I felt narrators Barrie Kreinik and Shiromi Arserio did a great job at bringing the characters to life in The Royal Game by Linda Keir. I didn't enjoy the overall story or plot, but the narrators kept me from putting the book down before I finished it. They get 5 stars for a great narration job, the story/plot gets 2 stars.

Thank you Blackstone Audio for the gifted ALC!

Leaning heavily on the history of Princess Diana and Meghan Markel this novel tells the story of a commoner and a prince falling in love and becoming engaged to be married. There is a twist in Jennies story though in where someone in the palace is trying to stop the wedding and actually harm her. This book is not so much a romance novel but more of a mystery novel and since I felt I already knew so much about Diana's and Meghans real life story, Jennie and Hugh's story was just too predictable for me. I enjoyed it as a quick easy listen. 3 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for a chance to read/listen to this ARC audio book.

I was really excited for this one based on the cover and the description but while it was a good book I was 50/50 on it. I would recommend adding it to a friends TBR but as a "read when you have spare time, not to prioritize" it. I'm a fan of Linda Keir and found that this one didn't live up to her other books.

This is a light, fluffy read. The book borrows a little too much from the headlines, in my opinion. Not in a Crown type of way, but more in a Lifetime movie sort of way.

Not what I typically read and I will not remember this book for anything in particular, but it was entertaining nonetheless. If you’re a royal enthusiast or just looking for something light and easy, this is a good choice.

2.8 rounded up to 3.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Quick, easy read. Wasn't really my style but enjoyable overall. I would have liked a little more romance but that's ok. The narrators did a good job.

Popstars and royalty, oh what fun! This was a great audiobook and moved fast. I love stories that gain inspiration from Princess Diana and Megan Markle, so this was right in that sweet spot for me. I was happy that there was lots of mystery and glamour, more so for me than the romance. The same old romance plotlines are growing boring, so this mixed it up a bit. Royal training montages are always fun and this delivered. Recommend!

Narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Shiromi Arserio, the captivating narration enhances the experience. I really enjoyed how there were two narrators for this audiobook. Jennie Jensen's journey from American pop singer to royalty is riveting, especially as she navigates the intrigue surrounding Princess Penelope's death. I felt like the book's mystery was very similar to Princess Diana's story. While at times I felt like the details in the royal family "rules" were a bit too much, the captivating narration enhances the experience. Not everyone is thrilled about Jennie and the Prince's engagement, which added an extra layer of tension to the already complex narrative. I loved how both were solved seamlessly in this book!
The blending of romance and mystery kept me listening until the very end!

A very special thanks to Blackstone Publishing, Bibliolifestyle, and Netgalley for the ALC and complimentary copy.

This novel of contemporary court intrigue masquerades as a romance, but is actually a mystery, and although I am not a fan of that particular genre, having just completed binge-watching The Crown, the romantic elements and excellent narration were strong enough to compel me to listen all the way through.

Jennie Jensen, adoptee of nice regular Iowan folks, is a singer-songwriter with a significant following. When she’s doing a set in England, she doesn’t recognize the latecomer who requests her hit song (after she’s already performed it) as the heir apparent. He invites her out, and when he finally discloses who he is, she’s charmed. She hadn’t planned on falling in love with Hugh, but a number of months later, they’re engaged. Royal life grows more and more confining as the wedding date nears, and Jennie starts to get the feeling that someone doesn’t want her to marry into the family: she becomes ill on the boat during her bachelorette party, her cake topper is snapped in half, and documents she stores in her safe deposit box go missing. When she finally relays her fears, they are dismissed.

Hugh’s mother was killed in a plane crash during his teen years; from here, the storyline closely follows the royal family’s history. Hugh is an amalgam of Harry and William, and Jennie, an American, seems to be getting the same ostracizing treatment as former actress Megan Markle. The story moves back in time with excerpts from her diary as Jennie’s adopted mother, who happens to have an obsession with the royals, provides context for the conspiracy that the Princess of Wales was murdered, and the plane crash, outright murder. Jennie goes to the princess’s ex, a retail tycoon, to discover that Scott Corbin has a whole room dedicated to solving the mystery.

Listening in to this tale was like coming upon a crash: I couldn’t turn away, and also had a sense I was contributing to a privacy issue faced by many royals, celebrities and people of note by allowing their lives to become tabloid fodder. What worked so well in The Royal We fails here; the story feels outright disrespectful, copycat, and opportunistic. The cattiness of ladies in waiting will resonate with fans of Phillipa Gregory looking for a historical, monarchy-themed palette cleanser.

Narrator Barrie Kreinik portrays the Princess of Wales with an elegant, throaty voice, and Shiromi Arserio’s Jennie is a delightful contract with a younger, more innocent, midwestern tone. Their energy, Jennie’s curiosity, and the Princess’s anxiety were conveyed with conviction.

I received a free, advance reader’s review copy of #TheRoyalGame via NetGalley, courtesy of Blackstone Publishing.

