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The Line of Succession #5
Royal Prerogative
The crisis facing the British monarchy is rushing headlong to catastrophe. To show the world that Britain is ready to embrace change, Prince James has embraced a royal referendum, to let the people decide who will be the next monarch.
Will the British people accept James, a gay man, as their soon-to-be king? Or will they break with centuries of tradition and sidestep him to embrace his sister Alexandra, a woman who promises great reform?
But the crisis extends much deeper than the tabloid headlines.
James and his fiance Andrew struggle to adjust to their newfound status in life and in the public while facing endless obstacles. With an indignant Church and affronted mothers trying to stand in their way and all of the drama in the palace regarding the new hot young servants, James is a tabloid headline away from losing it all.
Meanwhile, Alexandra and Faisal's shaky marriage is on the verge of crumbling. She's willing to sacrifice her marriage—there's no cost too high—if it means she can win the royal referendum and become the Queen she knows she's destined to be and secure a royal future for her children.
And in the background is Lizzie, the illegitimate daughter of Prince Richard and half-sister of James and Alexandra. She's all too happy to help if it means bringing her war against James to a bitter conclusion, and perhaps destroying the monarchy.
One thing is clear: The battle for the line of succession is far from over.
Will the British people accept James, a gay man, as their soon-to-be king? Or will they break with centuries of tradition and sidestep him to embrace his sister Alexandra, a woman who promises great reform?
But the crisis extends much deeper than the tabloid headlines.
James and his fiance Andrew struggle to adjust to their newfound status in life and in the public while facing endless obstacles. With an indignant Church and affronted mothers trying to stand in their way and all of the drama in the palace regarding the new hot young servants, James is a tabloid headline away from losing it all.
Meanwhile, Alexandra and Faisal's shaky marriage is on the verge of crumbling. She's willing to sacrifice her marriage—there's no cost too high—if it means she can win the royal referendum and become the Queen she knows she's destined to be and secure a royal future for her children.
And in the background is Lizzie, the illegitimate daughter of Prince Richard and half-sister of James and Alexandra. She's all too happy to help if it means bringing her war against James to a bitter conclusion, and perhaps destroying the monarchy.
One thing is clear: The battle for the line of succession is far from over.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 22, 2021
5 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Harry F. Rey
30 books98 followersHarry F. Rey is an author of over a dozen fiction novels. He's a graduate of Penguin WriteNow 2020, a member of the TV Foundation's New Writers Collective 2024, and has been Pushcart-nominated for his short stories.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 15, 2022
This book has been provided for free by the author. The review below has also been published on Rainbow Book Reviews.
At the end of book four of this series, Queen Victoria II is dead, crown prince James as the heir presumptive has become the acting king, and in one of those last-page twists of which Harry F. Rey is such a master, James has proposed to his secret long-time companion Andrew live on TV, one knee on the ground, with a trembling voice. Andrew has accepted, and the public is enthusiastic about the prospect of their first openly gay monarch wedding another man, all thoughts of the succession down the line be damned. A very shrewd move for someone as clue-, help-, and brainless as James, but in fact, a new man has entered the scene (or rather the shady realm of behind the scenes) in the person of Samuel, new bodyguard, PA, and bedmate, whose ambitions become very obvious in this fifth and penultimate installment.
What else is going on? James has suggested a referendum to decide whether he or his sister and arch-foe Alexandra are better placed to be head of state, i.e., whether the loyal subjects of the UK want a gay king or a queen married to a member of the Saudi royal family, therefore with kids (and heirs) of “mixed blood.” For the moment, things look pretty good for James—racism seems to trump homophobia—namely because what Alexandra tried to represent (a wholesome, loving family) is crumbling down faster than a sandcastle. Indeed, her marriage with Faisal is dead, there’s no love left between them, and more importantly, as the two campaigns for the referendum gain momentum, he becomes an outright liability for her, a liability she’s willing to cast aside in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, Faisal has his own agenda, which points toward his home country, Saudi Arabia…
Another action-packed book in this most addictive series, where everything I take for certain is always turned around and twisted up, down, even sideways when I least expect it. This book is no exception, with its fair share of plot twists that let me guess and second-guess with bated breath what might come next. At every turn of the page, honestly! I already stressed in my former reviews how much I loved this series, and book number five didn’t disappoint me at all. Oh, sure, it did when I realized it was the last-but-one (argh), but for the rest, I plunged through it in one sitting. Far from giving away his game by bringing some of the loose threads to a satisfying conclusion, Harry F. Rey added more threads—I sincerely wonder how he will manage to write a last installment where all these plot lines will be resolved. But I don’t doubt one second that manage he will; I even dare foresee he’ll add some new ones, just for the fun of it.
