I keep thinking I'm too old for YA but also will not stop reading Sophie Gonzalez. This is again a great sapphic story from Sophie. I think a royalty story is always fun and I think that this will resonate with a lot of teenagers.

I was really excited for this one. I have been reading Sophie's books for a while now and have enjoyed them. This one was a bit slow and sad for me. I found it difficult to keep reading. I wanted more lightness to the romance. There was almost too much secrecy and the plotline leading to Danni being outted made my heart hurt for them. It just seemed they didn't really get a chance to truly enjoy each other. It was just all drama around them which is probably somewhat accurate for a royal romance but I wanted more banter.

I'll still pick up Sophie's books and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this one. I also had the audiobook which was well produced, and the narration was great.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is a YA Forbidden Romance that had me crying and laughing at times. The cover is what drew me in, but the characters kept me wanting to know what happens next.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much, @NetGalley, for providing me with this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
#NetGalley

Sophie Gonzales delivers yet another beautifully written, emotionally rich queer romance story, this time with a mix of royal drama at a girl's boarding school. Danni and Rosemary are complex, flawed, and vulnerable, and I loved their alternating, highly contrasted perspectives. There are numerous heartfelt moments and beautifully portrays first love.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

Nobody in Particular is about Danni, a 'nobody' who has moved to a new country and got a coveted music scholarship to a boarding school and there she makes friends with the crown princess of the country, Rosemary, and all the rich kids at the boarding school. It is Danni and Rosemary's romance, with all the pitfalls of a same-sex relationship and teenagedom.

I really enjoyed this book, it's not my favorite by Sophie Gonzales (Never Getting Back Together, I bow at your feet) but it's probably my second favorite that I've read. I've found that a lot of stories like this fall into the same pitfalls. (You know what I'm talking about: being ashamed, hiding the relationship, breaking up with you because my family wouldn't approve, those ones.) And I am happy to report that this book happily leaped most of these hurdles. It felt like a unique take on the royal relationship story that has been so popular recently, and I really loved both Rose and Danni.

My detractors. I really struggle with a book that kind of normalizes drug use in teenagers, I just don't want to read about it, and this did fall into that 'rich kids are always on drugs' stereotype that I really don't like. My second issue was more a vague feeling and that was that there were some serious things that just didn't affect the story enough for me. The two examples of this were Danni's stage-fright, and Rosemary and Molly's past. Both of these were pretty serious issues, and I was really interested to see how the story resolved them, and I found myself... mildly disappointed by how they kind of just faded away.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the story, and I would recommend it.

I thought this was super cute and I liked the relationship and it's progression. I didn't love the plotline but the romance was such a selling point.

A cute, fun sapphic read!

It is YA which is not my favorite, however, it did not stop me from flying through this book in 2 sittings. I really enjoyed both the world building and characters. Felt very Princess Diaries inspired ✨

This was my first book from Sophie Gonzales, and I was quite intrigued to see what she would deliver. Overall, it ended up being quite a good read, and I’m glad I got to read this.

Nobody in Particulars deals with familiar themes, even though the setting would not be everyday life. I mean, I don’t know many people who knows/goes to school with a Princess. Still, it deals with coming out, especially in a circle where you know it might not be accepted, with loss and grief, with friendship, and young love.

Dani and Rose come from two different worlds, but there is this kinship that lead them to develop a friendship that blossom into love. And it is quite sweet to see them both go through that, to get both their point of view as they fall for each other, especially considering that neither are out for them to really know the other could be interested.

In the end, I really enjoyed it, and I’m glad I got to read it. I will definitely be checking out Sophie Gonzales’ previous books. Definitely worth checking out if it sounds like your kind of book.

I adore Sophie Gonzales and will give anything she writes a shot. While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as her previous books, I still thought it was a good story and had no trouble getting through it.

Danni and Rose have both gone through personal trauma recently and it felt like they got too serious too fast and then had several issues because of it. I had hoped this might have more light-hearted moments, but the majority of the story has a sad vibe, which took a bit of enjoyment from me. If I'd known going in that it wasn't a cute love story, maybe I would have liked it more.

