3.5, rounding up to a 4.

This book was very cute! I have to admit I absolutely hated Rose for a while, but her character development ended up being one of my favorite parts of the story. The pacing for the first 80% of the book is great, though I didn't love using texts in place of showing the friendship growing between the two main characters. The last 20% felt very rushed, I kept catching myself checking how much was left and thinking "There is no way we're going to tie up these loose ends in time." I wish there had been more time for the characters to work through the issues given the heavy subject matter.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzalez is a beautifully written novel that tackles the intricacies of identity, love, and self-acceptance. The story follows a young protagonist on a journey of personal growth, navigating the ups and downs of relationships, both romantic and platonic. Gonzalez’s writing is emotional and poignant, offering a raw and honest look at the struggles of finding oneself in a world full of expectations.

The characters are wonderfully developed, with depth and complexity that make them feel real. The protagonist’s internal conflicts and growth are portrayed in a relatable way, making it easy for readers to connect with their journey. The romantic aspect of the story is sweet and heartfelt, with chemistry that feels genuine and earned.

While the story is deeply emotional, there are moments of lightness and humor that balance the more serious themes. The pacing is strong, keeping readers engaged throughout, though at times, the narrative could have explored certain themes in a bit more depth. Still, the book’s focus on self-discovery and the importance of embracing who you truly are resonates deeply.

Overall, Nobody in Particular is a compelling and thought-provoking read that offers a powerful message about love, identity, and finding your place in the world. It’s a four-star read, highly recommended for those looking for an emotionally rich, character-driven story.

I’m always skeptical of YA books, especially as I’m growing older, but this book took me back to my high school years, those times watching The Vampire Diaries and movies with private schools and gushing with friends in the best way possible - but obviously, make it queer. I am such a sucker for royal stories and this one did not disappoint. I fell totally in love with Rose and how real she felt, despite her responsibilities, and Danni, as well as how she blossomed throughout the book. Such a feel good story for anyone who loves royals and academia.

4.5 ⭐️

now THIS is the one of us is famous trope done right!!! dani and rose are absolutely precious and this may be my new favorite YA romance ya’ll 🥹 so many aspects were taken into consideration in such a well done matter and i need to read every book written by gonzales asap rocky!!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

I loved the premise of this book. A princess and a student that turn from strangers to friends to being in a relationship….LOVEEEE!!! The character development for both Rose and Dani was beautifully done. They experienced amazing personal growth together and individually. I also loved the other characters! The friendship between Molly, Eleanor, Rose
and Dani was entertaining to read. I found myself not only interested in main characters relationship, but also the subplots along the way. I enjoyed the slow build and tension between Dani and Rose. It so was satisfying when they finally kissed. The only thing I would wish for was more on the romance aspect between the main characters. I feel like there could have been more cute moments in the book building up to their relationship and actually showcasing more of the relationship when they finally got together. But overall, I really enjoyed this one.

OMG!
This book is amazing. It captures the feeling of falling in love so well. The characters are so well written and loveable, it’s impossible not to love this book. There is little to no miscommunication because these characters are so well rounded and thought out. It felt like I was reading about real people and I really needed a book like this when I was younger. It’s written the way I always wanted to read about with two girls. I never thought I would get something like this and it’s honestly an amazing book. I will reread this again once it comes out.

adorable. is everything the blurb promises. a heartfelt, realistic story with incredible characters and a sweet, romantic atmosphere. royal romance is just so much better when it's lesbian, i fear.

the romance was written so well. i'm usually not fond of romance-centric books, but i requested this anyway because it's sapphic, and it blew my expectations through the roof. how they fell in love, every conversation and argument they had in their relationship, when they finally decided to come out to the world, every single milestone was written perfectly. the pacing was genuinely so good for a book that's less than 400 pages—i don't know if it's just me, but i often find that shorter romance books tend to be insta-lovey, but this is not that. every meeting between the two before/as they fall in love is described in detail, and it doesn't feel unnecessary or convoluted at all. the forbidden aspect is done very well. the perspectives of both girls are reasonable and realistic. them trying to be together despite potentially facing the disapproval of their parents and the disapproval of an entire nation was very emotional for me, as someone finding it difficult to come out due to religious reasons.

outside of the romance, both rose and danni were interesting characters on their own. rose's struggles with being lesbian as the princess of a mostly catholic country were extremely relatable to me. when she first told danni she wasn't comfortable coming out, it was like she took the words out of my mouth. rose's relationship with molly humanized her even further. even though it was actually rose's pov, i saw her the same way molly did at first, so her being able to confront that stereotype with another character in the story made her feel more well-rounded as a character. danni was lovely as well. the whole "new-poor-girl-at-boarding-school" has probably been overdone in every ya media format since like 2014, but she was funny and refreshing.

