Thank you Sophie Gonzales for allowing me to be part of your street team! Thanks Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC, these opinions are my own. I am so happy to add to my Sophie Gonzales collection, I swear every book is gold! Danni just moved to Henland after her mom got married. She’s in a new country but it does give her a chance to attend the prestigious Bramppath College, known for producing musical prodigies. It also means attending school with Princess Rosemary, though Danni can’t imagine they’ll interact. Rose had spent the last few months trying to repair her image from that night in Amsterdam. The pressure of being a Princess is rough, especially being a lesbian princess. Not that anyone knows she’s a lesbian aside from her parents and some staff. Rose knows she’ll have to keep that part of her life private for the rest of her life but that’s just the way it is right? Rose and Danni first cross paths at a friend, Molly’s pre-school party. Though Rose and Molly seem to have a lot of tension in their relationship and Rose can’t figure out why. Danni met Molly on her school tour. There’s an instant connection when Rose and Danni meet though neither can figure it out. It only grows as they spend more time together. Dani’s bi but she has only told a friend back home. As their connection grows they’ll have to keep their relationship secret. But as the news and anonymous social media posts start to zero in on their relationship things will become difficult. Can their relationship last? Will they be able to keep the secrets of their sexuality? Will Rose be able to fix her relationship with Molly? And what exactly happened in Amsterdam and why does no one talk about it? A heartfelt story of love and friendship that will have you in all the feels! A definite page turner! A sapphic rom com with a touch of mystery, secrets, betrayal, and grief and finding one’s inner strength! The characters are deep and relatable and if you’re like me you’ll just want to hug them all! I can already tell this is going to be a top read for 2025!

Such a cute and clever book with a unique premise. I really loved the contemporart royal romance and was drawn into Danni and Rose's journey, especially since their chemistry seemed to ecplode off the page. I love that about Sophie Gonzales' books!

Everybody say thank you Sophie Gonzales for delivering the sapphic YA royal romance of our dreams! NOBODY IN PARTICULAR is such a stunning coming-of-age story about love, hope, hurt, and yearning (seriously: so! much! yearning!!). It is totally obsess-worthy, and I can’t wait for everyone to feel that!!

royalty belongs to the gays 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ exactlyyyyyyy

In this book we’re following Rose (the princess of a small country) and Danni (an immigrant who got accepted into the prestigious boarding school Rose attends). There, Rose and Danni strike a friendship and (shocker) fall for each other.



I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed the characters! Sophie Gonzales is great at creating characters, so I’m not surprised I really enjoyed both MCs’ POVs.

Danni was a fish out of water, being in a new country, a new school, and a completely different type of environment (she’d never attended a boarding school + being surrounded by millionaire VIPs is a lot lol). She accommodated pretty quickly, though. Additionally, Danni was also dealing with her stage fright, and, later in the story she falls back on the whole ~people are mocking and being fake-nice to me~ mentality, since she’d been bullied at her previous school. Through it all, Danni managed to be pretty mature for her age, which I enjoyed.

Rose is very self-assured, witty and sarcastic, and I really liked following her. She’s still dealing with some pretty heavy stuff, though, particularly the fact that she’s expected to stay in the closet forever, marry a man and birth children, which she (a lesbian) obviously doesn’t want. However, the most compelling conflict in Rose’s life, in my opinion, has to do with her relationship with her ex-friend Molly. We can see early on that Rose is very clearly suppressing her feelings so she doesn’t have to deal with the grief and trauma she went through, which dampens her friendship with Molly.

I reeeeally liked slowly uncovering what went on between them that made Molly start disliking Rose, and I thought the whole thing was SO WELL DONE!!! 👏🏻 And I really liked that they talked through everything that happened and explained their feelings. I just really liked this conflict and its resolution. Probably my favourite aspect of this whole book!

