of this book would have been explored best if it was split into three or more books for each individual love story. But after a reread I can definitely say that this romance is criminally underrated.
edit:
i feel like the plot of this book would have been explored best if it was split into three or more books for each individual love story. But after a reread I can definitely say that this romance is criminally underrated.
February 25, 2022
When I picked this up I mistakenly thought it was an f/f romance. Then I thought it was an m/m romance, but that's not really it either. It's a soap opera, full of spoiled royals suffering under the weight of their compliance with a system that exploits them for entertainment in return for soft power they won't use for fear it reminds the people a hereditary monarchy is an unnecessary and expensive anachronism. It's The Crown, only gayer, not RPF, and set in the present day. And it is, finally, a romance, where (most) everyone is happily paired off at the end, even though the two grown men need their mommies to deal with their feelings for them, something I never realized I never wanted in a romance. So thanks for that I guess. Didn't exactly enjoy the Queen deciding they should [spoiler] either. Grown men need to deal with their own goddamned feelings or they don't deserve to be happily partnered, and in fact probably won't be for long.
This is also a romance in that it suffers from that thing where the narrators are constantly describing how they look and what they're wearing in a completely unnatural way, as if they're just getting a handle on object permanence. The POV's a bit sloppy, occasionally slipping into third person omniscient in distracting and confusing ways during crucial emotional moments. The main couple are Prince "I would never plan to be unfaithful to anyone I chose to spend my life with" Eddie—that is a direct quote—and his hot ex-special forces bodyguard and paid BFF, Issac, who is a person of color, but unfortunately I've already forgotten the specifics, so it's not like it's an integral part of his character. There also are about a dozen other narrators, though most of them come from the same family tree, and I was disappointed the book dropped the disabled journalist as soon as he lost the favor of the royal family. He was a nice change from the queen, three princes, two princesses, and a princess-to-be. Also I saw the twist coming a mile out and was not impressed.
Despite knowing nothing about the British monarchy, I enjoyed the author's "Ahistorical Note" at the end. This Queen is Victoria II, in case you're interested in that sort of thing. The book contains no Brexit and no COVID. No lesbians either. 2.5 stars rounded up, I guess.
Contains: explicit m/m sex; references to sexual assault and rape; intimate partner abuse (experienced off-screen by a side character, seemingly only introduced to be a gay tragedy and show what a good guy Eddie is through his volunteer work at the shelter); almost unrelenting whiteness; homophobia (from individuals (sometimes challenged) and institutional (the monarchy, and not challenged until the end)); being closeted (includes arranging a sham marriage); a disabled character being manhandled without permission; bombing of a nightclub that's popular with queers (again, mostly to make Eddie have feelings).
This is also a romance in that it suffers from that thing where the narrators are constantly describing how they look and what they're wearing in a completely unnatural way, as if they're just getting a handle on object permanence. The POV's a bit sloppy, occasionally slipping into third person omniscient in distracting and confusing ways during crucial emotional moments. The main couple are Prince "I would never plan to be unfaithful to anyone I chose to spend my life with" Eddie—that is a direct quote—and his hot ex-special forces bodyguard and paid BFF, Issac, who is a person of color, but unfortunately I've already forgotten the specifics, so it's not like it's an integral part of his character. There also are about a dozen other narrators, though most of them come from the same family tree, and I was disappointed the book dropped the disabled journalist as soon as he lost the favor of the royal family. He was a nice change from the queen, three princes, two princesses, and a princess-to-be. Also I saw the twist coming a mile out and was not impressed.
Despite knowing nothing about the British monarchy, I enjoyed the author's "Ahistorical Note" at the end. This Queen is Victoria II, in case you're interested in that sort of thing. The book contains no Brexit and no COVID. No lesbians either. 2.5 stars rounded up, I guess.
Contains: explicit m/m sex; references to sexual assault and rape; intimate partner abuse (experienced off-screen by a side character, seemingly only introduced to be a gay tragedy and show what a good guy Eddie is through his volunteer work at the shelter); almost unrelenting whiteness; homophobia (from individuals (sometimes challenged) and institutional (the monarchy, and not challenged until the end)); being closeted (includes arranging a sham marriage); a disabled character being manhandled without permission; bombing of a nightclub that's popular with queers (again, mostly to make Eddie have feelings).
April 21, 2020
There were so many things I completely adored about this book. The prose, for a start, is wonderful. Really clever and sometimes just really beautiful; the whole thing is peppered with the kind of lines that make you stop and go wow. The characters are top drawer; from the most minor right on up they are fleshed out and interesting. And the plot is, well. There's a lot of it.
You know how in romance novels when a side character gets a few extra lines of description you can tell that they're going to be the focus of the next novel in the series? The Spare did that, except instead of a little extra backstory it was whole chapters. There were meet-cutes and makeouts and then the characters and their budding romances never visited again. I can't be certain, but it seems likely that these couples will be the focus of future books, but if that's the case then save these scenes for those books and allow this one to give Eddie and Isaac the focus they deserve.
Really the book should have gone full-on chonker family saga and followed all the story-lines to a satisfying conclusion, or tightened focus. The Eddie/Isaac romance was lost in the second half, and while I still really enjoyed everything else that was going on, it was a shame.
