“I find it fascinating that the ways we organise twenty-six of the same letters in black and white on a page can make you feel something.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for a new Royal read for the coronation weekend, then I absolutely recommend this one. Was this a groundbreaking read? No… Was it cute, fun, and perfect for a quick holiday read? Absolutely.

If you enjoy learning about the history of London, you will probably love this book. Personally, I didn’t know that people live inside of the Tower of London, so that was interesting to read about, but the romance just didn’t hit the way that I wanted it to :/

Personally, I didn’t think that Maggie and Freddie had much chemistry, which was a shame, because I wanted to root for them. I can’t even pinpoint an issue, so maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace? I don’t know. It definitely wasn’t a bad book, it just didn’t feel special to me and didn’t leave an impression. The banter was very witty and reminiscent of Bridget Jones, though, so if you enjoy that vibe then this is probably the book for you! ☺️

But definitely pick it up if you enjoy:
💙 Friends to lovers
💙 Forced proximity
💙 Forbidden romance
💙 Witty banter
💙 History about London

(*Thank you to Avon books for kindly sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! 🩵)

I'm sorry, I lost interest in this book, I thought I'd pick it back up but everytime I try i can't go on for more than a page. The concept was really nice and I love the title and cover but they've lost me at the execution. DNF 33%

*Gaslighting, stalking, grief, slut-shaming, dysmorphia*
When Maggie bumps (literally) into the newest Royal Guard, she's immediately enamoured with his eyes. But she's sworn off men after her ex repeatedly cheated on her. Can Freddie change her mind?
I really wanted to love this book. I loved the original blurb, especially knowing that people live in the Tower grounds, but not really understanding how that actually works. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it, and I considered not finishing it several times.
Firstly, the blurb didn't really represent the actual story. I thought I was getting a rom-com, but there were some very odd plot choices and characterisation, in my opinion. The main character, Maggie, was a walking, talking disaster. I understand what the author was probably aiming for, and there are plenty of great examples of 'clumsy and/or quirky girls' in romancelandia, but here the character is reduced to repeated falls, bumps, paranoia, talking to herself or the ravens (almost exclusively in a derogatory manner), or being hungover.
The biggest issue with the story is that Maggie has ZERO agency, self-worth, or backbone for the majority of the story. She spends great chunks of the book putting herself (and others) down, allowing everyone around her to do the same, including her ex. The amount of workplace bullying simply wouldn't fly, although I was sometimes surprised she even had a job, given the number of times she was either late or just wandered off to talk to someone mid-shift.
It was hard to root for her. Her ex is a walking, talking red flag and a stalker, yet she doesn't block or report him. He takes up WAY too much of the plot, which consequently means that the actual romance suffers. Freddie, the titular love interest is okay on a superficial level (because that's all we really got). There's another subplot with a dating challenge (not with Freddie), plus a sham engagement, further diluting the actual romance. There was also very little humour (which is essential in a rom-COM) and what there was didn't work for me.
Maggie's constant references to her being watched and gossiped about felt to me like, rather than needing love, she needed to learn to love herself first and I felt she would have benefited from therapy, rather than a man. I did appreciate the narrative surrounding grief after the loss of her mother.
Though I have since learned the author is known for her historical content on social media, I personally found the descriptions of every nook and cranny of the grounds a little tedious at times. They are well-written, and I'm sure those not familiar with the Tower will learn a lot, but most of it wasn't revelatory to me, and It definitely didn't add to the actual story, or drive the plot forward. These descriptions would have worked better in a factual book.
I realise this is Clawson's debut, and I truly wish her well in her writing career, but I feel like she might be better suited to historical nonfiction based on this. Not for me.

Overall Rating: ❤️
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: *Unfortunately, lots of confused faces and eye rolls so I gave up marking them*

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is published on 27th April in the UK*

OK, so I requested this because I was seeing lots of buzz about it, and because the coronation is coming up and I thought it might be a good option for a post for my blog about Royal-adjacent romances/novels/books. But. But. But. This did not work for me. I see that for other people it has, but for me it was the opposite of what I am looking for in a romance novel, in pretty much every way. It's one of those books where if I had read the sample of this on kindle, I wouldn't have bought it, but having requested it from NetGalley on the basis of a fun looking blurb and comparisions with novels that I liked, I soldiered on (sorry, couldn't resist a pun) to the end in the hopes that it would improve. But it didn't.

3.5 stars
This was such a cute story and I honestly love that it's somewhat inspired by Megan Clawson's real life! I love watching her videos about living in the Tower of London!

I will be honest though, I did nearly dnf this story twice but was adamant that I was going to stick it out. Was that because I knew the story behind this one? Maybe but honestly I'm glad I did.

