I really enjoyed this one. Karina is really good at making us connect with the characters and her writing is so easy to get into. I can't wait to buy this when it comes out!

I read The Royals Next Door when it first came out and I liked it enough. So when I saw that there was another centered around this world I was intrigued. It was a quick and nice read. James and Laila meet up again working in the same royal household. It was interesting to see how it would all play out between them. I did like the flashbacks we got of how these two originally got together and what happened. It made the story that much more pleasant. James and Laila were fine together. Their feelings for one another was intense though they tried to deny it. I liked seeing what would occur next and the navigation of it all. Of course it was lovely seeing Prince Magnus and his family. They were a riot, brought so much entertainment. Though Magnus also brought some wiseness when needed. Overall, this was a nice story.

POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

I was so glad to have another book from Katrina that involved one of her Nordic Royals families, because I was so obsessed with that series! This one is about their bodyguard and nanny, so the royals are a supporting role but still play a big part in getting James and Laila together.

I liked both characters and really felt bad for them both on what they had went through as kids and what Laila was going through with her grandmother’s dementia. I will admit that I expected this to be more of a romcom (even knowing the author’s other works) but it was really more sad than I had expected. This is a second chance romance and does include flashbacks to their time together a couple of years ago.

There are some funny moments, and even if there were times I really wanted to shake James, I was rooting for these two to figure things out and get their HEA, which they do in such a sweet way.

The Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle is a steamy rollercoaster with a side of royal drama. James, a rugged Scottish bodyguard with commitment issues, and Laila, a sweet nanny with a big heart, had a fiery fling that ended in tears when James freaked out over Laila’s feelings. Classic move, right?

Fast forward to Laila trying to dodge her ex in the middle of the Norwegian wilderness, only to stumble upon James, now mingling with a boisterous royal family. Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Their chemistry is as sizzling as a Scottish summer, but their emotional baggage could fill a luggage carousel. James’s attempts to win Laila back are both hilariously awkward and heartbreakingly genuine. Meanwhile, Laila’s bond with her ailing grandmother adds a touching, tear-jerking layer to the story.

This book is a delightful mix of bodyguard fantasy, forced proximity, and second-chance romance. If you enjoy a good laugh, swoon-worthy tension, and a dash of royal chaos, The Royals Upstairs is your next read.

Thank you to Karina Halle and the team at Berkley Romance for the advance reader copy of The Royals Upstairs.

I absolutely adored this Karina Halle royalty-adjacent romance! It pulled on my nostalgia heartstrings so much, not just due to cameos from past Royalty romances but the entire feel felt like the Karina Halle contemporary romances I fell hard for when I first started reading her.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: Laila Bruset and James Hunter have a history, she is the darling nanny and he is the charming bodyguard, roles they played before for a different family. This is a workplace romance blended with the perfect balance of enemies-to-lovers and second-chance romance. It is easy to love Laila, she is the type of character readers love to root for. James makes you work for it a bit more, but as the story progressed and he got more vulnerable he was easy to fall for too, and the Scottish charm sure did not hurt. I cannot discuss the characters without expressing the utter joy of the cameos. New readers will for sure want to jump into The Wild Heir after being introduced to Magnus and Ella. For the seasoned Karina Halle fan it is the perfect look into not just Magnus and Ella, king and queen but them as parents and their kids.
Setting: Laila and James work for the Norwegian royalty family, so the story is set in Norway. I consistently love how Karina writes foreign settings, she brings them to life. I do not even know what I loved more the charms of the city and its people, or the true gem of a setting that was the remote family vacation home. Talk about forced proximity, I loved the isolating feeling of the way all the characters were forced to spend so much time together. I never wanted that bubble to burst, I just wanted to live in this book.
Pacing: I flew through this story just because I loved it too much and wanted to keep soaking up each word. I read it in maybe about two and a half hours and was enraptured. It felt like such a coming home, the same vibe as many of the first books I read from Karina and of course a wonderful nod to her superb royalty romances. This phenomenal book made me cry multiple times like my partner came to check on me if I was okay type of cry. Trust me, for many readers if you have gone through any similar experiences that Laila has with her grandmother you will be bawling. Karina does such a phenomenal job as I knew she would addressing grief and emotional trauma. The flashbacks were such a perfect storytelling device for this one and really elevated reading the romance in the current timeline by getting to understand what went wrong in the first place.
Romance: Books like this are the best reminder of how much a second-chance romance can just deliver an epic love story! The messy, unresolved feelings are complicated, but so is any relationship and throughout the story I love how Laila and James begin to lean on each other more. They open up to each other in such beautiful ways. The romance has its slow-burn nature, but that just makes the pinning and pretending that there are no feelings that much more delectable. I loved them sneaking around and trying to keep everyone else from figuring out what was happening, while they were trying to figure out what was happening themselves.
Spice: I saw some complaints about too much spice and those peeps don’t listen to them! The scenes between Laila and James are so perfectly passionate and deliciously sensual and steamy. I ate up every moment of them together!