Also, seriously, someone explain to me the motivation behind basically everything Gwen did in this book because I. WAS. BAFFLED. What logic was she operating under?
Despite everything I was never bored with this strange smooshing together of soap opera and slice of life. Fantastically written and full of fantastic characters I would love to see more of.
You know how in romance novels when a side character gets a few extra lines of description you can tell that they're going to be the focus of the next novel in the series? The Spare did that, except instead of a little extra backstory it was whole chapters. There were meet-cutes and makeouts and then the characters and their budding romances never visited again. I can't be certain, but it seems likely that these couples will be the focus of future books, but if that's the case then save these scenes for those books and allow this one to give Eddie and Isaac the focus they deserve.
Really the book should have gone full-on chonker family saga and followed all the story-lines to a satisfying conclusion, or tightened focus. The Eddie/Isaac romance was lost in the second half, and while I still really enjoyed everything else that was going on, it was a shame.
Also, seriously, someone explain to me the motivation behind basically everything Gwen did in this book because I. WAS. BAFFLED. What logic was she operating under?
Despite everything I was never bored with this strange smooshing together of soap opera and slice of life. Fantastically written and full of fantastic characters I would love to see more of.
March 25, 2024
I've given this an A+ for narration and a B+ for content at AudioGals
The Spare is an entertaining mix of romance and sweeping family drama set in an AU in which Queen Victoria II sits upon the British throne – the first ever divorced monarch – and which features multiple storylines for her and her three children, Arthur, Prince of Wales, Edward (the titular “Spare”) and Alexandra. I read the book last year and enjoyed it, but although it contains one primary romance that reaches its HEA and other romantic threads throughout, I’d suggest anyone contemplating listening to this – and it’s well worth a listen – should think Downton Abbey rather than His Royal Secret. The book blurb is somewhat misleading in this respect.
When the novel begins, HRH Edward Nicholas William Desmond Kensington, second son of Queen Victoria II, is making his first public appearance in the UK since he was publicly outed when old photographs – taken while he was at university – of him cuddled up to another man were splashed across the UK tabloids. His family is aware of his bisexuality, but he’s kept it under wraps everywhere else mostly for their sake; his mother’s divorce some years before mired them all in enough scandal to last a lifetime, and Eddie was hoping he’d be able to pick his own moment to make an announcement. But it was not to be and now the fallout has to be dealt with.
The Palace communications team has been in damage control mode since the story broke, and their mitigation plan is for Eddie to counter the “ugly rumours” by being seen out and about with a suitable – and carefully vetted – young woman he could conceivably form a long-term connection with. It’s what he expected from them and he has no real alternative than to do what’s being asked of him, but it’s infuriating and insulting; his privacy has been invaded and there’s nothing he can do about it, and now he’s going to have to spend yet more time living a lie and denying who he truly is. Worse, it means he’ll have to continue hiding the fact that for the past eight years, he’s been in love with his principal protection officer, former SAS operative Isaac Cole.
It’s clear that Isaac is every bit as far gone for Eddie as vice versa, and also that he’s never been anything but professional around him, so they’re at something of a stalemate, neither of them able to see a way forward to be together as anything as protector and protectee. Until the night everything changes, after a bomb goes off at an exclusive London night club where Eddie has gone for a night out.
After this, the story starts to open out and the other plotlines – some of which have been already introduced (such as the one featuring Alexandra and journalist Daniel Black who has been hired to go through the recently deceased Queen Mother’s papers and write her official biography) – start to come into play, while Eddie and Isaac’s story assumes less prominence, and in fact, the pair spend the middle third (or so) of the book apart. Eddie’s brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, is one of the people Eddie has been trying to protect by not coming out publicly and not causing more scandal. Arthur has made a career in the RAF, but at the beginning of the book has had to finally accede to the wishes of his mother and the government and step down in order to pick up his royal duties. But whereas Eddie has always been the ‘people person’ of the younger generation of royals – charming, personable and able to turn around an awkward conversation or divert a difficult question – Arthur is shy and reserved, and Eddie knows how difficult he’s going to find life in the spotlight. Then there’s Eddie’s sister Alexandra, labelled absorbed and empty-headed by the media, his aunt Sophie (in whose character there are definite echoes of Princess Margaret) and his conflicted feelings about the father he so resembles, a man whose infidelities and addictions eventually led to divorce, but who he can’t quite bring himself to hate.
All these (and other) plotlines are interesting and cleverly woven together for the most part (there are a few scenes that don’t seem to accomplish anything or go anywhere), but there’s no getting away from the fact that the synopsis sells The Spare as an m/m romance, but really it’s a wider, ensemble story featuring an m/m romance, so if you’re interested in listening to it, you may need to adjust your expectations a bit. Eddie and Isaac do get their HEA in something of a soapy, fairytale ending – but when one half of a romantic couple is a prince, I suppose that’s to be expected!
I really appreciated the amount of research that must have gone into this story, because Miranda Dubner does a terrific job when it comes to exploring the way the actual Royal Family works – in terms of the many customs and protocols – and applying and adapting them in a way that’s perfectly plausible. Also really well done is the look at how today’s media works, how vicious it can be, and how helpless even the most celebrated, high-ranking people in the country can be against it.