For me, the story started out slow but once it hit the halfway mark I found myself so much more engaged with the story and the characters! There was also a couple of scences in this book that really tugged at my heartstrings which for me is such a positive thing. I love when a book physically makes me feel something.

Overall this was a sweet and adorable read and I'm interested to see what Megan writes next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute and very funny book and I adored it. Maggie loving history is a big element of what made this book so magical. Both MC's are really easy to love and I was so eager to see what they would get up to. I really loved this one, it was the perfect cosy read and everything I needed. Also love a book set in London!

Living in the Tower of London, Maggie has always wanted to live in her own fairy tale with a happy romantic ending. After ending a terrible long-term relationship, she finds herself feeling alone. Luckily, after a chance encounter with a Royal Guard, Freddie, Maggie slowly begins to befriend him and others in his group. As they help her with getting back into the dating game, she goes along, but really only begins has eyes for one particular guard. However, he’s trained to ignore any and all distractions, including the beautiful woman who might be falling head of hells for him.

I absolutely loved the setting of this one! In fact, the Tower of London seemed to be a characters of its own accord. The mystery and history helped develop the story. I could absolutely relate to the terrible dating woes that Maggie went through as well. Unfortunately, I just haven’t found my Royal Guard yet. This one was a solid 3.5 cat rounded up. I found myself laughing so many times throughout this one.

On the Cat Scale:
😺😺😺😺

A sweet romance with really interesting characters. I couldn't put this book down, it was captivating!

I loved this, so quirky. I have met someone before whose father was a guard at the ToL and he told similar stories about being out late and not being able to get back home and getting deliveries, I really enjoyed reading the same stories. I'm familiar with the ToL so it's interesting to picture the setting as it was described. A really cosy read.
Ah, I just loved it.

After leaving her obsessive and controlling ex-boyfriend, Maggie moves into the Tower of London where her beefeater father has an apartment. With her love of history, living in a castle is a fairy-tale minus the charming princes and knights in shining armor. One night when running from the ghosts of the Tower, she crashes into what she thinks is a lamppost, but is actually a very hot guardsman. Soon it seems every clutzy move or embarrassing moment is done in front of him. She finally catches the attention of an ironically aloof guardsman. But the more time they spend together and the more she falls for him, the more he drops the f word...friend. What will it take to make this man drop his guard?
I loved this story with its unique setting and characters. I was able to look up pictures of the different locations as I read which brought the story alive. This was a slow burn relationship, so when Freddie winks at her while in uniform, it's like Darcy's hand flex from Pride and Prejudice. <Swoon>. And the HEA at the end was well worth the wait.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. Was it a little clumsily executed? Yes, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of it. I was looking for a quick, light read and it delivered.

Maggie Moore is in her mid-twenties, recently broken up with Bran (wow, what a loser that guy was!), and living in the Tower of London with her Beefeater dad. What a fascinating place to live!

One day, she bumps into Freddie, a guardsman, and they have immediate chemistry. However, there are some things about Freddie that Maggie just doesn't know....and she really needs to.

Maggie gets to know the other guardsmen and she spends time talking to the ravens as well as the ravenmaster (who is a reclusive woman), all of whom are interesting folk.

All in all, this is a fascinating look at a very interesting British postcode, by a person who lives there herself.

It reminded me of when I was in my late teens and got to know some of the fellas from the local military college. One of them became my boyfriend and for some months I got to inhabit his world a little bit, which was quite different to mine. His father was a high flying corporate type but John was very down-to-earth and even though I am from working class stock, it didn't make a jot of difference to him. There were the girls from the upper classes who were trying to land themselves one of these guys, which reminded me of the gala scenes in this book.

Anyway, this was a good read. Could it have been better? Yes, I think Freddie and Maggie's story could have evolved a little more, that would have made me super happy but it was ok as it was, as well.

4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review. I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson was a sweet, romantic, fun read. I absolutely adored the idea and who knew you could actually live inside the Tower of London??? And falling in love with a royal guard? Yes please!!!

The characters of this book, Maggie and Freddie, are adorable and so easy to fall in love with. They were so cute and their relationship gave me butterflies and made so giddy. The side characters were so amazing and they really helped making this book even more amazing.
I also absolutely loved how amazing Megan was at description and world building. I could picture everything so perfectly in my head, it was amazing!

This was funny, sweet and really interesting read. I truly enjoyed it. This is such a good debut book and definitely will keep an eye out for future books this writer might put out.

Again, thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: April 25, 2023

CW: Abusive relationship, harassment by an ex, body shaming, misogyny

First off, if one kiss 95% of the way through the book counts as a romance, then I guess this is one.

