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.

ngl i enjoyed reading this book a lot. it was interesting and it kept me intrigued. I love Rose and Danni
so much and the side characters were pretty amazing too but the whole plot line felt like a copy paste of young royals which felt pretty weird to me.

Overall this book was exceptionally good as always and it was hard for me to put it down once i got into it. The drama, the fake friendships and my obviously hate for one character kept me interested throughout the story.
If you loved Young Royals and want a sapphic version of it then you should definitely give this book a try.

If you need something to read after just finishing the finale of Young Royals, this book is for you. Or if you just like cute WLW romances set at a boarding school, and with a royal as a main character. This was overall a great book, and if you are new to Sophie Gonzales or have read all of her books (like me), this is a great young adult book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

loved this book so much, i could cry. ohmygod. i actually did cry several times, but i also swooned, giggled, and smiled.

Nobody in Particular is everything it promises to be and more. The stakes are high, the yearning is on fire, and the emotions are big. if you think royalty romances are high stakes, imagine a sapphic royalty romance?

We embark upon this story as we see Princess Rosemary navigate a secret, forbidden romance when so much is at cost, including her reputation which is already hanging by a thread. We see the deep, undeniable, empowering love she feels for Danni Blythe.

As we watch these two girls do their best to hide their love, we also grow suspicious and worry along with them – what does their future hold? can they ever be truly safe? if so, what is the price they have to pay?

There is never a dull moment. It really felt like watching an excellent tv show. Multiple subplots come and go as you read, but it never feels too long or tedious (if anything, I wanted 100 pages more).

This is a story about romance, about acceptance, about friendship, about being yourself and about the price of fame. I loved it dearly and cannot wait to revisit it again in the future.

By far, the best Sophie Gonzales has ever been. This is her masterpiece.

And of course, an immediate favourite of mine !!!! ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾

i don’t even have the words for how much i loved this book.

sophie gonzales is one of my all time favorite authors that write sapphic books and it warms my heart every time with just how <i> right </i> she gets these stories and characters every time.

one of my favorite books is a sapphic romance about a princess just like this one so i knew i was going to like it either way, but i never expected to relate so heavily to this one.

rose and danni made my 13 year old self giggle and cry and kick my feet the whole book. i never could have imagined being out publicly and especially in a situation like this one, but i wish i could tell her just how good it gets!!!!!

i have so much love for this book, sophie as an author, and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book early.

i am BEYOND obsessed with this book!! it’s the perfect YA rom com but also WILL MAKE YOU CRY!! i love anything involving royals and boarding school so this book is literal perfection!

I will admit it took me a while to get into this. I often find it difficult to like 17-year-old girls in books. And even though their issues seemed small and trivial at first, it felt like I got to watch them grow up. Their problems became grown up and realistic and that's exactly what I'd been hoping for.

While I still didn't like all of the characters, I love Dani and Rose and that's all that matters, right?

• attending on a music scholarship, danni starts at an elite boarding school in a small european country, & quickly falls in with the ex-bff of the nation’s princess, rose. very quickly, rumours start about danni & rose, and a possible romance. could the rumours be true?
• generally mixed feelings about this one. it felt like the romance & conflict built too soon, and then spent too long focusing on the mystery of who outed danni & rose’s relationship.
• a loooooooot of parallels to ‘red, white, & royal blue’ that were hard to ignore.
• a sweet story, but not one that i need to revisit.

This is my favourite book by Sophie. I can’t even explain it. I love royalty books and I’ve read a couple this year and it seems to me that one side of the couple falls flat but this one? Was amazing. Both characters grew and became better people. The romance was adorable. Without getting into spoilers, I loved both characters. This book broke me out of my DNF streak and I’m so glad. This is everything.

3.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

Someone has probably already said that this is like The Princess Diaries" but make the MC american and the princess a lesbian? Or The Princess Diaries meets Red, White, and Royal Blue?

Either way, this is a heartwarming, straightforward, eminently readable lesbian romance. The romance is believable, and the context of the fictional country of Henland and the boarding school, Bramppath, are interesting enough to provide backdrop and interest to that romance. Supporting characters were not fully fleshed out and served largely as... supporting characters... but that largely didn't take away from the enjoyability of the storyline.

This is not a groundbreaking book, but it was a lot of fun. I'd read a sequel about either of the MC's lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this story. Danni and Rosemary were so fun to read, I didn’t want this book to end!