“I learned at a very early age that life will utterly rip the rug out from under you when you least expect it, and hell if it wasn’t raising its ugly head again because holy shit. How is this happening? How the hell am I staring right into the face of the last person on earth I wanted to see? James Hunter. A person whose name I have trained myself to never repeat inside my head is standing right in front of me, a face I thought I’d erased from my imagination. Somehow’s he’s walked right back into my life, like he’s been teleported here.”

James Hunter accepts a new position as the chief protection officer for Prince Magnus and his family. James expects an exciting change of pace from his last position, but Prince Magnus lives a much slower and calmer life than he was expecting. James didn’t anticipate that he would see Laila again two years after their torrid love affair came to end, but fate has other plans for these two.

I’m going to be completely honest here, but this was rather underwhelming. I found the chemistry between James and Laila to be non-existent. Their conversations were boring, and didn’t really push their relationship forward at all. They added nothing of value and made them seem extremely young and inexperienced. I wish that instead of the flashbacks, the author would have started the story at the very beginning of their relationship so it could have followed a natural progression. I think doing flashbacks didn’t allow the reader to see the growth in either James or Laila, but kept showing me their immaturity and lack of self-awareness.

There were signs of greatness sprinkled throughout, but it got bogged down by my other issues. The spice was extremely well done, and I enjoyed Prince Magnus and his family even though it seemed a little unrealistic that royals would be so relaxed.

If you’re a fan of authors like Emma Chase and Kandi Steiner then I think this would be a good fit for you!

💋🍰𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙐𝙥𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨💋🍰

“𝐼 𝑑𝘰𝘯’𝑡 𝘤𝑎𝑟𝘦 𝑎𝑏𝘰𝘶𝑡 𝑦𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝑡𝘰 𝘩𝑎𝑡𝘦 𝑦𝘰𝘶ˏ 𝐽𝑎𝘮𝘦𝑠”

Kaaaaaarinaaaaaaaa!!! Oh. My. God. This book got me straight me in the feels from beginning to end. Second chance romance is always hit or miss for me but it’s my girl....So of course I’m going to read it and she did NOT disappoint. This book 👏had 👏 it 👏 all!!

James POV was absolutely hilarious and of course so heartbreaking at the same time. His POV of what went wrong was absolutely fascinating especially when he decides to try and win Laila back! Laila was just so sweet. So shy and reserved especially with her employers but I loved her hidden sassy side. I also loved that she had a loud laugh. There are people in my life that laugh loud and it always makes me SO happy to hear them so I love that it was worked into the story. It was one of those elements that gave the characters the feeling of real people which I lovingly refer to as “the Karina Halle treatment”

This is a fabulous read perfect for lovers of bodyguard/nanny, forced proximity and second chance romance! Available an ebook, paperback, and audiobook tomorrow 9/10/24!

James finds himself guarding the royal children at the secluded royal country house. And to make matters worse, the nanny is Laila. He fell hard for her during a previous assignment and pushed her away. Now, they must work together to keep the rule-adverse children from trouble. While he's hoping for his second chance, she is firmly in her enemies era, but neither can deny their connection. It was great to see the royal family portrayed as empathetic and caring towards their employees, and I liked how Halle created action using their roles as bodyguard and nanny. However, I didn't feel the emotional connection between James and Laila as much as I wanted.

"When James started his new position as a bodyguard for the royal family of Norway, the last thing he expected was to run into his former coworker - and the current royal nanny - Laila. As if trying to peacefully live and work with an ex whom he had a passionate affair with and then ghosted wasn’t hard enough, James could not have prepared himself for Magnus, the wild heir of Norway. Between an unpredictable boss, the two rambunctious royal children, and an old flame that’s burning brighter and brighter with each encounter, James is in for an eventful ride.