I really struggle with female characters who spend the majority of the time complaining about how ugly they are. Every few pages were reminding how insecure she is, how clumsy she is, how she has no female friends (albeit from an emotionally abusive relationship) and instead hangs out with her Dad and his friends or spends time talking to her cat and the Tower of London ravens at length. I don’t hold space for these types of characters, it’s not only depressing but it’s demeaning.

Life behind the walls at the Tower of London was an interesting take, and I was hopeful. The history tidbits were fantastic, but the creepy voyeuristic cameras that are mentioned in nearly every chapter gave me the ick, as did all the co-worker characters and her ex. And there’s also ghosts?

Did I still get all the feels from the pining between these two even though all we know about Freddie is he’s [very] tall with curly boy band hair and seems quite rigid/posh with some manners? Yes. Did this end insanely abruptly after basically one kiss? Also yes.

This was a great speedy read that I just couldn’t put down. Packed full or romance, a heroine that you’re always rooting for and a little something for everyone.

Maggie Moore has just moved in with her dad, he’s a Beefeater and a career soldier. Maggie broke up with her boyfriend of seven years Bran, he’s calling her nonstop and driving her crazy. Maggie lives and works at an interesting place, the Tower of London and it’s a busy tourist spot. Maggie has always been a bit of a history buff, she sells admission tickets and her boss Kevin gives her a hard time for being late.

Maggie meets a soldier whose a member of the Royal Guards, Freddie Guildford, he and his garrison spend a week guarding the gates, wearing the iconic bearskin hat and the public do all sorts of funny things to try and get a reaction out of them. Maggie hasn't had much luck in the romance department, Freddie's friends encourage her to create a profile on Tinder, and all the men are either creeps or down right odd. The one person Maggie does fancy is Freddie, for some reason she always makes a fool of herself when he’s around and she has a habit of tripping over or falling flat on her face.

I received a copy of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson from NetGalley and Avon Books UK. I haven’t laughed so much while reading a book in ages, Maggie is a curly haired pocket rocket and a clumsy one. Included in the story is information about the one thousand year old Tower of London, The Ceremony of The Keys, The Ravens and the Crown Jewels are kept here. A place of intrigue, imprisonment, execution, torture and of course the odd ghost is still lurking around. You can tell the author has a personal connection to the iconic London landmark, and is Freddie Maggie's knight in shining armour and you will need to read the book to find out!! Five stars from me and I thoroughly enjoyed the romantic comedy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for this ARC!!

I want to start by saying I may not be the target audience for this novel. It felt very YA, though it is not marketed as such. This is a *clean* romance!

The story in itself is cute. A slow burn workplace romance. After breaking up with her crappy ex boyfriend, Maggie goes through what so many other 26 year olds endure - the dreaded Tinder. But this happens after she meets and has an attraction to Freddie, a guardsman at the Tower of London. A large chunk of the middle of the book is Maggie's encounters with her Tinder dates and there is almost no interaction between Maggie and Freddie.

Many parts of the book felt disconnected - talking to ravens? I'm sure there is some symbolism here? Also Bran is just an uber douche and Maggie put up with far too much of his verbal abuse.

I do appreciate that the author has incorporated some of her lived experiences from her time in the Tower of London into this book. Overall, it was cute, but very clearly a juvenile debut novel.

This was an entertaining book. For the most part it was fun, sweet and tender, though it was a little confusing at times, the female lead's low self esteem was annoying and the book sometimes moved slowly. I enjoyed this book and would read other books by this author.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson is a modern day romance with a member of the nobility. Maggie is a 26 year old, a slightly flakey, and very quirky woman who has moved back in with her soldier father who lives on the grounds of the Tower of London. She works as a ticket seller where very often she is working through the fog of a hangover. She has a tendency to rush headlong wherever she is going with her unbrushed hair following behind her. When she is late, she is assigned the task of the night drop, which is located in a part of the tower full of shadows, odd noises, and ghosts. One night as she is rushing to complete this chore, she runs head long into a lamppost, which was not where it should have been. Turns out it wasn’t a lamppost, but rather one of the guards. You know the ones: people act like idiots in front of them all day to get them to move a muscle in their strong jaws. He drops he is carrying and she spies a gorgeous sapphire necklace. She hurriedly apologizes, explains her hurry, and rushes on. When she next sees him he is in his position as a guard, but she doesn’t let that stop her from ranting.