I wish this book followed more of the two main characters love story. I feel like this would make me more attached to the characters and make them feel more real. I thought the concept of this mystery needing solved was a cool idea but the execution was not there. Every character felt like they were in the story to be pawns in this mystery and were very 2D. When the suspect was revealed, I couldn't remember who it was and how that person was applicable because there were too many side characters to keep track of. I also felt like the suspect's reason for doing what they did was not believable enough. I felt the ending was super abrupt and needed a little more to be satisfying.

The story meanders significantly and there isn’t a strong enough pull in the romantic or thrilling elements to be a good contender for either category. I think this might be a good fit for someone who really loves plots surrounding the royals. I don’t gravitate toward those stories frequently and was hoping for more of a romance. That is obviously a personal problem and many will not have this issue.

Thank you Linda Keir, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for my advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 2
Writing and Editing - 3
Character Development - 3
Narration - 5
Personal Bias - 2
Final Score - 3

This novel takes obvious inspiration from Princess Diana and Meghan Markle and their treatment at the hands of the British Royal Family. Based on the cover, I expected this to read more as a romance or rom-com, but it seems to want to me a suspense thriller. For me, it missed the mark there and the pacing is unbalanced. That said, I'm a sucker for the royal family and enjoyed this read.

I truly despise giving poor reviews, but I just could not get passed the plot of this book. I was hoping for a plot line ala "The Royals" on E! but was met with a regurgitation of the actual royal family history from the last 50 years. I felt like I was reading a bad tabloid. So if you're looking for some mindless reading with fun royal adventures & hot princes, this is not it.

This book was quite a bit of a rip off of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship in a lot of ways. I found it to be a little trite because of that. I was very disappointed as I like books about royalty. I would give this one a pass.

The audiobook narrator was amazing! This title was super cute and easy to get into. As some one who loves the British royals and reads A LOT of books based on them, I do feel this story didn’t seem too original. It also kind of quickly jumped into the romance without much development. Overall, still a cute, quick read and I’d read more from this author.

This audiobook was a lot of fun to listen to. It had a female with an American accent, read by Shiromi Arserio and the male with a British accent read by Barrie Kreinik. Both narrators did a great job doing the American & or British accents as needed and using a female or male tone. The narrators did a great job to make the book come to life.
Jennie is an American pop star and Hugh who is the Prince of England meet at her concert when he is late and asks her to play a song she already played. The book takes us through the differences of how each of them grew up and the obstacles they are each facing together and apart. The book kind of has similarities with twists to the current Royal family of England history.

The Royal Game by Linda Keir is a fun, intriguing book about Royalty. From the beginning, I thought it would be very comparable to The Royal We, but it definitely had more twists and turns than The Royal We. I found myself really drawn to the characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The characters are familiar, but still interesting. It's definitely a great, escapist read. The audiobook was well done.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Too much ripped out of the headlines. Names changed but so much was Diana and Charles and Meghan and Harry with a bit of Kate thrown in. And the Princess of Wales dying in a suspicious plane crash— really, that was the best the author could come up with. While I do follow the British royals, this was just a bit too much for me. Others may feel differently. Narrators were fine.

Nope. Did not enjoy and almost didn’t finish. It’s one thing to be inspired by true events but to take a real story, change names and occupation? So cringe.

A royal romance with some intrige that kept me nicely entertained.

Jenny and Hugh worked well together and I enjoyed my time with them. Some of the secondary characters got a bit confusing for me, but they worked well with the story.

While parts read as a British royal family fanfiction, as it leaned heavily on everything surrounding Princess Diana and Meghan Markle, I had fun reading this book, especially at this moment when the internet is abuzz with all the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton..! Fun coincidence.

Some pronunciation hurt my ears ;) Perhaps this was on purpose as most was from the POV of Jenny, who is American. but to hear CanterBERRY and not CANterbury, or EdinburGH and not Edinburah… yeah I could have done without.

Read as an audiobook.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

I started listening to this book without really checking out the summary, synopsis, so I literally chose the book based on the cover. I know, never judge a book by its cover. I love Royal romances and was looking forward to this story. Unfortunately the book The Royal Game by Linda Keir fell flat for me. The storyline is just a deviation on Meghan and Harry., even changing Princess Diana’s accident into a plane crash, even mentioning that her death was rumored to not be an accident. Ouch. Meghan, oops I mean Jennie, is a singer. And the family doesn’t accept her, and the inner circle treats her bad because she’s American.

Jennie is in the middle of a concert when a handsome concert goer asks her to sing his favorite song, even though she has already performed it earlier in the concert. After the concert she is approached by a gentleman asking her to meet his friend, her groupie. She ends up agreeing and is startled to find that he is Prince Hugh, heir to the throne.
The story fast forwards several months later where their relationship has progressed and she is planning her wedding. Jennie is wading through the change in her life, trying to follow etiquette and learn the rules of Royal life. The romance was quick and superficial, with not much actual romance occurred.
The story was ok, I would have loved it had the author made it with a fictional kingdom with using their own imagination, instead of regurgitating current events. I had no connection to the characters and struggled to get through the book. The mystery was good, but the romance part was boring. Maybe I am just over the real events, but I just couldn’t get into this story. I felt more like I was listening to an update on current drama than a fictional story about fictional characters.

I enjoyed the narrators voice. She definitely did a great job reading the story and I would check out more books read by her. I liked the cover.