Published May 7th, 2019 by Penguin
Genre: contemporary romance
Pages: 304
Source: Scribd
Goodreads
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Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. And because Millie cannot stand the thought of confronting her ex every day, she decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.This was soooo good. I had no idea I needed a contemporary lesbian princess in Scotland story until I read those words all in a sentece together for the first time. I knew I needed it immediately. And oh my goodness, the cover. I am so happy to say this delivered on all its promises!
Millie can't believe her luck when she's accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.
The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.
She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.
At first, the girls can barely stand each other--Flora is both high-class and high-key--but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?
HRH is the enemies to lovers, tropey, boarding school f/f delight that we all have been waiting for. It's just so much fun to see queer girls getting their chance at stories that are just happy. There are some sad or heavy moments in this book (particularly surrounding Flora's family who are obviously not the most accepting of her sexuality.) But for the most part, these girls are out, happy, enjoying themselves, and experiencing all the awesome romance tropes that straight couples have been getting for years.
I loved Millie and Flora's first interatcion, how the disdain was instant and deep. Millie has no idea who Flora is, and immediately judges her as, well, a princess. And Flora sees Millie as a problem to get rid of. Watching them grow to like and trust one another was just so great. Particularly the "wee camping trip" and the stag and the river, all the silly shenanigans that brought them closer. I absolutely LOST IT during a couple romantic moments; we're talking stopping what I'm doing, gasping, holding my breath, and literally squealing. The big romantic gesture that Flora did? FORGET ABOUT IT.
My only real gripe with this book was that the Big Conflict around the end seemed manufactured and could have easily been solved with some communication. It wasn't necessarily a miscommunication plotline (thank god, those are the worst) but it didn't feel real or organic. It felt like Millie was making up excuses but with her characterization, it didn't make any sense. The problems the couple had were easily solved, in my opinion.
I listened to the audiobook and it definitely heightened the experience. Now, I'm not great with language or placing accents, so I don't actually know how accurate they were. But I really liked the narrator and her different voices for each character. I was afraid the many Scottish, English, and even Southern accents would be distracting or awful (they usually are) but this narrator was excellent. I easily fell into the story and got swept away with the romance and I do think the narrator had a lot to do with this.
I am loving the string of happy, fun queer romances that have been coming out this year. This was so much fun, the perfect f/f princess escapsim I needed when I read it. I also highly recommend the first book in this companion series, though this one was definitely better.
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