For the first time ever, the Weston sisters are at the same boarding school. After an administration scandal at Libby’s all-girls school threatens her chances at a top university, she decides to join Charlotte at posh and picturesque Sussex Park. Social-climbing Charlotte considers it her sisterly duty to bring Libby into her circle: Britain’s young elites, glamorous teens who vacation in Hong Kong and the South of France and are just as comfortable at a polo match as they are at a party.
It’s a social circle that just so happens to include handsome seventeen-year-old Prince Edward, heir to Britain’s throne.
If there are any rules of sisterhood, “Don’t fall for the same guy” should be one of them. But sometimes chemistry—even love—grows where you least expect it. In the end, there may be a price to pay for romancing the throne…and more than one path to happily ever after.
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Boarding school, future royals, and a comparison to Stephanie Perkins’ books is usually a winning combination for me. Unfortunately, from the first chapter, I could tell that Romancing the Throne was not for me.
The characters didn’t feel like authentic teenagers (who really exclaims “cringe!” after all?) and seemed like they were straight from the US – something that feels incredibly out of place in a book centred upon British royalty. The frequent pop culture references – from Snapchat to Downton Abbey – felt jarring to me and some of them even felt aged already, which doesn’t bode well for when this book is picked up years from now by a reader.
I came into this story expecting dual narration between both sisters and was disappointed to find that we only got to see Charlotte’s perspective. She’s definitely passionate, although her obsession with the social ladder and class hierarchies was just one of the (many) reasons I didn’t enjoy being in her head.
As for the romance, it lacked any sort of spark and couldn’t grasp my interest. The drama surrounding this plot point also fell flat to me, and I quickly found myself skimming to get to its eventual resolution.
Overall, Romancing the Throne just didn’t work for me on any level. I still can’t believe I finished it.