I remember seeing Joel Leslie say on social media last summer that he was going to be narrating this book and thinking “Perfect!” I can think of very few performers with the range and versatility needed to be able to voice a book containing a cast of thirty (?) speaking roles, around a dozen or which are major recurring characters, and – no spoilers – he delivers an outstanding performance. He’s a superb vocal actor, and all the things you’d expect of a narrator of his calibre – pacing, characterisation, differentiation – are spot on. But most impressive of all is the sheer number of different character voices and accents he has at his disposal; we’ve got a Welsh journalist, PPOs from London, Scotland, the West Country and the north of England, an American businessman… and his perfectly modulated RP (received pronunciation) is totally on point for the royals and some of their acolytes. His female voices are always good, his comic timing is excellent and his ability to switch seamlessly between characters in conversational scenes (without mixing them up!) is incredible. If you’ve listened to Joel Leslie before, then you’ll already know just how good he is. If you haven’t got around to it yet, you’ve got a treat in store.
The Spare is sharply observed, funny and poignant, with a wonderfully rounded cast of characters, lots of witty banter and a clutch of compelling storylines. But I can’t deny that I’d have liked more of the focus to have been on Eddie and Isaac and can’t help wishing that some of those other storylines could have been saved for another book so as to allow more space for the romance to develop. I really wanted more of their backstory and to be shown how they became so close, but as it stands, neither that nor their current relationship is all that well fleshed-out.
Despite that, The Spare has a lot going for it once you know what you’re getting, and Joel Leslie’s barnstorming performance definitely makes the case for experiencing it in audio format.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals
The Spare is an entertaining mix of romance and sweeping family drama set in an AU in which Queen Victoria II sits upon the British throne – the first ever divorced monarch – and which features multiple storylines for her and her three children, Arthur, Prince of Wales, Edward (the titular “Spare”) and Alexandra. I read the book last year and enjoyed it, but although it contains one primary romance that reaches its HEA and other romantic threads throughout, I’d suggest anyone contemplating listening to this – and it’s well worth a listen – should think Downton Abbey rather than His Royal Secret. The book blurb is somewhat misleading in this respect.
When the novel begins, HRH Edward Nicholas William Desmond Kensington, second son of Queen Victoria II, is making his first public appearance in the UK since he was publicly outed when old photographs – taken while he was at university – of him cuddled up to another man were splashed across the UK tabloids. His family is aware of his bisexuality, but he’s kept it under wraps everywhere else mostly for their sake; his mother’s divorce some years before mired them all in enough scandal to last a lifetime, and Eddie was hoping he’d be able to pick his own moment to make an announcement. But it was not to be and now the fallout has to be dealt with.
The Palace communications team has been in damage control mode since the story broke, and their mitigation plan is for Eddie to counter the “ugly rumours” by being seen out and about with a suitable – and carefully vetted – young woman he could conceivably form a long-term connection with. It’s what he expected from them and he has no real alternative than to do what’s being asked of him, but it’s infuriating and insulting; his privacy has been invaded and there’s nothing he can do about it, and now he’s going to have to spend yet more time living a lie and denying who he truly is. Worse, it means he’ll have to continue hiding the fact that for the past eight years, he’s been in love with his principal protection officer, former SAS operative Isaac Cole.
It’s clear that Isaac is every bit as far gone for Eddie as vice versa, and also that he’s never been anything but professional around him, so they’re at something of a stalemate, neither of them able to see a way forward to be together as anything as protector and protectee. Until the night everything changes, after a bomb goes off at an exclusive London night club where Eddie has gone for a night out.
After this, the story starts to open out and the other plotlines – some of which have been already introduced (such as the one featuring Alexandra and journalist Daniel Black who has been hired to go through the recently deceased Queen Mother’s papers and write her official biography) – start to come into play, while Eddie and Isaac’s story assumes less prominence, and in fact, the pair spend the middle third (or so) of the book apart. Eddie’s brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, is one of the people Eddie has been trying to protect by not coming out publicly and not causing more scandal. Arthur has made a career in the RAF, but at the beginning of the book has had to finally accede to the wishes of his mother and the government and step down in order to pick up his royal duties. But whereas Eddie has always been the ‘people person’ of the younger generation of royals – charming, personable and able to turn around an awkward conversation or divert a difficult question – Arthur is shy and reserved, and Eddie knows how difficult he’s going to find life in the spotlight. Then there’s Eddie’s sister Alexandra, labelled absorbed and empty-headed by the media, his aunt Sophie (in whose character there are definite echoes of Princess Margaret) and his conflicted feelings about the father he so resembles, a man whose infidelities and addictions eventually led to divorce, but who he can’t quite bring himself to hate.
All these (and other) plotlines are interesting and cleverly woven together for the most part (there are a few scenes that don’t seem to accomplish anything or go anywhere), but there’s no getting away from the fact that the synopsis sells The Spare as an m/m romance, but really it’s a wider, ensemble story featuring an m/m romance, so if you’re interested in listening to it, you may need to adjust your expectations a bit. Eddie and Isaac do get their HEA in something of a soapy, fairytale ending – but when one half of a romantic couple is a prince, I suppose that’s to be expected!