And I overall REALLY liked Molly! She was so interesting and mature, and I absolutely LOVE that she was an integral part of the story, and was important for both Danni and Rose. One of the best uses of side characters I’ve seen! I enjoyed the other SCs as well! Eleanor was a nice supporting character, and I appreciate that she was friends with both MCs; Alfie was also an interesting character, and I liked that he had thought-out justifications for his actions (even if they were flawed). I do wish we’d seen more of Danni’s mum and her bestie from her country, though.

Overall, the characters were really well-written. They were well-rounded and three-dimensional, and I liked their inter- and intra-personal arcs.



Now for the ✨ romance ✨. Rose is a very sarcastic character and she starts lowkey messing with Danni from the get go. I was afraid this would feel very one-sided, but, fortunately, Danni is also quite witty, and teases Rose right back. I’m really glad they were on the same level when it came to this type of banter! It made them feel very much like equals, which is exactly what I want when we have sarcastic characters like Rose. When I started reeeeally liking their back-and-forths was when they became friends, though! Their text messages were so fun!! Loved their banter! 🤭🤭🤭

I will say that I wish their romance had been a bit more of a slow-burn, though. I just didn’t fully *feel* their romance, tbh. I still liked them, but I wanted to LOVE them, and I didn’t. ☹️☹️☹️ I really liked the crush confession, but I didn’t care about their 1st kiss. I enjoyed their moments together, but I thought their “I love you”s came too soon. The realest moment of the book for me was when Molly said “Your life is bigger than Danni, and hers is bigger than you.”, because, YEAH, it just kinda felt like they were all in for each other (they literally thought about how they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together lol), but since *I* didn’t feel it, it just felt a bit to sudden (even though months had passed). Idk. I just felt a little detached from their romance, for some reason. 😞

I am glad, though, that Danni and Rose actually communicated with each other! I’m sick and tired of miscommunication that gets dragged out just for the sake of conflict, and this book didn’t have that!



Regarding the writing: it flowed well and was easy to read. There were some instances of telling instead of showing, but, overall, I thought the book was good, in terms of writing. There were a couple of typos and a continuity mistake (Danni’s bff goes from Hayley to Rachel lol), but I’m sure those will be corrected in the final version. Also, I think it’d be better if the epilogue was “X years later” instead of “2026”, because this reeeally dates the book.



Overall, this was a really enjoyable book! Sophie Gonzales is incapable of writing a bad book, methinks. 🙂‍↕️ Also, THANK YOU for that mention of Zach from “If This Gets Out”. 🤭

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

there was so much entertaining drama that made this book more enjoyable than other romance books i’ve read! i also appreciated how much depth these characters had. the exploration of grief was done beautifully.

4.5|| This was such a good book! I loved the story and characters so much!! I was really into the whole friendship dynamic and how they dealt with their problemsThis was such a fun book to start the year with!! I am so happy I was able to get an early read of this great book so thank you NetGalley!!

4.5 ⭐
one thing about me is that i’ll always love a royal romance
rest assured, this book was no exception. it was an incredibly charming coming-of-age love story that made my heart absolutely swell. the main characters were complex and realistic (despite one of them being a literal princess) and i found myself relating to both of them on more than one occasion. this book would have been a 5 star if there had been more of a slow burn, but they were together in some way for the majority of the book. i would’ve loved to see more of their not-so-subtle flirting and yearning, but aside from that i found this book incredibly heartwarming.
thank you to netgalley, st. martin’s press, and sophie gonzales for providing me the arc in exchange for my honest review!

For all my girls who have been begging for a return of yearning - may I present to you this SENSATIONAL book!! This was my first time reading a sapphic romance novel, and the bar has been set HIGH.

Nobody in Particular is a YA romance that follows Danni, a musically-talented American student new to the high society of Henland's Bramppath College, and Rose, the crown princess who is grappling with the consequences of a recent transgression. Both have always kept their sexualities a secret, fearing they wouldn't be accepted by their friends, family, or country. But once they meet, they find themselves almost immediately drawn to each other - one of them just has to take a leap of faith.