The concept of this book was very interesting and drew me in since I haven't read a book like it. I liked how it started and the characters seemed to be cool. The dual point of views really help me understand both sides of the story. The rose part where she played a hand in that kids death was heavy and seeing her try to live in the light after was heavy as well. The game scene where they have their own heart to hearts was something for sure and I feel like it was rippled for the story. You can definitely see the effects of this conversation into the rest of the story. That first kiss and the whole situation surrounding it. The rules! The theories and the fact that she can't ever come out. The breakup and fake dating with Alfie? Them getting back together kinda and the friendship makeup too!! That fake double date stunt! Harriet?? The anger after when rose figures out. Her being forced to come out due to her being a princess and the video leak? A sniper?! Everything falling into place on that Harriet stuff! The two points of view going back and forth with two very big events happening in both. Alfie seems very sus! What a manipulative cunt! Her coming out! The ending was good, what a great book!

Quotes: "and for a moment, I'm unraveling where I stand, thread by thread."

"I am a wildfire. And I intend to burn it all down."

Rated it four out of five stars!!

Nobody in Particular is a YA, sapphic romance between a Princess and a new scholarship student. This is a very delightful read!

Danni is a new scholarship student at Brampath College, the same private school the Princess of Henand attends. While Danni seems to easily be taken in by the popular friend group of Princess Rose, an unfortunate "incident" from the friends' recent past still brings tension to their group dynamics. All the while, Rose and Danni try to keep the press out of their personal lives.

This is a sweet story of friendship, acceptance, and coming into one's own. I found Danni, Rose, and Molly to be really charming! I love their friendships (as well as their relationships!). It's clear that these girls love one another and have gone through a lot together (including Eleanor, though she's portrayed as more ditzy).

If you like a good, sweet YA romance with some fantastic found-family style friendships, this book is for you.

Loved Young Royals but found yourself thinking "what if they were lesbians?" Well, do I have the book for you! "Nobody in Particular" evokes the same royal-induced boarding-school teenage angst as the beloved Swedish Netflix drama, but features a Princess Rosemary instead of a Prince Wilhelm. Rose's caustic and unfeeling facade hides a tangle of emotional repression that only scholarship student Danni can unravel.

So lovely. I've been craving a sweet sapphic read that's also set at a boarding school (idk why) and this one hit in all the right spots. Rose's journey was so nice to see and felt very fitting at a time when so many systems of higher power still feel outdated and not with the times.

First thing’s first: this book absolutely needs to have trigger and content warnings listed. They should include at least: Death of a teenager due to overdose (past but recounted in great detail), panic attacks, flashbacks, dissociation, PTSD, bullying, mass media stalking/frenzy/rumors, underage drinking/smoking/drug use, nonconsensual kissing, nonconsensual outing, manipulation in general and specifically of children by adults, homophobia, fade to black consensual underage sexual content.

Second: I received an advance copy of this ebook thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Third: this author writes high emotional and social stakes very well, and the plot was compelling. It is quite true to the high melodrama of late high school and young (queer) love. There are some beautiful moments about grief and the growth that happens, especially between Rose and Molly. That said, the whole time I kept being reminded of the soapy Gossip Girl type story dramas and kind of rolling my eyes to myself. And I thought some characters really unfairly got the short end of the stick repeatedly while the more egregious “villains” just sort of faded out without much consequence. I love YA a lot of the time, but I got fed up with everyone’s choices about 2/3 of the way through and sped through the rest.

This was a wonderful f/f boarding school royal/non-royal romance! Danni and Rose are both fully realized characters who care about and are vulnerable with each other. There are many obstacles to their happy ending but the journey is lovely. There is also a side story about Rose dealing with unresolved trauma from losing a friend to an overdose that is powerful and important.

I think this is a return to form for Gonzales after a couple of duds! It isn't my favorite of her books because I felt the tone between the romance and the original boarding school crew mourning and dealing with the trauma of Oscar's death was jarring, but overall I enjoyed the book. I think young adults who liked the RWRB book and/or movie will definitely enjoy it.

Becky Albertalli’s Imogen, Obviously meets Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, and Royal Blue in this upcoming book by Sophie Gonzalez.

