Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
Release Date - May 7, 2019
Publisher Website - Penguin Random House
Publisher Social Media - Twitter

Pages -  304 pages
My Rating - 5/5

**received from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. And because Millie cannot stand the thought of confronting her ex every day, she decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.

Millie can't believe her luck when she's accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.

The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.

She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.

At first, the girls can barely stand each other--Flora is both high-class and high-key--but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it? 

Royal themed novels are a weakness of mine. It immediately gets me to add a book to my ever growing reading pile. It is always a nice bonus when they turn out to be a thoroughly enjoyable read that is everything a young adult contemporary fan could want.

Fans of the hate-to-love trope will delight in the dynamic between Millie and Flora. The sparks are there even when it seems like they would rather fight with each other than make out. Those hoping for a super romantic, light, and all around fun relationship between two female characters will absolutely find that within these pages.

The Scotland boarding school setting is the perfect backdrop to this story. Forcing Millie and Flora to be roommates makes great use of that classic trope and gives a wanderlust vibe to the story as we see the school (and Scotland) through Millie's eyes.  I loved everything about the school but especially the fun inclusion of it being the first group of female students to attend.

Millie is super smart and unapologetically into her interests. She is fascinated by geology and that fact is present throughout the entire book. Millie embraces who she is so fiercely that it is inspiring. I predict many readers will love her and Fiora quite a bit by the end of the novel.

The fun part of companion style novels is the cameos it allows and this book is no except. It has got some great cameos for those who have read Royals (retitled Prince Charming). It is, however, a better example of my other favourite thing about companion novels - they allow us to get to know characters we already know better. My opinion of Flora, and who she is as a character, changed so much as a result of reading this book. She is more layered and less frivolous than I expected. She also has a much bigger heart than I anticipated. Seeing this other side of her made me want a book about Seb because I can only imagine what is underneath that hot mess of a Prince.

This is a true rom-com with all of the cliche moments and required happy ending. Any reader who sees themselves reflected in Millie and Flora's story will be thrilled that they are finally getting a story usually told about a girl falling for a Prince. I highly urge you to seek out reviews from those people because this book is going to speak to them in a completely different way than it did me.

Her Royal Highness is a pure delight of a book. A romance filled with grand gestures, just enough angst, and plenty of swoon worthy moments. It will leave you with more than a dash of royal fever and wondering when you'll be able to watch the, hopefully, inevitable Netflix movie.