Title: Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Publication date: 7 May 2019

Genre: Contemporary| Young Adult | Romance

Page count: 304 pages

Synopsis: 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.

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?

Continuing this year’s trend of royal love story but gay is Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins! This book is another fun read, it lacks a little depth but is very cute and enjoyable.

Millie has just caught her girlfriend kissing someone else. In order to kind of run away, kind of to see Scotland, she applies to the most prestigious boarding school in Scotland. She is accepted, and will make history as part of the first female class in school’s history. The school is known as the educator of royality and nobility, so down to earth, American Millie feels very out of her depth, especially when she realises her roomate is an actual Princess. It didn’t help that she’s already insulted the princess on the very first day.

Her Royal Highness follows Millie and Princess Flora of Scotland as Flora tries to get herself expelled, rebelling from her mother’s (the Queen) attempts at control. Millie is caught up in the mix, getting into trouble alongside Flora, despite all her best attempts to avoid it. On a camping trip in the wilds though, things seem to change – especially when Flora tells Millie she’s gay.

This book is a really cute and enjoyable romance. Flora is such a brilliant character, I love her attempts to be friends with Millie and the struggles she has to not just throw money at everything – something Millie tries to teach her about. Flora is described in great detail as well, I can picture her absolutely perfectly, from her smile to her flounce. I really enjoyed Flora’s over the top dramatics, but also found her very soft and gentle at times as well. She hides behind her confidence but at heart, is much more vulnerable than Millie realises at first. Millie is fun a little forgettable as an MC, studious and unwilling participant in Flora’s dramas. I thought Flora was much more developed and interesting. I did like the host of secondary characters from Saks, fellow noblility and Millie’s friend; Perry, a slightly weedy noble friends with Saks; Seb, Flora’s even more out of control brother; they’re all so much fun to read about.

I did think there was just something missing – there wasn’t huge depth to any of the characters or themes. This book is intended as a fun, easy read about gay royalty, and that’s exactly what it is. But in saying that, the characters were all a little one-dimensional. As fun as they were, none of them were devloped in particular depth or detail and I didn’t find myself hugely emotionally involved with them.

Whilst I wish the characters could’ve been slightly more developed, that the book had been just a little more emotive, I still very much enjoyed this read. I am here for the gay royalty books to continue – publishers please keep publishing these, and authors please keep writing!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco