so i read this book a while ago and honestly forgot to give a review. It's been a while, but lets see what I can remember.

The plot was good. not mind-blowing, but still an enjoyable read. I read this book in the span of a week, so it was interesting and engaging.

I loved the characters. They were complex and beautifully written.

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an arc

Young Royals, is that you?

When HRH prince James' father dies, he is thrust onto the throne to lead England. Except he's Black and the country will never accept him. He's also gay & unprepared for when that scandal breaks in the press.

A lot of red herrings about who is the leak in the palace, along with family secrets exposed and a mystery for good measure.

An entertaining escape. YA LGBT+

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Prince James' father, the King, dies, he is unexpectedly thrown into the burden of ruling, but secrets he was used to keeping while he was still prince threaten to see the light of day, when a particularly curious reporter is intent on dragging out all the skeletons in James' closet for the world to see. But when his boyfriend disappears, and the secrets leaking are more and more severe, James begins to suspect someone around him might be a traitor.

Firstly, what attracted me to this book was the main character, and the author did not disappoint. So rarely do we get to see black, queer men as royalty, and this definitely provided a fun, exciting read. The mystery was interesting, and I hated the reporter with a burning passion, but what I loved the most was the slow deterioration of James' life as his private life became public. I thought the author did a great job showing that emotional vulnerability. Also, there's a really great scene in the book, which I won't spoil, but does really well with the intersection of race and monarchy, and I thought it was written so well! That being said, I didn't really find the overall plot compelling enough to be able to give it more than 3 stars.