I really appreciated the amount of research that must have gone into this story, because Miranda Dubner does a terrific job when it comes to exploring the way the actual Royal Family works – in terms of the many customs and protocols – and applying and adapting them in a way that’s perfectly plausible. Also really well done is the look at how today’s media works, how vicious it can be, and how helpless even the most celebrated, high-ranking people in the country can be against it.
I remember seeing Joel Leslie say on social media last summer that he was going to be narrating this book and thinking “Perfect!” I can think of very few performers with the range and versatility needed to be able to voice a book containing a cast of thirty (?) speaking roles, around a dozen or which are major recurring characters, and – no spoilers – he delivers an outstanding performance. He’s a superb vocal actor, and all the things you’d expect of a narrator of his calibre – pacing, characterisation, differentiation – are spot on. But most impressive of all is the sheer number of different character voices and accents he has at his disposal; we’ve got a Welsh journalist, PPOs from London, Scotland, the West Country and the north of England, an American businessman… and his perfectly modulated RP (received pronunciation) is totally on point for the royals and some of their acolytes. His female voices are always good, his comic timing is excellent and his ability to switch seamlessly between characters in conversational scenes (without mixing them up!) is incredible. If you’ve listened to Joel Leslie before, then you’ll already know just how good he is. If you haven’t got around to it yet, you’ve got a treat in store.
The Spare is sharply observed, funny and poignant, with a wonderfully rounded cast of characters, lots of witty banter and a clutch of compelling storylines. But I can’t deny that I’d have liked more of the focus to have been on Eddie and Isaac and can’t help wishing that some of those other storylines could have been saved for another book so as to allow more space for the romance to develop. I really wanted more of their backstory and to be shown how they became so close, but as it stands, neither that nor their current relationship is all that well fleshed-out.
Despite that, The Spare has a lot going for it once you know what you’re getting, and Joel Leslie’s barnstorming performance definitely makes the case for experiencing it in audio format.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals
December 11, 2020
I really liked this story but realistically it is not a romance. We get a lot of development and details on Nicholas and Isaacs relationship in the first half but the second half is only focused on Nicholas and we don't really see Isaac at all.
Nevertheless I really liked it
Nevertheless I really liked it
April 23, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. I liked parts of it very much, but for the most part I found it pretty frustrating. I think that's because of a mismatch between what I like to read and what the book was doing, more than a sign of the book doing things badly, although there were also a few areas I thought could have used improvement.
The book is written in omniscient voice. This mostly takes the form of serialized close 3rd POVs in short sections, with lots of POV characters, although it also contains scenes where we dip into multiple perspectives. It's well done in a technical sense, I just...dislike that kind of narrative voice. The serialized form also has a flaw in that every time we get a new character's POV we pause the action in favor of a couple of pages of expository backstory for that character. I'd had enough by backstory #5 and I think we ended up with 9 overall. Part of this, I think, was an attempt to humanize some of the less noble characters, but the rest of the book is well written enough that I didn't need those passages to believe that those characters weren't two-dimensional villains, you know?
The main relationship, between Eddie and his bodyguard Isaac, was very well done. I believed in the connection between these two characters, I was really rooting for them to end up together even while one of them was doing increasingly ill-advised things, and the barriers between them were very realistically drawn. The story goes broader throughout the course of the novel, but my favorite part was the first section that is mostly about these two characters. There's also some really good stuff about the pressures on Eddie to stay in the closet. In particular, there are characters of multiple orientations arguing for closeting as well as openness, in a way I thought captured the messiness of real people trying to be supportive but also to protect people they care about from what they know would be a media firestorm. And, in general, the existence of multiple queer supporting characters was a major positive for me.
I was expecting a story with royals + bodyguards to be kind of tropey, but the story got tropier and more melodramatic as the piece went along, and therefore less and less to my taste. I think I found this especially annoying because the first part of the book had some interestingly realistic things to say about the effects of press scrutiny & the duty felt by the royal children, and that component mostly got left behind as the story developed in the name of drama. I liked the smaller-scale, more realistic stuff better. (Again, that's about my reading taste, not about the quality of the book per se.)
There's really enough story in this book to make two separate books, and the reading experience suffers for it; things are glossed over that really deserve some breathing time, and some plot threads feel kind of unfinished even by the end. Spoilers: Also, virtually every character gets a love interest, which I tend to find distractingly unrealistic.
4 stars for the parts of the book dealing with the main relationship, 2 stars for everything else.
The book is written in omniscient voice. This mostly takes the form of serialized close 3rd POVs in short sections, with lots of POV characters, although it also contains scenes where we dip into multiple perspectives. It's well done in a technical sense, I just...dislike that kind of narrative voice. The serialized form also has a flaw in that every time we get a new character's POV we pause the action in favor of a couple of pages of expository backstory for that character. I'd had enough by backstory #5 and I think we ended up with 9 overall. Part of this, I think, was an attempt to humanize some of the less noble characters, but the rest of the book is well written enough that I didn't need those passages to believe that those characters weren't two-dimensional villains, you know?
The main relationship, between Eddie and his bodyguard Isaac, was very well done. I believed in the connection between these two characters, I was really rooting for them to end up together even while one of them was doing increasingly ill-advised things, and the barriers between them were very realistically drawn. The story goes broader throughout the course of the novel, but my favorite part was the first section that is mostly about these two characters. There's also some really good stuff about the pressures on Eddie to stay in the closet. In particular, there are characters of multiple orientations arguing for closeting as well as openness, in a way I thought captured the messiness of real people trying to be supportive but also to protect people they care about from what they know would be a media firestorm. And, in general, the existence of multiple queer supporting characters was a major positive for me.
