***(2.5 stars rounded up to 3)***. I’m conflicted about this one. I was drawn in by the comparison to the “American Royals’ series (which I found silly and fun and fast-paced) and I do think that’s apt. I also love a boarding school setting, which was put to good use here. My disappointments were with the dialogue and the characters. I found the dialogue pretty stilted and cringey, especially regarding Alaric. He’s Irish, and the dialogue he speaks feels like it was written by an American unfamiliar with the Irish dialect. & I say this as an American! I also felt like the characters weren’t fully developed, so it was a little hard to invest in them and their arcs. Overall, I did speed through this, so it was well-paced for me and I did have fun with it! I also think I’m too hard on YA lit, because I’m not super familiar with it, and I might judge it by unfair standards.

"Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review"

Royal Heirs was a compelling standalone by Lindsey Duga about 3 heirs and a seemingly nobody that competed with the hopes of ascending the throne of Ashland. This book offers a unique experience because each of the main characters receives a point of view so as the reader you are never left in the dark about what each character is experiencing. While there was not really a 'main character' I found that a lot of the plot centered around Sadie Aurelia.

The plot was captivating while providing enough plot twists to keep you on your toes. The book dives into some heavy topics like parental abuse and mental health and I found that the way they were written did justice to these heavy topics.

My only real complaint was the romance aspect of the book, in the early half of the book the chemistry between Alaric and Sadie was palpable and the complexity of their romance was really interesting to read, the other half of the book focuses on Sadie and Titus and their seemingly present chemistry, that I as the reader wasn't really fond of.

All in all it was a good read and something I wouldn't mind getting a second book of.