What comes next is a heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age story about the courage it takes to be known and loved.

I deeply appreciate and applaud Sophie Gonzales on writing characters and experiences that felt true to their age - at times, there were sentiments so specific to the teenage experience that they brought back near-forgotten yet intense emotions from my own 17-year-old existence. Every character had depth to them, and the story touched upon each person's growth and development in a way that felt true to life. (Like these are my friends!!! What do you mean they aren't actually real??)

I can't wait for everyone to fall in love with this story the way that I have!! In the author's note, Sophie Gonzales revealed that this book was over a decade in the making - it's clear that the time invested in this story was well-spent, and I hope that future readers shower it with the praise that it deserves.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for providing this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie Gonzalez does it again with her sapphic romances! She’s a phenomenal writer, and I felt very lucky to get an arc from Netgalley.

Sapphic romance set at boarding school was all I need to know when I wanted to read it. But Rose and Danni were EVERYTHING.

This is a story that tackles grief, homophobia, and societal pressure. As someone who is sapphic, I related to this characters in how they felt. Danni and Rose made me feel seen, and I always feel grateful to have that connection to media from authors.

Danni and Rose’s dynamic was phenomenal to see, and I loved watching it grow and change. Their banter was top tier, and the angst between them hurt me too.

But not just the relationship, the friendships had an impact on me too. Molly and Eleanor are friends who aren’t static characters, and also get the chance to grow along the way.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a sapphic romance, and thank you once again to Netgalley for the ARC!

This is the CUTEST royal x commoner book. I love a good boarding school setting and Sophie Gonzales delivered. set in the modern times, Crown princess Rosemary has been having trouble with her public image recently. her best friend is pulling away from her, and her parents and people are less trusting of her ability to rule. Danni, a 16-year-old pianist from Colorado, moves to Rose’s country when her mother gets remarried. When Danni meets Rose’s best friend, she’s pulled into Rose’s circle. While Rose antagonizes Danni at their first meetings, they soon grow closer, closer than a princess can get with a girl in a majorly Catholic country.
The character development is insane. This book deals a lot with grief and responsibility. As the crown princess, Rose is taught to stay strong and not show her emotions outwardly. She’s also not allowed to date/marry a woman. There’s a lot of trials and obstacles in friendships and romantic relationships for Rose and Danni both and they grew so much over the course of this book. It’s so sweet and the epilogue gives me so much hope.

This book was adorable, satisfying, and well paced. I was very excited to read it, and it exceeded expectations. Not only was the romance interesting, but the friendships and character developments were amazing. From someone who never reads romance, I cannot praise this book enough.

This was a very cute read, it does start off on the slower side so you definitely need to push through it but it is well worth it. Gonzales wrote a super sweet love story. It is a good YA romance.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is a heartfelt and engaging novel that explores themes of self-discovery, identity, and the complexities of relationships. The story follows the protagonist as they navigate a journey of personal growth, dealing with the pressures of societal expectations and the struggle to define who they truly are. Gonzales' writing is relatable and emotionally resonant, capturing the internal struggles of her characters with nuance and empathy. With its authentic portrayal of personal challenges and connections, Nobody in Particular will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven stories about finding one’s place in the world.

I really enjoy all of Sophie Gonzales’s books and this was no exception to that. The start was a bit slow, but once it got going it was hard to put down.

This was a cute book that helped get me out of my slump. I really liked the premise, it was very Red White and Royal Blue-coded, but lesbian. I also enjoyed that it is a made up place nested into the real world, because the book feels like half escapism. The characters had pretty good development throughout the story, and I was rooting for the main group of characters. Overall a great read!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

This started off slow for me, and then before I knew it I had reached the end. Those two really grew on me, especially how they stuck together despite what the world threw at them. There was an interesting build up to the twist of who was causing all those problems for them. I also love Danni's mom, side character Molly, and that this was a dual POV story!