I was expecting a story with royals + bodyguards to be kind of tropey, but the story got tropier and more melodramatic as the piece went along, and therefore less and less to my taste. I think I found this especially annoying because the first part of the book had some interestingly realistic things to say about the effects of press scrutiny & the duty felt by the royal children, and that component mostly got left behind as the story developed in the name of drama. I liked the smaller-scale, more realistic stuff better. (Again, that's about my reading taste, not about the quality of the book per se.)
There's really enough story in this book to make two separate books, and the reading experience suffers for it; things are glossed over that really deserve some breathing time, and some plot threads feel kind of unfinished even by the end. Spoilers: Also, virtually every character gets a love interest, which I tend to find distractingly unrealistic.
4 stars for the parts of the book dealing with the main relationship, 2 stars for everything else.
May 5, 2025
As an author who regularly breaks genre rules herself, it came as no surprise to me that this book was self-published. It is absolutely a love story and romance. But it centers on more than the two heroes, includes a healthy dose of family drama, and has the audacity to feature more than two points of view.
Basically, it breaks the rules in all the best ways. I devoured the text in two sittings, and once I was finished I felt emotionally mauled at the hands of my Kindle. At turns, the story is sexy, clever, poignant, and hilarious. But most of all, it’s fun. It’s escapism that makes you think, and a plausible alternate history that could be real, and absolutely worth ignoring any criticism about how it shatters romance tropes.
There is a certain amount of “poor little rich kid” to the story, and I would have had no patience for that in any characters who were not part of the world’s most famous royal family. This is simply not a plot that would have worked with billionaires or dukes or whatever else is popular in romance stories these days.
Overall, this book is more than just about Eddie and Isaac. They’re the heart of events, but there’s so much else to get absorbed by. Two love stories get their happily ever afters in this book, but Dubner leaves room to revisit those characters by planting the seeds of other romances. I already can’t wait to come back to the world of the Kensingtons.
Basically, it breaks the rules in all the best ways. I devoured the text in two sittings, and once I was finished I felt emotionally mauled at the hands of my Kindle. At turns, the story is sexy, clever, poignant, and hilarious. But most of all, it’s fun. It’s escapism that makes you think, and a plausible alternate history that could be real, and absolutely worth ignoring any criticism about how it shatters romance tropes.
There is a certain amount of “poor little rich kid” to the story, and I would have had no patience for that in any characters who were not part of the world’s most famous royal family. This is simply not a plot that would have worked with billionaires or dukes or whatever else is popular in romance stories these days.
Overall, this book is more than just about Eddie and Isaac. They’re the heart of events, but there’s so much else to get absorbed by. Two love stories get their happily ever afters in this book, but Dubner leaves room to revisit those characters by planting the seeds of other romances. I already can’t wait to come back to the world of the Kensingtons.
December 26, 2020
3.5/5. A nice read, but I felt there were too many storylines and as a result, the central characters somewhat lucked development at moment. Putting it all in one book meant that unfortunately not all stories came together as nicely as they could otherwise, but overall, it was an enjoyable read with a right amount of ridiculousness.
April 15, 2020
3.5
An unputdownable book (literally, I couldn't put it down and finished it way past any reasonable bed time).
The thing is, it wasn't exactly what I expected. Instead of a fluffy light romance, we get a darker story with some traumatic events. Instead of a focus on the two main leads, we get a sprawling, multipovs, multi-subplots story. It would have worked better as a series, IMO. But it was still so very readable.
The book took an unexpected (it's the theme here...) turn halfway through and I was a bit baffled by some of the decisions for the plot. But all in all, a royal-drama-filled, very well-written, tropey at times romance story.
An unputdownable book (literally, I couldn't put it down and finished it way past any reasonable bed time).
The thing is, it wasn't exactly what I expected. Instead of a fluffy light romance, we get a darker story with some traumatic events. Instead of a focus on the two main leads, we get a sprawling, multipovs, multi-subplots story. It would have worked better as a series, IMO. But it was still so very readable.
The book took an unexpected (it's the theme here...) turn halfway through and I was a bit baffled by some of the decisions for the plot. But all in all, a royal-drama-filled, very well-written, tropey at times romance story.
March 21, 2021
UGGGGGGGH this book was so good. Happy twist ending - happy twist SUB-ending, really, considering the larger twist.
You’ll need to reserve more time than usual for this one. Multiple threads/POVs are all connected tightly, as they should be, but you’ll want to linger to fully grasp them. It’s a miniseries packed into a movie.
Gaaaaah I want more with Daniel and his, uh, person as well, among all of the others. Okay, fine - I want all of them.
You’ll need to reserve more time than usual for this one. Multiple threads/POVs are all connected tightly, as they should be, but you’ll want to linger to fully grasp them. It’s a miniseries packed into a movie.
Gaaaaah I want more with Daniel and his, uh, person as well, among all of the others. Okay, fine - I want all of them.