This is a charming romance with a slightly odd heroine. The hero, Freddie the guard, is torn between family duty and what he wants, namely, Maggie. They are both good characters although we see rather less of Freddie. Maggie is totally entertaining in her quest to become her own woman, after six years in an emotionally abusive relationship, one she can’t seem to rid herself of. Her co-workers a caricatures of real people, but any woman in the workforce will recognized them. Her dad’s co-workers all watch out for her, loving her in their own ways. It is charming to see. It is also fun to explore the Tower grounds with Maggie and Freddie as hey pursue their romance. All in all, it is an entertaining little book about a woman who has little confidence, but is finding her own way, and a man, although in different circumstances, who is doing the same.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Avon Books US, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AvonBooksUS #MeganClawson #FallingHardForTheRoyalGuard

I have seen extensive advertising from both publisher and author for this book and at first I thought it was a bit much but after reading it, I think it’s worth it.
Maggie lives and works in the Tower of London. Her father is a beefeater, and although I’m Welsh I actually didn’t understand the various roles people held in the Tower of London. After a rough break-up from her emotionally abusive ex, she moved back with her dad and seems quite isolated and lovely. Her co-workers are awful and frankly bully her at every opportunity. Her ex boyfriend Bran doesn’t take a hint and persistently comes to her place of work to try and manipulate her and everyone that lives and works there knows her every move. It’s a lot, and reading this even I felt slightly anxious.
After her co-worker Kevin gives safe-duty to Maggie, a menial task in the haunted basement, she crashes into a mysteriously posh man. Later, we come to find out this is Freddie, one of the King’s Guards. Their initial conversations are awkward. Maggie has no confidence and is incredibly shy about whatever she says to someone. She’s very self-conscious about her coworkers seeing or hearing things due to their constant mockery.
The two start a quiet and comfortable friendship that slowly becomes more. This was really cute. If you’re looking for a spicy romance this is definitely not it. There wasn’t even kissing between the main couple until the end of the book. The will-they-won’t-they kept you enticed but it was definitely not limited to over 18s.
Between her self-confidence, varied unfortunate events, trauma from her mothers death and bullying I wish we could have seen some more self-development from Maggie. She confronts her ex and coworkers once but I wish it showed her own development. Obviously I’d always appreciate more romance but with these characters I think it works well.
I’d recommend this book. It was really unique and wholesome and honestly I had no idea about the ins-and-outs the Tower of London had. It was even more interesting knowing the author has personal connections with living there herself. It felt more genuine.
I think the only significant thing I would want was more personal depth. We had lots of insight into Maggie’s self-reflection but I wanted to see her develop more confidence. Especially after it was revealed that her ex was abusive.
I look forward to reading the next book written by the author.
As always my opinions and tastes in books are my own. Thank you for the eARC, I appreciate it. You can also find Falling Hard for the Royal Guard in The Works in the Uk for £6! And it’s out now.

First off, this? This is a slow burn. Like a they don’t even seem like they might get together in this book slow kind of burn. And it was perfect because it’s a realistic kind of rom-com with a developing relationship and exploration of all kinds of feelings that make some of the things the characters do or experience more real. The balance throughout was amazing.

I loved the characters for that balance. Maggie didn’t change herself and she wasn’t unrealistically pretty. She’s this anxious, clumsy being with hair she doesn’t know what to do with and an annoying ex. Maggie’s the most relatable romance character I’ve read in awhile because she isn’t perfect and her issues are real, even when they’re just mean coworkers and a lack of friends or a dating life. Her clumsiness did become her personality in a couple of spots, but overall her interactions with other characters and reaction to different parts of the story more than made up for it.

While Freddie isn’t as relatable or realistic, I did like him as the male main character, especially because we’re really seeing him the way Maggie does. He’s sweet, a bit uptight, and really doesn’t know what he’s doing either, so they have a real chemistry even if the development of parts of their relationship are a bit off.

Some of what I’m stuck on is several characters feel very young for being as old as they are. Maggie and her coworkers are supposed to be in their late twenties, but I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out they had just graduated high school and were starting university. So many of their interactions were just not it for me. Even Maggie’s ex was more emotionally mature than Maggie’s coworkers, so it was a weird jolt when they came into the story and changed Maggie’s character in strange ways.

Everything else, though, was so good! I loved her dates, the tropes, and the way everything played out because I adored Maggie, Freddie, and the interesting tidbits of history included throughout. It was also really nice to see a clean romance that didn’t feel slightly off since the slow burn really moved the attention in a more “will they, won’t they” direction. However, the book could have been about 30 pages shorter because I could have done with less of her work life since her coworkers were so annoying.

Overall, if you love rom-coms, England, history, and quirky yet relatable characters, Falling Hard for the Royal Guard ticks all the boxes.

Note: So many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books, UK for an advanced copy of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions expressed in this post are my own and in no way reflect the author, publisher, etc.