For this review, I'm going to ignore the bits of the story that are loosely based on real life (and real conspiracy) as they made me slightly uncomfortable. However, I did really enjoy the elements of royal romance turned mystery woven through this story of an American woman falling for the Prince of Wales. It was well written and I really grew to like the main couple!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This book was not for me. T'm not a royal watcher but I'd hope for a fun light stay about a prince marrying a commoner. Much if it was instead a retread of Princess Diana and seemed to take many nuggets from her life an twisted them into this fictionalized story where she dies in a plane crash not a car crash and may have been murdered.

I'm sure many people may like the book but it wasn't a story I was interested or invested in.

The Royal Game is a book for royal watchers. It draws strong parallels to Harry and Meghan, although in this story there is no "Spare", just the heir. Having read many other books about royals, from the nonfiction The Palace Papers to the fictional The Royal We, Red White and Royal Blue, and more, the first few chapters felt predictable.
However, around 60% through the novel a thriller-esque vibe is incorporated, making me wonder is my narrator unreliable, or is there espionage afoot? Saying more would spoil the surprise, but I will say that I was intrigued by the direction this novel chose to take.

I recommend this book for readers of royal fiction who may wonder about possible alternate histories of Princess Dia--, I mean Princess Penelope.

This one releases in January and will be a big hit with all those who love the royals. There are a lot of similarities between the characters in this book and the real British royals (maybe a few too many similarities). But I still enjoyed the book.

Jennie was an American musician who found herself dating and then engaged to the future King of England, Prince Hugh. As she gets closer to her wedding, it seems that someone doesn’t want her to make it to her wedding day.

This book really tricked me in the beginning. At first I thought it was going to be a cutesy Prince meets pop star romance, but I was shocked to find out we had a mystery in the mix. The prince’s mom mysteriously died in a plane crash that just seems fishy. The princess to be starts finding mysterious notes hidden in the palace from the previous princess and they are very fishy.
(Definitely had a slight nod to Princess Diana, but in the best way!)
After the first little bit of the book I was completely hooked and couldn’t put this down.
The characters were likeable, the storyline was fast paced and different. I also loved being behind the scenes of royal life and just found myself really enjoying this book every time I picked it up.
Unraveling the mystery of the Princess’ death was definitely my favorite part of this book and had me guessing right up until the very end!
I would definitely recommend this one!
Thank you Linda Keir and netgalley for my arc copy, I am leaving this review on my own.

This was a fun read after a few long, heavy books. I love a royal read, however this one just felt a bit rushed at the end. I found myself comparing it to a few other royal series and in the end, left me wanting a little bit more. I did enjoy the mystery aspect and if you love reading about the royal family (fan) then this will be a good choice!

High stakes and high royals, a splash or mystery and a dash or romance make The Royal Game a fun, fast, and highly entertaining read!

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced electronic copy. My opinions are my own.

Jennie Jensen never expected to become a princess. She was touring Europe when he just..happened! One minute the Prince of Wales (and future king of the United Kingdom) was watching her at a gig, and six whirlwind months of romance later he's asking her to marry him! She's as down-to-earth and "normal" as they come. So entering this high-stakes world where her every look, every gesture, and every word is turned inside out and broadcast around the globe (WITH barbed commentary) is incredibly overwhelming to say the least. Good thing she loves her prince and he loves her, right? But when terrifying threats start finding their way through all the security surrounding her, she can't help but see the parallels between herself and Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, who died in a mysterious plane crash years earlier. Jennie decides to find out once and for all who is out to get her, and if that person had something to do with Princess Penelope's death too. After all, not only her future marriage is at stake, but so is her own life.

I absolutely delighted in the juicy, gossipy mysteriousness of this story. It's not-so-subtly based on a mish-mash of real English royalty (names changed, of course), and equally obvious are the plot parallels to real life. And that makes it all the better! The Jennie/Hugh story arc really focused on what it would be like to live through the flurry of romance rather than on any significant character development or relationship-building (after all, the timeline there is very short so that is to be expected). The mystery that Jennie stumbles on surrounding Hugh's mother's death was where more character development happened, and much of it was heartbreaking. I loved the insight that Jennie's mom was able to provide there as well--she was a devoted follower of the British Royals in the news and gossip rags--which provided another strong thread between the two stories. I really enjoyed this book and was very happy with how it all resolved.