April 21, 2020
Hey! I really enjoyed this, but the plot was bonkers and the tone was serious, which made for a confusing read. I think it's a good book! But its problem is that it doesn't know to which genre it belongs: the plot makes it look like chick-lit (which I love), the romance and (1) sex scene think they're in a (capitalised) Romance Novel, the cover falls definitely in YA territory and the writing thinks it's on a historical literary novel. Which might make you go: then, can it not be a general/literary novel? And I say, no! Because the character work is not up to it, and the plot is definitely too cheesy for that. I love the plot! But it's fun, and the writer is not having fun with it, wants us to take it seriously, in fact.
The writing was a bit exhausting sometimes, too, not the narrators, but how they talked in monologues. Case in point:
This is well written, but to have a character talk like this is not literary.
You could go on and say (or not): then it's just a well-written Romance Novel, Marina, get over it. But the fact is, it's not romantic enough for that. Much of the romantic plot is glossed over and described afterwards, so we don't get to enjoy it while it happens and pine with the characters. The Eddie/Isaac was really good and then lost momentum as Isaac disappeared for 9 months of the characters' lives and like 30% of the novel. The feeling was not only that the book forgot about him, but that Eddie had, to.
I'm not obsessed with genre, I love works that defy categorisation, but they have to know what they are. This instead felt a bit like a Frankenstein of a novel that wanted to be everything and failed mid-way. I thoroughly believe that if it hadn't tried to achieve so much, it would've been much better. That's the problem with it, I think, too ambitious.
That said! I would still give the novel 4 stars if it weren't because it's kind of Monarchy-apologist. Like, so many times it's admitted in-text that the Monarchy is an anachronic institution that makes no sense in modern society, and yet again and again we're made to feel bad for them. From the Malcom interview (redemption is good! I'm all for it, but maybe re-think it when it's coming from an ex-Prince Consort, it feels apologetic!), to the super long conversation between Queen Victoria II and (queen) Sandra at the end, from the final resolution. It's crazy to think that, thanks to Harry & Meghan, this felt more conservative than the actual British Monarchy. So many times I thought: just fuck it and quit, Eddie, hasn't Harry taught you anything?!
The writing was a bit exhausting sometimes, too, not the narrators, but how they talked in monologues. Case in point:
“I have absolutely no idea what to say,” Malcolm said, after a moment. “A sad commentary on a man confronted with his own son, but perhaps not an unusual one even in the best of circumstances. I acknowledge wholeheartedly that these are not the best of circumstances. Drink?” He tilted his glass at Eddie, who nodded. “Take your coat off. This isn’t the dark ages, the heat is on. Much to your grandmother’s dismay, if she knew.”
This is well written, but to have a character talk like this is not literary.
You could go on and say (or not): then it's just a well-written Romance Novel, Marina, get over it. But the fact is, it's not romantic enough for that. Much of the romantic plot is glossed over and described afterwards, so we don't get to enjoy it while it happens and pine with the characters. The Eddie/Isaac was really good and then lost momentum as Isaac disappeared for 9 months of the characters' lives and like 30% of the novel. The feeling was not only that the book forgot about him, but that Eddie had, to.
I'm not obsessed with genre, I love works that defy categorisation, but they have to know what they are. This instead felt a bit like a Frankenstein of a novel that wanted to be everything and failed mid-way. I thoroughly believe that if it hadn't tried to achieve so much, it would've been much better. That's the problem with it, I think, too ambitious.
That said! I would still give the novel 4 stars if it weren't because it's kind of Monarchy-apologist. Like, so many times it's admitted in-text that the Monarchy is an anachronic institution that makes no sense in modern society, and yet again and again we're made to feel bad for them. From the Malcom interview (redemption is good! I'm all for it, but maybe re-think it when it's coming from an ex-Prince Consort, it feels apologetic!), to the super long conversation between Queen Victoria II and (queen) Sandra at the end, from the final resolution. It's crazy to think that, thanks to Harry & Meghan, this felt more conservative than the actual British Monarchy. So many times I thought: just fuck it and quit, Eddie, hasn't Harry taught you anything?!
August 25, 2020
3.5 stars
Ok so my thoughts are a bit muddled on this one, but on the whole I was carried along by the story, despite it being a little messy in places - it seemed pretty long and yet I wanted to continue reading. You do have to bear in mind its somewhat fantastical as a storyline, and if I was being more critical I might have marked it lower, but I went in with no expectations and actually found it pretty enjoyable.
However, it's not really a bodyguard romance as the blurb would suggest...I mean it is to an extent, but there are multiple viewpoints (often switching mid-paragraph in the kindle edition, which was sometimes a little jarring). I don't usually like multiple viewpoints, but actually I was quite invested in all the characters, so I didn't really mind too much. But it did mean that we didn't really get anywhere near enough Eddie & Isaac.
Despite how long it seemed, it also left me wanting more, as we didn't really get a full and satisfying end to some of the threads of the story...I'm guessing there might be more from the Kensingtons in the future?
I have no idea how this story came about but it did feel a little like fanfic made into a novel? Maybe needed a little more editing, but as I said above, I did still find it enjoyable.
Ok so my thoughts are a bit muddled on this one, but on the whole I was carried along by the story, despite it being a little messy in places - it seemed pretty long and yet I wanted to continue reading. You do have to bear in mind its somewhat fantastical as a storyline, and if I was being more critical I might have marked it lower, but I went in with no expectations and actually found it pretty enjoyable.
However, it's not really a bodyguard romance as the blurb would suggest...I mean it is to an extent, but there are multiple viewpoints (often switching mid-paragraph in the kindle edition, which was sometimes a little jarring). I don't usually like multiple viewpoints, but actually I was quite invested in all the characters, so I didn't really mind too much. But it did mean that we didn't really get anywhere near enough Eddie & Isaac.
Despite how long it seemed, it also left me wanting more, as we didn't really get a full and satisfying end to some of the threads of the story...I'm guessing there might be more from the Kensingtons in the future?
I have no idea how this story came about but it did feel a little like fanfic made into a novel? Maybe needed a little more editing, but as I said above, I did still find it enjoyable.
October 14, 2020
I really loved this. If you enjoyed Red, White and Royal Blue, this is very much in the same vein!
An alt-history revolving around Eddie, the bisexual second son to Queen Victoria II, with a strong m/m bodyguard/prince romance at the core of the story... but it's not a traditional romance, maybe more the first book in a family saga? We gradually get to dip in and out of the heads of several of Eddie's family members (more and more as the book goes on) as well as the prospective romantic foils to his siblings. There's a HEA in this one and a very satisfying conclusion, but lots of family turmoil and threads left dangling with other characters, so I hope it's going to be a series.
It's a funny, romantic book with lots of depth, about a post-modern Royal Family very much aware that their privileged life is an antiquated custom on the verge of extinction (but not ready to leave just yet)...
Also, ridiculously cozy and escapist for all the darker themes it occasionally touches upon, mostly in the backstories of characters (substance abuse, killing while in military service, PTSD, sexual assault, implied suicide, not all connected to the same characters!).
An alt-history revolving around Eddie, the bisexual second son to Queen Victoria II, with a strong m/m bodyguard/prince romance at the core of the story... but it's not a traditional romance, maybe more the first book in a family saga? We gradually get to dip in and out of the heads of several of Eddie's family members (more and more as the book goes on) as well as the prospective romantic foils to his siblings. There's a HEA in this one and a very satisfying conclusion, but lots of family turmoil and threads left dangling with other characters, so I hope it's going to be a series.
It's a funny, romantic book with lots of depth, about a post-modern Royal Family very much aware that their privileged life is an antiquated custom on the verge of extinction (but not ready to leave just yet)...
Also, ridiculously cozy and escapist for all the darker themes it occasionally touches upon, mostly in the backstories of characters (substance abuse, killing while in military service, PTSD, sexual assault, implied suicide, not all connected to the same characters!).
November 28, 2020
What a wonderful story, so well written, in the sense that I cared and felt for the characters as they went on their emotional journeys.
The way this story is written and the characters presented is pretty much all I hope when I get a new book. I'm very glad this story worked so well for me and it's definitely one of the best I've read this year.
I wouldn't say this is as much of a romance as the blurb suggests, but I had no problem seeing the plot move in a broader direction, with multiple POVs and the focus more on personal issues rather than a love story.
I'm really happy with the way this book is written but of course, others might not think so... still, I will wait to see if the author comes up with more books, for certain.
The way this story is written and the characters presented is pretty much all I hope when I get a new book. I'm very glad this story worked so well for me and it's definitely one of the best I've read this year.
I wouldn't say this is as much of a romance as the blurb suggests, but I had no problem seeing the plot move in a broader direction, with multiple POVs and the focus more on personal issues rather than a love story.
I'm really happy with the way this book is written but of course, others might not think so... still, I will wait to see if the author comes up with more books, for certain.
April 16, 2020
Sigh. What a wonderful book.
I don’t want to spoil it. I certainly didn’t like certain parts of this book but I loved every single character.
Flaws and all.
Reminded me a touch of red white and royal blue but I guess because it’s about a spare prince.
Sigh.
This book gave me all the feels!
😍😍
Mare~Slitsread
I don’t want to spoil it. I certainly didn’t like certain parts of this book but I loved every single character.
Flaws and all.
Reminded me a touch of red white and royal blue but I guess because it’s about a spare prince.
Sigh.
This book gave me all the feels!
😍😍
Mare~Slitsread
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May 28, 2020#ineedagayroyalromanceshelf this is getting out off hand.
February 7, 2023
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice:🌶🌶,5/5
This was honestly one of the best books I've read in a while and I stayed up until 5am to finish it becauseI just couldn't stop reading! Why isn't anyone talking about it?
I don't even remember how I found it but I'm so glad I did. The one thing I have to say is that the synopsis is kind of misleading because even thought Eddie is the main narrator, he's not the only one. There are a lot of characters that have POV's other than Eddie and Issac including all the members of the Royal Family as well as some other minor characters. So while Eddie's and Isaac's story is technically the main event of the book there are some other storyline happening simultaneously that don't have anything to do with them. But I don't consider that a negative thing because I absolutely LOVED every single love story in the book as well as all the main characters! Which is a new thing for me because I rarely get attached to the main characters and usually find only one couple compelling in each book I read. But that wasn't the case here. Even tho some characters had more screen time than others they all managed to find a place in my heart.