The Royals Upstairs has such a wonderful tie-in to Halle’s previous novel, The Wild Heir, that I really wish this was marketed as a sequel to that romance, rather than a standalone marketed in the same vein as The Royals Next Door. For me, Laila and James fell a bit flat as a couple; I thought the best parts of their story was when they were both interacting with others: Magnus, the kids, the other staff, even Laila’s grandmother. If you love the bodyguard/nanny dynamic and don’t need anything to really set it apart from that, then James and Laila have a wonderful, spicy little romance for you. But, if you need something more than just their jobs to make a romance pop for you, these two might be a little bland.

Even with many chapters of backstory, I still ended up feeling like I don’t know these two main characters well. James drinks a lot; Laila doesn’t visit her grandmother as much as she’d like. Outside of that, they didn’t really socialize or do anything worth noting. For these two characters, their life is just work and denying their feelings for each other for as long as possible. Luckily, they have Prince Magnus as a boss. If you’ve read The Wild Heir, it’s worth noting that Magnus has not only not settled down much in terms of his escapades, but his two sons are on the way to inheriting his wild genes. If you haven’t read Magnus’s story, James and Laila’s story is still enjoyable. However, it often felt like Magnus was the star of the show whenever he was in the scene, and some of that rebellious nature might be lost on readers if this is your first encounter with him.

Overall, this was a good bodyguard/nanny romance, but I found the best parts to be the times both main characters were interacting with other people. While it was wonderful to see what Magnus has been up to, and getting hints at what might be happening soon for him, it was odd for me, as a reader, to rely so much on a secondary character to make the overall story work. Even Laila’s interactions with her grandmother brought up more emotion for me than anything that Laila had with James.

Was this romance steamy? Most definitely. Did it fall a little flat in areas? Also most definitely. I love Karina Halle’s books, and will read whatever genre she writes in, but this was not my favorite contemporary romance from her. "

I absolutely adored The Royals Next door so I was thrilled when Halle graced us with another book about Royals. Unfortunately soon after starting this I knew it wasn’t going to work for me. The story and voice felt over the top and cheesy and immediately turned me off.

I really enjoyed this romance between a personal protection officer and a nanny. A previous relationship between them didn't work out and the surprise of finding themselves working for the same royal family added an exciting layer of tension to the chemistry they were already fighting against. The Norwegian Royal Family had a great cast of characters and I liked the more relaxed atmosphere in their environment. The way they all became a found family by the end was incredibly sweet. I listened to the audiobook and the narration is very well done. A fantastic way to read this story.

Karina Halle is an author I enjoyed several years ago (she wrote some of the first adult romances I’d ever read, starting with Love, in English). I’ve been wanting to read more from her for a while, and at long last, I’m back with her newest release, The Royals Upstairs. This novel is a sequel to her 2021 book The Royals Next Door, and also heavily involves characters from The Wild Heir (itself part of a different series). However, this one works as a standalone.

The Royals Upstairs is actually about the “staff downstairs,” though the working relationship is far more friendly and integrated than that. James has just been hired as a bodyguard to protect Norway’s Prince Magnus, his wife Ella, and their two sons, Bjorn and Tor. Their nanny is Laila… a woman James had a brief fling with two years ago when they both worked for a royal family in England. It didn’t end well between them, but now they will be working together and spending a lot of time in close proximity. Can their relationship get a second chance? Should they even try, given that they’re not supposed to “fraternize” as co-workers?

As before, I enjoy Karina Halle’s writing style. It’s easy to fall into, quick-paced and conversational yet angsty and emotional. The characters jump off the page, both the main protagonists and supporting cast, and I loved the setting and the many deeper themes.

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
- Second chance romance
- Exes to enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
- Workplace romance
- Dual first-person POVs (James & Laila)
- Dual timeline (two years ago and now)

What I Liked:
- Norway setting! I haven’t read enough books set in Norway, and I enjoyed getting to know the country here. The author was previously a travel journalist, but she also has Norwegian family, and it shows in how she writes about Norway. The characters get to explore some of the more touristic parts of Oslo, go to the small town that’s far away where Laila grew up, and see the Northern Lights. I loved all of this, plus the bits of Norwegian language throughout. (It’s not too much for those, like me, who don’t speak the language, and is usually translated.)
- Themes around mental health and neurodivergence. There’s a lot in this novel, both with the protagonists and secondary characters. Prince Magnus and his son Bjorn both have ADHD. Laila’s grandmother has dementia in her old age. James had depression in the aftermath of his divorce years earlier. I appreciate that all of these are shown with sensitivity and care. It all comes across as very realistic and nuanced.
- This is my favorite kind of second-chance romance: the kind where they’re exes and sort of enemies and have to find their way back to each other. James and Laila were together two years earlier, but it was mostly a sexual relationship and it ended badly. Laila has harbored anger towards James ever since, and she’s not keen on working with him again, let alone being friends or anything more. The novel goes back and forth in time, showing Laila’s perspective on what went down two years ago, and both perspectives on how things are going now. Can James redeem himself and have a new chance at a relationship with Laila? Can she let him in again? Moreover, will he let her in all the way?
- James is Scottish, was a child in the foster care system, and is now divorced. He has scars from his childhood and failed marriage, yet there’s a playfulness to him when he’s not on the job.
- Laila is Norwegian and a dark girlie. She had a troubled childhood only made worse when her parents died; she was raised by her beloved grandmother after that. She balances out a certain youthfulness (love of stuffed animals, for example) with being a little angsty (metalhead!).
- This royal family is so laid back and chaotic! I enjoyed Prince Magnus, Ella, and their kids, plus the other royal staff. Not what I’d expect from a royal family! I will have to read Magnus and Ella’s book, The Wild Heir.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- James comes on too strong once they’re in each other’s orbit again in Norway. Laila is clear that she doesn’t want anything, but he’s persistent, and then she reciprocates his interests against her will. She immediately regrets it and tells him to back off. So on her end she seems conflicted, but I wish James gave her a bit more space at first.

Final Thoughts
The Royals Upstairs balances angst, emotions, and deeper themes with a healthy dose of fun and chaos. Even with all that’s woven into this novel, it never feels like too much. Instead, it feels like a glimpse into real lives, messy as they are. The central romance feels serious, but there are glimpses of the cheer that these two can have together once they get past what’s kept them apart. I enjoyed this book, and while it works as a standalone, I am excited to read the other books it’s connected to, The Royals Next Door and The Wild Heir.

I gave this a valiant effort to like. But I just could not connect with either of these characters. Had I read the first book would I have connected better? I don’t know. But I found James and Laila one-dimensional characters

Laila is the nanny and James is a bodyguard for one of the Nordic royal families. They worked together for another royal family, and started a relationship that ended badly. When James starts working for Prince Magnus, he’s surprised to find Laila taking care of the royal children.

The chemistry between them is as potent as it ever was, but should they give their relationship another chance?

I liked this book, but the first half felt slow. It picked up considerably in the second half, 3.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Ms. Halle for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I’ve read some very good books by Ms. Halle and was really looking forward to this one, despite not having read the Royals Next Door. This one falls somewhere in the middle of her books for me. The Norwegian winter setting was superb. I especially liked Laila’s drive up north to (I’m trying to remember; was it Trondheim?) her grandmother’s town; I was picturing those majestic fjords and colorful houses dusted with snow. The community and scenery seemed very present and I got a massive case of travellust. I also really appreciated the sensitive and intimate treatment of Laila’s grief. Grief is a very personal subject and everyone experiences it differently, but it was clear that the author felt very deep and resonant grief during the writing of the book as Laila’s grief feels very raw.

Unfortunately in all honesty, I wished that the characters of James and Laila had more time to connect and build a friendship and a relationship. Maybe this connection was shown more clearly in The Royals Next Door but it is really absent here. Mostly it’s just James flirting with Laila, Laila being passive-aggressive back, and then all the sudden they’re having sex again. I would have liked to see more quality time spent together, more character growth as a couple. They both got plenty of character growth on their own which made their lack of development together even more noticeable. Ella’s and Magnus’s involvement also seemed a little odd to me. Maybe it’s just me.

Overall it was still a fun palate cleanser between other books and, in general, I really enjoy Ms. Halle’s writing so I would still suggest the book to readers who like contemporary romance (particularly with a royal element thrown in). The Norwegian setting alone is unique enough to merit a look. Be prepared to start wishfully looking up flights to Norway on the internet, though.

⭐⭐⭐

THE ROYALS UPSTAIRS by Karina Halle is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, erotic, romance story line set in the author’s Nordic Royals world. This is thirty-four year old, royal body guard James Hunters, and twenty-eight year old Norwegian nanny Laila Bruset’s story line. THE ROYALS UPSTAIRS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Laila and James work for Crown Prince Magnus and his wife Princess Isabella (THE WILD HEIR).

Told from dual first person perspectives (Laila and James) using present day and memories from the past, THE ROYALS UPSTAIRS follows the second chance relationship between our story line couple. Scotsman James Hunter has worked for several European families, and in doing so met royal nanny Laila Bruset. A brief affair years earlier ended with Laila’s broken heart, and the two never thought they would meet again. Fast forward to present day, Norwegian born Laila Bruset is the nanny to Crown Prince Magnus and Princess Ella’s children, a position that brings her up close and personal with Magnus’ new security James Hunter, the man who broke her heart. James is hoping to rekindle their relationship if only as friends but Laila is struggling with betrayal from the past. What ensues is the rebuilding romance and relationship between our story line couple, a rebuild helped by the Crown Prince and his wife.

The world building focuses on past sins and betrayal; previous royal employment; a rambunctious young prince whose antics often threaten the safety of our story line couple; and of one woman’s struggle to let go of the past.

The relationship between Laila and James is one of second chances. James broken Laila’s heart, having kept his own life a secret from our story line heroine, a woman who had fallen for a man who could not fall in return. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word in my romance story line.

We are reintroduced to Crown Prince Magnus, and his wife Princess Ella; their children Bjorn and Tor; driver Ottar; Ella’s personal assistant Lady Jane, as well as Laila’s ailing grandmother.

THE ROYALS UPSTAIRS is a story of second chances; of secrets and lies; family and loss; relationships and love. The premise is emotional and engaging;the romance is provocative and seductive; the characters are determined and dynamic.



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Thank you to Netgalley @berkleypub @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for sharing an ebook arc and audiobook ALC with me! #berkley #berkleypartner #berkleyromance #blogtour #berkleyblogtour #prhaudioinfluencer

So excited to share this new release! The Royals Upstairs by @authorhalle is a delightful enemies (exes) to lovers rom-com with a royal twist. You will be rooting for Laila and James and are sure to fall head over heels for their characters. This book is kind of like Nicholas Sparks meets the Princess Diaries. While it’s not a regency romance, I would also recommend this book to fans of Bridgerton. Fans out Outlander may enjoy this book as well
The audiobook is narrated by Alex C Stewart and Cassandra York. I thought they were a great duo to narrate this book and their voices complimented each other well.


Thank you again to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy of this wonderful book! <3

Not quite as compelling as the first one in the series, but a fun escape if you're in the mood for something relatively light with royals and a hot bodyguard! And I continue to really appreciate the author's commitment to and handling of mental health representation.

4⭐️
3.5🔥

Quick Breakdown

Second Chance
Royal Adjacent
Forced Proximity
She Falls First
Bed First, Feelings Later
Dual POV
Open Door - Moderate to High

Thank you @berkleyromance for the eARC & finished copy & @prhaudio for the gifted ALC #berkleypartner

The Royals Upstairs was a delightfully messy, royal adjacent, second chance romance between James & Laila, the nanny & bodyguard for the Crown Prince of Norway & his family. James & Laila know each other from years ago when they were both working for the British royal family in their respective roles. From the start, James & Laila had an inevitable attraction that bloomed into a friends w/ benefits situationship. Given the necessary isolation working with the royal family, it made sense that Laila grew feelings for James. But when she shared those feelings, commitment phobic James pushed Laila away & cut off their arraignment abruptly.

Years later, when forced into each others proximity again, the pair attempt to work together peacefully given their history. While initially bumpy, James turns into a real friend for Laila when she desperately needs one. Surprising no one, lines become blurry again. But now, James has matured with time. Will he acknowledge a good thing when it’s standing right in front of him?

The Royals Upstairs is a companion novel to Karina’s 2021 romance, The Royals Next Door. I was delighted to find The Royals Upstairs, in comparison, was told in dual POV & 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 spicier than its counterpart. While it took me a bit to warm up to James, I appreciated his growth & found both him & Laila’s struggles very relatable. The secondary cast of characters are equally charming. It's even better on audio. Given it’s dual POV, we get not only the Norwegian accents, but James’s Scottish accent as well!

Having binge read The Royals Next Door, I was SO excited to discover and have an advanced copy of The Royals Upstairs. However; I was not a huge fan of the male's point of view and the way he looked upon other's in his environment. I ended up "not finishing" this read due to this however; I definitely will pick up another Halle book in the near future.