3.75 !
thank you netgalley for the arc of this ya sapphic royalty romance novel!
this was like princess protection program but gay
despite this being a ya, i enjoyed this wayyy more than i thought i would as a 25 yo ahahhah. i love that this is ya -- and i wouldve eaten this up in high school.
this book is set at a boarding school, which is a setting that is always so much fun for me. danni is the new girl in school on a music scholarship and rose is the crown princess of henland constantly in the media's limelight.
i loooved these two characters and their chemistry and had so much fun watching their love grow deeper and deeper for one another. the way queerness as forbidden romance is explored here is interesting because the stakes are so high with rose being a part of the royal family. also loved the ideas of friendship in this -- and the reflection rose has to do to see who is really in her corner vs who is using her for status.
loved the setting and had so much fun reading this one!

A sweet sapphic romance perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue. The romance felt convincing and well-developed and the paparazzi/social media components of dating someone famous were well-thought out and seemingly realistic to what this would be like. Both main characters were fleshed out well and the friendships were well written. The portrayal of PTSD and grief were really moving and well done. Overall a top tier recommendation and very fun and engaging to read.

This was very cute! I'm not typically one to think that characters in YA books are being dramatic over "young love" but there were some moments where I thought Rose was making big statements and decisions over a high school girlfriend. Besides those couple of moments? I enjoyed this. I think young people discovering their queerness is a really important topic, so I love a queer YA story and I think this one had a lot to love about it. There was... a ton going on, but that's to be expected when one of the main characters is a literal princess in line for the the throne.

Danni and Rose forever 🩷

This was so cute gave me YA Red White and Royal Blue vibes! This is a coming of age, academic, sapphic love story and I was all in! I adored Rose and Danni’s dynamic. Even the communication between the two was refreshing.

The cover is gorgeous and the writing is spectacular!

Sophie Gonzalez knows what she is doing, her romance books are always thoughtful, fun, and meaningful. I very much enjoyed Nobody In Particular and watching the love between Danni and Rose grow.

Danni is starting a brand new boarding school and is very nervous about making friends and fitting in as she has had a challenging time at past schools. She makes friends and finds herself falling for Rose, the princess of this country. Only neither her or Rose is out of the closet and Rose believes due to her position she will always be stuck in the closet. This story was refreshing and earnest and explored how we each develop and grow into ourselves. I really loved the characters in this one.

If you are looking for a royal sapphic romance, this is an easy one to choose, it will leave you feeling hopeful and bright. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5/5

A lovely ya lesbian romance that I generally had a good time reading. The different character POVs were pleasantly distinct and I liked the ensemble cast surrounding them. There were a couple moments in the writing where it felt like Gonzalez was over explaining the motivations of certain characters to the reader and I wish she had a little more trust in her audience. Originally I gave this book a 3.5/5, but I had to subtract a star because of one major gripe.

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The politics of this book are abysmal and it falls into the trap most of the queer royalty books fall into: none of the established political issues are ever confronted in any meaningful fashion. In this book it is established that the citizens of Henland are incredibly dissatisfied, not only with the royal family, but the fact that they even still have royalty. There are major protests and Rose's experiences as a member of the royal family seems to establish that the system of royalty in Henland is deeply flawed and frankly violent. For the amount of politics included one would think the smart thing to do would be to renounce the crown and all the pressures that come with it. Especially since the book establishes that it's largely a symbolic role. I'd like to state this again: many many passages in this book establish that the crown is entirely symbolic outside of the ability to make some decisions around where charity money goes. It means nothing and the people don't like it. The ending of this novel ends up just being a cop out of all the political world building Gonzalez establishes. Henland, which is very Catholic, decides to get #woke and embrace the lesbian princess and her girlfriend. Rose comes out and the anti-monarchy protests effectively just stop. ??? What? I ended up docking an entire star for this and it definitely soured my experience with a book I otherwise liked quite a bit.

A forbidden love story between a disgraced princess and the new scholarship student at a fancy boarding school. The two must hide their romance at all costs.
This is heavily compared to ‘Young Royals’ and from the very little I’ve seen of that show, and other things compared to it, I definitely see it. A high school/college romance between a royal and a poorer new student that’s forbidden and there’s tons of drama. Personally I enjoyed this book more than the show, but that’s not really important right now. The drama in this book is crazy, in the best way possible. Lots of twists and turns, some I guessed and some I didn’t. I really enjoyed the strong friendships represented, and how strongly they would fight for their friends.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC of this book.

Nobody in Particular is an insightful coming of age LGBTQIA+ novel by the talented Sophie Gonzales.

Imagine having to start over again in a foreign country just before your junior year of high school. That feeling of being cast adrift in the middle of figuring out your own identity and passions. Imagine actually Wanting to do this, when your mom gets remarried to a lovely man from another country because of the relentless bullying that you’ve endured, without even knowing who you really are and want to be.