There are four main love stories. Eddie's and Isaac's, his older brother's, his younger sister's and the Queen's. And every single one of them was amazing. The chemistry between the characters was *chef’s kiss* and the only thing that made me kinda sad is that there wasn't more of them.😢 Out of the four couples the two get together by the end of the book and the other two are left on good terms.
Now given that the book came out in 2020 I'm not sure if the author is planning on writing another book where those two stories get the spotlight but I really hope that's the case because both Alex and the Queen really deserve it!
All in all *The Spare* is really a great book and I'm truly shocked that's it's not more popular. It really deserves to get more recognition!
Spice:🌶🌶,5/5
This was honestly one of the best books I've read in a while and I stayed up until 5am to finish it becauseI just couldn't stop reading! Why isn't anyone talking about it?
I don't even remember how I found it but I'm so glad I did. The one thing I have to say is that the synopsis is kind of misleading because even thought Eddie is the main narrator, he's not the only one. There are a lot of characters that have POV's other than Eddie and Issac including all the members of the Royal Family as well as some other minor characters. So while Eddie's and Isaac's story is technically the main event of the book there are some other storyline happening simultaneously that don't have anything to do with them. But I don't consider that a negative thing because I absolutely LOVED every single love story in the book as well as all the main characters! Which is a new thing for me because I rarely get attached to the main characters and usually find only one couple compelling in each book I read. But that wasn't the case here. Even tho some characters had more screen time than others they all managed to find a place in my heart.
There are four main love stories. Eddie's and Isaac's, his older brother's, his younger sister's and the Queen's. And every single one of them was amazing. The chemistry between the characters was *chef’s kiss* and the only thing that made me kinda sad is that there wasn't more of them.😢 Out of the four couples the two get together by the end of the book and the other two are left on good terms.
Now given that the book came out in 2020 I'm not sure if the author is planning on writing another book where those two stories get the spotlight but I really hope that's the case because both Alex and the Queen really deserve it!
All in all *The Spare* is really a great book and I'm truly shocked that's it's not more popular. It really deserves to get more recognition!
April 17, 2020
More of a drama set around an AU modern royal family than a romance, but very enjoyable. I did buy into this for the m/m romance and especially for the bodyguard romance, which is literally my favourite trope, and because of that I was a little disappointed at how much the focus fell away from Eddie and Isaac at times. That might have been just my expectation of an m/m romance being a little misplaced. The gaily coloured cover hides some darker themes than I was expecting, and I did like the multiple POVs, they are excellent for getting into the heads of characters you otherwise may not have been inclined to like (Malcolm, for example). I adored both Eddie and Isaac, but never quite got to the point of rooting really hard for them as a couple. Not sure why but I think it may have been the dilution of the focus on them in favour of the overall family drama. I think we needed to see a lot MORE of them, like a whole book's worth - we got a lot of "they adore each other" without seeing how they got there. There were a few points where this book could perhaps have used a slightly tighter edit, a few scenes that didn't seem to do or say very much. I wish we'd seen more of Daniel and Alex, too. To be honest I think this would have worked well as a series, I liked everyone so much and I feel like I've had a tasting plate, or tapas or something when what I really want is a three course meal for each. just read back over my review and realised it is sounding a bit churlish - I really did enjoy this book even if it wasn't quite in my wheelhouse.
April 18, 2020
This book is all heart. A messy, soft story set in a royal AU about a family who has to learn to love and at its center a bi prince & his stoic bodyguard. The kind of book that rewrites tropes, tugs heartstrings, but mostly makes reading so fun. There’s angst and drama, and in the hands of another writer some of the subplots might have been eye-rolling. But Dubner keeps everything grounded through her characters, and their wants & needs & losses.
If I *have* to complain, it’s that some of the writing was a little loose. I’d occasionally read a paragraph and think “umm did that say anything?” And, while I loved the multiple POVs and the multiple subplots, it did feel like it got lost a bit in the second third.
But honestly, if I had to send the book back and risk it coming back changed..I’d keep it just as it is.
CW: substance abuse, sexual assault (referenced), homophobia/biphobia, abuse (referenced)
If I *have* to complain, it’s that some of the writing was a little loose. I’d occasionally read a paragraph and think “umm did that say anything?” And, while I loved the multiple POVs and the multiple subplots, it did feel like it got lost a bit in the second third.
But honestly, if I had to send the book back and risk it coming back changed..I’d keep it just as it is.
CW: substance abuse, sexual assault (referenced), homophobia/biphobia, abuse (referenced)
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September 22, 2024I'm kind of torn on what I think about this. One the one hand, this was an incredibly fun soap opera about a fictional version of the British royal family. I was very into it, and actually cackled out loud at some of the twists. Several years ago there was a not-very-good cable TV drama about a fictional British royal family and as I read this I kept thinking, damn I REALLY wish they had done an adaptation of this book instead, because it would be a GREAT primetime soap. And making it a TV show would give the storylines more room to breathe (theoretically) - that was my biggest issue with the book. One the one hand, I loved the chaotic soap opera, but on the other hand, I felt like so much was going on that none of the pairings really got the time they needed. I feel like it needed to be longer, and to also have sequel books focusing on some of the relationships that were started in this book but never got to grow.
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