I would still recommend this book if you've enjoyed Gonzales' other stories or would like a more serious royalty YA read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

ARC REVIEW

I think this was a solid 3.5 star YA novel for me. I liked the sapphic aspect but I realize that not everyone is going to like that *which if that's you then why bother, it is very clear based on the cover y'all*. I loved the cover right away, I thought it was very cute.

I liked the story and the characters but at times they did feel very young, again makes sense it is YA, but YA spans a wide range of ages so sometimes I go in hoping for mature characters all the time, which is not always reasonable.

All in all, I liked this and will be reading more from the author.

5 Stars

This royal boarding school romance was such a delight and had incredible bi-representation! Sophie's author's note at the beginning was really touching and helps set the tone for what a reader might expect. This is not just another queer royal romance and has been a project Sophie has been sitting on for a very long time, and I am so glad it exists in the world! I especially appreciated the commentary on choosing when and who to come out to, which was excellently done.

Piano prodigy and American ex-pat Dani finds herself at a European boarding school after her mother marries a man from Henland. As a foreigner and a scholarship student, Dani immediately feels out of place, but is thankful to be taken under the wing of the popular Molly. Even more intriguing is her classmate and Molly's ex-BFF, Rose--or rather, Princess Rosemary of Henland. Once beloved, Rose's partying ways caught up to her and she's struggling to get back into both the good graces of her country and Molly. But a growing friendship and attraction between Rose and Dani begins to threaten everything they've both been working toward.

I love a boarding school romance (done well), I love a royal romance, and I love Sophie Gonzalez, so I was very excited for this book. Rose and Dani are both interesting characters with difficult pasts, and the more serious subplots in this book really elevated it. Rose and Molly's relationship was fascinating to follow, and I have to say that I was more invested in them platonically working things out than Rose and Dani. Rose and Dani's relationship was a bit instant in a way that seemed somewhat implausible, but I'll suspend disbelief for a sapphic boarding school royal romance. I will always read Sophie Gonzalez!

Thanks to Wednesday Books for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

Such a cute romance. Loved the whole boarding school and royalty concept. The banter jumped off the page at the first meet cute. It was a good decision to hold this for publication until now. Society is a little more open thank goodness. Would love a sequel on navigating palace life.

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Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars

Tropes

🩷New girl, new school

❤️Royal/Commoner

🧡Forbidden Love/Secret relationship

💛Fake Dating (not each other)

💚LGBTQ+

🩵Coming of Age

💙Mysterious shared trauma



🏳️‍🌈My favorite parts of the book:

🎹 Danni’s deep soul connection to music and playing the piano.

👑The cover is the cutest.

Characters are a little bit on the younger and naive side of YA. Also, the big reveal of the Amsterdam mystery felt too drawn out considering it was not the main plot of the story but a justification of how the characters were acting. Adjusting the timing of the reveal paired with a supporting edit would fix the minor pacing issue.

Danni was pretty cool and relatable—even if she was a bit sensitive. But then again, I was sensitive and angry at that age, so it felt true.

Rose is the opposite of Danni, and I think it makes her hard to like. Her character is tough but feels full-on emotionless. She came off a bit robotic verses a Princess that has been forced to walk a line but wants to stray from it. She just felt cold all the time, even with Danni. However, I did enjoy the moments of witty sarcasm when present.

It was a little lacking in some areas but was still an enjoyable read. More suitable for true teens.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

I have been a huge fan of Sophie Gonzales ever since I read Only Mostly Devastated and fell in love with it. She writes characters with such heart and depth, even though most of them are teenagers. In this case, we have Danni, a newcomer to both the country and to private schooling who has been badly hurt by bullying in the past and is terrified of what her new classmates are going to think of her, and Rose, the ice princess who must hide everything away to be accepted by her parents and therefore her country. The romance is a bit of a roller coaster as Danni has difficulties wrapping her head around what a relationship with a royal would mean, especially coming from the U.S. I enjoyed the turns the story took, and actually didn't completely guess what was going on, though I wasn't 100% surprised by it.

By the way, it always amuses me that when I read a book that is set in some tiny, made-up country that has a royal family, it always seems to be geographically reminiscent of Luxembourg. But that's okay Sophie, I will still be buying your next book.

I am on such a queer YA royal romance kick lately and it's the BEST!! Nobody in particular is a pet project the author has been working on for years and I'm so glad it finally saw the light of day.

This Sapphic boarding school romance between Dani, a bisexual scholarship piano prodigy student and Rose, a closeted lesbian royal in line to inherit the throne had amazing will they won't they friends to lovers energy and the emotional angst watching Rose wrestle with the consequences of coming out and possibly losing the throne or living a fake life with a closeted romantic relationship was heartbreaking.

The book tackles bullying, homophobia, grief over the loss of a friend from drug/alcohol abuse and more. It was also great on audio and perfect for fans of the American royals series and books like Her royal highness by Rachel Hawkins. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was really excited to read this one but it ended up not working for me. I wasn't expecting the large amount of trauma that the characters were dealing with. I as an adult had some difficulty dealing with some of the descriptions of a teen overdose so I think it would be a lot for many young adult readers. I really think this would have been better as an adult romance set in college.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is another absolute win from one of my favorite authors! I’ve loved Sophie’s books for years, and this one proudly earns its spot on my shelf right next to the rest.

If you’re like me and have a soft spot for the “royal falls for a commoner” trope—this is your moment. Rose, a disgraced princess trying to rebuild her image, and Danni, a talented scholarship student with a heart of gold and a gift for music, are the kind of pairing that just works. Their chemistry is undeniable, their banter is fun, and the emotional depth behind their relationship had me turning pages like mad.

The Bi rep? Chef’s kiss, as always with Sophie’s stories. It’s nuanced, authentic, and just there in the best way—never a big dramatic plot point, but always beautifully woven in. I loved that this was an upper YA story with all the sweet, funny, dramatic, and genuinely emotional moments that come with messy first loves and high-stakes secrets.

There’s palace pressure, forbidden feelings, friendship drama, and one very charming slow-burn romance. These two are seriously so cute together—I was rooting for them the entire time.

A solid 4 beautifully queer stars from me and a brand-new YA favorite! 💖👑🎶

This one was tough, because I LOVE Sophie’s books and I’ve read almost all of them except one I think? And she says in the authors note that this is one of her first books, except it was turned away back when she was shopping it because they said there wasn’t a spot for it (publishing is nonsense 🙄) but since then there’s been a TON of similar books. So now it’s been published and it’s hard to not compare it to those other books.

I felt like they were trying to add things in that were slightly different to try and separate it from books like RWRB (not YA), Prince of the Palisades by Julian Winters - both amazing books, Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (I haven’t read but it’s on my TBR), and I’m sure a bunch of other books I’m not aware of.

There Rose’s friend that died of a drug overdose that felt so out of place in this, Danni is a talented musician which adds nothing after a certain point in the book but we needed some reason for her to be at this school with rich people and royals and she had to be on a scholarship.

I didn’t NOT like this, I think it’s just unfortunate that it came out now instead of earlier, and I also feel like the author’s writing has grown so much with each novel she’s written that this just didn’t feel like her best.

If you’d like to start with this author, I recommend her other novels Never Ever Getting Back Together, Perfect on Paper, and Only Mostly Devastated.

Thank you @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

NOBODY IN PARTICULAR was SO cute. i had so much fun with this one! the boarding school setting gave the story this perfect little bubble, but it also made the characters feel a bit older and more independent, even though their emotions and drama were very much high school (in a good way!!). i don’t usually gravitate toward royalty romances, so this was such a fun change of pace for me. the added pressure of being in the public eye, having to keep secrets, hide feelings, and worry about what counts as a “scandal” added so much tension to even the smallest moments.

there was a bit of a lull in the middle, and the conflict was resolved a little quicker than i expected, but it all still worked for the kind of story this was: sweet, dramatic in a teen way, and ultimately really heartwarming.

honestly?? you could pick this one up for the cover alone because LOOK AT IT.