Review: The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

The Royals Next Door
by Karina Halle
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Aug. 31, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Piper Evans: elementary school teacher by day–avid romance reader and anonymous podcaster by night. She lives a quiet, reclusive life, taking care of her mother, who struggles with mental illness, avoiding her regrettable ex, who bartends in town, and trying to make inroads in the tight-knit island community that still sees her, five years in, as an outsider.

And she’s happy with how things are–really–until British royals rent the property next to hers and their brooding bodyguard decides she’s a security threat. Piper quickly realizes that one person’s fairy tale is an ordinary woman’s nightmare as a media frenzy takes over the island and each run-in with Harrison Cole is hotter and more confusing than the last. But beneath Harrison’s no-nonsense exterior lies a soft heart, one that could tempt a woman who’s sworn off attachments into believing in white knights.

But when Piper finds herself smack in the middle of a royal scandal that rocks the island she’ll need more than Harrison’s strong arms to shield her–she’ll have to do a little rescuing herself. With careers, hearts, and friendships on the line, Piper and Harrison will have to decide what they’re willing to give up for a chance at their own happily ever after.

 

This was a cute romance. Most romances with royals always pair a royal with a local. However, in this book, the bodyguard catches the eye of our heroine. I really liked that we got the bodyguard aspect of this romance. When Piper is trying to go home after a long day at work, she’s stopped by some secret service looking guy blocking the road to her house. Turns out that the rumors of the royals being in town is not only true, but they decided to rent the house right next to hers. The bodyguard is very gruff and serious, and for some reason, Piper takes great pleasure in pushing his buttons every chance she gets. Which is how their romance begins.

I really enjoyed this story. It encompasses the summer months, so it definitely isn’t insta-love or a quick moving romance. When we first meet Piper, it’s the last day of school. She teaches 2nd grade at the local school, and unfortunately she doesn’t have a very good last day send off when one of her students throws up in her purse. So, she meets Harrison on her was home from work after what you could say was one very long day. Since they share property, it’s safe to say that Piper and Harrison bump into each other a lot. I loved watched the stoic Harrison get needled by the lively Piper. Every time she poked at him, another crack in his armor would appear and I lived for those moments.

Now a good story wouldn’t be complete without a little drama. Well, Piper is the outcast of her small community. She was going to marry the town’s sweetheart years ago, but on her wedding day, she had found out that he had been unfaithful and slept with someone during his bachelor party. So, she called the wedding off. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except that his family still tried to to carry on like the wedding was happening and then told everyone that she stood their son up. So, yeah, she’s not the most favored person on their little island community. So you have some locals that like nothing more than to belittle her, and you have her ex who thinks he’s God’s greatest thing on earth, untouchable, and superior to Piper. Let’s just say it was fun watching Piper finally confront them when the time came.

If you can’t tell by now, I really enjoyed this book. I loved that the romance was a slow build. I enjoyed the added aspect of having royalty mixed in as the background rather than the main plot. I thought Harrison was a great guy and I really loved seeing him slowly break out of his role as serious bodyguard and start to live a little. And I really enjoyed watching Piper stand up for herself after being ostracized for so long. This was just an all around great read and I look forward to reading more books from this author.

 

 

3 Thoughts on “Review: The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

  1. That sounds great.

  2. I love the twist of it being a bodyguard. Emma Chase did something similar in her Royally Screwed series. I believe it was the third book… Have you read it?

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?

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