Love reading about the royals? PICK THIS ONE UP!

This is a fictional story which draws similarities from a real life family you may just be familiar with. I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and kept my interest. It is an easy read which will keep you entertained. While I didn’t feel like I really got to know the characters closely, and we were left without a lot of closure on the current timeframe(wedding/Jennies biological mom/epilogue please??) I would recommend this for fans of reading about royals.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

This story is kind of a thinly veiled combination of the stories of Princess Kate, Meghan Markle, and of course Princess Diana. But there were enough differences that the story was new and not just a rehash of what everyone already knows. There was also a mystery attached which made the book even more interesting. But basically for a secret monarchist like me this book was just fun. I loved Jennie and her family and of course Prince Hugh was practically perfect. If you have a love of the royal family and like all the trappings, this is a book for you.

This one will be a short review!

I like to read books about royalty every now and again. This one caught my attention from the cover to the blurb. It sounded really good! Unfortunately, I got off on the wrong foot with this one. The romance starts off rather quickly and there is no build-up to it. They go from one moment of meeting to engaged in a matter of a few amount of pages. It’s hard to care about their life together when I know nothing about what happened before. It’s just a whirlwind.

There are decent moments in the book and how Jennie must maneuver through the royal ways and find her place beside them. She was strong character because of it.

Overall, this was okay but it ended up not being for me.

Breezy, fun, and very cute. Light reading that's sure to please anyone who follows the antics of the Royal Family. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication!

While this was a good book with lots of mystery and romance, it was not the book for me. I do not usually read books with this style, and I had expected something different. Because of that, it was difficult for me to read. I was bored and felt the pacing was very slow. I liked the mystery and the flashbacks but was struggling to get into it. The plot twist and ending were good though.

I will admit I was a little disappointed at first because of the lack of build up to Jennie and Hugh's romance. They are engaged by chapter 2. But as soon as it starts getting into the mystery side of things, it got a tad better.
Overall of fun cute read, with a tinge of mystery.

This was an interesting read. Not really a romance, there was some in the beginning but really just a struggle in relationship. It was mainly a mystery/general fiction of who killed the prince's mother and if they were the same person who was targeting the destruction of Jennie. The story was pretty basic and did have allusions to Princess Diana and maybe Meghan Markle. Overall it was a quick good read, mainly because it flowed well. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a Royal watcher and can’t get enough of the British family, then this is the book for you. It was not what I expected but in a good way! There’s love, yes, but there’s also mystery and suspense.

The book is told in a dual timeline format with the lives of Princess Penelope who has since passed and Jennie, a current day American celebrity marrying into the royal family. While this book is more mystery than romance, it will suck you in from the very beginning and leave your head spinning at the end. If you love anything Royal you’re going to love this book and the spin it takes on such a famous family.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the chance to read this book a little early.

This is a romance / mystery novel that is almost like a fanfic of the royal family. The entire time I was like on that’s Diana, Harry, William, Kate, etc! Jennie is an American singer/songwriter and is engaged to the heir to the throne, Hugh. Hugh’s mom, Penelope, was killed in a plane crash when he was a teenager and conspiracy theories have been around murder, not accident. Jennie starts experiencing threats too. Overall, good book and I read it quick. It wasn’t necessarily unique, and sometimes all the random characters with small plot lines got confusing.

fun version of the meghan and harry story with a cute princess di tie in. totally enjoyed and know that everyone else will too

The Royal game is an exciting and suspenseful novel, The dual point of view was fun and I enjoyed this

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was so intriguing! I expected a romance but then was treated to a mystery surrounding the (fictional) royal family, and was pleasantly surprised! It could have easily gone the way of fan fiction, but Keir wrote her story with her own point of view. I enjoyed this one!

Thank you again for the ARC!