Well-written, wonderfully paced, the story comes in nice little chapters, all like scenes in a movie, with no dead or slow or too long passages. The language is, as always, straightforward, yet evocative. I always have the impression of sitting in the rooms or walking the streets the characters are evolving in. A bonus in this book is the graph at the beginning which shows the family tree of the royal family. I understood at last that this was not a family invented from scratch for the purpose of the series, but a uchronic take on things, where Edward VIII didn’t abdicate but married, keeping Wallis Simpson as his life-long mistress, but producing an heir. So, basically, James is Edward VIII’s great-grandson.
The characters remained as three-dimensional and interesting as ever. There, too, the author suceeds in making me like and dislike individual characters in a fluctuating manner that changes from book to book. In this one, I rather took the side of Andrew, finding James more and more wanting in terms of morality. James is a moron, in my eyes, always giving in to his every fancies and lusts, a man who doesn’t know what love or loyalty mean. Andrew, on the other hand, is the poor victim of his almost life-long dedication to his lover and his secret fascination for Faisal (which I wholly understand because, by the physical description of that dude, I swear, I’m always half-swooning myself!).
Anyway, to keep things sweet and short, I not only recommend this book (not a stand-alone though) but also recommend the whole series again. Highly recommend it.
At the end of book four of this series, Queen Victoria II is dead, crown prince James as the heir presumptive has become the acting king, and in one of those last-page twists of which Harry F. Rey is such a master, James has proposed to his secret long-time companion Andrew live on TV, one knee on the ground, with a trembling voice. Andrew has accepted, and the public is enthusiastic about the prospect of their first openly gay monarch wedding another man, all thoughts of the succession down the line be damned. A very shrewd move for someone as clue-, help-, and brainless as James, but in fact, a new man has entered the scene (or rather the shady realm of behind the scenes) in the person of Samuel, new bodyguard, PA, and bedmate, whose ambitions become very obvious in this fifth and penultimate installment.
What else is going on? James has suggested a referendum to decide whether he or his sister and arch-foe Alexandra are better placed to be head of state, i.e., whether the loyal subjects of the UK want a gay king or a queen married to a member of the Saudi royal family, therefore with kids (and heirs) of “mixed blood.” For the moment, things look pretty good for James—racism seems to trump homophobia—namely because what Alexandra tried to represent (a wholesome, loving family) is crumbling down faster than a sandcastle. Indeed, her marriage with Faisal is dead, there’s no love left between them, and more importantly, as the two campaigns for the referendum gain momentum, he becomes an outright liability for her, a liability she’s willing to cast aside in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, Faisal has his own agenda, which points toward his home country, Saudi Arabia…
Another action-packed book in this most addictive series, where everything I take for certain is always turned around and twisted up, down, even sideways when I least expect it. This book is no exception, with its fair share of plot twists that let me guess and second-guess with bated breath what might come next. At every turn of the page, honestly! I already stressed in my former reviews how much I loved this series, and book number five didn’t disappoint me at all. Oh, sure, it did when I realized it was the last-but-one (argh), but for the rest, I plunged through it in one sitting. Far from giving away his game by bringing some of the loose threads to a satisfying conclusion, Harry F. Rey added more threads—I sincerely wonder how he will manage to write a last installment where all these plot lines will be resolved. But I don’t doubt one second that manage he will; I even dare foresee he’ll add some new ones, just for the fun of it.
Well-written, wonderfully paced, the story comes in nice little chapters, all like scenes in a movie, with no dead or slow or too long passages. The language is, as always, straightforward, yet evocative. I always have the impression of sitting in the rooms or walking the streets the characters are evolving in. A bonus in this book is the graph at the beginning which shows the family tree of the royal family. I understood at last that this was not a family invented from scratch for the purpose of the series, but a uchronic take on things, where Edward VIII didn’t abdicate but married, keeping Wallis Simpson as his life-long mistress, but producing an heir. So, basically, James is Edward VIII’s great-grandson.
The characters remained as three-dimensional and interesting as ever. There, too, the author suceeds in making me like and dislike individual characters in a fluctuating manner that changes from book to book. In this one, I rather took the side of Andrew, finding James more and more wanting in terms of morality. James is a moron, in my eyes, always giving in to his every fancies and lusts, a man who doesn’t know what love or loyalty mean. Andrew, on the other hand, is the poor victim of his almost life-long dedication to his lover and his secret fascination for Faisal (which I wholly understand because, by the physical description of that dude, I swear, I’m always half-swooning myself!).
Anyway, to keep things sweet and short, I not only recommend this book (not a stand-alone though) but also recommend the whole series again. Highly recommend it.
March 13, 2023
Even when you get
your heart’s desire, it can break.
Which betrayal counts?
your heart’s desire, it can break.
Which betrayal counts?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews