This book was a solid 3.5 stars for me.

1. A lot of unnecessary backstory on Princess Penelope.
2. It was more obvious than the author was trying to lead on. Less of a mystery than anticipated.
3. Basic fanfic of the current Royals in the UK.
4. Would have like to had more on the relationship of the prince and future princess.
5. She was a Famous US singer- but it really just kept popping up randomly, and not developed in the plot well. It felt like the author kept throwing it in to remind us at random times vs making it part of the plot - other than how her and MMC met.

Thank you so much to @netgalley, Blackstone publishing, and author Linda Keir for graciously sending the audiobook to review. Jennie Jensen is an American pop singer who is getting engaged to a prince of England. Hugh was a loveable MMC, and I adored Jennie's character. As Jennie was preparing for the wedding, she is of course, learning new pieces of etiquette, most of which were completely foreign to her. She is hitting some bumps, but then she got an anonymous letter threatening that she would perish the same was her love's mother did - in a mysterious plane crash. She works to unravel the mystery, and I loved her character caught on to so many secrets.

I loved the mix of romance and mystery - so good! My one complaint, as a romance lover, was the abrupt beginning to the story. I would have loved a little more backstory to become more invested their story.

The audiobook was done very well. by Barrie Kreinik and Shiromi Arserio.

A mystery that centers around the American fiancé to a British prince, and his mother who died in what some thing was mysterious circumstances years ago. While a romance is at the center of the plot, very little time is spent there, which I appreciated because I think that plot can get too predictable. Instead, there is some of the fun of the "plebian fish in royal waters" trope, but it doesn't get bogged down. The mystery element wraps up just a little too quickly for my taste, but overall I really enjoyed the story.

This royal novel is more of a thriller than a romance. In the lead-up to her wedding to England's Prince Hugh, American singer, Jennie Jensen, is having trouble fitting into the royal family. When she starts to receive death threats, she starts to see the parallels of her life with the late Princess Penelope.

Why We Like it: The female lead is a mash-up of Meghan and Kate, but it's the thriller/mystery element that makes this story stand apart from most royal reads.

Jennie, a pop singer, and Prince Hugh. A fairytale engagement! Or is it?

Someone isn't happy about this engagement and they are letting it be known. Is it someone inside the royal family's inner circle? Jennie gets anonymous letters. Things in her room get broken. There are some accidents that are near misses.

Prince Hugh's mom, Princess Penelope, died in a mysterious plane crash when he was younger. Jennie hears rumors it was not actually and accident and is determined to find the truth. But someone doesn't want her to find out and this puts a bigger target on her back.

I enjoyed the audio of this one!

This had a very Princess Di and Meghan Markle feel to it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Apparently overly fictionalized versions of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's relationship/time in London are my guilty pleasure because I ate this up. American musician (definitely NOT a famous actress copycat) Jennie Jensen has a meet cute with Prince Hugh (H names huh?), the future King of England, and very quickly they fall in love, have a secret romance, publicly get engaged, and then the horror begins.

We also get flashbacks throughout the book from Princess Penelope"s (cough cough Diana cough cough) diary, where she shares similar horrors she encountered while married to Prince Hugh's dad, prior to her death in a plane crash (NOT a car crash because that would be too obvious, right?). Are these connected? Is someone really out for Jennie? Was Penelope actually murdered? ..... You'll just have to read it to find out.

This was just not a book for me. I did listen to the audio and I wasn’t a super big fan of the narrator so that might be playing into my dislike a little. I just found it a bit boring and predictable. However, If you enjoy the American Royals books I could see you really enjoying this one! Again, not a terrible book, just not a book for me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

American Jennie Jensen has a meet cute with Prince Hugh, the future King of England while preforming at a concert. Cut to a secret romance, a public engagement and the terror begins. Who is trying to stop their marriage? Could it be connected to the death of his beloved mother, Princess Penelope? When strange, scary and life threatening things happen Jennie starts secretly investigating only to find more questions than answers. Will she find out what really happened before she loses her life as well? So many suspects, terrible people, so many lies, so much deceit and deception behind Palace wall all to maintain what “The Firm” wants the public to know and perceive them all. An interesting mystery within a sweet love story. It had me thinking about Prince Harry and Meghan and Princess Diana through the entire listen. While the plot's intrigue added suspense, the drawn-out royal family speculations felt overwrought at times.
I did enjoy the listening experience and the narrator did a good job.
If half stars were available this would have been a 3.5 star read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Fans of the royal family and the monarchy will enjoy The Royal Game by Linda Keir. The Royal Game has little romance and focuses more on a mystery surrounding the soon-to-be princess and a past Queen. Reminiscent of Princess Diana and Megan Markel, the story was good but not necessarily original.

This story artfully combines elements of romance and mystery, and I also experienced its audiobook version, narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Shiromi Arserio. The story, centered on Jennie Jensen's unexpected royal romance and ensuing challenges, captivated me with its blend of love and intrigue. The narrators brought depth to the characters, enhancing the listening experience. While the plot's swift conclusion felt somewhat rushed, the overall narrative kept me engaged. Although not groundbreaking, this book was a delightful escape into a world of royal drama and romance. It's perfect for those who enjoy tales of love, mystery, and the allure of royalty, albeit without expecting profound depth or novelty.

I went into this thinking this was more of a romance and I love royal romances. I didn't expect as much of the mystery component which I think took the forefront. I wasn't convinced of Hugh and Jennie's love. They had a whirlwind romance but it felt very superficial. I was invested in what happened back in the day to Hughs mom Penelope and it definitely had a lot of parallels with Princess Diana in real life. It dragged a but in the middle but the audiobook kept me going. I enjoyed the narrator.

First of all, I listened to this via audiobook, so I must say the narrator was very pleasant and easy to follow.

But I’m reviewing titles for my romance bookstore, and this story was more suspense than romance. In fact, other than their initial meeting, the book glosses over their entire relationship. The reasons why they fell in love would have been helpful in buying in to their chemistry and ultimately caring what happened to them.

This sounded like a fun read—and it was—but I found it more complex and insightful than expected. The premise is that Jennie Jensen, a young American musician, meets the Prince of Wales and gets engaged after a whirlwind, clandestine courtship. In Meghan Markle-like fashion, she soon discovers that royal life comes with a lot of rules, near-constant harassment from the press, and even some threats. While this is a romance, it is also a mystery, and I found it complicated enough to be very engaging. Soon-to-be princess Jennie finds that her love for Prince High is constantly intruded upon, and as the treats escalate she wonders if she should go through with the wedding. Many elements of the story are based on the very-real members of England’s royal family, but with many twists, conspiracy theories, and intrigue (that may or may not be fictional!) and I found it a very compelling book. I loved the narration as well. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought the balance between romance and mystery would be equal but this was more mystery. In fact I felt like the romance was almost non existent.

Thank you NetGalley abs plusher for this audio ARC!

First off the narrator did great!!!
This had it all! Romance, mystery and its dual timelines! This book is great! I enjoyed it! It was hard to stop listening to it. The storyline and plot are great and so are the characters.

Book Review: The Royal Game
Stars: 3X5
Author: Linda Keir
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Inc.
Thank you @netgalley for this Arc

While performing ar a concert, American Jennie Jensen has a chance meeting with a guy but she has no idea that he is Prince Hugh, the future King of England. Soon they become an item and. Cut a secret romance starts, a public engagement and the terror begins. Someone is trying to stop the marriage. Could it be connected to the death of his beloved mother, Princess Penelope? Strange, scary and life threatening things happen Jennie starts to question things but only finds there are still more questions than answers.
Will she find out what really happened to Penelope and will it cost her life. Like real life royalty the is so much deception . This what a sweet love story with mystery and a wonderful ending.

For me I just didn’t really care for this book as it was just too close to the happenings with the real English Royal Family. If you like royal fanfare then this book is for you.

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3.5/5 rounded up.

First off, do not go into this story thinking it is a romance. It has romantic elements, but that is a very mibnor part of the story. This is first and formost a contemporary mystery. And as a mystery it is pretty solid. I adore the Princess Diana vibes and the parallel that Princess Penelope's killer has come back to repeat history. There are so many instances where this trope is underutilized and it made for such an interesting story.

I was able to deduct odd behavior of characters early on and had my suspicions of the main culprit around the 50% mark and was glad that I was correct.

From the point of narration, I am glad I am reviewing the audiobook over the print because I think I would have struggled with time skips. The accents given to characters aided me in realizing when we were experiencing Penelope's POV vs. Jenny's. Even with the dates I was normally lost or had to go back.

I admire the paralells made between the characters and the fact that there is a concrete resoluton. I did believe it started off considerably slow, not really gaining momentumn for the mystery until about the 30% mark. Once you hit that section it is 100% worth the read!

Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing-Audiobooks for the free ARC Audio in exchange for this review!

I enjoyed this book - I wondered at times if it was being ghost written by a Royal because there were quite a few instances where the book drew on the experiences of Princess Diana (Princess Penelope) and Meghan Markle’s (Princess Jenny) Royal life. It wasn’t so much of a romance book as a mystery book with Jenny uncovering bits and pieces of Penelope’s life through her journal and trying to piece together if the threats Jenny was receiving were from the same source as the threats Princess Penelope had received. I enjoyed the mystery element of the story and I definitely thought that the threats were being left by someone other than who they turned out to be from - which kept me intrigued in the development of the story.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about royals/royal life and is interested in a mystery that spans decades!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Romance. Mystery. Dual timeline. Yes please! These are a few of my favorite things.

I while many parts are very clearly inspired by the royal family—enough is changed to give a great story full of love and a wonderful mystery that keeps you flipping the pages to find out what the truth is.

Narration was excellent and seemed to be the perfect voices to connect with the characters.

Are you an American who loves the Monarchy? Or do you love the royals in general?

Jennie is a pop star who meets Prince Hugh and they fall madly in love. The British people are split on how they feel about their prince marrying an American.

Strange things begin to happen and go missing in Jennie’s room. While Jennie is dealing with wondering if it’s worth it to marry Hugh, she must also grapple with the rumors that Hugh’s mothers death may not have been an accident after all.

This book takes some stories from real life modern day royalty and the tragedies that have befallen their family throughout the years.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.