Danni experienced these things, and as a result, she tried to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. She discovered her passion for playing piano for herself, though (as the bullies even took the potential pleasure of recitals and other public performances away). When she applied and was offered a scholarship to a boarding school in the country where her mom and new stepdad were moving to, Danni jumped at the chance, without thinking through the potential outcomes could have been, being a “scholarship kid” from America.

Luckily, she landed softly when she struck up a friendship with Molly, who introduced Danni to her friends, one of whom happened to be the crown princess.

As often happens with teenagers, relationships were started and ended, and drama was had by all.

But, would the crown princess’ notoriety bring additional drama to their clique? Would the frostiness of the “Amsterdam” experience change lifelong friendships? And would love amongst the clique be doomed before it even got a chance to be experienced?

This book was so engrossing that I could not put it down. I am only sad that there isn’t a sequel yet.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press for this amazing ARC!!

The cover is so pretty, I was immediately drawn to this book. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, but I wasn’t fully into the writing style. It was a light read.

A perfect gay version of the princess diaries. I enjoyed the romance and the storyline. Can’t really go wrong with sapphic royalty. I had a good time reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book

This is a YA sapphic book that follows Rose, who is the princess of the country the book takes place in, and Danni, an American immigrant who is attending boarding school on a scholarship where she meets Rose and they form an unlikely friendship.

Both characters are playing the “are they, aren’t they” card with each other and eventually start a relationship.

I really found that the characters were really well written and even though I am no where near the same age category they were incredibly easy to relate to. The plot developed nicely and naturally and all of the characters had a lot of depth to them.

The writing was really easy to read and fast to get through and the language was easy to understand. I definitely enjoyed this one and would recommend to others!

Nobody in Particular is a sapphic, royal romance with a witty, sarcastic Princess and an American transfer student & talented pianist. I loved the characters and how they evolve throughtout the book, both as individuals and as a couple. It took a while for me to feel the change in their friendship dynamic but once I did, I was hit with all the yearning, the longing, and I couldn't put the book down. Who doesn't love a forbidden romance?

What made the book especially great in my opinion is Molly and her relationship with both Danni and Rose. Molly was such an important character in this story and made both fmc grow up immensely. I loved how realistic the friendships felt.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cute, fun romance. It was my first sapphic romance but I fear I might now be addicted!!

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the arc

It started off good but then it went downhill…
Idk if I just wasn’t in the romance mood, but it got really cringey and I didn’t really like any of the characters much.
The way things ended also wasn’t my favorite idkkkkk
disappointed this was a flop, but nothing tops ‘if this gets out’

This was definitely enjoyable. Not really for me. I didn’t love the voice in the book but I could definitely see a lot of people loving it.

Sophie Gonzales I wanna give you a kiss on the mouth (not really but figuratively) The book that got me back into reading was Her Royal Highness and with that i’m not saying they’re the same- they’re not they’re their own beautiful thing and that book began my love for royalty romances (especially sapphic ones) and this book cemented it. Danni and Rose had me giggling and kicking my legs and I was screaming the whole time! Every character was so beautiful and interesting. Rose was such a brave person and her coming out speech was gorgeous. I wanted to give Danni so many hugs throughout the course of reading.

Nobody in Particular is a sapphic royalty romance which is perfect for teens during Valentine’s Day. It is not only a romance, but also a coming of age story that many LGBT teens can relate to. Danni and Rose are absolutely lovable and I was rooting for them the whole time. Their relationship has a natural flow and undeniable chemistry. The author, Sophie Gonzales, touches on other important topics including bullying, social media, and teen substance use. I appreciate how these topics were handled with tact and grace, leaving many lessons learned for the characters and the reader.

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

I was bored.. and I just couldn’t connect with any of these characters. I also always had a very hard to getting into YA romance and I think this will probably be my last one..

I’ve read quite a few of Sophie Gonzales’ books previously, but this one takes the cake. It’s an honest coming of age story, with all the real and raw emotions of being a teenager in love, but also the antics and drama of ‘Young Royals’ or ‘The Princess Diaries’.
I loved Danni and Rose’s relationship, and found that despite some of their stress-induced conflicts, they were a sweet couple I couldn’t help but root for.

Thank you, NetGalley for sending me an eARC of the book!

Danni + Rose

-sapphic romance
-friends to lovers
-royalty x poor girl
-princess x new girl
-secret relationship

i loved this story for these two so much & the journey of not settling for a life where you're forced to hide who you are for your duties! rose became so strong with the love of danny by her side & i loved that so much!!

Unfortunately, this is a DNF at 43% for me. None of the characters were likeable enough to care what happened.