Princess Rosemary of Henland is determined to rebuild her damaged reputation, but meeting Danni—a talented, down-to-earth pianist on scholarship—throws her off course. Danni, new to the elite boarding school, is drawn into a social circle that brings her closer to Rose, sparking a connection neither expected. As rumors spread, Rose faces pressure from the palace to end the relationship or risk everything. It’s a heartfelt, high-stakes romance that explores the tension between personal desires and public duty.

Such a cute and heartfelt sapphic YA romance! This book had all the right vibes from Young Royals to The Princess Diaries to Red, White & Royal Blue but with a sapphic couple. Even though it’s Sophie Gonzales’ eight book to be published, it’s in reality her first one that she wrote eleven years ago. But due to being told there was “no audience for a queer royal romance” it never got published. But, eventually Sophie decided to revisit it and thankfully, the publishers now were on board the fact that there is a HUGE audience for queer royal romances!

The story takes place in the small country called Henland (yes, lots of glorious Genovia vibes) and follows Princess Rosemary, who is trying to recover from a huge scandal last year, and her new schoolmate, the American commoner Danni, who enrolls at the elite boarding school thanks to a music scholarship.

Rose is very much in the lesbian closet, and Danni is perhaps not hiding but also not telling anyone about being bi. But the moment they meet, there is a spark they can’t deny and that makes Rose realizing what she is giving up to be a future queen and question if she can give up on her true self and a chance of true love.

I loved so many things about this book! The main characters and their friends, and the fact that they were allowed to be full of flaws and making stupid decisions. The funny bantering and authentic dialogues. The cute romance (it's very YA in the best possible way - nothing spicy, just pure sweetness throughout). The plot with the meddling royal servants, the twists with people not being the caring friends they claim to be and the way both Rose and Danni grew and learned to navigate a new reality.

“You can’t give me simple. But you can give me you.”

If it hadn’t been for the fact that similar stories now have been told, it would definitely have been a five star read for me. As it is now, it lacked a bit of uniqueness for that extra star. But overall, this was such a delightful, sweet, and wonderful YA story! I’m so glad that it finally got to be out in the world, even though it took way too long time for the publishers to make the right decision!

At first glance, Nobody in Particular seems like a light-hearted, breezy romcom. However, it contained a lot more emotional depth than I was expecting. I felt like the book managed to hit both the bantery, romantic moments that I was expecting alongside thoughtfully handling difficult topics like grief and compulsory heterosexuality, while maintaining a good balance of both. One thing I would've liked to see more of was both Rose and Danni's relationships with their parents - while both Rose's parents and Danni's mom become more significant near the end of the book, with Rose's parents already having appeared sporadically, I think a little more exploration into those relationships earlier on would've helped flesh out the characters and make this book an even more enjoyable read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC!!

Sophie Gonzales' books are always so good. I recommend this one for young adults. I really like her perspectives and her characters!

I really enjoyed this forbidden romance, it worked well with what I was looking for and enjoyed about the genre. The characters had that overall storyline that I was looking for and were written perfectly. Sophie Gonzales has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

it's kinda giving young royals for lesbians icl (i never watched young royals)

this book follows dani, a young musician who moves to henland and falls in love with the crown princess, rose, while attending a prestigious private academy. i like sophie gonzales' writing; she's a great ya author and i generally tend to like her books. i think this may be my favorite of the four books i've read that have been by her.

i loved the dual-pov; it allowed us to explore both rose's journey to reforming her reputation after a previous accident, and dani's exploration to finding herself in a new country. their individual arcs were well-done, and their relationship was well-developed. i found myself rooting for them to get together. watching them struggle with being together while facing societal challenges was realistic. i liked how the side characters were fleshed-out, especially molly. her relationship with rose was complicated and imperfect, and it was treated in a good way. i think the book is well-paced too; i never felt bored or rushed.

my only complaint is that the country is called henland. we couldn't have been more creative? are the people hennish? that's not real

overall i really liked this; i think it's a great ya romance with plenty of well-developed characters and a strong central romance that still takes into consideration a well-done plot. i would recommend this to queer ya readers or previous fans of gonzales' work.

The cover on this one is absolutely adorable. This story has plenty of the hallmarks of a good YA novel. I loved every second.