ARC provided in exchange for a review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the review copy. (Yay! My first arc review)

I added this book to my TBR as soon as it was announced. It had several things I enjoy in a book: royalty, sapphics, boarding schools. The fact that the front cover blurb was from one of my all time favorite authors Becky Albertalli told me I was going to adore this book. And I did. Though my wife may construe differently from my constant shrieking and tense behavior, I was on the edge of my seat, having the best time riding the emotional rollercoaster that is Rose and Danni’s story. The story was gripping and well written and I felt like I couldn’t quite read fast enough. The themes of living your truth and telling your own story really spoke to me. As compelling as the romance between Danni and Rose was, I also deeply appreciated the storyline between Rose and Molly and their grappling with trauma and how it has impacted their lifelong friendship. And the shocking twist at the end? No spoilers but OMG I didn’t see that coming. Nobody in Particular is such a rich book with loveable characters and storylines that capture some of the more complicated and lovely parts of teenage life. Definitely add it to your TBR.

I just want to note that this is a YA book and to not be fooled by the cover because a lot of new adult romance tend to have a similar cover! I feel like YA as a genre is very broad and so some people might expect some themes over others.

I enjoyed this book and absolutely loved Rose, she was kind of giving mean lesbian that I am so fond of. I feel like this type of story and the characters will be popular amongst fans of this genre. That being said, I personally felt that the pacing was a little too much for me and that certain aspects could’ve been drawn out longer. I did have a good time with it overall and hope that others pick it up.

GET THIS BOOK AS SOON AS YOU CAN!

I’m honestly having trouble forming words to write this review, because I’m so blown away by how good this book is. It had me hooked from the very beginning. Lately, whenever I read a book, I’ve found myself getting very impatient waiting for the characters to get together, but that wasn’t the case in this book. The build up was just as good as the pay-off and the pay-off was FANTASTIC. The chemistry was off the charts between these two from the very beginning. It’s impressive that the author could show such intense chemistry from page one without making it an insta-love story, but it was obvious to the reader long before it became obvious to the two main characters.

This book was packed full of drama, but none of it felt forced. The characters communicated well and never really had to doubt how much the other one cared about them. Even though outside forces tried to keep them apart, they always find their way back to each other. It was a beautiful love story from beginning to end.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is the side characters. They were just as interesting as the main characters. Sometimes in romance books, I find myself skipping over parts that don’t involve both of the MCs, but I was just as invested in the storylines of the side characters as I was in the love story (and I was VERY invested in the love story).

It’s only January, but I have no doubt this book will be ranked amongst my favorites at the end of the year. I will read it over and over and never tire of it.

3.5⭐️

The cover of this book drew me in couples with the description which the book did deliver on. However, I did have some issues staying with it. The prose just didn’t flow. I’m going to believe that it had a few more versions to go before the published copy which is why I rounded up.

There was definitely a lot of drama to be had and a good sapphic romance I enjoy despite not being part of the community. The characters were nicely fleshed out with a lot of detail. I will say that it shared a lot with Red, White and Royal Blue which was irksome to have a repeat of certain things.

But I think many will find enjoyment in it and I intend to read the final version to give it another go when it comes out June 3, 2026

I am thankful to have gotten an eARC for free from SMP: Wednesday Books through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

It’s not an 5 stars but I throughly enjoyed it. I devoured it whole in like one night because I was sucked into it very quickly. I have not reviewed anywheres else yet but I certainly will. Great book!!

This was such a good and fast read, it made me tear up, laugh, and just my heart so happy. As my first EArc (thank you NetGalley & St Martin's Press) I am very lucky that I got such a cute and fast paced book. It starts off with Danni meeting with the headmaster of her new school and she meets a classmate, Molly and it's instant friendship. Molly invites Danni to a party where she meets Mollys friends and Rose, the princess of a small country, and the other fmc. Danni notices tension between Molly and Rose but does not question much but we read a bit about the reason being in Rose's POV. Did I mention this was Dual POV my favorite. Rose is so confident and witty but you quickly realize she is constantly suppressing her feelings because she has settled for her future as queen, staying closeted (she's a lesbian), marrying a man, and birthing children. Danni is a sweetie playing piano, super understanding, such a good friend to everyone, and healing from past school trauma. Rose and Danni start building a friendship, and we see some of their subtle flirting. I won't spoil too much so you can read it. But seeing Rose grow and be able to be herself, make up with Molly, and be able to talk about Oscar was amazing, Most of the time I didnt even remember this was a YA because these characters were very mature, the only thing that didn't make this 5 stars was Alfie. I feel like it was a bit obvious about that whole storyline. I think it all tied up very nicely, everyone healed or is heading that way and I can't wait to read what else this author comes out with.