Red, White & Royal Blue meets Her Royal Highness in this sapphic ya romance where a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs.

WOW! This book took everything I loved and tied it together in a pretty bow. As if it were a present designed for me and me alone. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. It's about taking control of your own destiny and leading the life you want to live for yourself on your own terms.

Princess Rosemary of Henland is a lesbian, closeted to the country she loves very much because the public and anti-monarchists especially, would never accept a queer Queen. But she dreads the life she knows she'll be forced to live; marrying a man and producing future heirs to the throne. At the same time, she can't afford any distractions or missteps after the tragic events of Amsterdam.

Rose's sarcastic humour is such an endearing quality even if it comes across as bitchy from time to time–it truly kept me entertained. I love Rose tremendously.

"She's pretty. The kind of pretty that makes you forget you're standing in a room full of people who don't know you exist, because for a second you've forgotten any of them exist right back."

I know I make this comparison a lot, probably too much, but Rosemary is incredibly Lena Luthor coded. And just like the widely popular "Lena Luthor Needs a Hug" tag on AO3, I feel the same for Rose (Danni thought so too).

Enter, talented pianist Danni Blythe, who was accepted to Bramppath College on scholarship and immediately expects to be viewed as an outcast among the wealthy elite. She quickly becomes enamoured by the Princess. The long heart-eyed glances and intense pining between the two main characters jumps off the pages. Their not-so-subtle flirting was so so so cute!!!

I was really satisfied with the Rose's growth, especially in regards to her strained relationship with Molly. Being able to finally express her emotions out loud allowed personal healing while rebuilding a broken friendship. The ~magic~ of clear communication goes a long way, who knew?

It's important to note how Nobody in Particular explores events and actions that may be triggering to some readers including mentions of death by overdose, grief, bullying, forced outing, non-consensual kissing, manipulation and underage use of drinking/drugs.

If you haven't read Never Ever Getting Back Together, also by Sophie Gonzales, I highly recommend it. It's the book that made me fall in love with her writing.

That said, this review wouldn't be completed without nothing how this IS cover is absolutely perfect! Everyone say thank you Jenifer Prince!

What a wonderful, beautifully told love story.

Going into this book, I assumed this was going to be a small little sapphic boarding school rom-com. It is so much more than that. Sophie tackles some very serious topics that impact teenagers, whether adults think they do or not. This (in my opinion) would be classified as upper YA, and discusses everything from social media and drugs to sexuality and politics. Each handled with grace and thoughtfulness. There is almost an undercurrent of grief and loss, Sophie never lets you forget the trauma that other characters went through. Right when you might have "forgotten" it gets brought back up - not in a harsh or dramatic way, but in a way that makes perfect sense. And honestly its just another aspect of the character development we see throughout the novel.

Much of the story focuses on Rose's complete lack of control of just about any situation. Throughout, we see her bit by bit, taking back that control. At the beginning she is dreading the idea of ever being Queen. By the end, she has decided what kind of ruler she will be - taking back her own narrative.

As far as Danni Blythe, who I believe we do get less page time with, she goes from shy and timid and terrified to even think about playing piano in front of someone else to standing in front of reporters and not batting an eye. I believe that it is the mix of having to hide her and Rose's relationship, while juggling social media and being involved with a princess in the first place that push her towards stepping into, or at least accepting, the spotlight.

Really, simply put, this is a story about being brave enough to be yourself, to be in the public eye, and not regretting it a single time.

First half is more enticing than the last half but that's because I hate the third act breakup vibes.

This is a teen romance but from a queer standpoint.
It also covers being true to yourself in every way. Learning to stand up for yourself and doing what is right.
I am not queer myself, but I'm a Mom of 6 adult kids and I actually enjoyed this story about a future queen and how she comes to terms with being a lesbian and being in the spotlight. How being true to yourself is more important than hiding in the shadows or the closet.
People who truly love you will love you no matter what and if there's conditions placed on you for your love, it's not worth it.